John, Julia & James Murray, were born in 1790s in Kerala, India, of an Indian mother and a British Army officer, Lt/Col Matthew Murray. Murray served in the Honourable East India Company. But their Indian mother died and Matthew Murray returned to Scotland with his children. Julia died in 1804, and the 2 boys were raised on a country estate, "Georgefield" near Langholm, Dumfrieshire, Scotland.
The boys were often referred to as the "Black Murrays" because of black hair, dark eyes and their browner skin derived from their Indian mother.
Scottish law at the time provided that the whole of the heritable estate must pass to the first born male child. When Matthew Murray died, it passed to his elder son, John. But when John died in 1837, it turns out that this considerable estate bypassed John's children and his brother James. It was inherited by one of their half-brothers, William. It went to his first-born son of his second marriage, who had been born in Scotland.
Dispossessed of their expected inheritance, James emigrated to New South Wales.
James Murray, with his wife Wilhelmina (nee Reid) sailed from Liverpool in November 1842, aboard the "Templar". All of their surviving children migrated with them to Sydney, arriving 9 March 1843.
They settled on "Warrawang" at Mount Lambie six miles west of Walker's head station " Wallerawang", to the east of Bathurst. ("Warrawang" at first was a mixed farm, eventually becoming primarily a sheep grazing property. It remained in the Murray family until April 2004.
James kept succinct diaries, which remain. In them he records the way one learns of a his half-brother's death back in Scotland, the purchase of land, the practise of their Christian faith, and the movement of the children including John's journeys to Moreton Bay and Wide Bay.
This site is dedicated to their many descendants.

• James Murray of "Warrawang" (215 KB)
  James Murray, one of the original "Black Murrays". His black hair, brown eyes inherited from his Indian mother, Contiby of Cannanore, Kerala, India, stand out in this oil portrait. The olive colour of his skin is less reliable in a painting. However it was his birthplace that probably disinherited he and his brother, resulting in the decision to migrate to Australia, in 1843. He became a "Squatter" in New South Wales, settling at Mt Lambie between Lithgow and Bathurst, NSW. He called his property "Warrawang". Later, his older sons also squatted on the northern pastoral frontier at "Wuluga" (= Woolooga, Queensland). His daughter Jessie married Squatter Henry Corfield, and they squatted at Teebar, Wide Bay District. Indigenous Australians resisted the dispossession of their land, for they successfully used fire and mustering in their counter offensive. (Both Teebar and Wuluga were surrendered by Murray Brothers and Corfield.) Consequently, some of his sons including John, Robert and George became officers in the Queensland Native Police. In this role they sought to maintain British law, order and justice in the pastoral frontier. James Murray's family are a litmus indicator of race relations in colonial Australia.
• Drawings of Warrawang Houses: Bob & Sybella Murray (38 KB)
  In 1986, a family reunion was held for the Murray Family at "Warrawang" between Lithgow and Bathurst NSW. The hosts were Bruce and Eunice Murray who were the owners at the time, the property being continuously occupied by Murrays from the day it was selected by James Murray. During 150 years of occupancy there had been a succession of homes as well as generations. Bob Murray from Helidon Q, was one of the reunion attendees, and he subsequently created pencil drawings of the buildings as well as of our ancestors. Shown are Jock's Hut; the 4th Warrawang House from the rear; the 5th and last Warrawang House; and Minna Murray's sketch of the first Warrawang House built before 1850. Bob Murray and Sybella Murray are pictured. [LINEAGE: Robert Murray s/o Valentine Murray s/o John James Athelstane Murray s/o Rachel Little & John Murray s/o James Murray of "Warrawang"] [Sybella was the 8th of 13 children of James Murray and Wilhelmine Reid]
• Wilhelmina (Reid) Murray 1799-1879 of "Warrawang" (18 KB)
  Minnie Reid was born in Langholm, Dumphriesshire Scotland in 1799. At 19, she married James Murray. The marriage produced 13 children, but 2 daughters both called Contetty, after their paternal Indian grandmother, died in Scotland. When she and James migrated to New South Wales in 1843, they took their 11 children that ranged in age from adulthood to infancy. On settling on top of the Great Divide at Mount Lambie, she became a pioneer woman on the frontier of civilization. In this remoteness, she ran her household displaying her domestic competency, and her education through her music and love of reading. This pioneer squatter's wife raised a family that was to have wide influence in emerging Australia of the 19th and early 20th centuries. She died of pneumonia in 1879 aged 79, and was buried in Barton Park Cemetery, Wallerawang.
• Murray Origin in Scotland: Georgefield nr Langholm (34 KB)
  "Georgefield" was the home of the Murrays in Scotland. It is located 11 km up the Esk Valley from Langholm. During the 19th century, sheep farming became the principal activity in the borderlands of southern Scotland. The accompanying photo depicting the area in the late summer, is of Burnfoot farm, which is a few kms closer to Langholm. When the title passed to his half-brother, after the death of his older brother, James & Wilhelmina decided to migrate to New South Wales with their 11 surviving children: Julia, William, Jessie, Matthew, John, Wilhelmina, James, George and infants Robert and Frederick. They were farewelled by the people of Langholm at a public dinner held at Crown Inn, 8th June 1842. On leaving Langholm they travelled to the Merseyside docks, embarking on the "Templar" for Sydney.
• English Church at Thalassery (Tellicherry), India (75 KB)
  For today's Murray descendants this picture is tantalising. It is possible that in this church Lt/Col Matthew Murray and Contetty were married - about 1784! The old English Church still stands in Tellicherry, India. What we do know is that the baptisms of their 3 children were recorded here, and that they were married while Matthew served here in the Indian Army. Though abandoned today, it was the only English Church in the area, and this old church has not lost its English beauty. Its unique stained glass windows were originally manufactured in England. The lichen-covered headstones in the cemetery are mute testimony to a distant past. Is it possible that Contetty's grave can still be located in this cemetery? We await a researcher in the family who will venture there yet again.
• Eunice Jessie Murray [1918-1998] m Raymond Down. (33 KB)
  Eunice Jessie Murray was a beautiful person, full of grace and compassion. She married Ray Down in 1942 at the Church of England, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Ray and Eunice raised 2 sons, Allan and Dennis Down. While her father, John Murray was descended from the Murray squattocracy, her mother Lucy Caroline Pierce was descended from the convict class of colonial Australia. In fact, her descent is from at least 6 convicts of which two, namely Robert Forrester and Thomas Hilton Tennant (alias Phillip Devine) were first fleet convicts. The other convict ancestors include Thomas Pearson, Edward Devine, Charles Homer Martin and Ann Doyle.
