Bulleid News ~~~~~~~~~~ No. 37 2 nd December 2009 Two Journeys to Rutherglen James John Bulleid was 31 when he set off on the journey that would take him to Rutherglen in the northeastern corner of Victoria, Australia, close to the border with New South Wales. He carried a lot of emotional baggage with him. Born and raised in the West Country port of Bristol in England, he and his (possibly twin) brother William Henry had suffered the death of their mother, Diana Davey, when they were only 7. Just four years later, their father John died leaving them orphans. John was only 33 when he died, but left a Will naming John Crocome as one of his executors. The latter gave the boys a home for two years until they were apprenticed, aged almost 13, both to cabinet makers. At the age of 23, James John JJ from now on married Grace Adams in Henbury, Gloucestershire, and the following year they had a daughter, Grace Ann Bulleid. Sadly, the little girl died of convulsions the following year, 1843. We know not what happened during the next six years, but Grace was not with JJ when he set sail for Australia aboard the barque Augusta in 1849. One hundred and sixty years later, Mary and I followed suit, albeit in much greater comfort, flying from Sussex to Singapore where we spent three nights to catch up on the time difference. An overnight flight then took us to Melbourne. JJ landed in Adelaide after a voyage of about three months and made his way overland to Melbourne, arriving in November, 1849. We arrived there in November, 2009. For the next three years, JJ was at the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo, not necessarily as a miner, but was able to purchase land in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, in 1853. This was mortgaged the following year, when he also married Emma Toe at St Peter s Church, Melbourne, declaring that he was a widower. In fact, his first wife Grace did not die in Bristol until 1872. Two years later, 1856, JJ was a barman at the Black Swan Hotel in Benalla which, today, is a two and a half hour drive north of Melbourne. Mary and I met JJ s great grandson Kevin Kelleher and wife Alison very close to the site of the Black Swan, which was demolished in the 1970s. Kevin pointed out the
courthouse where Ned Kelly made more than one appearance, escaping on one occasion only to be caught in a shop opposite by two policemen, one of whom grabbed him by a delicate part of his anatomy. Sadly, my theory that JJ might have served Ned at the Black Swan proved incorrect as Ned was born about 1855. Emma appears to have been left behind because, in June 1856, JJ marries Johanna Gleeson at the residence of the Wesleyan Minister in Beechworth, declaring that he was a bachelor. In fact, Emma married Henry Hill in 1858 and had eleven children by him. We followed him from Benalla to Beechworth and could not understand why the marriage had taken place in the Manse rather than the Methodist church, a few metres away, which had been built two years earlier. JJ and his bride moved on from Beechworth to Woolshed, where their first child, Elizabeth, was born almost a year to the day after he marriage. JJ is now a restaurant keeper as he was in Eldorado two years later, where Lavinia was born in 1859; James David Henry in 1861; and George Thomas in 1865. JJ had ceased to be a restaurant keeper by then and was now a contractor of some sort and had shares in a gold mine. The next move was a few miles down the road to Carraragarmungee, where he had selected two lots of land, 80 and 20 acres. Between 1873 and 1875, he petitioned for a school at Carraragarmungee, which still exists there, although the original building has long since been replaced. We were able to view the area where JJ and family lived, not far from the school, although there is no sign of the dwelling. There is nothing to see for miles, except flat farmland, gum trees and the present farm buildings. Carraragarmungee is just south of Byawatha, where JJ s great grandsons Don and Rex Allen now farm, and 14km east of Wangaratta, where several descendants live. Our next stop was Bulleid Road (misspelt Bullied on the signpost) at Byawatha to view the site of the house owned by James David Henry and Rose Bulleid. This burned down in 1929 and Kevin still has receipts for materials purchased for the replacement. Kevin and Alison had very kindly organised a family gathering in Wangaratta for Saturday, 14 th November, 160 years and 6 days after JJ s arrival in Australia. Fifty four people attended a very convivial lunch at the Pinsent Hotel: - Lavinia s family Isobel Edgar and Denise Fisher Sue, Sally and Lisa Cooper David and Kim Edgar Ken and Shirley Mason Des and Gwen Shelley
James David Henry s family Kevin and Alison Kelleher Denis, Gita, Adrian and Mia Kelleher, and Adrian s friend Marjelle Don and Anna Allen Rex and Valerie Allen Joyce Bulleid, Dawn and Ron Vincent Eunice Bulleid Rosie, Lance and Joan, Brian, Stuart and Dianne Canning Cheryl and Michael Bottomley, Brad and Wendy Bulleid, Debbie and Michael Todd Mabel, Colin and Gwen Fleming and Gwen s mother Dot Rathbone Geoff and Thelma, Geoff and Joy Bulleid, Dianne and Wayne McAuliffe, Tricia and Peter Harry, Other Bulleids Sarah Coldham (granddaughter of Dr Arthur Bulleid) Geoff & Mary Ledden (son of Alice Louise Bulleid) The Oliver/Wise family Su Tayler Family gathering at the Pinsent Hotel, Wangaratta
Should you have the good fortune to visit Wandiligong, don t miss the Wandi Pub, centre of Aussie culture, where we enjoyed an al fresco supper.
