Portrait of Mr J. M. Niall

James Mansfield Niall (1860 – 1941), my first cousin four times removed, was managing director and then chairman of the Australian pastoral company Goldsbrough Mort & Co from 1900 to 1935; he joined the company in 1896 and retired from the board in 1940.

In 1928 his portrait as chairman was painted by W.B. McInnes, a highly-regarded Australian portraitist, seven-times winner of the Archibald Prize.

PORTRAIT OF MR. J. M. NIALL. There was a large gathering of officers of the company and guests at the unveiling by the Lord Mayor (Sir Stephen Morell) yesterday of a presentation portrait of Mr. J. M. Niall, chairman and managing director of Goldsbrough, Mort, and Co. Ltd., for 30 years. The portrait, which was painted by Mr. W. B. McInnes, is shown being unveiled by the Lord Mayor. Mr. Niall is standing on the left of the portrait.
From the Argus, Thursday 1 November 1928, page 5

From the Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), Thursday 1 November 1928, page 7:

MR. J. M. NIALL.

Unveiling of Portrait.

Friends of Mr J M Niall chairman of the board of directors of Goldsbrough Mort and Co Ltd attended the unveiling of his portrait painted by Mr W. B. McInnes, by the Lord Major (Sir Stephen Morell) at the offices of the company yesterday. Sir Frank Clarke, who is a director of the company, was in the chair.

Sir Frank Clarke remarked that the occasion almost coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of Mr Niall's association with the company. When Mr. Niall first joined the company its finances, in common with those of many other business institutions, were in a rather precarious condition; now the shares were worth on the market two and a half times their face value. It was chiefly due to the ability and efforts of Mr. Niall that the company had been built up in the way it had been.

Sir James Elder expressed the opinion that Mr Niall was the greatest asset the company had. He was a high-minded and honourable gentleman as well as a shrewd and capable business man (Applause).

After the Lord Mayor had unveiled the portrait Mr W Forster Woods (chairman of the Stock Exchange) proposed the health of Mr. Niall. Mr. W. A. Gibson (general manager of Goldsbrough Mort and Company) supported the toast, which was honoured with enthusiasm.

In reply Mr. Niall admitted that he had worked hard in the early days of the company, but one man could not have been responsible for its success; he had had the co-operation of a good staff and the confidence and help of the members of the board. It was a great pleasure to him that the board had unanimously appointed his son Mr. K. M. Niall, to take his place as chairman of the board during his projected holiday trip to England.

Mr Niall was presented with a copy of the portrait, also painted by Mr. McInnes.

In 1962 Elder Smith & Co. took over Goldsborough Mort & Co. In 1981 Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort & Co. Ltd merged with Henry Jones IXL to form Elders IXL. McInnes’s portrait of James Niall as Chairman of Goldsbrough Mort is now in the collection of the National Library of Australia, donated, presumably, by one of the companies involved in these mergers and acquisitions.

The copy of the portrait presented to J M Niall in 1928 is still in the family.

Related posts and further reading

• My post on The tristate tour February 2021 part 2 – when we travelled to Paringa on the Murray River among other places, includes some reminiscenses of J.M. Niall’s time at Paringa Station
• K is for Kenneth – In J M Niall’s reminiscences he records: when in 1878 Mr Kenneth Budge (who was manager of Gooyea Station in Queensland) died suddenly from heart disease getting out of bed, and my first cousin, J F Cudmore, on whose Station I was working, hurried me off to Queensland, without notice, to go up and take control.
• Trove tuesday : Daniel Budge – the death of his brother in law Daniel Budge; J.M. Niall was a partner of Daniel Budge for a time in the 1880s

• Margaret Steven, ‘Niall, James Mansfield (1860–1941)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/niall-james-mansfield-7835/text13605, published first in hardcopy 1988

Wikitree: James Mansfield Niall (1860 – 1941)

The tristate tour February 2021 part 2

See previous post for the first part of our trip.

On Thursday 9 February the weather was warm reaching 37 degrees (98 degrees Fahrenheit). We took a two hour paddle steamer ride on the Murray through lock 11 and downstream.

We admired the Murray River Flag which dates from the early 1850s; there are three variations. Our paddlesteamer flew the Upper Murray River Flag with the  darker blue bands on its flag, representing the darker waters of the river’s upper reaches. At lock 11 we saw the Combined Murray River Flag.