• MAP: "Georgefield" to Langholm, Eskdale, Scotland (394 KB)
  From Langholm one may head south to Carlisle, Liverpool and London, or north to Harwick and Edinburgh, but to head up to "Georgefield" is to enter confined Eskdale. Eskdale is somewhat constricted by the Silurian sedimentary rocks, and as a narrow valley does not carry any major through routes. In 1803, when the Murrays (who migrated to "Warrawang") were living here, Robert Southey described the dale as having a "quiet, sober character, a somewhat scenic melancholy kind of beauty"..."from a mountainous sweep and swell" descending to "green pastures where man has done little". The higher areas being clothed with heather and peat are known as 'black land'; in the dale bottoms sweet vernal grass and bent grow - this is the 'white land' that the Murray family of "Georgefield" farmed. There is a remarkable similarity between the setting of "Georgefield" and that of "Warrawang" where they settled in New South Wales.
• Murray Reunion in Muswellbrook July 1, 2006 (55 KB)
  A reunion of descendants of the Murray Family of "Warrawang" was held on the weekend of July 1-2, 2006 at Aberdeen and Muswellbrook NSW. The reunion coincided with the Highland Games held in Aberdeen, NSW. Dianne Walmsley, Peta Rogers and Barbara Murray convened the event. There were attendances at the Highland Games, at a Reunion Dinner and a coffee morning in Muswellbrook. Ray Becker displayed a wonderful collection of photos of the "Greenvale" Murrays including a photograph of Marion Noblett's childhood home, "Retreat Cottage" in Newtown, Sydney. (Marion, orphaned by a maritime accident when she was 2, was fostered and later married James Murray.) Robert Murray displayed his compilation of an illustrated family tree for the whole family. Margaret (Baker) Stehbens was custodian, for the weekend, of the wedding dupatta (shawl) worn by Contetty of Tellicherry in 1791. Susan Young, recently returned from Langholm and Eskdale, Scotland produced a slide show of these places from which the Murrays emigrated. Mark and Dianne Walmsley provided the technology to allow group photos to be immediately available to attendees. There were displays of photos and many stories shared, as well as the privilege of coming to know relatives for the first time. Around 100 attended, including some from Adelaide, the Perretts from Wandoan and Ray Becker from Baralaba, Queensland. Thankyou Barbara, Dianne, Peta and all who contributed as well as all attendees. See related file below for Identification of 2006 Reunion Group Photo.
• Family Bible of James Murray & Frances Noblett (35 KB)
  Three generations of births and deaths are recorded in the Family Bible that originally belonged to James & Frances Noblett Murray who lived on their "Green Vale" property at Taunton, north of Baffle Creek north-west of Bundaberg, Queensland. Their daughters married Harold Gwyther, Harry Blackman, Herbert Nicholson, Henry Allen & Ernest Alford. Their sons, William and John married Violet Barton and Lucy Pierce, respectively. One of the great granddaughters of James and Marian, Helen Waite Crowther is the current custodian of the Family Bible.
• "Warrawang", home of Murray families: 1844- 2004 (54 KB)
  Once the European explorers found a way from Sydney over the dissected sandstone plateau that is the Blue Mountains, pastoral settlers slowly began occupation of the grazing lands. When James Murray arrived in 1843 at Sydney from Scotland he crossed the mountains with his family, to take up land. At that time, James Walker, another Scot from Perth, was established at Wallerawang. Walker was a squatter in the extreme claiming vast areas to the north and west. Murray took up a small property 10kms to the west of Walker's head homestead. The site he chose was the head of a small valley rising on the Great Dividing Range at Mount Lambie. He built a simple house beside the small spring-fed stream. He named the property "Warrawang". For 4 generations, and a succession of 5 homesteads, it remained in the family until after the death of Robert Bruce Murray (1919-2001) when his widow reluctantly sold the property, April 2004.
• Lucy Murray (nee Pierce) and her 6 children (37 KB)
  In 1907, Lucy Pierce, "a Lady's Companion" at "Grevillia", Murray's Creek married John Murray, a grazier at Wolca Siding near Mount Perry, in Christ Church Bundaberg. They were married for only 11 years before John died. However, there were six children born. L-R: James, Eunice, Frances, Daphne, Ivy, and Julia. Lucy Pierce was born at Yandilla and is a descendant of First Fleet convict Thomas Hilton Tennant, who preferred to be known as Phillip Devine. So this marriage brought together squattocracy and convict lines from early Australian grazing history. Their children married as follows: James Murray m Margaret Barnes; Frances m1 Arthur Forrest who died in early marriage, then she had a partner Eric Rush, and later m2 Fred Stewart; Ivy m Percival Waite; Julia m Arthur Gilbert; Daphne has never married; Eunice m Ray Down.
• Surveyor's Tree at Warrawang & Original Homesite (28 KB)
  When the surveyor arrived at Warrawang, the homestead block was identified as Block 22. Kathryn Cole, a 6th generation Murray descendant stands in the dry creek bed, beside the survey mark that is 150 years old. The original Warrawang homestead was sited on the levelled area in the rear of this photograph, beside a flowing stream. [LINEAGE: Kathryn Louise Cole d/o Kerry Christine Murray d/o Robert Bruce Murray s/o Harold s/o Matthew s/o James Murray & Wilhelmina Reid.]
• The wonderful characters you meet at a Reunion (22 KB)
  Christopher Becker, Raymond Becker, Angelica Cole, June Inwood, Paul Inwood, Brian McKenzie, Barbara Murray. Yes they are all related: Brian is Paul's 2nd cousin, and Paul is son of June who is the 1st cousin of both Barbara's husband, Bill Murray and Pat Cole nee Murray. And while Pat is the grandmother of Angelica, she is also the 3rd cousin of Raymond who is the father of Christopher. And there you have it! Or if we start with Christopher those pictured with him from left to right are his father, his 4th cousin one generation removed, his 3rd cousin 1 removed, his 4th cousin, another 4th cousin and June is the wife of his 3rd cousin 1 removed. Got it?
• Barton Park Cemetery, Wallerawang is Heritage Item (42 KB)
  The earliest graves of the Murray family in Australia are to be found in the private cemetery of the Walker/Barton family at Wallerawang. Though the homestead site of the James Walker's head station is beneath the lake of the Wallerawang Power Station, the associated Barton Park Cemetery has been relocated and preserved. It is enhanced by its setting on a small point in the lake. While the cemetery contains the graves of the Walker and Barton family, other early settlers of the Wallerawang area are buried there, including Wilhelmina Reid Murray. There is also a headstone referencing the death of her daughter, Jessie Murray Corfield who died in childbirth (1853) on lonely Teebar Station, on the pastoral frontier inland of Maryborough, Wide Bay District. Jessie's lone grave is located just below the original homestead site on Teebar, on the creek flat. All that remains is the simple stone on which "Jessie" is barely discernible. However, her Warrawang family erected a headstone to her memory in Barton Park Cemetery. Others buried here include Thomas Brown, founder of Lithgow who died in 1889, Mary Blackman, and Bobby Cullen. Cullen was the son of an aboriginal woman of the Wallerawang aboriginal clan and of an European father. In his diaries, James Murray refers to his regular Sunday visits to James Walker at Wallerawang and then to "tea" with Thomas Brown at Eskbank, Lithgow. For access to this heritage cemetery, arrangments can be made with security at the Wallerawang Power Station. And one may visit historical "Eskbank" house in Lithgow and see the front room where James Murray and Thomas Brown shared tea and many conversations. [PHOTO: Ian Stehbens]
• Sybella Murray's sketch of "Warrawang" c.1855 (149 KB)
  Believed to be the work of Sybella, the 8th child of James & Minnie Murray, this sketch depicts the first "Warrawang" homestead to be built at Mount Lambie. Sybella was about 12 when the family built this homestead, the first of the 5 successive homesteads to be built. The girls were taught art, music, Latin, French as well as English, Mathematics and Literature. Their pioneer home had a library which had been brought from Scotland, and which remained at Warrawang until the property was sold in 2004.
