The Farmers' Five
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The first settlers at the Hurdle Creek, Bobinawarrah were five immigrants, all in their mid-twenties; they were to become known as the Farmers' Five. The five met in the Bendigo gold diggings. Four of them lived the rest of their lives in the Oxley Shire; the fifth settled in America.
- George Harry Brown (1835-1913) was born in Kincardineshire, Scotland and emigrated to Melbourne, Australia. George married Rebecca Graham and their son John Francis Brown founded the Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard. He left farming in in 1865 to be a rate collector for the Oxley Road Board, two years later was appointed as Secretary-Treasurer of the Oxley Shire and continued on the Council until 1909.
- Charles Westall Lloyd (1834-1911) left with brother Frederick for Canada in 1847 and then to Australia 7 years later. Charles married Ann Kirkham in 1869. He was the Oxley Shire engineer for six years, a Justice of the Peace, a freemason, a guardian of the Church of England and a committee member of the Milawa library.
- Frederick Bianchi Lloyd (1832-) sold his share to his brother Charles in 1869 and departed for Oakland California. He disappeared in New York in his early 60's.
- Alexander Moyer Simpson (1832-1914) was born in Aberdeen and at 18 went to sea and was shipwrecked twice before arriving at Bobinawarrah via the gold fields. Alexander married Janet Taylor in 1865. He was chairman of the Oxley Board of advise and played a prominent part in the establishment of both Bobinawarrah and Hurdle Creek schools, the Milawa Butter Factory and the Bobinawarrrah Creamery.
- Robert Montgomery (1833-) was born in Belfast and married Nancy McAliece. Robert built a number of bridges in the Oxley Shire and was the main builder of the Oxley Shire Hall.
These five men jointly purchased a 92 acre block () for 73 shillings in January 1859.
The Farmers' Five acquired a further 600 acres of land and in 1865 the partnership disbanded, each to farm their own land. G.H. Brown retained the original 92 acre allottment which is still owned by the Brown Family and is now largely planted to grape vines.
[edit] Poetry
Charles Lloyd must have had some spark of the poet in him as he penned this verse to a friend in the Old Country to describe their situation.
In a lowly cot and creek beside,
Five young men now there abide,
Their calling, tillers of the soil
By which they hope to make a pile.
Four are of Britain's ancient land
Though distant in this sea-girt strand,
The fifth a son of Erin born
Of noble and gigantic form.
The first is Brown, by name and colour,
The second Fred, a dear loved brother,
The third called "Redmond", from his hair,
The fourth "Long Splice", from stature rare.
The fifth, the writer of this trash,
Would give a well filled purse of cash
That on his face a whisker grew
Of red or black or auburn hue.
The Hurdle Creek as I've been told
Its name doth take from an ancient fold,
And on its banks may still be seen
The antique spot where the hurdle's been.
The aforesaid creek, its gravelly mud
Scarce e'er disturbed except by a flood,
Its waters pleasant to the taste
Flow on through wild and distant waste,
And distant far from you and me
Its waters mingle with the sea,
There by mighty tempest tossed,
And to human eyes for ever lost.
Let thunders roll and lightning gleam,
Rain to fall and the flowing stream
Pass on. They all will have an end.
Like you and I, my absent friend.
[edit] Sources
Bill O'Callaghan, The Chronical, 24 March 2006, Page 14.