Many years ago we spent a night on the paddle steamer Coonawarra as all other accommodation options in Mildura were full.

approaching lock 11

Below the Murray River Flag the pole marks the heights of various floods. The 1870 flood was the highest recorded at Mildura.

the Mildura weir

In the evening we visited a local distillery and after sampling several types we purchased a gin infused with saltbush.

The distillery is housed in the Mildura Settlers Club

The next day Friday 12 February we drove to South Australia. Because of the pandemic we needed to apply for permits to enter South Australia and also to return to Victoria.

Trip to South Australia

The Sturt Highway passes along the boundary of Ned’s Corner, a property once owned by the Cudmores. Ned’s Corner Station is now owned by the Trust for Nature who bought the property in 2002 when it was very degraded from drought and overgrazing. The Trust claims the 30,000 hectare property (74,000 acres) is the largest freehold property in Victoria and also the biggest private conservation reserve in the state.

looking over the property at Ned’s Corner

saltbush

My great great grandfather James Francis Cudmore (1837 – 1908) managed Paringa, 208 sq. miles (531 km²) near present day Renmark from 1857. Paringa was first leased by James’s father Daniel from 1850 as well as a number of other stations. In 1860 James Cudmore leased Ned’s Corner, further up the Murray. From these properties he overlanded sheep to Queensland and took up leases there. In1867 he married Margaret Budge. James and Margaret had 13 children; my grandfather Arthur Murray Cudmore was their third child born at Paringa in 1870.

In 1870 James Cudmore and Kenneth Budge, his wife’s brother, bought Gooyea (later Milo) on the Bulloo, Queensland. In October 1871 Kenneth Budge was in charge of a mob of 600 cows and 16 bulls travelling from Paringa, a Cudmore station, to Dowling’s Creek, at Gooyea. A herd of cattle this big could travel only about ten miles a day, so the journey from Paringa to Gooyea would have taken nearly three months.

In 1876 James Cudmore enlarged Ned’s Corner in partnership with Robert Barr Smith and A. H. Pegler. By the end of the 1870s 130,000 sheep were being shorn at his stations on the Murray.

James Mansfield Niall (1860-1941), a first cousin to James Francis Cudmore, worked at Paringa Station as a young man before moving to central western Queensland. His great grandson has been kind enough to share some of James Niall’s reminiscences.

In 1876 I went up to Paringa Station on the Murray, and took a position there as bookkeeper. I had to travel by train to Kapunda, thence by coach to Blanchtown, Overland Corner, to Ral Ral. We travelled most of the night and all day for some 3 days. The coachdriver on the later stages was a man named Lambert. Lambert had been fined the previous week for over-carrying the Paringa mailbag, and when he learned I was going to the Station he did not hesitate to abuse me at every opportunity. I was practically only a schoolboy, and I put up with it until we got to Ral Ral, where a blackfellow met me leading a horse on which I was to ride out to the Station. Lambert on seeing the horse flogged it with his whip, upon which I told him that I had had enough of it, and that he could give me a hiding, or I would give him one. (Other passengers on the coach were John Crozier – late of St Albans near Geelong – Fred Cornwallis West, and Dr Wilson of Wentworth). Lambert and I had a fairly lengthy fight, and I beat him very badly, although he broke my nose, from which I am suffering even today. John Crozier enjoyed himself immensely watching the fight from the box of the coach, calling out ”Go it young un”, a term with which he always greeted me when I met him in the Streets of Melbourne 40 years afterwards. Dr Wilson patched up my nose. We had travelled most of the night in the Coach without meals, I only had sixpence in my pocket, and I hadn’t the effrontery or courage to ask the shanty-keeper at Ral Ral to give me a meal without paying for it, so I bought the n—r a nip of rum with the 6d and rode out to the Station. There I remained for probably 18 months, when in 1878 Mr Kenneth Budge (who was manager of Gooyea Station in Queensland) died suddenly from heart disease getting out of bed, and my first cousin, J F Cudmore, on whose Station I was working, hurried me off to Queensland, without notice, to go up and take control.

Ned’s Corner Station is closed to visitors because of the pandemic.

When we crossed the South Australian border we were inspected for both quarantine and bio-security; you cannot bring fruit into South Australia.

biosecurity inspectors checked the car

Covid quarantine check – our permits to enter South Australia were in order

Overlooking Pike Lagoon with the Murray in the distance, near Paringa

At Renmark we had a very pleasant lunch from the Renmark Club overlooking the river.