• Jessie Murray Corfield's lone grave at Teebar, Q (49 KB)
  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.
• Warrawang Murray Children: Matthew Minnie Sybella (23 KB)
  The children of the immigrant Murray family that migrated to New South Wales became pioneers of Australian history. The 3 depicted remained in New South Wales, whilst the other 6 children went north and became pioneers of the Queensland pastoral frontier. Matthew inherited Warrawang; Wilhelmina stayed in the vicinity employing her time as a private teacher; and Sybella married locally to Henry Baylis a magistrate and live much of her married life at Wagga Wagga. Matthew 1825-1906; Wilhelmina 1828-1903; Sybella 1832-1891.
• Susan Young visits Georgefield, Eskdale: 2006 (217 KB)
  When Lt/Col Matthew Murray returned to Scotland from India after the death of his Indian born wife, Contiby, he settled at "Haregills". He remarried and he, his wife, Sarah Esplin, moved to Langholm in Eskdale. Here he died. One of his sons of Contiby, James, later lived at "Georgefield" upstream of Bentpath and it was from here that James Murray, together with his wife and family, emigrated to New South Wales. Generally, the Australian descendants today claim "Georgefield" as their ancestral home. Through her excellently composed photos, descendant Susan Young reveals Georgefield's unpretentious, simple and appealing architecture, and takes us to nearby Bentpath with its square-towered church, then into Langholm to the Crown Hotel at which James and Wilhelmine Murray and family were finally farewelled in 1843. [LINEAGE: Susan Young nee Baker d/o Philippa Baylis d/o Trevor Murray Baylis s/o Henry G Baylis s/o Sybella Murray d/o James Murray of "Warrawang" & formerly of "Georgefield".]
• Aboriginal members of Murray Household (46 KB)
  Mr Jimmy Possum (R) was an important member of the Murray household at "Rosedale". Orphaned by an attack on an aboriginal encampment in North Queensland, he was a small boy when rescued by investigating Native Police Officer, John Murray. This orphaned child was raised by John and Rachel Murray in their home "Kirtleton" at Cardwell, North Queensland. After John Murray died, Rachel returned to "Rosedale" near Bundaberg with her children, including her indigenous child, "Jimmy Possum". In Rachel Murray's diary, Possum is regularly mentioned as a resident in the house, working on the property, and accompanying her brother, James Little, who was the owner of "Rosedale". "I done Possum's room out...Possum and Joe came before dinner with the horses...Att, Possum, Joe, Arthur went & cut a drain through the grass at the end of the lagoon to let the water run out....James & Possum went out with Brotherton and got his cattle....Possum went visiting...I worked on Possum's hat...Gasner & Possum drew in timber for the buggy shed..." [Rachel Murray's Rosedale Diaries, 1893-94, transcribed by Robert Murray]. Possum married Tabena Sims on "Rosedale" in 1904. Taken at "Kirtleton", the other photo (L) of three of the Murray girls, Wilhelmina, Harriet & Julia (known respectively as Dolly, Bess and Sybel) with Louie, an aboriginal housegirl. The earlier generation of Murrays at Warrawang had Nelly as one of their aboriginal servants. And Jessie Murray wrote from "Teebar" of her companion, Bessy, with whom their was an affectionate relationship, though the two women had vast differences of education, experience and skills. "I asked Bessy the other day who made the trees and everything - she thought for some time then said she did not know. I told her about God who made all the white men and all the black men and that He would take care of her if she was good." [PHOTOS courtesy: Robert Murray]
• Warrawang Murray Children:James George Robert Fred (19 KB)
  Six of the Warrawang Murray children left the property and became pioneers of the Queensland Pastoral frontier. Jessie went with John and James to Wide Bay around 1850, where Jessie at first bore the domestic responsible so that the boys could establish themselves as squatters at Woolooga. But their first attempt failed because of the effective use of fire by the Kabi Kabi aboriginal men. Jessie married a squatter Henry Corfield. She died during her first pregnancy and was buried in a lone grave at Teebar Station, which grief-stricken Corfield then abandoned. John decided to join the Native Police to protect the squatters from aboriginal opposition and raids. James remained as a grazier, eventually settling north of Little's Rosedale property at "Green Vale" (north of Baffle Creek). The younger George, Robert and Fred all became members of the Queensland Native Police. From the beginning of the force to its disbandonment, Murray brothers were officers and magistrates of the Queensland Native Police. Their histories represent the changing attitudes of Queensland society to aboriginal-european relations through the 2nd half of the nineteenth century. Jessie 1824-53; John 1827-76; James 1836-81; George 1837-1910; Robert 1840-1918; Fred 1841-1915.
• Landscape Art of Parramatta Artist, Edna Hely (20 KB)
  In her own words, Edna Hely is "a landscape artist through and through". Her favourite settings include Parramatta Park and the Hunter Valley, but she and her late husband, Bob Hely, would travel Australia together searching for scenery to capture on canvas. Edna was tutored by Lebanese-born artist Michael Zaiter. Her work has often been commissioned and is hung internationally. Because her favourite work is of Parramatta Park, one will find her work hung in Parramatta Leagues Club and many other Parramatta venues. These oil paintings are "Misty Morn - Lake Parramatta", "At Govett's Leap" and "By The Murray River". Edna was born Edna Yvonne Murray and has lived much her life in Merrylands. [LINEAGE: Edna d/o Gertrude Johnson & Norman H Murray s/o Mary Anne Jane Werner & James Murray s/o Elizabeth Gardiner & Matthew Murray s/o James Murray & Wilhelmina Reid of "Warrawang", Rydal, NSW.]
• 6 Generations: Matthew Stehbens to James Murray (20 KB)
  Matthew Stehbens was born 19 April 2006 in Sunnybank, Queensland. He is first child of David & Karen Stehbens. From Matthew Stehbens to Matthew Murray his lineage is son of David Stehbens s/o Margaret Baker d/o Frances Murray d/o John Murray s/o James Murray of "Green Vale" s/o James Murray of "Warrawang" s/o Lt/Col Matthew Murray of "Georgefield" and Contety of Kerala, India.
