"Andy" Black & Jessie Hickman

'Jessie Hickman' seems to be a current topic - the Newcastle Herald is due to publish an article in the near future.

I have just received a comprehensive paper entitled George Andrew Albert BLACK (1887- 1978) & Jessie Elizabeth HICKMAN (1890-1936).

An index to the paper would include "Andy", Morrison, cattle duffers, horse-breaker, Nullo Mountain, lassie bred tough, Skulthorp, Summervale, Olinda , Kandos etc.

Read more . . . 
 

Virtual Excursion to Capertee Valley

A Virtual Excursion to the Capertee Valley

The day had come.

We were assembling outside the Rylstone Shire Memorial Hall which some 50 years ago 
 

Rylstone Shire Memorial Hall as Roxy Talkies
Photo: RAHS collection

was known by many as the Roxy Talkies.

However, more interest was taken in examining this Silver Trowel 

which was:
'Presented to Major General C.F. Cox. C.B, C.M.G D.S.O on the occasion of the Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Rylstone Memorial Hall 17.4.26'

Time to get going.

Heading out, with a slight diversion, we passed the Rylstone Cemetery and then some old properties such as “Dabee” Station, “Ti Tree”, Max Jackson’s “Marloo” and Rox Jackson’s “Marsden”.

Then you go down the hill into the valley and, if you turn your historical watches back some 125 years, you come upon -

Photo: Rylstone and District Historical Society

William Moss (1856-1937) of "Warrangee Terrace", Glen Alice with his team of horses hauling bags of wheat on the Glen Alice Road heading for Rylstone.

A bit further on, with watches set to 70 years ago, we can see that a retort, on its way to the Glen Davis shale oil works, has fallen off the jinker at the entrance to Ted Mulholland's property "Marsden Forest".

His children Gwenda, Betty, Nona and Patricia are enjoying their latest new toy and pose for a photo.

Continuing on, there is a road off to the left with the pointer saying 'Dunville Loop' which rejoins the Glen Alice Road a bit further on. Do we have time to go this way? Not too much longer if we don't stop for too many photos.

However, we must stop for the one.

Photo: Dunville Loop, Capertee Valley by Vicki Powys

Getting back on the Glen Alice Road, we check our latest map.

Bit faded but looks as though we are nearly to Glen Alice.

Whats this? The Glen Alice mailman blocking the way - Pantony’s Crown can be seen in the background.

Glen Alice mailman blocking the road
Photo: original source not known

Before we get to Glen Alice we come upon Thorne's "Umbiella" property.

Christo Aitken tells us that "Settlement in this region started in the mid 1820's with individuals such as Dr James Innes at Warrengy and John Savary Rodd at Umbiella. Umbiella is in fact the first gazetted land in the valley and also in the Rylstone area."

In 1838, "Umbiella" was purchased by Sir John Jamison as was "Numietta" in 1836.

We were now in Jamison country. Sir John, while he never resided there, owned most of the Valley in 1800's.

For more on Sir John, "Numietta" and the Capertee Valley read - its a 50 page report and best left 'till you get home.

Arriving at Glen Alice we look for the old school, having seen a photo of Claude Agnew and Charles Booth in front of it in 1986.

Photo: Mickel Cowie collection

Moving on to Glen Davis we pass Simmo's Museum on the way to the the shale oil works.

Oil Shale Works Ruins

A bit of history: 
Between 1939 and 1952 National Oil Proprietary Limited extracted oil from shale at their Glen Davis works in the Capertee Valley. 
The plant was built using much equipment salvaged from the closed Newnes shale oil works nearby.
Although regarded as strategic for Australia's wartime oil supply, the venture was plagued by technical, financial and political difficulties, and anticipated production was never fully realised.
Viability of the shale mine and oil works were always questionable and they closed after a short and troubled life.

One of the technical problems was the supply of water.
The works needed one million gallons of water per day. This was provided by the  Public Works Department by building a pipeline from the Oberon Dam to Glen Davis. The pipeline crosses the Great Dividing Range three times but by clever surveying the water gravitates all the way, without a pump on the line.

A few photos:

The Eucalyptus Factory on Nullo Moutain

THE EUCALYPTUS FACTORY ON NULLO MOUNTAIN.

Bremmer Morrison.

After World War II Bill Bennett and the folk from the store tried to start up a Eucalyptus Factory on Nullo Mountain

They cut branches of the Eurabbie Blue Gums and transported on horsedrawn waggons to their still, which they had set up on the creek (near the headwaters of Cox's Creek)

The still was made from several ship's tanks that were placed over a fire. The tanks were with the creek water and the branches of the blue compressed inside. From the screwed-on roof of the tank there was a pipe that lead under the creek and down to the container. The steam from the boiling water in the tanks combined with the oil from the blue gum leaves and as it ran through the creek and cooled, the oil condensed out, and so it was eucalyptus oil that dripped into the container. Some of this eucalyptus oil was sent off for testing and was stated to be some of the best quality oil produced in N.S.W.

