One pub town near the Queensland border which is famous for its association with local bushrangers.
Today Enngonia is little more than a few buildings and a popular watering hole, the Oasis Hotel/Motel, on the Mitchell Highway. Its main claim upon the traveller is that it is particularly rich in bushranger history. In 1868 two incidents occurred which drew attention to the town. The bushranger and horse thief known as Midnight was shot and killed to the west of the town and the bushranger Frank Pearson, known as Captain Starlight, shot and killed Constable John McCabe in the Shearer's Inn. Earlier in the year the Sydney Morning Herald had identified the problem writing "Great complaints are made by squatters in the back country with reference to the 'mobs of lazy, idle, loafing scoundrels' which infest these districts, and whose whole end and object appear to be to live without working."
Location
Enngonia is located 859 km north-west from Sydney; 97 km north of Bourke and 40 km south of the Queensland border.
^ TOPOrigin of Name
No one is sure of the origin of the town's name although one popular explanation is that one of the first settlers was named Erin and his simple house was named Erin's Gunyah. Certainly when there was correspondence with the Postal Authorities in 1870, Robert Kerrigan wrote from a place he called "Eringunyah". It seems that the postal authorities, trying to grapple with spellings including Eringunla, Eringonia and Eningunyah, ruled that the name should be 'Enngonia'.
^ TOPThings to See and Do
Oasis Hotel/Motel
The Oasis is the source of all knowledge about the district and should be visited by people wanting to explore the district and to learn more about Captain Starlight.
In 1973, long before the present owners arrived, it became a footnote in Australia's racial history when on 9 November that year Professor Fred Hollows arrived in the town as part of the trachoma eradication program he was carrying out through Bourke District Hospital. Hollows had stayed at the hotel/motel before but it had come under new management.
"Upon arriving, Hollows was approached by the new licenseee and told that the Aboriginal members of his party would not be served in the hotel's bar and lounge area; if they required refreshments they were to walk to the back of the hotel where they would be served through a small hatchery whilst remaining outside. Professor Hollows booked the party out of the hotel. After their day's work in the local Aboriginal community Hollows' trachoma eradication team retired to the Oasis for a drink in the lounge where the Aboriginal members of the group were all loudly refused service. Professor Hollows detailed this incident to Lionel Murphy, then Attorney General, in a letter sent in the week of the introduction of the Racial Discrimination Bill: 'Such discrimination makes my work both as an opthalmologist to the total community and as a person especially interested in improving Aboriginal health very difficult.'" Murphy replied that under the Human Rights Bill of 1973 "everyone is entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law". This is worth recalling when you stop for a drink at the Oasis Hotel/Motel. It was only 40 years ago.
The Back O' Bourke Mud Map Tours
Mud Map 9 - Bushrangers - Bush Poets - Spinifex, Sandhills & Wildflowers
The best starting point for those wanting to explore Enngonia is to get a copy of the excellent Back O'Bourke Mud Map Tours brochure (the Mud Maps have been in use around Bourke for over 30 years) from the Bourke Tourist Information Centre. The brochure has a total of 11 Mud Maps and Mud Map 9 looks specifically at the area around Enngonia.
The Grave of Midnight
I should explain that when I eventually found the grave of Captain Midnight it was with the help of a local who kept saying "It is around here somewhere" as he wandered around some very undifferentiated bush about 39 km west of Enngonia. In other words - it is worth looking for if you are a "bushranging history" enthusiast but if you think it is nothing more than a pleasant 4WD drive west of Enngonia and it will be easy to find: forget it. The grave is on private property and, although there is a map on Mud Map 9, it is best to seek permission by visiting the Bourke Visitor Information Centre (Old Railway Building, Anson Street, tel:(02) 6872 1222. It is open from 9.00 am - 5.00 pm daily.) and asking for both directions and permission to enter. It is also part of the Poet's Trek experience. Check out http://poetstrek.com.au/about/ for details.
The grave is that of Thomas Law, a convict, horse thief and murderer who was caught by a police posse. Here is his story:
Thomas Law, Alias Midnight
When he was confined in Parramatta Gaol he was known as Thomas Law but he was also known as George Gibson and Henry Wilson and he used the alias “Midnight”.
