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| maroon_and_rathdowney [2024/06/21 21:36] – [Land selections on and near Maroon] judith | maroon_and_rathdowney [2025/05/09 21:53] (current) – judith |
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| ==== Maroon ===== | ==== Maroon ===== |
| With income from his position as Postmaster-General, TLM-P was able once again to afford a grazing property. The earliest mention found is 20 September 1864 when he recorded a muster of cattle there (as well as on Coohin and Head of Logan - indicating the lack of fences and intermingling of branded cattle).((MLMSS3117/Box 8, p.99)) The muster was apparently satisfactory because, in November 1864, LM-P agreed to buy the 20,000-acre //Melcombe//, close to his old station of //Bromelton//. In March 1865, TLM-P signed a memo of agreement with the Bank of Australasia for the purchase of //Melcombe// (renamed //Maroon//) for £3,000 and //Heads of Logan// (renamed //Rathdowney//) for £1,200. A loose note in with TLM-P's 1880s diaries and in his handwriting, states that on 3 March 1865 he 'Left to inspect Maroon at the Head of the Logan - via Tamrookum'. On 11 March 1865, he returned to Brisbane and either on that date or the 17th he 'closed with bank for Maroon £4200'.{{:note_re_purchas_maroon_with_1882_88_diary.jpg?400|}}. In May 1866, he paid £40 in legal expenses for the purchase of //Maroon//.\\ | With income from his position as Postmaster-General, TLM-P was able once again to afford a grazing property. The earliest mention found is 20 September 1864 when he recorded a muster of cattle there (as well as on //Coohin// and //Head of Logan// - indicating the lack of fences and intermingling of branded cattle).((MLMSS3117/Box 8, p.99)) The muster was apparently satisfactory because, in November 1864, LM-P agreed to buy the 20,000-acre //Melcombe//, close to his old station of //Bromelton//. In March 1865, TLM-P signed a memo of agreement with the Bank of Australasia for the purchase of //Melcombe// (renamed //Maroon//) for £3,000 and //Heads of Logan// (renamed //Rathdowney//) for £1,200. A loose note in with TLM-P's 1880s diaries and in his handwriting, states that on 3 March 1865 he 'Left to inspect Maroon at the Head of the Logan - via Tamrookum'. On 11 March 1865, he returned to Brisbane and either on that date or the 17th he 'closed with bank for Maroon £4200'.{{:note_re_purchas_maroon_with_1882_88_diary.jpg?400|}}. In May 1866, he paid £40 in legal expenses for the purchase of //Maroon//.\\ |
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| //Maroon// would be home to four generations of Murray-Priors over 54 years.\\ | //Maroon// would be home to four generations of Murray-Priors over 54 years.\\ |
| Angella Collyer describes //Melcombe// in 1867 as having 60 square miles available for pasture improvement; 16 square miles unavailable, "PP nil'. The Heads of Logan property had 20 square miles available; 16 square miles unavailable; PP nil. In 1869 he consolidated the two as 'one large property of 100 square miles' then in 1874 he separated them again, calling one property of 54 square miles //Melcombe/////Maroon// and the other //Palen//. It is unsure, she states, if //Palen// and //Heads of Logan// had the same boundaries.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001.)) Deb Stenzel indicates that, in November 1868, TLM-P had pre-emptively selected his Homestead Blocks of 2,560 acres. She explains that, under the Imperial Waste Lands Occupation Act, enforced from 1847, squatters had 'pre-emptive purchasing rights (ie. the ability to buy the land as freehold, before it was resumed by the government and offered for general sale).((Deb Stenzel et al, Stenzel Land - the first land holdings of Carl Ludwig Stenzel and his children, ms, 23 July 2023)) \\ | Angella Collyer describes //Melcombe// in 1867 as having 60 square miles available for pasture improvement; 16 square miles unavailable, "PP nil'. The Heads of Logan property had 20 square miles available; 16 square miles unavailable; PP nil. In 1869 he consolidated the two as 'one large property of 100 square miles' then in 1874 he separated them again, calling one property of 54 square miles //Melcombe/////Maroon// and the other //Palen//. It is unsure, she states, if //Palen// and //Heads of Logan// had the same boundaries.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001.)) Deb Stenzel indicates that, in November 1868, TLM-P had pre-emptively selected his Homestead Blocks of 2,560 acres. She explains that, under the Imperial Waste Lands Occupation Act, enforced from 1847, squatters had 'pre-emptive purchasing rights (ie. the ability to buy the land as freehold, before it was resumed by the government and offered for general sale).((Deb Stenzel et al, Stenzel Land - the first land holdings of Carl Ludwig Stenzel and his children, ms, 23 July 2023)) \\ |