• Frances Marian Noblett's childhood home in Newtown (26 KB)
  Francis Susan Marian Noblett was born in Sydney in 1849 and orphaned in 1851, following the death of her father from a lingering illness in January and the accidental drowning of her mother in March. The 2 year old infant, known as Marian Noblett, was fostered growing up in this comfortable home in Newtown, Sydney. The inscription on the photo in the handwriting of one of Marian's granddaughters reads, in part, "the house where Grandma lived when she was a little girl". The home was called "Retreat Cottage". When she lived with her parents they lived in Pitt Street, Surry Hills. Then she was raised in "Retreat Cottage" Newtown, we believe in the household of one the Newton brothers, her legal custodians. It is believed that the Newtons moved to Rockhampton establishing their drapery business there, and that Marian went with them. She found employment as a domestic servant with the Little Family who took up "Rosedale" Station, between Rockhampton and Bundaberg, Queensland. Here she met and married James Murray and they lived on "Green Vale" a few miles to the north of "Rosedale".
• Random Portraits from the Family Archives (20 KB)
  L-R: 1. Wilhelmina Helen Baylis daughter of Henry Baylis & Sybella Murray married Broughton Clayton Garland at the Baylis family home, "Goonigul", Wagga Wagga on 29 May 1880. Wilhelmine and Broughton Garland had 8 children: Sybella, Helen, Marian, Henry, Broughton, Kathleen, Murray and Adeline Baylis. 2. Broughton Clayton Garland. 3. Mollie Winifred Murray was the dau/o Harold & Ella Murray. She married David Thomas. 4. Sunset Wignall was born in Fremantle, Western Australia. He is the son of Zelda Leigh Anderson and grandson of Rita Mary Blackman. 5. Randolph Murray, usually known as "Delph" Murray was born in 1898, the son of Frederick and Annie (Case) Murray. He served in World War I. On his return, he married May Zoeller in 1922 and they had 2 sons. Delph Murray died in 1977. 6. Dressed for a Christmas celebration, Rita Mary (Blackman) Anderson was indeed a colourful personality. She was the dau/o Harry Blackman and Jessie Murray. This Jessie was a daughter of James and Marian Murray of "Green Vale" Lowmead, Queensland. Jessie was named after her father's special sister, who died in 1853 on "Teebar" west of Maryborough. James was deeply affected by his sister's death, the two of them having lived together only briefly and struggled on the lonely northern pastoral frontier. Both Jessie and James died tragic deaths.
• William Noblett of Gorey Ireland & Pitt St, Sydney (18 KB)
  William John Noblett came from Gorey, Wexford, Ireland to New South Wales. He was from a Protestant family (Church of Ireland). He established himself as a draper in Pitt Street, Sydney, conducting his enterprise as "Bee Hive" at 272 Pitt Street. In 1848, he married Frances Staines in Scots Church, Sydney. One of the witnesse was Samuel Staines, an older brother of Frances. Their daughter, Frances Susan Marian Noblett, was born in 1849, and a son was born but died in 1850. Then William Noblett himself died 1851. His death was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald: "On Saturday, the 18th instant, at his residence, Surry Hills, aged 28, after a lingering illness, Mr William John Noblett, son of Mr Noblett of Goery [sic.], County Wicklow [sic] Ireland, leaving a much bereaved wife and child to deplore their loss." Three months later his wife and her friend, Mrs Elizabeth Wood, both drowned as a result of a boating accident in Sydney Harbour. The images above are of Gorey, Wexford, Ireland and of a piece of paper kept by his daughter as a memento of her "father's handwriting", a father she hardly knew nor remembered. It is interesting to note that her own writing had a similar style to that of her father's. Marian Noblett became the matriarch of a branch of the Queensland Murrays. Her own husband, James Murray died accidentally aged 45, leaving Marian with 10 children to raise. [Image of handwriting, courtesy of Ray Becker]
• Noblett-Staines marriage : Scotts Church, Sydney (64 KB)
  James Murray of Warrawang married Frances Susan Marian Noblett and they settled on "Green Vale" near Lowmead, Queensland. But as Marian Noblett had been orphaned as a 2 year old, their many descendants have known little of her history. Her parents, Frances Staines and William Noblett died within 3 months of each other in early 1851, William from a lingering illness and then Frances as a result of a boating accident in Sydney. Now their history has been researched and can be revealed. They were married in Scots Church (pictured) in 1848. They were both Bounty immigrants, who arrived within a few days of each other in 1841. William arrived from Ireland on "Pearl" with more than 200 other Irish immigrants, whilst Frances migrated on the "Burhampooter" out of London and Plymouth. She was under the protection of Vice-Admiral Dobson of the Royal Navy who with his wife were paying passengers and were also migrating. Frances, in fact, was the personal maid of Mrs Dobson. She had left the village of North Kilworth in Leicestershire where her deceased father had been a blacksmith. Her widowed mother, Sarah (nee Davis) was pleased that she had a position serving Mrs Dobson. Frances, one of 9 children, was 20 years old when she migrated to New South Wales. She was able to read and write, she was in very good health and was a devoted Protestant Christian woman.
• Sybella & Henry Baylis of "Goonigul", Wagga Wagga (33 KB)
  Sybella Murray married Henry Baylis at Mount Lambie when he was Clerk of Petty Sessions at Hartley on 29 Jan 1857. The following January he took up a new appointment as Police Magistrate at Wagga Wagga, where he and Sybella raised their family of 9 children. It was during this time that he was held up and wounded by Dan Morgan and his accomplice, for which he received government compensation late in life. Besides portraits of Sybella and Henry, a view of historic Hartley and one of "Goonigul" the Baylis residence in Wagga Wagga, NSW are displayed in this montage. See Related Link for the story of Henry's encounter with Bushranger Dan Morgan. [Baylis children: James, Wilhelmina, Henry, Harold, Robert, Francis, Fred, Alfred & Arthur.]
• Insp. George Murray & Troopers of Q Native Police (148 KB)
  George Pultney Malcolm Murray became the chief Police Magistrate in Queensland. He served in the Queensland Native Police as an Officer and Inspector from the late 1850s until the turn of the century. Pictured with him are Trooper Carbine, Inspector John Marlow, Officer Compigne, and Trooper Billy Nimble.