He escaped from Parramatta Gaol in 1878 and quickly became known to the police because he kept stealing horses. He travelled with his brother and by the time they had reached Dubbo there were warrants for both their arrests on charges of horse stealing.
The police caught Law’s brother near Dubbo and three officers – Sergeant Wallings and Constable Walsh from Dubbo and Senior Constable Souter from Warren – were sent to Mrs Mills Inn where it was believed Midnight was hiding. Midnight attempted to escape and during the subsequent shootout Sergeant Wallings was shot and killed. Word spread quickly and there was a heightened commitment to finding the horse thief and murderer.
We are lucky to have a very detailed account of the death of Midnight. It was recorded in the Kalgoorlie Western Argus on 4 August 1903 in a series the paper was doing on bushrangers.
The article included a first person account from Constable Hatton who was at the shooting of the bushranger: "Having received certain information, I went to Enngonia Station, in company with Senior-Constable Duffy and Constable Grey. Between 10 and 11 o'clock on the night of October 2 (twelve days after the murder of Wallings) I heard horses crossing the road about 300 yards from Kerrigan's public house. I went with Constable Grey to meet them, and when we arrived I saw a man on the ground with three horses.
"I called out, 'Who is that?' and the man at once jumped on the horse he had been riding. I called upon him to stand and as he began to move I told him I would shoot if he did not stand; but he bent down and galloped away through the scrub. I fired two shots at him from a distance of about 20 yards. When he galloped away he left the other two horses behind him, one having on a pack and the other a saddle. I took the horses over to the hotel, and on searching the pack I found a Sneider rifle and a revolver, both loaded, wrapped in a coat on top. There were also a bullet-mould and powder flask, some provisions, and a purse containing money. Grey and I then saddled up the two horses and went in search, remaining out about two hours. On the following morning Stub-Inspector Duffy, Constable Grey and the black tracker took up the tracks from Enngonia with me, and followed them all day. We kept following them until between 10 and 11 o’clock on the morning of the 5th. We then saw a chestnut horse tied up in a mulga scrub near the Maranoa Station, near the Queensland border. It had a saddle and bridle on. I at once galloped up and saw a man rising from the ground, apparently from sleep. Constable Grey and I got in between the man and the horse, which was about 20 yards distant. I had my revolver in my hand, and called upon him in the Queen's name to stand, saying 'We are constables.' I also told him to put up his hands or I would shoot him, repeating this several times.
"Constable Grey did the same, and at one time I thought he was putting up his hands. He was then in a sitting posture, and I said to Grey, 'You jump down and handcuff him while I keep him covered.' At that moment he jumped up, ran past my horse, and dodged under Grey's horse's neck to his own horse, which was tied to a tree. He reached the horse and grabbed the reins on the off side. I fired at the horse three times to prevent the man from escaping. The horse at this time kept moving along, the man trying to mount, holding the reins in one hand and having the other hand on the saddle. He had one foot in the stirrup, and was trying to mount on the off side. At one time he nearly got into the saddle, and I had my revolver levelled straight at him to fire, but did not do so, as he fell backwards, and the horse plunged round. At that time I fired another shot at the horse, and I believe it was that shot which killed the man; but I am not certain, as I never fired one shot at him, all my shots being at the horse. I fired five times altogether. When I fired the last shot the horse made a plunge and fell, and the deceased fell also, and remained upon the ground. I then immediately jumped off my horse, caught the man by the hands, and called upon Grey to put the handcuffs on him. This was done, and I then examined him, and found a hole made by a bullet which had pierced his left side above the hip bone, and appeared to have come out below the right hip. I then arrested him on the charge of having murdered Sergeant Wallings. He exclaimed: 'Oh! I'm done! It served me right.' He also said: 'I have no one to blame but myself - I have run to, all this.' I then asked him his name, and he replied: 'That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what my name is; let me die !'
"He subsequently said to me, 'My name is Harry Wilson.' I sent to Maranoa station for a cart, into which we lifted the deceased, and brought him to Wapweetah station. where he died on the following morning."
"Previous to his death he complained of great pain, and said, 'There was a chance of my escaping, but if I was arrested there was no chance. If I had been arrested at first I should have got years and years for horse-stealing. Oh! that I had the world for my rifle! I'd learn some of you to be merciful.'"