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| [[wp>Maroon,_Queensland|Maroon]] is near Beaudesert in the Logan district, south-west Queensland. [[wp>Mount_Lindesay_(Queensland)|Mt Lindesay]] was on Maroon's south boundary. It was country belonging to the Yuggerabul (or Yugarapul or Ugarapul) Indigenous group.((Angela Collyer, //Templin: a German settlement in Queensland//, Fassifern District Historical Society, 1992, p.1.)) Evidence of a rock shelter dates their occupation at least back to 1300 BC.((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//, Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.14.)) By 1864 the indigenous owners had been dispossessed and largely decimated though 'tension' continued until the 1880s.((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//, Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.14.)) Originally, the property name was spelt Marroon. There are conflicting beliefs about the name's derivation. The Wiki entry for //Maroon// states it was derived from wahlmoorum, which is the Yaggera language name for Mount Ballow, associated with a legendary giant sand goanna.(([[wp>Maroon,_Queensland]]; Rosa Praed letter to //The Courier-Mail//, 5 March 19??, in possession J. Godden.)) Deb Stenzel states that it derives from the Aboriginal name for Mt Maroon - 'murran'.((Deb Stenzel et al, Stenzel Land - the first land holdings of Carl Ludwig Stenzel and his children, ms, 23 July 2023)) \\ | [[wp>Maroon,_Queensland|Maroon]] is in the Logan district, south-west Queensland. [[wp>Mount_Lindesay_(Queensland)|Mt Lindesay]] was on Maroon's south boundary. It was country belonging to the Yuggerabul (or Yugarapul or Ugarapul) Indigenous group.((Angela Collyer, //Templin: a German settlement in Queensland//, Fassifern District Historical Society, 1992, p.1.)) Evidence of a rock shelter dates their occupation at least back to 1300 BC.((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//, Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.14.)) By 1864 the indigenous owners had been dispossessed and largely decimated though 'tension' continued until the 1880s.((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//, Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.14.)) Originally, the property name was spelt Marroon. There are conflicting beliefs about the name's derivation. The Wiki entry for //Maroon// states it was derived from wahlmoorum, which is the Yaggera language name for Mount Ballow, associated with a legendary giant sand goanna.(([[wp>Maroon,_Queensland]]; Rosa Praed letter to //The Courier-Mail//, 5 March 19??, in possession J. Godden.)) Deb Stenzel states that it derives from the Aboriginal name for Mt Maroon - 'murran'.((Deb Stenzel et al, Stenzel Land - the first land holdings of Carl Ludwig Stenzel and his children, ms, 23 July 2023)) \\ |
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| Rosa Praed described //Maroon// in a number of her books, including as the //Doondi// station in her novel //The Head Station//.((Roderick, //In Mortal Bondage//, p.36.)) Rosa also reminisced about //Maroon// in a letter to her stepsister Dorothy, 'the view from the Maroon verandah - the old racecourse and paddock and the river with its still deep pools', but also noted that, when she last visited the property in 1893, 'it had all greatly changed'.((quoted in Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!//)) //Maroon// had rich river flats but in its outer reaches 'the imposing Mounts Maroon, Barney, Ballow and Clunie overlooked wild, thickly timbered rainforest, rocky gorges and ravines, crater lakes, waterfalls, and rugged scrub country.'((Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!// p.22)) Deb Stenzel, a local resident who is an expert in the area's history, notes that (from her study of the original survey documents included in the Selection files in the Qld Archives) that most of the land fairly close to the homestead was quite open forest country, and not the dense vine scrubs that covered other parts of the district (including a fair bit of the original //Maroon// run). The geology also indicates that it supported open forest country. Most of the early pastoral run homesteads were built in more open country ... - less trees to be cleared, allowing easy grazing for sheep and cattle.((Deb Stenzel, email to J Godden, 16 July 2023))\\ | Rosa Praed described //Maroon// in a number of her books, including as the //Doondi// station in her novel //The Head Station//.((Roderick, //In Mortal Bondage//, p.36.)) Rosa also reminisced about //Maroon// in a letter to her stepsister Dorothy, 'the view from the Maroon verandah - the old racecourse and paddock and the river with its still deep pools', but also noted that, when she last visited the property in 1893, 'it had all greatly changed'.