• James & Marian Murray & family of "Green Vale", Q (30 KB)
  James Murray Jnr of "Warrawang" married Frances Marian Noblett, who had been both an orphan and a domestic servant on Walker's "Wallerawang" Station. She joined him in Queensland. James & Marian settled on "Green Vale" located north of Baffle Creek near today's Lowmead. Marion & James had 10 children, 7 of whom are depicted in this 1885 photograph: Mary 1874, Minnie 1875, Sarah 1873, John 1876, James 1877, Sybella 1879, Jessie 1880.[Photos courtesy: Marion Becker, Robert Murray]
• Walsh brothers go to War to fight for the Empire! (31 KB)
  Rockhampton-born Theodore, Berner and Edward Walsh served during World War I in a conflict that defeated and never forgave the German enemy, so guaranteeing another war built on resentment. Edward Walsh served in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, embarking in Newcastle in May 1915 aboard "HMAT Malakuta". Berner was a grazier working the family property at Murray's Creek near Rosedale, Bundaberg, when he enlisted. He served in the 5th Light Horse Regiment. He was sent into the battle as reinforcements aboard the "RMS Malwa" which departed Sydney in July 1916. Berner enlisted with his workmate Ernest Wurth, a Mount Perry lad who was working at Murray's Creek. As for Theodore Walsh he was assigned to 4th Pioneer Battalion and departed on "HMAT Boonah" out of Brisbane in October 1916. Edward and Berner served in Egypt and Palestine, whilst Theodore served briefly in Egypt before being sent to France. They all returned and lived in Queensland until their deaths in the 1950s and 1960s. They were 3 of the sons of Clavering Walsh and Rachel Rebekkah Murray. Rachel was the daughter of Rachel Little and John Murray; John was the son of James and Wilhelmine Murray of "Warrawang", NSW.
• Lucy Pierce Murray and her children (55 KB)
  Lucy Caroline Pierce was a descendant of a First Fleet convict, Phillip Devine. In 1907 she married grazier John Murray, who was the grandson of an original squatter, and the two classes in pioneer Australia came together. After only 12 years of marriage, John died and Lucy raised her children who are pictured with her: James Murray, Ivy Eileen Murray, Frances Anne Murray, Julia Lucy Murray, Eunice Jessie Murray and Daphne Pierce Murray. All the children were born in Bundaberg but after their father's death the family moved to Brisbane. Daphne is the only surviving member of this nuclear family, though there are some 80 living descendants (2005). [Photo courtesy Eunice Jessie Down]
• Frances Staines born beside the Grand Union Canal (32 KB)
  The picturesque rural landscape of the English Midlands is enhanced by the Grand Union Canal as it wends its way from the Thames north to the Soar and Trent Rivers. Sometimes cutting through the ridges, sometimes led by tunnel through waterdivides, the Grand Union Canal brought new possibilities to the cities it linked and to the villages that happened to be beside it. Serene today, it was once a lifeblood artery of the industrial revolution. Villages that sat beside it provided services for both the canalmen and those who brought cargo to the canalboats. Those minutae villages of the rural Midlands that happened to be beside the canal became busy communities with pubs and blacksmiths servicing the needs of the boatmen and of the farmers whose commodities could be sent to Leicester, Northampton, Birmingham and London. This photo was taken between two of them: Crick and North Kilworth. Construction began in the 1790s and by 1810 the Canal was handling 350 000 tons of cargo in London. Into this story, enter Thomas Staines. Thomas was a blacksmith who settled at North Kilworth to operate as a blacksmith. He married Sarah Davis and they had 9 children, raising 8 of them: Thomas 1811, William 1813, Elizabeth 1815, John 1816, Anne 1818, Samuel 1819, Frances 1821, Catherine 1823, John 1827. At least 2 of their children, Frances and Samuel Staines both migrated to New South Wales as young adults, Frances as a lady's maid to Mrs Dobson wife of a Royal Naval captain. Frances married William John Noblett in Sydney. Their daughter, Frances Susan Marion Noblett married James Murray and from them one of the Queensland clans of Warrawang Murrays descend. [PHOTO: Ian Sehbens]
• Family of James & Marion Murray of Green Vale, Q (57 KB)
  L-R Back: William, Wilhelmina, John, Sybella; L-R Front: Marion known as Mary, Jessie, Julia and Sarah. James Murray and Frances Marion Noblett had 10 children born in 10 years between 1871 and 1881. There were 2 other children who are not pictured, Jessie (1st) and James. The family lived north of Baffle Creek on "Green Vale". William married Violet Barton, Sarah married Henry P Allen, Mary m Harold Gwyther, Wilhelmina m Herbert Nicholson, John m Lucy Pierce, Sybella never married, Jessie m Harry Blackman, and Julia m Ernest Alford. Julia Alford lived at Baralaba, and Sarah Allen lived with Bella Murray at Dutton Park in their later years of life.
• Frances Noblett drowned in Rushcutters Bay, 1851 (50 KB)
  Rushcutters Bay, Sydney 2007. It was here that a tragic family accident occured on March 30, 1851. Mrs Frances Noblett and a friend, Mrs Elizabeth Woods, tragically drowned just as they were setting off to return to Sydney. They and Mrs Woods' husband were in a small sailing boat sailed by its owner Mr McDonald. It was 7pm and night was falling. Mr McDonald realised that a red flag had become entangled and he climbed the mast to disentangle it. As he was up the mast, the small vessel rolled and the two women quickly moved to the high side of the vessel, which accentuated its return roll, especially with the man up the mast. They were tossed into the warm but dark bay, and Mrs Woods sank immediately, and all attempts by Mr McDonald to locate and rescue Frances Noblett failed, and she too drowned. Later, their bodies were recovered and taken to Mr Douglass's public-house, corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney where the coroner's inquest was held, with the verdict "accidental drowning". When Frances and Elizabeth were buried, each funeral left from the residence of Frances in Pitt Street, Surry Hills. As Mr William Noblett, Frances' husband of 3 years had died 10 weeks earlier from a "lingering illness", their 2 year old child, Marian Noblett, was orphaned. She later married James Murray Jr. of "Warrawang", whom she met and married in Queensland, where she worked as a domestic servant and he was a pioneer grazier. [Research by Margaret Stehbens, a great great grand-daughter of Frances Noblett. Photo: courtesy Ian Stehbens 12/2006]
• Robyn Perrett is a keen Murray family historian (35 KB)
  Robyn Perrett is pictured ensconced in a book during a Hervey Bay holiday. Robyn Perrett is a custodian and sharer of Murray family history. Her mother Rita (Blackman) Anderson was a keen gatherer of family history and when she died, Robyn became the keeper of the treasures. Robyn is the widow of Bruce N S Perrett and mother of Joetta, Hamish and Heidi. [LINEAGE: Robyn d/o Rita Blackman d/o Jessie Murray d/o James Murray of "Green Vale", Lowood, Queensland s/o James Murray of "Warrawang", Mt Lambie NSW s/o Matthew Murray of "Georgefield" Langholm, Scotland s/o James Murray s/o Charles Murray]
• Badges and lantern: "Heroic Service" memorabilia (62 KB)
  Our family "patriarch", Lt/Col Matthew Murray served as a young cadet in the King's Own Scottish Borderers, then went to India enlisting in the Indian Army in Bombay in 1771. He served as a Commandant and Captain Commandant in charge of Sepoy infantry, being promoted to rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1796. After the death of his Indian wife in 1798, he returned with his 3 children to his native Scotland. His King's Own Scottish Borderers badge has been prized memorabilia in the family ever since, and it came to Australia with his son, James Murray in 1843. The second item is the badge of the Native Police that served in New South Wales. John Murray, son of James, joined as an officer in 1852 and served under Commandant Walker, mostly in the Wide Bay and Curtis District of New South Wales (Queensland from 1859). Robert Murray (or Boby Murray as he was known in the family) followed his older brothers, John and George, into service with the Queensland Native Police. His issued lantern is a valued family hierloom today. Robert (1840-1914) was the 6th of 7 sons of James and Wilhelmina Murray of "Warrawang" near Rydal, New South Wales.