Constable Grey's story corresponded in every essential with that told by Hatton, but he furnished one or two details omitted by his companion. As soon as he saw the bushranger attempting to reach his horse he turned in his saddle and fired his rifle at the animal, but the shot not taking effect, he fired a second time, and the bullet struck the horse through the saddle flap. A third shot was also fired by Grey, which struck the horse at the girth; and as "Midnight" was at the time endeavoring to clamber into the saddle on the other side, it was thought that one of the bullets passed clean through the horse and inflicted the fatal wound upon the man. In reply to Grey's question as to his name, "Midnight" said: "My right name I will never tell; I have lived like a dog, and like a dog I'll die - what I have been all my life."
This constable found in "Midnight's" coat pocket a handkerchief marked with the name, "Jane Mills."
All doubt as to the man that was shot being the murderer of Sergeant Wallings was set at rest by Constable Walsh, who arrived at the station where he was lying dead, and fully identified him. He also identified the bridle and pouch found in the dead bushranger's possession as the property of Sergeant Wallings, and the saddle as the property of the Government.
At the coronial inquiry a verdict was returned to the effect that "Midnight" had been killed by a shot fired by either Constable Hatton or Constable Grey, when endeavoring to shoot his horse in the effort to prevent his escape, and that he was the murderer of Sergeant Wallings.
The remains were buried near Wapweetah Station, those who performed the last offices doing so with a pardonable feeling of satisfaction that a violent death had overtaken the man who, by violence, had taken the life of one of the most useful officers of police in the colony.
The Murderous Captain Starlight
Captain Starlight, as he became known, was born Frank Pearson in England in 1837, he arrived in Australia in 1866. He teamed up with a Queensland bushranger named Charles Rutherford in 1868 and together they held up a group of people at Walgett, stealing money and a revolver.
The Australian Police website (http://www.australianpolice.com.au/john-mccabe/) describes what happened at Enngonia in simple detail: "On 6 October, 1868 Constable McCabe was searching an area near the Queensland border for bushrangers Frank Pearson (Captain Starlight) and Charles Rutherford. He was accompanied by Constable Hugh McManus of the Queensland Police Force. During their patrol the police stopped for supplies at Shearer’s Inn, Enngonia (about 100 kilometres from Bourke). While they were so engaged, two riders appeared and entered the inn. Almost immediately, Pearson yelled “Bail up!” with the obvious intention of robbing those present. The two police, who had taken their weapons into the inn, turned and fired at the two offenders. Constable McCabe, who had dropped to one knee and fired, was shot in the chest, however he managed to fire several times, hitting Pearson in the wrist and right arm. The two bushrangers then ran from the inn and escaped. After rallying for almost a month, Constable McCabe died as a result of both his wound and the resultant infection."
Having killed a policemen and consequently being wanted for murder the search for the two bushrangers was unrelenting but Rutherford and Pearson continued to elude the police and to rob travellers and properties. They eventually separated with Rutherford heading to Queensland.
Finally at Gundabooka Station, on 23 December, 1868, the police spotted Pearson, the night after the station had been robbed. His horse was shot from under him but he managed to escape into the bush. However, on Christmas Day he was found in a cave where he surrendered without resistance.
The story, complete with interesting photographs and drawings, is recounted in great detail at the Back O'Bourke Exhibition Centre. The arresting officer, Sergeant Andrew Cleary of the Bourke Police, became something of a friend to Starlight. He has left us a record of Starlight's arrest.
"He was an aristocratic bushranger, and the way he bailed up a station was in keeping with his many other exploits. He rode up and asked if there was any grog in the store ... Filling his own glass and with a dramatic wave of his hand he shouted: 'Now boys, drink to the health of Captain Starlight the bushranger!'
"When the sun broke on Christmas morning ... they had found bare footprints in the sand. On the edge of a rock, which opened onto a precipice fifty feet deep, I saw a leather pouch and peering through the crack underneath a smaller rock I saw Starlight's knees crouched up in the cave.
"Then I took of my boots and lowered myself into the cave. There was Starlight sitting on the ledge with a revolver by his side. I grabbed the revolver and pulled him out. My God he looked awful! A thick scum was caked around his mouth: his eyes were protruding out of their sockets. He looked in fact like a madman and as soon as I got him out of the cave he shouted wildly, 'Water, water, water!'