The Renmark Club overlooks the river

The Renmark Irrigation trust building and one of the original pumps imported by the Chaffey brothers

The Ozone theatre

Renmark Hotel

Flood levels at Renmark. The 1956 flood was higher than the 1870 flood at Renmark whereas upstream at Mildura the 1870 flood was higher than the flood in 1956

the paddle steamer ‘Industry’ at Renmark

After lunch we visited Olivewood, a National Trust property which was originally home to the Chaffey family who pioneered irrigation in the region.

A Furphy water tank in the grounds at Olivewood

avenue of palms leading to Olivewood

Olivewood

My interest in visiting Olivewood was to see the plaque from the grave of my 3rd great grandmother Margaret Rankin nee Gunn (1819 – 1863). The plaque had been stolen from the grave but was found in 1994 and is now cared for by the National Trust at Olivewood. Margaret’s husband Ewan Rankin was an overseer at Bookmark station – the station no longer exists as it is under present-day Renmark.

brass plaque from the grave of Margaret Rankin

There is a link between Olivewood and Paringa as while George Chaffey was siting for Olivewood to be built he stayed at Paringa House, the Cudmore home. There was a painting of the house at Olivewood.

A painting of Paringa House on display at Olivewood

Paringa House was briefly associated with the Chaffey family and also Breaker Morant

Harry Harbord (Breaker) Morant (1864-1902) probably did not live at Paringa House but worked on the station before enlisting in the army.

Paringa station, Murray River about 1890 by Frederick Needham from the collection of the State Library of South Australia SLSA reference B 62050

Paringa House is now run as a bed and breakfast. The land around the house has been sold off and some of it now forms part of the township. We caught a glimpse of the house from across the river standing on the bridge.

a glimpse of Paringa House from the bridge across the Murray

My great grandfather Arthur Murray Cudmore was born 11 June 1870. Later that year there were enormous floods and the old house was destroyed. The present house was built after the flood. The 1870 flood was measured at 11.65 metres (38 feet) at Mildura but was a very slow flood. In September the flood had reached the verandah at Mildura Station.

bridge across the Murray at Paringa

A black stump at Paringa, claimed to be the largest in Australia. A 600-year-old river red gum tree trunk and root system had been hanging over the bank of the Murray River near Chowilla Station, upstream from Renmark. The old tree apparently had fallen into the river during the flood of 1917 and, becoming a navigation hazard, it was later dragged back on to the riverbank where it had lain ever since. The eight tonne stump was transported to Paringa downstream by river in a journey taking five days.

We paused for afternoon tea at Paringa and drove back.

On the way to Mildura we received news of another lockdown for the whole of the state of Victoria due to the pandemic. We made the decision to return home that evening. We were only cutting our holiday short by one night and the restrictions were that most businesses were to be shut and you could not travel further than five kilometres from home. We did not wish to experience the lockdown in Mildura. So we packed our bags and headed south stopping for dinner in Birchip. We were fortunate to have a holiday between lockdowns.

Birchip Hotel

Drive home to Ballarat via Birchip

driving south

beer garden at Birchip Hotel

Birchip main street

looking away from the sunset

Looking away from the sun at sunset

Sources

• P. A. Howell, ‘Cudmore, James Francis (1837–1912)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cudmore-james-francis-271/text9913, published first in hardcopy 1981
• Margaret Steven, ‘Niall, James Mansfield (1860–1941)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/niall-james-mansfield-7835/text13605, published first in hardcopy 1988
• Peter Westcott, ‘Chaffey, George (1848–1932)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/chaffey-george-5544/text9449, published first in hardcopy 1979
• R. K. Todd, ‘Morant, Harry Harbord (Breaker) (1864–1902)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/morant-harry-harbord-breaker-7649/text13377, published first in hardcopy 1986
• Thomason, B. J. (2014). A slippery Bastard. Overland literary journal. https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-214/feature-bj-thomason/
• Facts and figures [1956 floods] (2006, September 12). ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2006/09/12/1739132.htm
• Painter, A. (n.d.). 13 December 1870 Murray floods (Celebrating South Australia). Professional Historians Association (South Australia). https://www.sahistorians.org.au/175/chronology/december/13-december-1870-murray-floods.shtml
• DARLING AND MURRAY DISTRICT. (1870, September 28). Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912), p. 2 (LATE EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196734479
• Paringa, SA. (2016, March 22). Aussie Towns. https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/paringa-sa
• Victoria to enter snap five-day coronavirus lockdown from midnight tonight. (2021, February 12). ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-12/victoria-coronavirus-lockdown-announced-by-daniel-andrews/13128514

N is for Nellie

One of my first cousins four times removed was Eleanor Mary (Nellie) Niall (1858-1891). She was the first cousin of my great great grandfather James Francis Cudmore (1837-1912).

