NSW Lands Dept. Map showing George's Nangus property.

GUNDAGAI NEWSPAPER

January 15 1917

"While being driven down Williams Hill in a wheat team last week, in charge of George Sheather

Snr, a valuable horse dropped dead. The animal belonged to the Nangus Estate. A fatty heart

and the intense heat probably caused the problem."

The Gundagai Times October 6 1886

George Sheather

"George Sheather charged with removing timber from Crown Land without a License. Pleaded

guilty and was fined 2s 6d and 4s 10d cost

The Gundagai Independent January 3 1900

FIRE IN TOWN

A HOUSE DESTROYED

A DESTRUCTIVE fire occurred at Mr. G. Sheather's residence, Flower Hill, on Monday evening

when his dwelling house was razed to the ground. The real origin of the outbreak is unknown,

but it is thought to have been started by a spark from the house fire. About five minutes before

the outbreak occurred, Mrs Sheather had lighted the household fire and gone to obtain water

some 150 yards distant leaving the children at home.

Whilst absent screams were heard from the children, and several neighbours  who ran to their

assistance found the house in flames. Mrs Sheather was just in time to save a two-year old

child, which was in  bed in the house. Messrs. O. Seymour and P. W. C. Palmer were first on the

scene, but were unable to save anything in the house. A number of hives of bees were removed

to a place of safety, and several tanks, etc; saved, but the flames devoured all else. The night

was very calm, and luckily too, as the grass roundabout would have caught and the fire proved

most destructive to adjoining land and property holders. Mr. Sheather was away at the time of

the outbreak, and did not arrive until the house was a mass of flames. A shed used as a

workshop, standing some 30 yards away, remained untouched.

The house, which had only been erected four years ago, was of weatherboard, lined and ceiled,

and contained four large rooms besides two cellar rooms. The house was insured 100 in the

Citizens Office, and the policy was taken out some 12 months ago owing to the prevalence of

bush fires. Mr Sheather estimates his loss between 100 and 150, as all the contents of the house

were uninsured. In addition to all the household fittings, two machines, a circular saw, improved

honey extractor, and other valuable articles were destroyed.

More About George Sheather:

Birth Ref.: No. 1705/38A1852

Burial: Gundagai, New South Wales

Occupation: 1876, Farmer

More About Ann Maria Williams:

Burial: North Gundagai Cemetery, New South Wales

Immigration: 08 Jun 1849, Emma Eugenia

Children of George Sheather and Ann Williams are:

        43               i.    Minnie Jane¹¹ Sheather, born 26 Jan 1876 in Nangus, Gundagai, New South Wales; died 09 Aug 1945 in Junee, New South Wales. 

                                 She married Charles Isaac Smith 06 Jan 1897 in St Johns CE Gundagai, New South Wales; born 17 May 1874 in Spring Flat, Gundagia, New South Wales (Source: Judy

                                  Thomas.); died 23 Jan 1952 in Cootamundra District Hospital, New South Wales.

        44              ii.    Amelia Mary Sheather, born 07 Oct 1877 in Gundagai, New South Wales; died 08 Oct 1891 in Gundagai, New South Wales.

More About Amelia Mary Sheather:

Baptism: 19 Nov 1877, Gundagai, New South Wales (Source: Jenny Hodges 2002.)

Birth Ref.: No. 13012/1877

Death Ref.: No. 7010/1891

        45             iii.    Eliza Ellen Sheather,   born 1880 in Nangus, New South Wales; died 06 Feb 1953 in Mackay, Queensland.                                   

        46             iv.    Edith May Sheather,  born 17 Sep 1881 in Nangus, New South Wales; died 27 Aug 1978 in Sydney, New South Wales. 

                                 She married William Henry Smith 07 Jun 1899 in Nangus Hotel, Nangus, New South

                                 Wales; born 20 Apr 1874 in Spring Flat, Gundagai, New South Wales; died 11 Jun

                                 1963 in Sydney, New South Wales.

More About Edith May Sheather:

Baptism: 04 Dec 1881, Gundagai, New South Wales

Notes for William Henry Smith:

William Smith now becomes our direct ancestor. On 7thJune 1899 in St. Paul's church

Nangus, he married Edith May Sheather. Edith May was the daughter of George

Sheather and Ann Maria Williams and granddaughter of Edward and Eliza Sheather,

licensed hotelkeepers and farmers from Nangus. At the time of the marriage Edith

May was almost eighteen years old.

William and Edith raised a family of 5 sons and 2 daughters and in the early years pf

their marriage lived at Back Station creek (now known as Kimovale) near Gundagai

where William worked at share farming, later turning to stock dealing. The family for

a period of time also lived at "Balmoral" Sheridan Street Gundagai, which Edith May

ran as a boarding house. William in time acquired several properties in the Gundagai

district. Notably the 1100 acre house block of the original "Bengarralong" station

Jackalass, which oral history claims he bought in 1925 for 15 pounds  ($ 30.00.) an

acre. The family lived at "Bengarralong" until 1929, when William sold the property

moving to Sydney about 1930. At this time Edith May was having health problems

and  needed to be close to the Sydney specialists. For a time, William continued to

run the remaining properties and control them from Sydney through his sons.

Eventually, because of the world depression during the years 1929/39, he was forced

to dispose of all his assets in Gundagai.William and Edith May never returned to

Gundagai to live  on a permanent basis. They lived in the Sydney suburb of

Kensington and for a time, tried poultry farming at Merrylands, a boarding House in

Granville and another at Mosman where they lived for several years before retiring at 

Merrylands. William died on 11th June 1963 aged 89 years and was cremated at Rookwood  Crematorium.

Edith May lived on into her 97thyear and died on 27thAugust 1978.