• New Cairn on Jessie Corfield's grave, Teebar, Q. (425 KB)
  In 2002, the original headstone erected on the grave of Jessie Corfield was replaced by Rita Mary Anderson, a grandniece of Jessie. The original is depicted elsewhere on this website. The new inscription reads "In Memory of / JESSIE CORFIELD / NEE MURRAY / WALLERAWANG NSW / WIFE OF / HENRY COX CORFIELD / TEEBAR STATION / 1824 - 1853." The original Teebar Station that Henry Corfield took up in 1850 was eventually broken up into several separate properties, which today include notably "Malarga" on Teebar Creek, the property of Peter & Joy Hughes and Cameron & Lisa Hughes and "Koonoori" on Dry Creek, which is the property of the Corfield Families. This family of Corfield is distantly related to Henry Cox Corfield and all descend from the Corfields of Somerset, England. It is but a remarkable coincidence that the present Corfields are the owners of land that was first taken up by Henry Corfield! When Rita Anderson decided upon erecting the cairn to remember Jessie Murray Corfield on Teebar, she approached Mr Corfield of "Koonoori" for a subscription towards the cost of the memorial and he made a substantial donation.
• Joetta Perrett won Human Rights poster competition (17 KB)
  Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission launched a poster competition to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 1998. Joetta Perrett, then a 17 year old student at Fairholme College, Toowomba, Queensland won the competition with her colorful and celebratory design. [LINEAGE: Joetta d/o Robyn Anderson d/o Rita Blackman d/o Jessie Murray d/o James Murray s/o James Murray of Warrawang, Mt Lambie, NSW s/o Matthew s/o James s/o Charles Murray]
• 1825 Will & Inventory of Lt/Col Matthew Murray (46 KB)
  Lieut/Col Matthew Murray died in 1811, but in 1825 it was discovered by 2 of his surviving executors, Scott Elliot Esq & George Henderson, that Matthew Murray had acquired bonds a couple of months before his death. The original inventory was valued at £2,207 and the bonds added £1,220 to the value of his estate. This testament is that which declares the discovery of the bonds and permits the executors to distribute and discharge this balance of the assets. This Testament Testamentar was signed by the Clerk of Court of Dumfries, 18 May 1825, 14 years after Matthew's death. [Matthew Murray's military service history was researched by Merryl Uebel-Yan.]
• Separated Cousins share their common history (53 KB)
  When Helen Crowther learnt, years ago, of the existence of her cousins who had been relinquished for adoption, she never imagined that one day she would find them again. Pictured at Helen's home in Ascot, are Helen sharing her collection of historical family photos with her cousin Margaret Stehbens, and with Margaret's son, David Stehbens. It was a very special occasion for both women, who were particularly aware of physical similarities and were continually remarking that traits were so strongly recognizable. Margaret was one of 3 children of Frances Murray who were relinquished for adoption in the 1940s, and didn't discover their siblings let alone their cousins until 1995. Wonderful reunions and very meaningful relationships have given real joy to many people. "If only Frances were here!" was the oft repeated response of Frances' sisters to reunion with Margaret. [LINEAGE: Helen Waite d/o Ivy Murray d/o John Murray. David Stehbens s/o Margaret Baker d/o Frances Murray d/o John Murray. John Murray s/o James Murray of "Green Vale" s/o James Murray of "Warrawang"]
• Life of Adeline Garland Johnson 1892-1986 (21 KB)
  Adeline Jesse Garland was born in Wagga Wagga in 1892 and died in Mosman, New South Wales in 1986. Being the daughter of Broughton Clayton Garland and Wilhelmina Helen Baylis she has a very rich ancestry of Australian pioneering families. Added to that, her marriage to James Johnson who had ancestors from the First Fleet, the Second Fleet and from the First Settlement on Norfolk Island, one can understand why she was very much a family historian, when family history was not the fashion that it is today. She is survived by only two grandchildren, William Goltz of Tasmania and Evelyn Goltz of Chatswood, New South Wales.
• Rachael Heidi Pontifex added to the family tree (28 KB)
  On Friday 14th October 2005, Rachael Pontifex was born in Nepaean Private Hospital, Penrith NSW. She is the first child of Gary Alan & Heidi Catherine Pontifex of St Clair NSW. The photo of Rachael taken the day she was born is compared with that of her mother when she was born 26 years earlier. [LINEAGE: Rachael Pontifex d/o Heidi Stehbens d/o Margaret Baker d/o Frances Murray d/o John Murray s/o James Murray s/o James Murray & Wilhelmine Reid of "Warrawang"]
• Dennis Neil & Kay Gilbert and family (1967 & 1972) (28 KB)
  Kay Gilbert married Dennis Neil in Brisbane in 1967. The first of their 3 children, Rachel and Bradley are pictured in 1972. These are classic photos from the 1960s and 1970s, an era when many family photos were taken on non-permanent colour film, as the era of B&W was being left behind. Thankfully, the restorative capacity of digital photography makes it possible to restore those fading photos, as in the case of the right photo. Kay is the daughter of Arthur Gilbert & Julia Murray d/o John Murray s/o James Murray of "Green Vale" s/o James Murray of "Warrawang".
• Kirby Waite marries Ivy Eileen Murray 21/9/1940 (20 KB)
  English born Percival Kirby Waite married Ivy Eileen Murray in the Fortitude Valley Church of England on 21 September 1940. This image is taken from the copy of the photograph that was given to her sister, Frances, by Ivy. Kirby and Ivy raised three daughters, Diana, Helen and Caroline. [LINEAGE: Ivy d/o John Murray s/o James Murray of "Green Vale" s/o James Murray of "Warrawang"]
• Garland, Garland, Garland (26 KB)
  There are many Garlands to sort out. After all, in successive generations Garlands married Garlands. My Family Tree program is not convinced that the data I have entered is correct! But it is. Now for a few of the Garland family: Rosanna Carne Garland (R) and her younger brother, John Archer Garland are 2 of the grandchildren of David Murray Garland (L). David is being hugged by his sister, Elinor Mollie Bielefeld. The Scottish tradition of using surnames as given names reveals much of the genealogical history of the family. Carne, Archer and Murray are examples. Consider the lineage of these members of our large family. Rosanna and John are c/o Stuart John Garland s/o Robert Murray Garland. Robert and Elinor are c/o Archer Cairnton Garland and Marian Isabel Garland d/o Broughton Clayton Garland & Wilhelmina Baylis d/o Henry Baylis & Sybella Murray d/o Wilhelmina Reid & James Murray. David and his wife, Peg, live in Mudgee, NSW and Rosanna and John come from Grafton, NSW.