Her father was James Niall (1823-1877), son of Daniel James Nihill (1761-1846) and Dymphna Nihill nee Gardiner (1790-1866). The Nihill family emigrated from Ireland to Australia in 1835, settling first in Tasmania, then moving to South Australia.

James Niall was an auctioneer and pastoralist. In 1857 he married Eleanor Mansfield (1833-1883) at Trinity Church, Adelaide.

 

They had eight children:

• Eleanor Mary Niall 1858–1891
• James Mansfield Niall 1860–1941
• George Franklin Niall 1862–1875
• Alice Louisa Niall 1863–1876
• Charles Arthur Niall 1864–1888
• Robert Gardiner Niall 1870–1932
• Dymphna Niall 1871–1871
• Margaret Rebekah Niall 1872–1875

Eleanor Mary, known as Nellie, was the oldest.

Her brother James Mansfield Niall (1860-1941), who became a successful pastoralist, was the only child who married and had children.

In 1875, at the age of 13, George died from what was described as “anaemia“. His illness and death were noted by his aunt Rebekah Nihill (1817-1901) in her diary:

2 Jul 1875 : George Niall very ill of swelling in the glands of his throat.

28 Aug 1875 : Rec’d a letter from Nelly Niall telling us dear George Niall died last Tuesday the 24th inst, whilst taking a drink of water. We feel his loss much as he was a very intelligent boy and extremely clever and cheerful.

4 Sep 1875  :  Our brother James and his wife came. They both looked sadly cut up after the loss of their dear children, particularly their dear boy George.

Alice died in 1876 aged 13 of tubercular phthisis, also known as tuberculosis.

Charles died in Sydney as a young man aged only 24. I am not sure what caused his early death.

Robert went on to the land as a grazier and station manager in Queensland. He died in Sydney, unmarried.

Dymphna died aged 5 months of convulsions. According to the diary of her aunt Rebekah Nihill, Margaret Rebekah, known as Rebekah, died when she was 3 of scarletina and diphtheria.

In 1877 Nellie’s father James died at the age of 54. Nellie’s mother died in 1883 aged 45 years.

On 13 November 1891 Eleanor Mary (Nellie) Niall died of typhoid. She was 33. (Typhoid is a bacterial disease, spread by eating food or drinking water contaminated by the faeces or urine of patients and carriers.)

Family Notices (1891, November 14). South Australian Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1895), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91566625

 

The authorities kept a close watch on infectious diseases. There was no major outbreak of typhoid at the time, but Eleanor’s death was noted by the South Australian Board of Health, as was one other death from typhoid in the same week.

BOARDS OF HEALTH. (1891, November 20). Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912), p. 3 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198423918 (Click to enlarge)

 

Eleanor was buried on 14 November at the cemetery beside St George’s Anglican Church, Magill, a suburb of Adelaide  close to where she had lived.

Advertising (1891, November 13). The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 – 1922), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208577463

The gravestone of Nellie, her parents and some of her siblings at Magill St George cemetery. The photograph is courtesy of “Gravesecrets at your Fingertips!” and reproduced with permission.

 

I am sorry to say that I have not been able to find out more about Nellie and her siblings. She is not mentioned in any digitised newspaper reports that I have seen. I have not found any photograph of her or mention in any family papers I have access to. I know almost nothing about her.

Sources

I am grateful to my cousin Robert Niall for sharing his information about the causes of death of Nellie’s siblings and providing extracts from the diaries of Margaret and Rebekah Nihill, the sisters of James Niall, Nellie’s father.

Related post

• Trove Tuesday : Nihill v. Fox

K is for Kenneth

One of my third great uncles was Kenneth George Budge (1842-1878), the son of Kenneth Budge (1813-1852) and Margaret Budge nee Gunn (1819-1863).

Kenneth Budge the father was a seaman who married Margaret Gunn in 1840. Kenneth and Margaret lived in Wick, Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. Their five children were:

• Daniel (1841-1895)
• Kenneth George (1842-1878)
• Alexandrina (1844 – before 1851)
• Margaret (1845 – 1912) my great great grandmother
• Alexandrina (1851-1911)

In August 1852 Kenneth Budge senior, who was trading between Scotland and the Baltic, died of cholera at sea, in the Øresund, the strait that separates Sweden and Denmark.

On 10 June 1854, Margaret remarried, to Ewan Rankin (1825- ?). With her four surviving children she emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia, sailing on the Dirigo. The ship departed Liverpool on 10 July 1854 but returned because of a cholera outbreak. Sailing again on 9 August, they arrived in South Australia on 22 November. Kenneth George was then 12 years old.