((quoted in Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!//)) //Maroon// had rich river flats but in its outer reaches 'the imposing Mounts Maroon, Barney, Ballow and Clunie overlooked wild, thickly timbered rainforest, rocky gorges and ravines, crater lakes, waterfalls, and rugged scrub country.'((Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!// p.22)) Deb Stenzel, a local resident who is an expert in the area's history, notes that (from her study of the original survey documents included in the Selection files in the Qld Archives) that most of the land fairly close to the homestead was quite open forest country, and not the dense vine scrubs that covered other parts of the district (including a fair bit of the original //Maroon// run). The geology also indicates that it supported open forest country. Most of the early pastoral run homesteads were built in more open country ... - less trees to be cleared, allowing easy grazing for sheep and cattle.((Deb Stenzel, email to J Godden, 16 July 2023))\\ |
| The following map from Collin Pfeffer's well-researched //The Fassifern Story// shows //Maroon// and adjoining properties.{{:the_fassifern_story_map.jpg?350|}}((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//, Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.21.)) Proximity did not necessarily mean easy access. Deb Stenzel, for example, points out that the boundary between //Maroon// and //Coochin Coochin// was a ridgeway.\\ | The following map from Collin Pfeffer's well-researched //The Fassifern Story// shows //Maroon// and adjoining properties.{{:the_fassifern_story_map.jpg?350|}}((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//, Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.21.)) Proximity did not necessarily mean easy access. Deb Stenzel, for example, points out that the boundary between //Maroon// and //Coochin Coochin// was a ridgeway.\\ |
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| When TLM-P bought //Maroon//, the area was sparsely settled. Rosa Praed recalled that the family went via Ipswich (then the nearest town), and had to hack their way through the Dugandan Scrub to reach their new home.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001 p.17.)) Deb Stenzel explains just how difficult it was to get to and from //Maroon//: 'To reach Maroon from Ipswich (the nearest large trading centre, and where there was a wharf to bring goods up the river from Brisbane), the original road (really just a track) went via Fassifern homestead, then Coochin Coochin, and on to Maroon. After about 1873, a track wide enough to take wagons was cut through the very dense scrub between Mt Flinders run (just south of Ipswich) and Dugandan homestead (near the current town of Boonah). Prior to that, the Dugandan folks had cut a bridle track to get to Ipswich by that more direct route, but any carts, wagons etc had to take the long way around - which, for Dugandan, meant back-tracking about 15kms south to Coochin Coochin, then heading north again on the other side of Mt French range, via Fassifern, Normanby homesteads, and on to Ipswich... Rosa Praed describes stop-overs at Dugandan homestead, on the way to and from Brisbane with her father.'((Deb Stenzel, email to J. Godden, 16 July 2023)) The road/track from Ipswich had to go over the Mt Alford range then on just south of //Coochin Coochin// then to //Maroon//. The mail continued on to the Richmond River.((Deb Stenzel et al, Stenzel Land - the first land holdings of Carl Ludwig Stenzel and his children, ms, 23 July 2023)) We can see from this description how the families on these properties needed to co-operate with each other and how they were in regular communication. As well, the mail route to the Richmond River helps explain the close friendship between the Bundocks and the Murray-Priors, culminating in the later marriage of Mary Bundock and Thomas de M. Murray-Prior.\\ | When TLM-P bought //Maroon//, the area was sparsely settled. Rosa Praed wrote that the family went via Ipswich (then the nearest town), and had to hack their way through the Dugandan Scrub to reach their new home.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001 p.17.)): 'It used to take a whole day getting through the Dugandine Scrub, for though its width was not great, progress was extremely slow. A boy had to go in front with his tomahawk to chop away vines and remove logs; and sometimes a huge tree would have fallen, which necessitated camping a while and clearing a fresh track round it ... We children would walk on each side of the buggy ready with large sticks or stones to prop the wheels when the horses jibbedm... The scrub was something like an Indian jungle, only less dense. Here, where the sun never penetrated, the rich soil and decaying vegetation gave out an earthly and unforgettable smell. The trees had glossy leaves, and mostly bore berries - some poisonous, others like the chucky-chuckles and purple plum wholesome and delicious."