"When escorting Starlight back to Bourke, he was the best company I ever travelled with ... He told me he saw my whole body through the crevice in the rock and that he had picked up his revolver to finish me, but he laid it down again thinking 'No, I've done enough' ... He told me he was the scapegrace of his good family who had given him the first training for a doctor. At his trial he thanked me in open court for the way I had treated him since I arrested him.
"He was sentenced to death for the murder of McCabe. But on the morning of his execution a telegram arrived prolonging his sentence. Later on he was reprieved and moved to Darlinghurst Gaol. There Father Garvey ... took a great fancy to him and succeeded in getting an order for his release ... Before he left Darlinghurst Gaol I visited him, and in talking over his arrest, he cried like a child." And that is the graphic account provided by Andrew Cleary, Sergeant NSW Mounted Police.
The postscript: Starlight was released in 1884. In 1891 Pearson was convicted, in Brisbane, of two charges of forgery, serving two years. Upon his release he lived as a petty criminal and worked as a clerk in the West Australian Geological Survey Office until he died on 22 December 1899 after mistakenly drinking potassium cyanide whilst inebriated.
Rutherford's end came in 1869 while robbing a hotel near Warren. He was shot when the publican grappled with him, causing the bushranger to accidentally discharge his weapon, with the bullet entering his jaw. He died the next day without regaining consciousness.
^ TOPOther Attractions in the Area
Belalie Station and Will Ogilvie
While Belalie Station is a private property it is possible to visit it as part of the Poet's Trek run from Bourke. Check out http://poetstrek.com.au/about/. Of particular interest is a small corrugated iron hut with some very interesting bottles of "strange brew" where the poet Will Ogilvie, who worked at Belalie, drank and wrote some of his poetry. Scottish born Ogilvie spent years working on and returning to Belalie Station and, though buried in his homeland, claimed to the last that "the Back of Bourke" was where his heart remained. Ogilvie arrived in Australia in 1889. During his two years on Belalie station he worked as a jackaroo, drover and second bookkeeper. Whilst on Belalie he found the inspiration for some of his best known Australian verse. His love of outback Australia was unambiguous. As he wrote in My Life in the Open the Australian bush "has a peculiar witchery of its own … that spell that brings the drover and traveller back again and again to worship at the shrine of its silent beauty; that charm that chains the true bushman to his love though half the world lies between."
History
* Prior to European settlement the area around Enngonia was occupied by people from the Gunu and Barranbinya Aboriginal language groups.
* The town was probably named after a man called Erin who built a shack for himself which was little more than a gunyah. It was named 'Erin's Gunyah' which was later corrupted to 'Enngonia'.
* A post office was established at Belalie Station in 1866.
* On 2 October, 1868 police caught up with a bushranger named Midnight and shot and killed him 39 km west of Enngonia.
* On 6 October, 1868 Charles Rutherford and Frank Pearson (known as Captain Starlight) were confronted in the Shearer's Inn by two police troopers. Starlight shot and killed Constable John McCabe.
* In March, 1871 Robert Kerrigan became the town's first postmaster and the postal authorities decided the settlement's name would be Enngonia.
* In 1884 the telegraph line reached Enngonia.
* In 1896 a post office was built at the corner of Belalie and McCabe Streets.
* By the late 19th century the large properties in the area were labour intensive and substantial numbers of people passed through the area on horse or driving bullock teams. At the time Enngonia was an important stopping point on the route to Bourke.
* The Enngonia telephone exchange was established in 1912.
* In 1941 the Enngonia Post Office was destroyed by fire.
* Today Enngonia is a small service centre for the surrounding properties. It comprises a police station, a small school, a hotel/motel with caravan facilities, and a few houses.
^ TOPVisitor Information
Oasis Hotel, 1 Belalie Street, tel: (02) 6874 7577
^ TOPAccommodation
Oasis Hotel, 1 Belalie Street, tel: (02) 6874 7577
^ TOPEating
Oasis Hotel, 1 Belalie Street, tel: (02) 6874 7577
^ TOPUseful Websites
There is no specific website for Enngonia. Check out http://www.backobourke.com.au for information about the district.