     Notes of interest.... William Smith and Ann Norris are shown on William and

Edith May's    marriage certificate as being his (William's) parents, when in fact they

were his grandparents,      although both had died by this time. It has been claimed

that after the death of Ann Norris, her   son John (Greyface) Smith born 1858 and

brother of Emily Elizabeth took William and raised him as part of his own family.

This has not been confirmed as yet. Another story told by his youngest surviving

child is that his natural mother, Emily Elizabeth raised him.

          Oral history claims…  are that William knew Emily Elizabeth was his natural

mother and it was he who paid the funeral expenses upon her death. It has also been

claimed that his father was Andrew Lynch, son of an Irish catholic family from the

Gundagai /Tumut district and that William was aware of this. In addition it was said

that the pair (William and Andrew) were on friendly terms and often met and talked

at stock sales. (Special Note: A complete search of the NSW Pioneer Birth, Death and

Marriages Index. Produced only one Andrew Lynch registered in Gundagai and that

was in 1863. This Andrew Lynch would only have been 11 years old when William

was born.)

     Further oral history claims are that William, while share farming had his start into

stock dealing by buying a mob of sheep from a drover on the Nangus road in very dry

times. It's not known if the drover in fact owned the sheep or not. William apparently

had the feed and bought the sheep for  one shilling (10c) a head, selling them a few

weeks later for a pound ($ 2.00) a head.) Another story    told was that at sometime

prior to him leaving Gundagai to reside in Sydney. William while on horseback was

caught by a very fast moving grass fire. Unable to do anything other than run before

the fire, he did so until the horse knocked up and stood. William managed to scramble

into a dry wash and escaped with burnt hair and eyebrows. The horse sadly enough

was burnt to death along with the saddle and bridle. And yet another story was that

William although he enjoyed a cigarette, never drank alcohol. It has been claimed that

in the local pub were he did much of his stock dealing he had his own special bottle of

whisky. This bottle was always filled with cold tea and coloured to look exactly like

whisky. The publican would always fill William’s glass from this bottle while the

others in the shout would be drinking the real stuff. William secured many good deals

in this manner. The publican was also on a good thing, he was being paid for whisky

and serving cold tea.

           Oral history claim… “Bengarralong” station was owned by the McEvoy

family, as well the family also owned “Tarrabandra” station. Both of these stations

had been taken up by the family in the 1800’s and consisted of many thousands of

acres. The McEvoy family enjoyed entertaining and the homestead on “Bengarralong”

had a large ballroom built into the house. The family would employ a band from

Melbourne or Sydney and entertain their guests for a week or two at a time with music and dancing. 

When the senior McEvoy died the two sons inherited the properties and promptly

employed a manager to run the stations while they and their wives and children

travelled to Europe and England for a couple of years. The manager taking advantage

of their absence during these years branded and ear marked the new calves and lambs

with his own brands. On the return of the brothers they were to discover that their

stock numbers had been seriously depleted. In 1860 a very severe drought occurred

affecting Gundagai and surrounding districts. The McEvoy family is said to have lost

several thousand head of cattle as the rain didn’t fall for a year and the sunbleached

bones of the animals could be seen for several miles.

           Note of interest…  It was in 1919 at the end of the first world war, the

government resumed both “Bengarralong” and “Tarrabandra” stations and sub-divided

them into smaller blocks. These blocks were balloted to returning soldiers and called

soldier settlers blocks. The arrangements were that the men who were fortunate

enough to win a block in the ballot, had to clear and fence the land and make a

specified number of improvements within a couple of years. Many were successful

and their descendants still live on the properties or in the area, others walked off the

land. “Bengarralong” alone was sub-divided into 38 blocks ranging in size from 300

acres on the river flats to 2000 and 3000 acres in the hill country.

..... Bruce Smith

More About William Henry Smith:

Burial: Rookwood Crematorium, Sydney, New South Wales (Source: Bruce Smith.)

Occupation: Farmer/Graizer/Stockdealer

        47              v.    Amy Isabel Sheather, born 1884 in Gundagai, New South Wales. 

                                 She married Patrick John Sullivan 13 May 1908 in St John's Gundagai, New South

                                 Wales; born 06 Nov 1880 in Coolac, Victoria; died 10 May 1967 in Gundagai, New South Wales.

        48             vi.    George Edward James Sheather, born 22 May 1886 in Nangus, New South Wales; died 03 Mar 1965 in Sydney, New South Wales. 

                                 He married Edith Fuller 13 Oct 1909 in St John's Gundagai, New South Wales; born 1891 in Gundagai, New South Wales; died 29 Jul 1979 in Sydney, New South Wales.

More About George Edward James Sheather:

Birth Ref.: No. 21810/1886

Electoral Roll: 1930, Labourer - Nangus, New South Wales

Notes for Edith Fuller:

The Sydney Morning Herald 31st July 1979
DEATH NOTICE
SHEATHER, Edith. - July 29, 1979, at hospital, loved wife of the late George

Sheather, loving mother and mother-in-law of Mervyn and Ivy, Myra and Martin

Milton (deceased), Wallace and Freda, Joyce and Claude (deceased), loved grandmother

and great-grandmother of Margaret and John, Barry, John and Roslyn, Denise and

Raymond, Rosemary and Neil, Ian and Shelia, Leatrice, Craig and Kymree. Aged 87

years.

The Sydney Morning Herald 31st July 1979
FUNERAL NOTICE
SHEATHER. - Relatives and friends of the late EDITH SHEATHER are invited to

attend her funeral on Wednesday, August 1, 1979, at 1 p.m. at St. Dunstan's Church of

England, Denistone East, after which the cortege will proceed to the Northern Suburbs

Crematorium.
Motor Funerals Limited
Eastwood
85 1955 A.F.D.A. 211 4277