On the following day, Mary and I enjoyed a tour of the area conducted by Kevin and Alison, visiting the various sites mentioned above and ending at Rutherglen, JJ s final resting place. JJ had set out from home at the age of 91 to visit his son George in Rutherglen, but caught cold in the rain, developed pneumonia and died. He is buried next to Johanna in Carlyle Cemetery and it is fitting that we visited the graves one hundred years after his death. It was also a journey that had lasted about a century, albeit in a different sense. Dr Arthur Bulleid, the family s first known historian, would have commenced his research about the time of JJ s death. Curiously, Arthur was married to Annie Austin from Australia, where his grandson, Nick, and granddaughter, Sarah Coldham, now live. Arthur s records were passed on to John Field Jack Bulleid, who continued the research. He was assisted during the 1980s by my sister, Violet Bridson, who in turn passed her records on to me. However, there was no mention of JJ. His branch of the family ended with his father, John Bulleid, who was shown as a Gunsmith, location unknown. It was not until I made contact with his 3 x great grandson, Bernard Everett, late in 2007 that I discovered the existence of JJ and his brother William Henry, and the fact that I had so many cousins in Australia. James John Bulleid
Johanna Bulleid It is not known why the name is wrong on JJ s headstone
Carlyle Cemetery near Rutherglen. Hot and arid, we needed the twigs thoughtfully provided by Kevin to keep the flies off.
Rabbits in Australia Amy Austin married George Lawrence Bulleid (1858-1933), the artist. Her uncle Thomas was a keen hunter who regularly dedicated his weekends in England to shooting rabbits. After emigrating to Australia, he asked his nephew in England to send him 24 grey rabbits, 5 hares, 72 partridges and some sparrows so that he could continue hunting. He released them onto his property, Barwon Park near Winchelsea, Victoria, in October 1859. The 24 rabbits clearly liked their new environment and bred so rapidly that within ten years two million could be shot or trapped annually, without any noticeable effect on their population. This was the fastest spread ever recorded of any mammal anywhere in the world. Bulleid Web Sandra Carmichael has advised of the death on 9 th October of her father, Royston Leslie Andrews, During WW2, Roy went to France with the British Expeditionary Force and was rescued from Dunkirk on the second to last day of the campaign. He was then posted to Burma where he spent four years with the legendary 14 th Army. He held the rank of Sergeant Major WO1. Roy was just 15 when he met Beryl Andrews, (granddaughter of Henrietta Annie Bulleid 1866-1954), who was to be his wife for 62 very happy years. Roy leaves a son, Alan Andrews and another daughter, Linda Channon. With best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Geoff. Family Internet Sites www.bulliedfamily.com private family site (tree, photos, documents, recordings, newsletters etc.) www.facebook.com Bulleid Family Worldwide (private group with up-to-date photos and videos) www.devonheritage.org See Geoff Ledden s Bulleid Family Pages