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Jessie Murray Corfield's lone grave at Teebar, Q

Jessie Corfield, first wife of pioneer grazier and entrepreneur Henry Cox Corfield, died from suspected septacimia subsequent to giving birth to a stillborn daughter in a lonely hut on newly acquired grazing lease "Teebar" in the Wide Bay District, 10 months after her marriage. In her dying, one may presume she was accompanied by her aboriginal companion, Bessy, and her distraught husband. Mr Corfield had clearly intended to develop a permanent station settlement at "Teebar", when he took his new bride to "Teebar" in 1852. But it wasn't to be. He erected a headstone to mark her grave. On it he had inscribed "SACRED/to the memory of/ JESSIE/ wife of Henry Cox/ CORFIELD/ who departed this life/ ...[indiscipherable]. Three years after Jessie's death her father died. When he was buried, his headstone became a memorial to Jessie, as well as to him. "TO/ the Memory of/ James Murray/ who died at Warrawang June 4th/ 1856, age 58 years./ also/ Jessie his second daughter/ who died at Teebar/ Wide Bay May 29th./ 1853. age 28 years." Jessie was buried on "Teebar" just below the hut, down on the creek flat, presumably beside the grave of her previuosly buried stillborn daughter. Today scotch thistles often bloom on her grave and their seed waft in the breeze. Her father was buried in the Walker Family cemetery at Wallerawang - which became Barton Park cemetery after Walker died and his wife remarried. [Photos: Ian Stehbens 1997] In 2002, Mary Rita Anderson, a Murray descendant, commissioned Mr Cavanagh of Gympie to create a larger memorial to Jessie replacing this orginal that had been erected by Jessie's husband, Mr Corfield.

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