[Rathdowney display - from My Austn Girlhood?] Later Rosa would mourn how the scrub had been cleared: 'The scrub is gone - the lovely,beautiful scrub, which can never be made again. One cannot now hear the dingoes howling and the melancholy note of the morepork[check] nor the faint crying of the native bear. Instead of the long gum stretches there are patches of maize and millet.'((Clipping from unknown newspaper, 13 February 1909 prob quoting My An Girlhood in Rosa Praed Papers, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, MSOM64-01, Box 23/5/1)) \\ |
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| | Deb Stenzel explains just how difficult it was to get to and from //Maroon//: 'To reach Maroon from Ipswich (the nearest large trading centre, and where there was a wharf to bring goods up the river from Brisbane), the original road (really just a track) went via Fassifern homestead, then Coochin Coochin, and on to Maroon. After about 1873, a track wide enough to take wagons was cut through the very dense scrub between Mt Flinders run (just south of Ipswich) and Dugandan homestead (near the current town of Boonah). Prior to that, the Dugandan folks had cut a bridle track to get to Ipswich by that more direct route, but any carts, wagons etc had to take the long way around - which, for Dugandan, meant back-tracking about 15kms south to Coochin Coochin, then heading north again on the other side of Mt French range, via Fassifern, Normanby homesteads, and on to Ipswich... Rosa Praed describes stop-overs at Dugandan homestead, on the way to and from Brisbane with her father.'((Deb Stenzel, email to J. Godden, 16 July 2023)) The road/track from Ipswich had to go over the Mt Alford range then on just south of //Coochin Coochin// then to //Maroon//. The mail continued on to the Richmond River.((Deb Stenzel et al, Stenzel Land - the first land holdings of Carl Ludwig Stenzel and his children, ms, 23 July 2023)) We can see from this description how the families on these properties needed to co-operate with each other and how they were in regular communication. As well, the mail route to the Richmond River helps explain the close friendship between the Bundocks and the Murray-Priors, culminating in the later marriage of Mary Bundock and Thomas de M. Murray-Prior.\\ |
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| //Heads of Logan/Rathdowney// was located between //Maroon// and TLM-P's eastern neighbour //Telemon//: //Maroon// was the main station. //Maroon// came with 110 cattle, 12 horses and some working bullocks, while //Heads of Logan// carried 600 cattle and 7 horses.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.17-18.)) In addition, in 1865 he brought 47 unbroken horses from his previous Cleveland property to //Maroon// as well as others from his former brother-in-law Charles Haly's property //Taabinga//.((MLMSS3117/box 9, pp.44-47)) As soon as possible, TLM-P used //Maroon// to breed both stud cattle and horses. In 1868, he imported a thoroughbred stallion and also bought a pedigree bull from David McConnell and another that cost £25 from neighbouring property //Cressbrook//((p.314))((MLMSS3117/Box 8,pp.242-44. See also {H. Krause], //The Story of Maroon. A Souvenir Review of its History and Development 1827-1961//, Maroon Centenary Celebrations Committee, 1961, p.12.)) In August 1866 he was still stocking Maroon, buying 198 young cattle.((MLMSS3117/Box 9))\\ | //Heads of Logan/Rathdowney// was located between //Maroon// and TLM-P's eastern neighbour //Telemon//: //Maroon// was the main station. //Maroon// came with 110 cattle, 12 horses and some working bullocks, while //Heads of Logan// carried 600 cattle and 7 horses.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.17-18.)) In addition, in 1865 he brought 47 unbroken horses from his previous Cleveland property to //Maroon// as well as others from his former brother-in-law Charles Haly's property //Taabinga//.((MLMSS3117/box 9, pp.44-47)) As soon as possible, TLM-P used //Maroon// to breed both stud cattle and horses. In 1868, he imported a thoroughbred stallion and also bought a pedigree bull from David McConnell and another that cost £25 from neighbouring property //Cressbrook//((p.314))((MLMSS3117/Box 8,pp.242-44. See also {H. Krause], //The Story of Maroon. A Souvenir Review of its History and Development 1827-1961//, Maroon Centenary Celebrations Committee, 1961, p.12.)) In August 1866 he was still stocking Maroon, buying 198 young cattle.((MLMSS3117/Box 9))\\ |