^ TOP
Along with all of the schools in Bourke, Wannaaring Public School, and the small town of Yantabulla, Engonnia Public School was also on my run as the Flying Music Teacher. It was a pleasure bringing music to the people in the bush, who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
PS. The period in question was the 1970’s
Enngonia now has a coffee van! It is located out the front of the Enngonia Police Station on the HYW.
The little coffee van is open whenever the pub is not!
Thanks Trish. That is great news!
Enngonia now has a COFFEE TRAILER! Located at the opposite end of town to the pub near the Police Station. Great coffee, toasted sandwiches, freshly baked cakes, drinks and even slushes for the kids. Open weekdays & Saturday 7am-11am and all day Sunday. Run by the local cops wife Trish, lovely lady. Open when the pubs closed.
Now either there are two Trishes in town (unlikely) or Trish Wilson, who has sent this useful piece of information, describes herself as a “lovely lady”. I am sure she is.
Bruce Elder
Actually there are now 3 Trish’s in Little Enngonia hahaha.
That is too funny! Surely they should rename themselves Pat, Pattie, Trish. I hope everyone reads this and ensures they stop and have a coffee and ask Trish which one she really is.
Bruce Elder
Enngonia is a great place to stop overnight with a van in the back of the Oasis and have a beer with Oatsy the publican.
I am not certain of the exact year but I know Jack Webb had the pub in late 40’s early 50’s. I think he swapped the pub for Bellands Station. In the 60’s Roy Webb bought the hotel.
Hi Toni, I’m looking for family that was in this area in the 50’s. Love to chat. 0409931052.
Do you have any information on Donald Keighley who lived in Engonnia and ran a general store. He died in April 1973. Regards Donald Keighly (Eldest son)
Will Ogilvie was a very good friend of my great grandfather, Thomas Allen owned the Belalie Hotel in the 1880s where Ogilvie would spend long hours discussing literature and their common love of horses. My grandmother often told me stories of how she and her mother and sisters cooked for as many as 40 drovers who drove the cattle from Queensland to New South Wales to market. Clouds of red dust could be seen in the distance and this would give them an idea how long they had to prepare a meal. The coaches bringing travellers from Cunnamulla to Bourke would make their stop there to change horses for the next leg of the trip. I am sure I still have relatives at Enngonia.
Ann, do you have any information on Thomas Allen’s son Thomas. I am trying to see if he knew my grandmother Marian Lillian Paxton (Johnson).
Thanks
The original hotel burnt down, I think, in the 1950s or 1960s. A single garage was used as the bar. The original Aboriginal camp was at the rear. A small door served them. This was used whilst the new hotel was being built. I think around the early 60s.
Hi Toni, I’m looking for family that was in this area in the 50’s. Love to chat. 0409931052.
Hi graham, I’m looking for family that was in this area in the 50’s. Love to chat. 0409931052.
Ran a vacation play centre there, for the kids, 37 years ago. Wonder how the town has changed. There was no police station then, and only 2 businesses, other than the pub, general store and post office. Indigenous people could not enter the pub. Is it still like that?
I was wondering you could help me locate Morton Plains Station My father worked on a place in that area by that name the dates I have would be between 1922-1930 He arrived from England 1922 and I am unable to find him until 1930 when he was in Warren .
I was a governess on a property about 20 kilometres west of Enngonia. In 1970 the little township celebrated its 100 years centenary. The wee town held a bush horse race a fashion parade and in the evening, a ball. The property where I was a children’s governess was owned by Les White and called Tarwoona Downs. In the 1970’s, schooling was done by correspondence and supervised by a live in governess. I was there from July till December .
Clare
I was Principal of Enngonia primary school in 1966 1967 – a 2 teacher school in those days. My wife, 2 very young children and I often visited Les and Rosemary and frequently stayed for the weekend.
Additional information. When the town celebrated its centenary the bush races attracted people from hundreds of kilometres around the district. Several came in their own small aircraft, which were parked in the centre of the race track. The ball in the evening was attended by people from, again, 100’s of kilometres around. In the early a.m. a walk was sponsored to raise money for ? I don’t remember what. There was in residences a bush nurse a police officer and the publican. A prime resident was the operator of the telephone exchange. and the centre of all the critical news in the district.