In 1863 Kenneth’s mother Margaret died at Bookmark station on the River Murray near present-day Renmark. Margaret was 44.

In 1867, in Adelaide, Kenneth’s sister, Margaret, married James Francis Cudmore (1837-1912).

In 1870, in partnership with his brother-in-law James Francis Cudmore, Kenneth bought Gooyea, a cattle station, on the Bulloo River near the Barcoo River, Queensland. In 1875 Kenneth’s brother Daniel joined the partnership.

The Barcoo River near Blackall photographed in 1938

Musterers on Milo station, probably in the 1890s. Milo station was formed from several stations including Gooyea

 

In October 1871 Kenneth was in charge of a mob of 600 cows and 16 bulls travelling from Paringa, a Cudmore station, to Dowling’s Creek, at Gooyea. A herd of cattle this big could travel only about ten miles a day, so the journey from Paringa to Gooyea would have taken nearly three months.

 

Latest News. (1871, October 18). Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912), p. 2 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197660614

It is 1,224 kilometres from Paringa to Gooyea via Wilcannia or 765 miles

 

A mob of cattle crossing the MacIntyre River from Queensland to New South Wales. Image retrieved from Wikipedia.

From the Wikipedia article on Drover (Australian):

Movement of large mobs of stock was traditionally carried out by contract drovers. A drover had to be independent and tough, an excellent horseman, able to manage stock as well as men. The boss drover who had a plant (horses, dogs, cooking gear and other requisites) contracted to move the mob at a predetermined rate according to the conditions, from a starting point to the destination. The priorities for a boss drover were the livestock, the horses, and finally the men, as drovers were paid per head of stock delivered. Drovers were sometimes on the road for as long as two years. The drovers who covered very long distances to open up new country were known as “overlanders“.

Traditional droving could not have been done without horses. The horse plant was made up of work-horses, night-horses and packhorses, with each drover riding four or five horses during a trip. The horse tailer was the team member responsible for getting horses to water and feed, and bringing them to the camp in the morning. A good night-horse was highly prized for its night vision, temperament, and its ability to bring animals under control when a “rush”, known elsewhere as a stampede, occurred at night.

The standard team of men employed to move 1,200 cattle consisted of seven men: the boss drover, four stockmen, a cook and a horse-tailer. Store cattle were moved in larger mobs, of up to 1,500 head, while fat bullocks going to meatworks were taken in mobs of about 650 head, i.e. three train loads. The stockmen will ride in formation at the front, sides and back of the mob, at least until the mob has settled into a routine pace. Cattle are expected to cover about ten miles (16 km) a day, sheep about six miles (10 km), and are permitted to spread up to 800 metres (half a mile) on either side of the road. A short camp is made for a lunch break, after which the cook and horse-tailer will move ahead to set up the night camp

 

A report in November 1874 mentioned 2,200 cattle head of cattle had been purchased and were en route to Gooyea.

HAY SHIPPING. (1874, November 11). The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW : 1873 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141197711

In June 1878 a newspaper article discussed the effort Kenneth Budge and J.F. Cudmore were making to establish a quality beef herd.

The Advertiser THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1878. (1878, June 6). The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 – 1889), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29603079

 

In April 1878 Kenneth Budge was appointed a Queensland magistrate.

On 6 November of that year, only 36 years old, he died suddenly of heart disease at Gooyea. He was buried at Gooyea, but two years later his body was exhumed, brought to Adelaide, and re-interred in West Terrace Cemetery.

 

 

The grave of Kenneth Budge at West Terrace cemetery photographed in April 2017

 

Related posts

• Margaret Gunn (1819 – 1863)
• The death of Kenneth Budge (1813 – 1852)
• W is for Wick, Caithness
• Trove tuesday : Daniel Budge
• Q is for questing in Queensland

Limerick fact and fiction

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – At this the whole pack rose up into the air and came flying down upon her. Illustration by Arthur Rackham 1907. Like Alice I feel a bit overwhelmed by the information.

One of the sources of information about the Nihill branch of my family is the reminiscences of Sarah Jane Nihill who died 1 September 1915 aged 89 years and six months. Her recollections were dictated to Mary E. Hennessy nee Brooks (c. 1878 – 1926). Mary was not a blood relative but Sarah’s adopted niece. Sarah Nihill is my 3rd great grand aunt, the sister of my 3rd great grandmother.