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| This photo from Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and its surroundings//((Boonah Shire Council, 1991, p.22)) is of //Maroon// c.1920, shortly after T.B. M-P sold the property. {{:maroon_c1920.jpg?500|}}\\ | This photo from Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and its surroundings//((Boonah Shire Council, 1991, p.22)) is of //Maroon// c.1920, shortly after T.B. M-P sold the property. {{:maroon_c1920.jpg?500|}}\\ |
| | The following is an unidentified newspaper clipping reporting the fire.{{:20250422_114208.jpg?200|}}((in Murray-Prior file, Rathdowney Visitor Information Centre and Historical Museum))\\ |
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| {{:image_deb_stenzel.png?400|}} A photo by Deb Stenzel (taken in a good season) showing where the //Maroon// homestead used to be located (between where she stood to take the photo and the mountain range). Mt Maroon is on the left, and the two peaks of Mt Barney towards the centre. Mt Lindsay is peaking over the horizon between the two.((Deb Stenzel, email to J Godden, 15 July 2023)) For more photos by Deb Stenzel of the Maroon area, click on [[More Deb Stenzel photos]] | {{:image_deb_stenzel.png?400|}} A photo by Deb Stenzel (taken in a good season) showing where the //Maroon// homestead used to be located (between where she stood to take the photo and the mountain range). Mt Maroon is on the left, and the two peaks of Mt Barney towards the centre. Mt Lindsay is peaking over the horizon between the two.((Deb Stenzel, email to J Godden, 15 July 2023)) For more photos by Deb Stenzel of the Maroon area, click on [[More Deb Stenzel photos]] |
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| | Mt Maroon in April 2025((Photo: J. Godden with thanks to Deb Stenzel and Rob Bell)): {{:20250421_155537.jpg?300|}} |
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| For //Maroon Station//'s ledger and accounts for 1864-71 and 1865-72 and 1878-88, respectively see MLMSS 3117/Box 8 and Box 9 and Box 10/Item 1. \\ | For //Maroon Station//'s ledger and accounts for 1864-71 and 1865-72 and 1878-88, respectively see MLMSS 3117/Box 8 and Box 9 and Box 10/Item 1. \\ |
| The 1868 land act was also relevant for //Maroon//'s neighbouring property, //Rathdowney//. TLM-P purchased 2,560 acres on 16 November 1868, while on 3 January 1876 Tom selected the homestead block of 640 acres under this Act. After the //Rathdowney// homestead block was confirmed as his, Tom immediately transferred the land to his father. In January 1880, TLM-P acquired another 640 acres under the selection act. As a condition of acquiring the land, he had two witnesses swear that he had lived permanently there from the date of selection, February 1876. The witnesses were John Worrall and John Endersby, both stockmen in his employ.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: Federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.18-19.)) TLM-P's stockman John Worrall not only acted as a witness for Tom, but himself acted as the 'dummy'. Worrall selected 320 acres to the north of the //Rathdowney// property. Worrall's two witnesses (who swore that he had lived there permanently and thus was entitled to own the land), were John Endersby (the other of TLM-P's employees/witnesses) and Tom. In August 1879 when the selection process was completed, John Worrall immediately transferred the land to TLM-P.((in Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.18-19.)) \\ | The 1868 land act was also relevant for //Maroon//'s neighbouring property, //Rathdowney//. TLM-P purchased 2,560 acres on 16 November 1868, while on 3 January 1876 Tom selected the homestead block of 640 acres under this Act. After the //Rathdowney// homestead block was confirmed as his, Tom immediately transferred the land to his father. In January 1880, TLM-P acquired another 640 acres under the selection act. As a condition of acquiring the land, he had two witnesses swear that he had lived permanently there from the date of selection, February 1876. The witnesses were John Worrall and John Endersby, both stockmen in his employ.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: Federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.18-19.)) TLM-P's stockman John Worrall not only acted as a witness for Tom, but himself acted as the 'dummy'. Worrall selected 320 acres to the north of the //Rathdowney// property. Worrall's two witnesses (who swore that he had lived there permanently and thus was entitled to own the land), were John Endersby (the other of TLM-P's employees/witnesses) and Tom. In August 1879 when the selection process was completed, John Worrall immediately transferred the land to TLM-P.((in Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.18-19.)) \\ |