Clare you were my teacher at tarwoona. Vk2ypw@hotmail.com if you would like to catch up. Another generation has grown up in the house.
Hi Peter, I have been wanting to get in touch with you for ages. I lived with you and your family at Castlecrag for a short time. If you remember me contact me at philh65@yahoo.com.
I knew two EDWARDS boys when they attended Red Bend Catholic College [ then called ” MBC Forbes”] – Rodney and Barry in the 1970s: are they still around? I married a Gunn from Forbes and the lads used visit them, I think…I’d love to hear from them.
Fr Don Gunn who worked up there is also an in-law…
My parents Jack & Margaret Murray resided at Native Dog Bore 1950-1959 also part of lease was Mungunnya bore. Jack did Droving in those days BERT O’Donnell Stock and Station Agent Enngonia and during the early 1960s held the Mail Contract for Enngonia to Fords Bridge mail service
History of our Ancestors from Enngonia:
Western Herald (Bourke, NSW : 1887 – 1970), Friday 15 March 1968, page 2
VALE MARTIN EGAN
Enngonia lost one of its earliest and highly respected pioneer graziers when Mr. Martin Egan, of ‘Oswald,’ passed away in Orange Hospital on the night of February 29th, after a long illness.
He was born at ‘Fairfield’, the family property, in 1895, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Martin Egan, Senior, and spent his whole life there and on ‘Oswald,’ which was once part of ‘Fairfield.’ His life followed a long line of family history of the early pioneering days of Enngonia and District. His grandfather, the late Mr. Thomas Egan, his father the late Mr. Martin Egan, Senior (an only child whose mother died when he was very young), and the late Mr John O’Shannessy, as friends in Ireland, came on the same ship to the Bendigo goldfields in the early days of the ‘gold rush,’ where they had moderate success. They worked as a partnership, and were then lured to the western dist-ricts of N.S.W. by the great demand for contract tank sinking and fencing. The late Mr. Thomas Egan (who later died at ‘Fairfield’ in 1915 at the age of 111 years and was buried in Enngonia ceme-tery), and the three young men, Martin and James Egan and John O’Shannessy, accompanied by their brides, commenced their long trek westward, traveling in drays and spring carts, drawn by horses, and carrying equipment for their proposed contract work. They spent a little time in Parkes and Grenfell districts in search of gold, and then continued their way northwards. Their first big contracts were undertaken in the Coonamble district, mainly on ‘Wingadee’ Station. From there, they travelled, with their families, to Bourke district, where, for a short time, they worked on the construction of the railway line.
Soon, they wended their way to Enngonia district where many of their descendants live today.These early pioneers continued in their contract work; many tanks and many, many miles of fencing were constructed in the area, mainly on ‘LiIa’, ‘Morton Plains’ and ‘Lissington’ Stations which were immense holdings at that time. During this long period , the families suffered many hardships; they lived in tents, water was very scarce — some members almost perished at one time — children were born, far from medical assistance, and one child died of diphtheria, when the three women were alone, and their men-folk were away constructing a tank. When portion of ‘Lissington’ became available in 1888, James Egan and Martin Egan, senior, were allotted ‘Glenalbyn’ and ‘Fairfield’, respectively. The story has been handed down that they begged their great friend, John O’Shannessy, to join them in a land partnership, but his great fear was the scarcity of water, and he decided to invest in a hotel and store at Enngonia. Thus ended a long period of a partnership in contract work, but they all remained true and loyal friends till they died. Martin Egan senior, and James Egan were in Bourke, when they were told the time of lodgement of applications for ‘Fairfield’ and ‘Glenalbyn’ had almost expired, and that they must lodge their claims at Brewarrina. They immediately set out on horses but on arrival, were informed that the applications must be lodged in Bourke. Their own horses were completely exhausted, and they were unsuccessful in their pleas to buy or borrow any. They then quickly built a boat and rowed many long weary hours to Bourke, worrying the whole time that they would be too late. Upon arrival, they were informed they were the only two applicants, as people were so wary of lack of water and droughts. They ran ‘Fairfield’ and ‘Glenalbyn’ as a partnership until the death, of Martin Egan senior, when the two places were divided in 1926.
