A Sunday Afternoon Chat - 1875

It was a warm Sunday afternoon in late February 1875 and old Joe Hollinshead had made the ride from his home on the Kangaroo Ground on the western side of Millfield to Ellalong, about 5 miles distant. Joe was pretty good for his eighty years, he had passed his old place at Wyalla as he rode out of Millfield and arrived at John Matthew's abode, such as it was, mid afternoon. Joe was on a mission, he needed to have a conversation with Tom Matthews whom he had known for many years but had not seen for some time. Joe believed Tom to living with his son John.

Joe didn't dismount, just called out "Hey young Matthews, is that old man of yours about? I want to talk to him."

John Matthews appeared on the veranda, ducking his head under the low portal of the doorway, he beckoned Joe in saying "Come, sit here on the veranda, get yourself some shade, I'll go - see if the old man wants to talk to yer." Joe grunted as he bent down in the saddle and slipped the top sliprail back dropping it on the ground and gave his horse a kick to step over the bottom rail. He moved the horse up to the veranda and stepped off.

Joe was fiddling with his pipe when a man, not as old man as Joe, but thin and bent came out of the house saying "Joe Hollinshead, what the hell do you want?" and added, "Let you out I see."

"Let me out! It's you that should be in, hides found in the bush and all that. All I can say is that you and that son of yours must tell a good story. I reckon Edmunds wouldn't be too pleased, a cow and a heifer. Got any meat still?" Joe loves to stick it to Tom Matthews whom he holds in some disdain. "Anyhow never mind all that, and I still reckon that heifer was mine" Joe retorted as he slipped his pipe back in his coat pocket "I got other matters that I need to have a serious talk to you bout."

"Yer what?, I don't owe you nothin."

Joe never let anything go by "You might not but I reckon there's plenty you do owe, anyhow I am not here about that."

"What then, my boy John here does all my business these days, talk to him."

"No it's you that I need to get a couple of things sorted with."

"Aye you got any tobacco then? I can't talk without a smoke." With that Joe pulls his pipe out of his coat pocket, a block of tobacco and a pocket knife, he pares of a few slices which he drops into Tom's hand and proceeds to pack his own pipe.

Tom yells out "Hey John get me pipe will yer, old Joe here has come good with some tobacco. He must want something real bad" Tom turns to Joe sensing he has the upper hand. "What is it then Joe?"

"It's that lad of yours, George." Looking at Tom as if expecting Tom will know what the subject is.

"Now look 'ere Joe, George is a good lad, I don't care what you say that Police Magistrate Captain Masters, and his daughter they learned him good, he knows right from wrong and he can read and all. He didn't pinch nothin from you."

"I'm not talking about him pinching nutin. He wants to marry my youngun Mary. And she's not even 16 yet."

"That ain't got nothin to do with me, he's a man now and makes his own way. I've hardly seen him since his mother died anyhow."

"Yer that's another thing I want to clear up but I want to talk about George first. How old is he? He says he is 22, when was he born?"

"I dun know, hey John, how old is young George?" John comes out on the veranda sensing that if he is going to be involved in the conversation then he is entitled to some of old Joe's tobacco too and holds his empty pipe out.

"The hide of you Matthews blokes you want me young daughter and me tobacco too." Joe reluctantly pares off a few slices of tobacco for John.

John offers, "gee Dad, George was only a little bloke when Mum was found choked, he's a fair bit younger than me. Lou is about 2 years older than me."

Joe cuts in "'yer Lou she ain't give my Joe no kids yet, it's been two years and no kids yet."

"Well it ain't Lou's fault" comes back John "She had three quick enough to Jimmy Brown before he died. Joe mustn't have it in him."

"Come on how old is George?" presses Joe.

John still holds the floor, old Tom having lost interest in the conversation. "Well as I said Lou is older than me then there's Sarah, what ever happened to her, haven't seen her for a couple of years , then the little girl who died and then Mary Ann before George." John counts on his fingers, "George must be 5 or 6 years younger than me maybe even 7."

"Well how old are you John?" Old Joe is getting a bit testy.

"I dun know, hey Dad how old am I?"

"What do yer want to know all this for Joe? What does it matter how old George is anyway? If he told you he is 22 then I suppose he is. I told you that Police Magistrate's girl learned him good."