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| While TLM-P joined his fellow squatters in circumventing the selection acts, he was sympathetic to the desire for people to own their own land. He was also aware that small holdings rarely provided a living for the selector. For more on this topic see THM-P's 1888 diary under [[tlm-p_s_diaries|TLM-P's Diaries]]. Russell Scholl has pointed out that in her thesis((Angela Collyer, 1992, The process of settlement: land occupation and usage in Boonah 1842-1870s. M.A. Thesis, School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, The University of Queensland.[[https://doi.org/10.14264/189281]])) Collyer argued that 'in the Boonah area there was little or no antagonism between squatters and selectors'. Her abstract states that: | While TLM-P joined his fellow squatters in circumventing the selection acts, he was sympathetic to the desire for people to own their own land. He was also aware that small holdings rarely provided a living for the selector. For more on this topic see THM-P's 1888 diary under [[tlm-p_s_diaries|TLM-P's Diaries]]. Collyer, in her thesis, argued that 'in the Boonah area there was little or no antagonism between squatters and selectors'. Her abstract states that: |
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| //Reasons for this included the fact that squatters around Boonah had not been aggressive in freeholding their runs as squatters elsewhere were reputed to have done. Thus there was more land available for Boonah selectors. Many of the latter were keen to take up the fertile scrubs, which had been useless to squatters since they contain no grass for grazing. Thus squatters and selectors did not always compete for the same land. The selectors were not dependent on squatters for seasonal work, nor were squatters dependent on selectors for labour, since Boonah squatters generally ran cattle not sheep by the 1870s. Besides, the pace of selection after the 1868 Alienation Act precluded squatters from monopolizing their runs before selectors arrived to take up their blocks. For all these reasons, closer settlement came to the Boonah area without provoking antagonism between squatters and selectors.//\\ | //Reasons for this included the fact that squatters around Boonah had not been aggressive in freeholding their runs as squatters elsewhere were reputed to have done. Thus there was more land available for Boonah selectors. Many of the latter were keen to take up the fertile scrubs, which had been useless to squatters since they contain no grass for grazing. Thus squatters and selectors did not always compete for the same land. The selectors were not dependent on squatters for seasonal work, nor were squatters dependent on selectors for labour, since Boonah squatters generally ran cattle not sheep by the 1870s. Besides, the pace of selection after the 1868 Alienation Act precluded squatters from monopolizing their runs before selectors arrived to take up their blocks. For all these reasons, closer settlement came to the Boonah area without provoking antagonism between squatters and selectors.//((Angela Collyer, 1992, The process of settlement: land occupation and usage in Boonah 1842-1870s. M.A. Thesis, School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, The University of Queensland.[[https://doi.org/10.14264/189281]]. Thanks to Russell Scholl for drawing my attention to this reference.))\\ |
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| | The area was transformed with the expansion of the railway - the first train left Dugandan Station in 1887.((Display, viewd April 2025, Rathdowney Visitor Information Centre and Historical Museum)). |
| ==== Rathdowney ==== | ==== Rathdowney ==== |
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| From 1865, the year after TLM-P acquired //Maroon//, TLM-P bought freehold land to the east of //Maroon//, on the northern bank of the Logan River. He combined these lots and named the new property //Rathdowney// after his ancestors' Irish estate.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community//, Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, p.18)) As noted above, acquiring //Rathdowney// involved Tom 'dummying' for his father and some dubious testimony from employees. \\ | From 1865, the year after TLM-P acquired //Maroon//, TLM-P bought freehold land to the east of //Maroon//, on the northern bank of the Logan River. he bought 'freehold Por.10, Parish of Knapp, 642 acres from the crown for £248/11/3 ' on 3 january 1876.((B.N. & K.A. Panitz, letter to Shire Clerk, Beaudesert Shire Council, 27 April 1982 in Murray-Prior file, Rathdowney Area Development & Historical Association Inc, accessed April 2025)) TLM-P combined his lots and named the new property //Rathdowney// after his ancestors' Irish estate.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community//, Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, p.18)) As noted above, acquiring //Rathdowney// involved Tom 'dummying' for his father and some dubious testimony from employees. \\ |