• Betsy Broughton and her Garland & Murray relatives (11 KB)
  Betsy Broughton was the infant daughter of First Fleet cabin boy, William Broughton, when she survived a gruesome massacre of 66 of the 70 aboard the "Boyd". Betsy was 2 at the time and in the company of her mother on a voyage to England. The vessel left Sydney and returned a Moari chief's son to North Island New Zealand. Evidently, he had not cooperated to work his passage home, so he was flogged. Once returned, his reports demanded utu as retributive justice or accepted Moari honour at that time. Consequently unsuspecting crew, while looking for kauri spars, were massacred, and others were cannabalised or unintentionally killed in fire and explosion at the ship. Only 4 known survivors were rescued. Betsy was then taken on a ship that came close to further tragedy on its way to Cape Horn and England. Spending time being nursed back to health in Peru, eventually returned to England and educated, she finally returned to New South Wales. In NSW she married Charles Throsby, and they established "Throsby Park" at Moss Vale. She bore 17 children. This incredible story, and her life links to the Murray family, because her nephew Broughton Clayton Garland married Wilhelmina Helen Baylis, daughter of Sybella Murray and magistrate Henry Baylis. In addition as 1st cousins married 1st cousins in at least 2 successive generations the relationships are well linked. The images are of Betsy (Elizabeth Isabella) Broughton, Broughton Clayton Garland and his wife, Wilhelmina Baylis. Broughton Garland was the son of Betsy's half-sister, Emma Carne Broughton. [For an account of Betsy' experiences see the Related Link below.]
• Not the Wedding Dupatta of Contetty of Tellicherry (1 KB)
  The family has in its possession a silk shawl, which is said to have been the shawl or dupatta worn by Contity, a "native woman of Tellicherry" when she married Lt/Col Matthew Murray in the English Church in Tellicherry about 1784. Lt/Col Murray was serving in the Indian Army. His bride was certainly a woman of high caste, and legend has it that she was the daughter of a Raj. This dupatta (or shawl) appeared to be testimony to her high status, as it is of the finest silk and beautifully handwoven. Matthew Murray served in the Honourable East India Company, in the Bombay Presidency, Indian Army. His military history in India began in 1771 at Bombay. From 1785 he was Captain Commandant, 3rd Battalion of Sepoys. During this period he married, and in 1796 he was promoted to Lt Colonel, 1/4th Battalion Native Infantry commanding at Cannanore (Kannur), Kerala, India. While his bride's name has come down to us as "Contity" or "Contiby", it was spelt "Contetty" when her granddaughters were named after her. However the legendry silk shawl was NOT created until after 1820 and more probably in the 1830s, and the technique of its weave proves that it was created in Scotland. This is therfore not the shawl of Contiby! This family icon is certainly beautifully woven of fine silk and has a colourful floral pattern woven at each end. The dupatta is ecru coloured. The shawl has been very carefully preserved in the family, its guardianship being handed on from generation to generation in trust for the whole family.So whose was it? Was it a gift? Perhaps it was given to Mrs Wilhelmine Murray prior to her departure for New South Wales in 1843. The Murrays were certainly well connected at the time to the Maxwells, Littles and Browns for example. And they were given a special community send-off. We may never know, but though it is a treasure, it was not woven in India nor before 1820. Its dimensions are 3m x 660mm and it came from Scotland.

• Susan Young's Letter from LANGHOLM, Scotland 2006 (5 KB)
  Susan Young visited Langholm and "Georgefield" for the first time in 2006. She writes of her experience, telling of her encounters with some locals, and of finding the names of James and his son Matthew Murray recorded on the wall of the pub. Her photographs will become available to members of the family, beginning with the Murray family Reunion at Aberdeen, New South Wales on July 1 & 2, 2006.
• 1848 Letter from Warrawang to Langholm Scotland (9 KB)
  James Murray writes home to his niece, Jessie Borthwick Murray, who now lives in Langholm. [Jessie was the 28 year old daughter of John Murray, James' older brother.] John had died in 1837, and as he had no adult male heirs, James had expected to inherit the property as trustee for John's children. Instead a court determined that it should go to James half-brother William. Behind this letter, and in subtle ways in it, this family dispute is hinted at. James has both an obvious affection for his niece and a fatherly authority is exercised in the letter. Of historical significance are the events he describes taking place in their colonial lives. James tells of his son John's leaving with a flock of sheep in search of land beyond the Castlereagh River. He describes life at Warrawang in the early years. And he portrays a network of relationships that he has had to leave behind in the dales around Langholm, Dumfries, Scotland. This is a significant primary source document that reveals the culture, values and relationships that pioneered pastoral New South Wales. John Murray eventually squatted at Woolooga, only to be defeated by the indigenous residents of the district who used fire to defeat the would-be pastoralists. John Murray became a trooper that policed the pastoral frontier. James Murray stayed at "Warrawang" at Mount Lambie near Rydal.
• Murray 2006 Reunion Group Photo: Identifications (1 KB)
  The identities of the people in the Murray Reunion group photo that appears in the Family Photos section of this website are listed in this file.
• Descendants of James & Wilhelmine (Reid) Murray (13 KB)
  The first 2 Generations of the descendants of James Murray and his wife Wilhelmine Reid are outlined. Their 13 children produced 54 grandchildren. An aboriginal orphan from North Queensland, Jimmy Possum, was fostered by John & Rachael Murray. After John's death at Cardwell, Rachel and her children as well as Jimmy Possum, moved to "Rosedale", the property of Rachel's parents, John and Catherine Little. Within the 2 generations the Murray family had dispersed from "Warrawang" near Lithgow to Berrima, Mudgee and Wagga Wagga in NSW, to Sydney suburbs such as Homebush, Petersham, Concord and Randwick, and through Queensland. Between Jessie's lone grave at Teebar and John's at Cardwell, the family settled the pastoral districts at Rosedale, Taunton, Bundaberg, Gin Gin, Maryborough, Baralaba, Springsure and Blackall. Some settled in Brisbane and one family crossed the Tasman to New Zealand.