Obituary of Sarah Nihill from the Adelaide Chronicle of 11 September 1915

Sarah Nihill’s reminiscences are held by the State Library of Victoria as a typed manuscript (MS 9228 ). I have a copy through my 3rd cousin once removed, Rob Niall. There are also excerpts in the history of the Cudmore family, For the Love of the Land, compiled by Elsie Ritchie in 2000, at pages 67 – 70.

Sarah Nihill, as reported by Mary Hennessy, remembered

Daniel Joseph James Nihill, of Rockville, County Adare, Limerick, Ireland, who died at the age of 90 years, who could read without glasses and retained his perfect set of teeth until his death, had two sons, Paul the eldest and Daniel James, all Roman Catholics.

Paul married Lady Anna Maria Quin, daughter of Lord Dunraven, of Dunraven Castle, Adare and had one daughter, the Lady Anna Maria Dunraven Nihill, whose mother died at her birth and who was reared by her grandparents, the Dunravens.

Sarah then remembers that Paul became

a renegade, deserting his faith and embracing the church by law established, which gave the eldest son the power to take all his own father possessed if he remained a Catholic, even to the coat off his back if he so desired. Hence the reason for the family coming out to Australia. [ … ] About the time of his father’s death, remorse overtook Paul Nihill, he repented his act of deserting his faith, wrote a pamphlet of treason against the King and to save his life had to fly across the country. He had in his possession a small red Cornelian Cross, carrying a legend of a talisman against evil, which had been in the Nihill family for generations. It is surmised some time afterwards he returned and lived the life clad as a fisherman, amongst the village folk who knew him as a boy and man. At any rate a very sad silent fisherman appeared one day and lived at Larry and nancy O’Connor’s wee home.

One night a fire broke out at Dunraven Castle and the motherless infant’s life was in danger, with little hope of saving her, when a man clad as a fisherman rushed into the burning building and after a time appeared at an upper window.   All hope of helping him was out of the question.He leaped from the upper story.When they rushed to him the child was alive, but he was dead and inside where it had been hurriedly thrust, was the red cross against the child’s breast. Then his identity became known. The cross passed on to Daniel James Nihill and at last to Sarah Jane, the last of that branch of the family. and is now in my (M. E. Hennessy’s) possession, having been hung around my neck by my dear adopted aunt’s hands on my 18th birthday as a talisman against evil. So this is how the Rockville Estate passed from the family, having been willed by Paul to his child.

I can find no evidence for the existence of a Paul Nihill. The entry for Lord Dunraven in an 1828 Debrett makes no mention of a daughter Anne who married Paul Nihill (John Debrett (1828). Debrett’s Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland. [Another]. pp. 743–4.)

I have also found no written account of this fire at Dunraven castle.

Daniel James Nihill did have an older brother Patrick. Perhaps Sarah Nihill was confusing Paul with Patrick

Notices in the Limerick Chronicle have been indexed and digitised by the Limerick City Library.

I have confirmed the death of the father of Daniel James Nihill died in 1835. The Limerick Chronicle of 29 July 1835 reported:

At Rockville, near Adare, James Nihill, Esq. at the advanced age of 84 years.

His death at age 84 means he was born about 1751. On the 1840 South Australian census, James’s  son Daniel stated that he was born in 1761. The age on one or the other document must be incorrectly stated.

My second cousin twice removed, James Mansfield Niall (1915-1986),  wrote an article on the Nihill family history published in “The Irish Genealogist”, Vol.4, No.5, 1972, pp 496-505 titled Nihell of Co. Clare and Co. Limerick. I have a copy through his nephew, my 3rd cousin once removed, Rob Niall. The article states that Patrick died at his residence Ash Hill, Co. Clare, about 4th May 1822

Ancestry.com member nmurp1708 wrote in 2009:

Barnalick House … was built shortly after 1784 when a James Nihill leased all 272 acres of “Baurnalicka” from Mary St. Leger. Nihill was a wealthy man who had leases for over 900 acres in Co. Limerick and Co. Clare. He built the house in the shape of a letter “T”. He called the house “Rockville House”. His eldest son Patrick lived on some family land in Co. Clare with his wife Prudence Dickson and their two daughters, Anne and Jane. Patrick died before his father in 1822 and when James died in 1831 the two daughters became heirs to all the lands including Barnalick. Anne married in 1814 a William Dodd and Jane married in 1829 a Thomas Davenport. Patrick had a younger brother, Daniel, who married in 1810 a Dymphna Gardener. He lived with his father James and no doubt looked after him in his old age. However when James died, Daniel had to move out of Barnalick and he and his family departed to Australia in 1835.
A survey done in 1840 gives an Anthony St. Leger as the owner of Barnalick estate with a Thomas Davenport and a Mrs. Dodd as the leaseholders under a Col. John Dickson as middleman.