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| {{:rathdowney_booklet_enhanced.jpeg?400|}} An undated photo of //Rathdowney//. The home has since been demolished and another rebuilt in its place. In September 1879, when it was inspected under the selection act, TLM-P was said to have lived in the weatherboard house with its shingle roof, a detached slab kitchen and separate slab house for workmen. There was also a garden.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.18-19.))\\ | {{:rathdowney_booklet_enhanced.jpeg?400|}} An undated photo of //Rathdowney//. The home has since been demolished and another rebuilt in its place. In September 1879, when it was inspected under the selection act, TLM-P was said to have lived in the weatherboard house with its shingle roof, a detached slab kitchen and separate slab house for workmen. There was also a garden.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, pp.18-19.)) One source states that TLM-P put 'Palen (probably Head of the Logan) up for auction on 17th April, 1879, under the settled districts Pastoral Act or Lessee Act of 1876, but had no takers.'((typed page 'Early Settlement - Rathdowney District' in Murray-Prior file, Rathdowney Visitor Information Centre and Historical Museum))\\ |
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| By 1880, the local council's rate book valued //Rathdowney//'s buildings at £30.((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.23.)) In November 1884, TLM-P sold //Rathdowney// to William Collins and Sons.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, p.18. It is possible he had a long relationship with Collins as his 1848 ledger for //Bugrooperia// (later //Bromelton//)indicated he owned a one third share in cattle with Captain Collins.)) Nora wrote to Rosa Praed on 3 November 1884, that it was sold cheaply but a necessity: 27/6 per acre for 18,000 acres; £4 per head for 800 stores bullocks and £23 a head for 750 cows.'((Nora to Rosa, 3 November 1884 JOQ)) As Nora told Rosa Praed, if TLM-P were '20 years younger it would be madness to sell it yet the constant strain of hard labour is too much for him.'((27 September [1884].)) //Rathdowney Station// was subsequently subdivided and [[wp>Rathdowney,_Queensland| Rathdowney]] town developed there.((H. J. Gibbney, 'Murray-Prior, Thomas Lodge (1819–1892)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murray-prior-thomas-lodge-4282/text6927, published first in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 14 August 2018; Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!// p.22; Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001; Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.27.)) | By 1880, the local council's rate book valued //Rathdowney//'s buildings at £30.((Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.23.)) In November 1884, TLM-P sold //Rathdowney// to William Collins and Sons.((Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001, p.18. It is possible he had a long relationship with Collins as his 1848 ledger for //Bugrooperia// (later //Bromelton//)indicated he owned a one third share in cattle with Captain Collins.)) Nora wrote to Rosa Praed on 3 November 1884, that it was sold cheaply but a necessity: 27/6 per acre for 18,000 freehold acres; £4 per head for 800 stores bullocks and £3 a head for 750 cows.'((Nora to Rosa, 3 November 1884 JOQ)) As Nora told Rosa Praed, if TLM-P were '20 years younger it would be madness to sell it yet the constant strain of hard labour is too much for him.'((27 September [1884].)) //Rathdowney Station// was subsequently subdivided and [[wp>Rathdowney,_Queensland| Rathdowney]] town developed there.((H. J. Gibbney, 'Murray-Prior, Thomas Lodge (1819–1892)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murray-prior-thomas-lodge-4282/text6927, published first in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 14 August 2018; Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!// p.22; Angella Collyer, //Rathdowney: federation history of an Australian rural border community// Rathdowney, Qld.: Rathdowney Area Development and Historical Association, 2001; Collin Pfeffer, //The Fassifern Story: a history of Boonah Shire and surroundings to 1989//Boonah Shire Council, c.1991, p.27.)) The Rathdowney Visitor Information Centre and Historical Museum has wonderful volunteers and provides an excellent overview of the development of the area, including the tramway which operated from 1910 to 1944 - see [[https://rathdowney.org.au/]]. |
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