• History of orphaned Frances Marian Noblett (7 KB)
  Frances Susan Marian Noblett was the wife of James Murray Jr. They took up "Green Vale" and have a large number of descendants. But as Marian was orphaned, age 2, little has been known of her family history. Research has now uncovered her history. Both her parents came to Australia separately as Bounty immigrants, and both arrived in August 1841. The circumstances of their journeys, their deaths and their companions make a very interesting story. This file tells what has been found. It takes us back to Gorey in Ireland, and to North Kilworth in England: to a pub in the Wicklow Gap and to a wharf on the Grand Union Canal. We are introduced to Captain Dobson, and discover that Marian's mother was not the only member of her family in Sydney.
• Tribute to AIMEE SYBIL CAINES of Nyngan 1922-1980 (3 KB)
  Based on the Obituary given by Joseph Caines, her husband, at her funeral service, this tribute is to a "wonderful Lady who never had an unkind word for anyone." She was a 4th generation descendant of James and Wilhelmine Murray of Warrawang, Rydal, NSW.
• Life Story of JESSIE MURRAY CORFIELD 1824-53 (6 KB)
  The letters of Jessie Murray and the written notes of her brother John give vivid insights into the deprivation, courage and sacrifice of this young woman. Jessie Murray married Henry Corfield at "Wulooga" Wide Bay, New South Wales in 1852. Jessie and 2 younger brothers John and James Murray had left their "Warrawang" family home to take up land on the northern pastoral frontier. But their first attempts were defeated by the resistance of the aboriginal people of the Kgi'kgami people of the Kabi nation. The Murray Brothers at "Wulooga" (today: Woolooga, Queensland) and Jessie's husband, Henry Cox Corfield at "Teebar" (Teebar, Queensland) were both defeated in their attempts to alienate land from the aboriginal people for pastoral use. Jessie migrated to this frontier to care for her brothers and as they were defeated, she married Corfield with whom she moved to "Teebar". Sadly she died in her first pregnancy. There are two gravestones to her memory: one on a rough sandstone flagging, its inscription now barely discernible, marking her lone grave on the northern pastoral frontier and the other erected by her grieving parents at Wallerawang, NSW. This is a brief account of her life journey, of tenderness, faith, courage, suffering and sacrifice. In his defeat as a grazier, her brother John became one of the early officers of the Native Police, later the notorious Queensland Native Police. After Jessie's death, H. C. Corfield married Alethea Huey on Sweers Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, acquired "Stanton Harcourt" grazing property near Childers, and later "Woongool" sugar plantation at Maryborough, Queensland. To read the brief account of her life click on the title bar above. (Her life story was compiled by Ian Stehbens)
• Bundaberg News Mail obit for Mr J J At Murray 1936 (1 KB)
  This obituary was published in the Bundaberg News Mail in 1936. Mr John James Athelstane Murray was usually known as "At" Murray. He was the son of John & Rebecca Murray. A grandson, Robert Murray and a great niece, Frances Margaret (nee Prater) O'Neil are historians and archivists of At Murray's history.
• Historical families of Dumfriesshire, Scotland (342 KB)
  "The Historical Families of Dumfriesshire and the Border Wars" was written by one of the Johnstones, C L Johnstone in 1878. The Johnstone, Maxwell and Murray Clans have lived in Eskdale and Annandale for centuries, their antecedents being from both "tribal savages" of the Dumfries area and "invaders" who were part of the Norman conquest of England, and who were rewarded with lands allocated to them in the North. Our line of Murrays were the lairds of "Georgefield" in Eskdale and their near neighbours included the Johnstones of "Westerhall" and Browns of "Westerkirk". When James Murray, grandson of Sir Charles Murray emigrated to New South Wales, he brought with him oil portraits painted by a Mr Maxwell who was a close friend. The Eskdale connections continued in Australia, and Mr Murray would regularly ride to Mr Thomas Brown's home, "Eskbank" in Lithgow for Sunday tea. Thomas Brown was born nextdoor to Murray at Westerkirk, near Langholm and had married Mary Maxwell. While some of the Maxwell family migrated to New South Wales earlier than Brown, others came later. Thomas and Mary Brown migrated 1838 and James and Wilhelmina Murray migrated in 1843. All of these relationships were significant, historically, and they determined where the Murray family settled. The manuscript of Johnstone is an historical account tracing the history of Dumfriesshire families from the Norman Invasion. It also vividly portrays the conflict and vengeance between the Johnstones and the Maxwells, especially in the 16th century. It is worth the read, but having a detailed atlas of the area north of Carlisle including Langholm, Lockerbie, Annan and Dumfries by one's side while reading would make it more easily understood.
• John Malcolm published "Sketches of Persia" (1 KB)
  John Malcom and Matthew Murray were contemporaries who made their careers in the Indian Army. They both were sons of Eskdale farmers. Matthew married in India in 1791 and after his wife's death returned with his children to Eskdale, whilst John Malcolm served the East India Company and travelled to Persia. His travels led him into publishing and to becoming a historian.
• Surnames in Langholm, 1851 Census of Scotland (2 KB)
  The Census of Scotland lists every member of each household. This 1851 census is the first taken after the Murray family emigrated to New South Wales. The list is of surnames in the Parish of Langholm which included Westerhall, Westerkirk and Georgefield. The Murray's associates in their new world included many of the same families, several to whom they were already related or to whom they became related in the more limited world of the Australian pastoral frontier. Families in both hemispheres with whom the Murrays were closely involved included BROWN, JARDINE, JOHNSTONE, LITTLE, MAXWELL and WALKER.
• Some academic research by Merryl Uebel-Yan (4 KB)
  Merryl Uebel-Yan lives in New South Wales, a descendant of Matthew Murray, second son of James & Wilhelmina Murray of "Warrawang". This file describes two of her pieces of academic research. In 1999, she co-authored a research paper "Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluations of Brief Interventions to Change Excessive Drinking, Smoking and Stress in the Police Force". Then as a result of her giving birth to a child with Downs Syndrome, she undertook personally significant research, investigating the ways parents of children with disabilities acquire information that they need to adapt to and respond to the needs of their children. Merryl has also been one of the researchers of Murray family history.

• The global STEHBENS STEBENS Family (connected to Murrays)
• Murray Family Reunion at Aberdeen NSW July 1, 2006
• Indigenous People of Wallerawang District
• History of Native Police & brass button artifact: Musem
• History of Dumfries: Maxwell, Johnstone & Murray
• Photos of Teebar and Jessie Murray's Grave
• Thomas Brown of Eskbank, James Murray's close friend & ally
• North Kilworth Wharf on Grand Union Canal: pics & history
• Betsy Broughton survives a massacre in New Zealand; 1805
• 2008 Photo of Warrawang on Panoramio
• AUSSIE KIDS descended from the Stehbens & Murray Families
• Biography of Squatter James Walker of Wallerawang, NSW
• Life story of Henry Baylis, Magistrate @ Hartley & Wagga
• Lucky Bullet of Henry Baylis: Conversations with Bushrangers

Margaret Stehbens

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