There is a marriage notice for Patrick who married Prudence Dickson in the Waterford Herald of Tuesday 27 Sept 1791 (From http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/limerick%20families%2071.pdf)

Married on Thursday morning in Limerick Mr Patrick Nihill to Miss Dickson, daughter of Mr Daniel Dickson, Woolen Draper. (Miss Prudence Dickson)

 Prudence died in 1847. Her death notice appeared in the Limerick Chronicle of 25 August 1847:

retrieved from http://www.limerickcity.ie/Library/LocalStudies/ObituariesdeathnoticesetcfromtheLimerickChronicle/1847/

from Ireland Births and Baptisms (through familysearch.org):

Name: Anne Nihill
Christening Date: 17 Feb 1793
Christening Place: SAINT JOHN,LIMERICK,LIMERICK,IRELAND
Birth Date: 12 Feb 1793
Father’s Name: Patrick Nihill
Mother’s Name: Prudence

The baptism record of Jane Nihill, Anne’s sister, does not appear on Family Search indexes. Jane Nihill married Thomas Evans Davenport and it was at the Davenport’s house that Prudence died in 1847.

In the 1972 article published in “The Irish Genealogist” which I mentioned earlier, the following excerpt mentions Patrick and Daniel Nihill:

In August 1817 Daniel petitioned the Viceroy, the Earl of Whitworth, to remove the threat of a legal process for £50 to cover his guarantee for the appearance in Ennis of his brother Patrick to answer an unspecified charge. At the Summer Assizes in 1815 the case was adjourned for want of evidence, and finally at the Spring Assizes Patrick had not appeared (note 54). I do not know the result of this petition.

Note 54:  Limited family sources suggest that Patrick wrote an indiscreet letter possibly relating to the current state of relations between France and England.

I want to follow up on some of the items mentioned and try to find the original sources.

Typhoid epidemic in Parkes in 1896

Headstone in Parkes cemetery of John Way and his parents, with a memorial inscription recording the death of his nephew

On 21 April 1896, John Way, 24 years old, died of typhoid, perforated bowel, and peritonitis after an illness of three weeks. John Way, from Parkes in central New South Wales, was a miner like his father, also called John.

Typhoid is a bacterial disease caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated by human faeces. Its spread is prevented by efficient sanitation and careful public hygiene.

John Way’s death was reported in the Evening News, a Sydney newspaper, on the next day:

Death from Typhoid.
PARKES, Wednesday.— Another death from typhoid has occurred a young man named John Way being the victim.

I came across this article by accident while browsing the National Library of Australia’s ‘Trove’ collection of digitised newspapers. I broadened my search to look for typhoid in Parkes in April 1896.

On 1 April, the Queanbeyan Age reported that there were 21 cases of typhoid in Parkes hospital. On 17 April the Sydney Evening News reported that since the beginning of the year there had been 59 deaths in Parkes, 19 of these due to typhoid. The source of the outbreak was yet to be traced. The mayor was taking steps to have cesspits filled in and the pan system generally adopted. On 24 April the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express reported there were over 100 typhoid cases in Parkes and district under medical treatment.

PARKES. (1896, April 24). Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW : 1896 – 1938), p. 17. Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article99431481

Towards the end of May a report on the epidemic was tabled in Parliament.The Riverine Grazier summarised the report on 23 June:

• Dr Tidswell, medical officer, was sent by the Board of Health to inquire into the prevalence of typhoid fever and the insanitary state of that town with special reference to the recent outbreak.
• Although certain by-laws were passed in 1890 requiring the adoption of a dry earth system, the by laws were not enforced as the validity had been disputed and in 1894 a bylaw was passed permitting the use of cesspits . Despite the requirement that they be constructed so as not be a nuisance, the bylaws were neglected and the arrangements were most primitive. The soil was polluted from slops, drainage and nightsoil.
• The excreta from typhoid patients was not treated before being buried in back yards or gardens.
• The supply of water was defective. Rainwater collected in tanks was very largely used in Parkes. The report pointed out that the roofs from which the water is collected are often covered with dust, sometimes to the extent that the gutters are blocked. During dry weather dust storms are no uncommon and the town is a dusty one. The rains carry the dust into the water tanks. the dust from the polluted soild carried the typhoid bacilli into the rain water collected in the tanks.
• Tidswell pointed out that soil pollution was the primary evil. The combined influence of natural conditions and the absence of an efficient drainage system meant that Parkes was specially liable to diseases fostered by soil pollution. The neglect of the by-laws resulted in excessive soil pollution.

