Farmers
The South East (Part 1)
The South East Family History Group kindly invited me to be guest speaker at their meeting in Millicent on 26 February 2009. You can download a podcast of my presentation here (note the MP3 file is approx. 6.5MB and 1 hour long).
30 of the 172 farm apprentices who arrived in 1913-14 spent time on farms in the SE (see the distribution map). Of these 30, 22 enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I and sadly, 4 of these 22 died in the War. John Forrest and John Scott are listed on the Naracoorte War Memorial.
The SE fared better than most South Australian farming regions during the 1914 Drought and therefore a number of apprentices were sent transferred there from other districts. This includes George Bennett and James Porter who were accommodated at the Government Experimental Farm at Kybybolite.
Many of the Kibble boys spent time in the SE, including John McCulloch and Robert Taylor, who were respectively sent to JH (Harry) Stuckey's farm 'Kopje' and HE Cowan's farm 'The Belt', located between Hatherleigh and Rendelsham. John Glen was hosted by the Thomsons, who owned the mill in Naracoorte (now the Sheep's Back Museum) and nearby 'Penkyne' farm, and George McPhail was hosted by farmer GF Madeley, who also owned the store and tannery at Port McDonnell.
Continued in Part 2
Some of the sites as they were in 2009:
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'The Belt', between Hatherleigh and Rendelsham - where Robert Taylor was hosted by HE Cowan |
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'Kopje', between Hatherleigh and Rendelsham - where John McCulloch was hosted by Harry Stuckey. |
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'Coradale', Glencoe West - where Ebenezer Dann was hosted by Gilbert Forrester Ferguson (now owned by Doug and Wendy Agnew; GF Ferguson's grandson Ian lives in Mt Gambier) |
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Thomson's Mill, Naracoorte (now the Sheep's Back Museum) - John Glen was hosted by John Thomson, who also owned nearby 'Penkyne' |