There were hopes of doing well from it but the 'factory' did not for very long, perhaps because the set was so primitive and it took such enormous effect collecting branches in the mountains and keeping up the supply. 

There is a pamphlet put out by the Dept. of Technical Education (Museum of Arts and Science) in 1952 that deals with the production of eucalyptus oil in just such a manner as Bremmer Morrison describes. They mention many gums, but NOT Eurabbie Blue Gums, as suitable. Perhaps this Blue Gum is rare and this is why it was such high quality? It seems to have been quite a thriving industry then.

It seems obvious from their instructions that there were big problems in obtaining a large enough area to keep up the supply of fresh leaves.

Ref: “TELL IT NOW” 1990

 

History in Black and White

Photo: Len Brown collection

Len Brown, an Australian of Aboriginal and Norwegian descent in the year 2000.
Len Brown's many unsuspecting relatives in Norway, who had no knowledge of the Australian branch of their family until Len contacted them, held a reunion for him in 1997. About 50 or 60 people attended, welcoming him as part of their extended family.

In a paper he calls "History in Black and White - Len Brown's family forest" he says:

Len Brown, 'white as a fridge', is descended from the Greens of Rylstone. He's been researching his family for the last twenty years.

Jimmy and Peggy Lambert from the Cudgegond /Rylstone area, are known locally as the 'last' of the Dabee. And yet Peggy, in particular, is the head of a large family of descendents, mny of whom still reside in the Rylstone area.

Read more , , ,

ONE DAY IN THE CAPERTEE VALLEY

Trevor Jamison says:
"This is a little story to explain the joys and connections of us all to the Capertee Valley."

The trip took place in 2007. It revived great memories for Trevor and will do for anyone else who know the Jamisons and the Capertee Valley.

Read more . . .

John Lloyd - an Early Settler in the Rylstone District

In 1852, John Lloyd came to the Rylstone District arriving at Dabee Station about 17th October.
Lloyd was born and brought up on a farm about five miles from that very old town Carmarthen, South Wales and as he grew up he became rather fond of the plough, and was a good all-round hand with the horses.
The discovery of gold in Australia caused great excitement so he made up his mind to try his luck in Australia - got on board the emigrant ship "Kate" and sailed from Gravesend on the 26th June, 1852.
The voyage occupied about 100 days from Gravesend to Sydney and as soon as the "Kate" cast anchor in Port Jackson she was surrounded by boats and agents coming on board wanting to hire both men and women. Lloyd was one of six young men hired to go to Dabee, a station of Mr. Fitzgerald's, in the south of Rylstone, county of Roxburgh, the wages being at the rate of £6 per annum, and rations .
After arriving in Sydney and staying one night there he was sent to Windsor, and remained for some days on a farm of Mr. Fitzgerald's near Windsor, waiting for the teams to get ready, to start for the station.
There were several days on the road travelling with the horse teams until they came to a place on the Mudgee-road called the Round Swamp, where they left the teams and made a short cut over Vincent's Mountain on to the flat land, reaching Dabee Station about the 17th October, 1852.
In May 1857 he and two others went to prospect the Bogie Creek, where they got onto a fair run of gold.
Early in the spring of that year we had some very rough cold weather and there was a big flood in the Bogie Creek. They continued to work the ground with success until about April 1858 and then he went to Rylstone and started prospecting. I found a good patch of gold in the Cudgegong just below Rylstone and got between three and four ounces for ten or twelve days work.
Earlier, Lloyd had saved money while in the police force, and bought 80 acres of land in 1855 at the first land sale ever held in the Rylstone district
- the sale was held at Mr. Blackstone's house, about a mile from the township.
Lloyd says in his Autobiography: “So about the end of July 1858 I pitched my tent on that 80 acres, and here I have resided ever since.”
John Lloyd died on 6th May, 1910 aged 81 years and 8 months.
John Lloyd and his wife Mary Ann are buried in Rylstone Cemetery.
John Lloyd's epitaph reads :-
          "Though Thou hast called me to resign

          What most I tried to keep was mine


          I only yielded what was there

          Thy will be Done."
Source: John Lloyd's Autobiography

Bob O’Neill’s letters to Members

These letters will provide a good record of RDHS during Bob's term as President.

See compendium.

This compendium of Bob O'Neill's letters to Members is certainly not complete. If you can find more in your archives, could you please send me a copy to add to this collection.