"That Minister fella says the Bishop has got to know so he can give permission for my Mary to marry him."

"What's it got to do with the Bishop? If you say she can get married she can get married that's it."

"I told you Tom she ain't quite 16 yet and the Minister won't marry them without the Bishop's permission."

"What's the hurry tell 'em to wait until she is 16 if them's the rules." says Tom.

Joe huffs up a bit then pauses and takes a couple of deep breaths sits back and his demeanour changes.

Joe pulls his pipe out and packs it tight with fresh tobacco. He then pulls a fold from his coat pocket rolls up his only £10 note in a diagonal roll, lights the corner of it from which he then lights his pipe. Joe quickly puts out the flame on the £10 note flattens it and puts it away.

Joe has clearly decided to change tack with this conversation. He does not want to admit that his Mary is with child and desperately needs to get married. Joe does not want a grandchild baptised as the Bastard child of Mary Hollinshead. He had been through that with his first three born to Jane before he discovered that having been separated by sea from his wife back in England for more than 7 years that he could legally get married to Jane.

"So George is definitely more than 21?" queries Joe. Tom's old brain as befuddled as it is, had been ticking over and he says

"Look Joe, the old woman got em all Christened out at Laguna. Tell your Minister fella to go check the church records for Laguna he should find George there." Joe seems somewhat satisfied with this and changes tack again.

"Bout your old woman, Hannah, she was Irish just like my Jane wasn't she. What really happened to her? You have got to know."

"Look they put me through hell over that for 2 years and then they acquitted me, kept me locked up for ages, no proof, just that so and so Galway reckoned that I said I would strangler her, didn't say no such thing and did not either. What more do you want to know?"

"Just want to know with your lot all marrying my lot."

"Well ask Lou, she knows as much as I do. The old woman was soft in the head anyway, you would never know what she would say or do."

"Soft in the head?" Joe queried.

"Yeah, that Doctor said so at the inquest the day after they found her down in Turner's paddock, she was mad you know. Used to accuse me of all sorts of things even putting the dogs in her bed with her. Mad she was."

The afternoon was getting on and Tom figured he was not getting any more tobacco out of old Joe Hollinshead. "You better be getting on home Joe, we ain't got nuthin to feed you."

"Oh haven't found any heifers in the bush lately? Suppose you're right, Jane said she would have some wallaby stew cooking, that's the benefit of living up on the Kangaroo Grounds better than them eels you blokes get out of the swamp when you ain't got any fresh heifer meat.

I'll tell the Minister to check the records from Laguna and we'll get Mary and George married."

Tom grunts, "Anyhow that George he's a good lad, he even learned to sawyer from old Joe Spence, your Mary will do alright to marry him."

Joe gets up gives a tug on the reins of his horse to pull him alongside the veranda and swings his nuggetty little frame into the saddle.

John can't resist a parting shot "Your young Joe might not have it in him but our George he is alright. I hear Mary is getting quite a belly, won't be long."

"Who told you that, Mary is a good girl, just likes her tucker a bit too much."

"Sister Lou was over, wanted some eel as a change from those stringy old Roos you blokes set your dogs on. Lou knows how Mary is and how long she's got to go."

Joe Hollinshead rides off without anymore comment but mumbling to himself, "Bloody old Tom Matthews, I wonder did he tie that piece of calico around Hannah's neck and she got half way across Turner's paddock before she passed out. I hope George doesn't go soft in the head. I hope he can provide better than that shack John is living in with Bob Madden's girl and the old man too!"

Tom and his son John retreated into John's humble abode and John's young wife Charlotte, heavily pregnant asks, "Who was that and what did he want?"

Tom answers "That's old Joe Hollinshead, don't you know him, pinches peoples heifers and thinks he is better than everyone. Our George is going to marry his girl Mary and he's a bit peeved. He thinks that after his letter asking for clemency back in England and escaping the noose he can get out of everything, but they put him in goal over Pat Hoolahan's heifer. When he dies I hope they put an iron fence around his grave to keep the old bugger in."

George Matthews and Mary Hollinshead were married in the Church of England School Hall at Millfield on 20 April 1875 with the permission of the Bishop. Mary gave birth to a boy, Earnest Joseph on 11 June 1875 and another 12 children over the next 22 years Owen Mark Amos was their 11th born and was my Grandfather "