In 1895,according to the cemetery register, there were 22 burials in Parkes cemetery. This in
cluded seven people burnt to death in a fire in April, mainly members of a family called Quinn. Twenty people were buried in the cemetery in 1896 but ten of the burials were in April. The cemetery register does not appear to include all those affected by the typhoid epidemic but the disproportion of the deaths in April 1896 gives some idea of the tragedy.

Usually there were no more than three burials a month in Parkes cemetery. The exceptions are in April 1895 when there was a fire killing seven people and in April 1896 when there was a typhoid epidemic. The figures are derived from the Parkes cemetery register.

In May 1879, John’s sister Harriet Way, nine years  old, died in Parkes of typhoid after an illness of three weeks.

John and Harriet Way were my husband’s great grand mother’s siblings, that is his great grand uncle and great grand aunt.

In my family tree, Eleanor Mary Niall (1858-1891), my first cousin four times removed, died of typhoid in Adelaide in November 1891.  My great great grand uncle Daniel Budge (1842-1895) died of typhoid in Coolgardie, Western Australia, in January 1895. One of his obituaries mentions that typhoid was firmly established at Coolgardie.

It is estimated that worldwide today there are 21 million cases of typhoid and 200,000 deaths each year. “Typhoid Fever.” National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 May 2013. Web. 30 June 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/typhoid_fever/technical.html>.

Trove tuesday : Daniel Budge

Although I had spent a long time looking for the death of Daniel Budge (1842 – 1895), the brother of my great great grandmother Margaret Cudmore née Budge, and had found a death index entry for him in Western Australia, I couldn’t be sure this was the right man.  It wasn’t until I had searched the digitised newspapers on Trove that I learned how he died and why he was in Western Australia.

 COMPARATIVE LEGISLATION. (1895, January 26). The Capricornian (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1875 – 1929), p. 18. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67947575

It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we (Barcoo Independent,) learn of the death of Mr. Daniel Budge, who expired at Coolgardie on Sunday last of typhoid fever. The deceased gentleman was well-known throughout the pastoral districts of Queensland, and to many of the older residents of the western portion of New South Wales, and was exceedingly and deservedly popular with all classes of the community. Born in Scotland in 1842, he accompanied his family to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1853. He adopted pastoral pursuits, and about 1862 was appointed manager of one of the Tolarno stations, on the Darling River, New South Wales. In 1875 he joined his brother, Mr. Kenneth Budge, as part owner of Gooyea Station, near Adavale, Queensland, where he remained until the death of his brother, after which the station was sold. In 1880 or 1881 he purchased Mr. A. Mossman’s share in Delta Station, having for a partner Mr. W. P. Tozer, which station he managed for some years, during which Mr J. M. Niall bought Mr. Tozer’s share. About 1886 Messrs. R. Rarr-Smith and Co. bought Mr. Budge’s interest in that property, and the latter removed to Blackall, where he purchased the old Barcoo Hotel. This property he sold to Mr. R. Moss about 1888, and then entered into partnership with Mr. J. D. Hughes as auctioneers, stock and station agents, Blackall. Mr. Budge was the lessee of this paper from April, 1891, to April, 1894, and in September, 1894, he left Blackall for Coolgardie, where he died. He took a great interest in local matters, more especially in the welfare of the local racing institutions. At various times he occupied the offices of alderman of the Blackall Municipality, chairman of the Kargoolnah Divisional Board, vice-president of the Blackall District Hospital, and vice-president of the Blackall Racing Club. From his genial manner and cheerful disposition he was a general favourite with everyone with whom he was brought into contact ; while his extreme generosity will make his name long remembered on the Barcoo, and his good deeds a fruitful subject of conversation at many a camp fire. Poor old Dan will be greatly missed, and many a long day will elapse before his name fades in the memory of a host of friends. He leaves a wife and two children, who reside in Sydney.

The obituary also appeared in Rockhampton’s Morning Bulletin of 24 January 1895.

There is a longer obituary in The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld.), 22 January, page 9.  It mentions Daniel Budge’s connections with the Niall, Cudmore and Tozer families, his property dealings and his interest in local government and in horse-racing.

Barcaldine Small Debts Court. (1895, January 22). The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 – 1922), p. 9. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79735787