As stated earlier Mr. Martin Egan, of ‘Oswald,’ was born at ‘Fairfield’ in 1895, and he lived there until his marriage. In 1926, he married Miss Florence Mary Gumley, the fourth Sister at Enngonia B.N.A. which was founded in early 1923. Her name will go down in history for her kindness, devotion to the sick, and suffering, and her deep understanding of the trials and problems of the ‘bush’ people. She has always continued to render these virtues to anyone in distress. Young and old remember her many kindnesses. Upon their marriage, they built a new home on part of ‘Fairfield,’ which they named ‘Oswald’ in memory of her grandmother’s home in the Hunter Valley, where her grandmother lived for 83 years, and took part in the very trying pioneering days in that area. Mr. Egan dearly loved our ‘sunburnt country’ in spite of the 1928/9 drought, then very heavy rains (and starving stock), the depression and low wool prices. He saw the boom wool prices, then our recent long disastrous drought. Through it all, he remained staunch to the grazing industry and dearly loved Enngonia district. During his long illness, he was devotedly nursed by his very sympathetic and understanding wife. He remained interested in Enngonia news the whole time, and really enjoyed his wife reading the Bourke paper and many letters to him. He said that, as long as he could remember, the local paper had come into his home. He was always a great admirer and lover of well-bred horses. Prior to World War 1, he owned a beautiful mare, Edna Fair, which raced on a course in No. 8 paddock, which was once part of ‘Fairfield’ and is now ‘Oswald. The bower sheds and race track were clearly discernible for many years, but, gradually, the sheds fell down and rotted away, and the track is now completely covered with lush, green grass after the long disastrous drought. At the time of his death, Mr. Egan owned the well known and well-bred mare, Princess Caroline, which, at present is at Mr. Brian Honeyman’s stud at Orange. Right to the end, he was deeply interested in her, and had great hopes and expectations of her two prodigy. Mr. and Mrs. Egan’s only child, Lyell, upon his marriage, built a home at ‘Wilganee,’ a part of ‘Oswald,’ and later purchased ‘Lissington.’ His only child, Marylyn, now holds an interest in the very land that her great-grandfather acquired in 1888, and she is the 5th generation to live on it, and which her great-great-grandfather helped to pioneer when there were scarcely any fences and water, (originally ‘Lissington,’ and her father now owns ‘Lissington’ homestead block, too).
Mr. Egan is survived by his fond wife, Florence, (‘Oswald’), son, Lyell, (‘Wilganee’ and ‘Lissingtom’) and grand daughter, Marylyn, also two sisters, Rita, (Mrs. O’Shannessy, Marrickville) , and Win (Mrs. Jack Taylor, Charleville). His brothers, Mr. T. V. Egan, ‘Waratah,’ and Mr. Pat Egan, ‘Fairfield,’ predeceased him, also his sisters, Kate (Mrs. Joe Staggs, of ‘Prairie,’); Bid (Mrs. Ted Johnson) and Lil (Mrs. Barker). His funeral was held at Enngonia, after Requiem Mass celebrated by Rev. Father Dunne, in the new Catholic Church there. His body was placed in a long line of Egans buried in Enngonia Cemetery. These include his grandfather who died at the age of 111 years, his parents, brother Pat and his wife. A very large gathering of relatives and friends were present many of these were descendants of the early pioneering families of Egans and O’Shannessys. It was a day he always loved, his wife said — slow, steady drizzling rain. His thoughts would have been, ‘What a lovely day for the country,’ quoted his sad wife. To his relatives we extend our very deep and sincere sympathy. Martin will long be remembered by his many Enngonia friends, and his name will be forever carved in the history of Enngonia, and the courage of those early pioneering folk who developed the land into the sheep-producing country it is today. -Vale Martin Egan from your loved Enngonia.
Hi Cynthia. I am slowly reading letters written by Joyce Mallon (OShannessy) to my grand mother Catherine Egan born about 1890 north of Bourke on her Fathers John Egan property Belleview. Researching various items I came across your great work on the family history.
I would be interested in sharing more information. It you are interested please let me know. Peter
I’d like to know about the trackers of that area
Just replying to this Message from: Bernard P Ryanon January 23, 2023 – My Brothers where Barry Edwards (whom we lost in 2014) – my brother Rodney still lives in Bourke, and we have a nephew Neil Orcher who currently resides in Forbes.