Early Jottings of the Upper Page and Isis River Districts
The earliest settlement of the Isis River I can find was the taking up of three grants by James White and Dr James Bowman in 1839. James White came out with sheep for the A. A. Company and arrived in 1826. James Bowman married a sister of John Macarthur and was superintendent of the A. A. Company.
The first 1200 acres James White got was at the junction of the Isis and Timor Creek. James Bowman took up the next block of 1200 acres where the broadcrossing is on the Isis. The next block was taken by James White where Isaacs Creek joins the Isis.
There is still evidence of shepherds' camps on this area.
The next were the Arndells. One got Glen Dhu and a brother and sister got two selections called Lilberne. In those days you had to live on your selection. So brother and sister Arndell built their house half on each block. She did the housekeeping and he did the clearing.
It must be remembered in those early days it was a completely separate area to Murrurundi and at that time all provisions came from Morpeth.
In the early 1870's many more families came and settled, the majority coming from Wollombi. These families brought all their possessions by dray or pack horse. They include the Watsons, Edmonds, Batterhams, Cabans (Angus Martin in 1873 took up Mountain View ~ he did not come from Wollombi) all of whom are all still living in the district. Others to come later were the Drurys, Tinseys, Murphys and McDonalds and Ivans.
It was a fairly close community and held in the same families for many years, however, a number of places have changed hands over the last three decades.
The first road from the Isis to Blandford was over the Zig Zag. It was a very steep and windy track. The bends were so sharp the bullock team had difficulty negotiating them. The last bullock waggon crossing the Isis River. Teamster Jack Martin of Mountain View, Timor homestead in the early 1900 's.
It is said that the team would be pulled round as far as possible then the leading bullocks would be brought back and put onto the rear of the wagon and pulled round so the wheels would not go over the edge. Some 20 years ago Mr Bill Greer and myself, when we were on the Pastures Protection Board, walked from Pondi to Coogah and the woodwork on some of the culverts was still there.
There was a bridle track in more or less where the present Timor Blandford road is today. This road was not made trafficable until the early 1900's. In the early days one mail a week used to come by pack horse from Blandford. Then later, two mails a week from Blandford to Nundle. Later a sulky and horse brought the mail and Orarn, I think, who was the post master at Blandford had the contract. Following him Ernie Morgan then Dan Mowett — he was the first one to use a motor vehicle. He used to pick up cartage from Blandford Railway and deliver it. On one occasion he backed out from the Goods Shed at Blandford and went down the gully and wrecked his truck.
Some of the originals. James White who died at Edinglassey at an early age, was really the first grazier of this grant. On his death his eldest son James, later a member of Parliament and breeder of Chester who won the Melbourne Cup, took charge. Later when my grandfather, F. R. W., was 16 he took over and extended the area to eventually 64,000 acres when he bought Harben Vale from Warland and Glen Dhu from his brother-in-law Arndell in 1860.
When he married and went to live at Harben Vale, his first two children were born at what is now Whissonsett and had to be carried on horse-back to Murrurundi to be christened. The old Whissonsett house was exchanged for a block A. McDonald had in the centre of Timor.
In the early 70's the Watsons, Edmonds, Batterhams, Cabans all arrived and settled in the Lower Timor area. There, their descendants still live. A. Martin took up Mountain View in 1873 and his descendants are still prominent in the district.
Who I knew 70 years ago as people on these properties. Crawney, G. Ireland family Lincoln, N. Ryan, Minto, R. Parkins; Tinseys block, Tinsey family; Ten Mile, Fenton and Hawkins Fentons, G. Fenton and R. Hawkins; Mountain View, A. Martin, Ryvale over Fenton and R. Hawkins Allston, A. Ivan; Lilberne, G. Arndell; Moss Vale and head of Isaacs Creek; Watson family Bonnie Doon, Bush family Ranch, T. Murphy; Whissonsett, McDonald family; Timor, White family; Mt. Pleasant, Edmonds family; Glen Lome, Edmonds family; Roseneath and calf shed, Batterham family; Waverley, Whites and the Payne family; Pondi, Watson family; Tinseys of Green Creek; Welhiha at Rockland; Green Creek, Drury family now Morley Downs; D. Pinkerton now Duxford; G. Barwick.
I know a lot of these places, names and owners have changed. Tile oldest building I can find built approximately 1860, ‘Corn 5 tied.’
Odd things I have heard:
In 1875 Steve Watson and his family came up and selected Sunnyside and it is stated Mr Steve Watson was three years old and one statement is he came on a pack horse, he on one side and a pig on the other. Another version is he came up on a dray and some pigs.
In the early days, my grandfather, F. R. W., owned Dancing Dick (now Yarrabin, which name was changed by Rex Linsley when he bought it). The name Dancing Dick which the creek is still named. This was a shepherd who every night danced round his fire so this was named after him.
A wanderer drowned in the Isis River in the 1880's and was put in a box and loaded on a bullock dray and buried on a hill and the stones are still there. Just above where Brian and Judy Purcell live, it was very steep and the coffin came back and fell off the dray and opened up and they had to nail it up again and the stones are still there.
Sunnyside
built in 1902 by Harry Heyman. Hollie Q (Mr and Mrs Levi Warson. Sr. Peier's in foreground built 1883. (Kindly lent by Mrs. L. Caban. A photograph from an old pail/ring). Timor wool ream, 14 pure Clydesdale horses. Watson famity taken at Sunnyside, late 1 890's: (L. to R.J Back row: Thomas Isaac Watson, Edward (Ned) Watson, Susannah Warsoll, Hope Levi (Bob) Watson, Edith Watson, Jane Watson, Stephen Watson. Front row: Elsie Warson, Esther Watson (Mrs Levi Watson), Mrs Sarah Edmonds (Mrs Levi Watson's mother}, Edwin Warson (Bitty) and Mr Levi Warson. iKindly ~ lent by Mrs. L. Caban).
Another story is one of the old Fentons who could not read, was sick and the doctor gave him some medicine to be taken in water three times a day - so he undressed and got into the creek and took the medicine three times a day. He lived till about 90.
At one time there was silver at Lower Timor and is called the Silvermines, but I don't know if anyone made their fortune.
The Timor Caves are a very popular picnic place and are limestone caves and apparently very old.
St. Peter's Anglican Church at Timor was built in 1883 and over 500 people gathered for its Centenary and is now a National Trust.
A hundred years ago the roads were hard to travel in horse drawn vehicles but today they are mostly sealed and the others well gravelled and bridges over all main streams.
We have school buses to both primary and high. Now most stock are transported by road transport. But I well remember large mobs of 600 to 1000 cattle travelling past here to Singleton or beyond.
In my short lifetime I have seen such a tremendous change and have to admire the early pioneers.