Abraham Pegg Obituary
The below article was published in the
Bundaberg Daily News 30-04-1908
An Old Colonist
Days of Difficulty
Trial and Danger
The Late Abraham Pegg 60 Years in the District
Living as we are to-day surrounded by the comforts and advantages which a high civilisation
and a generous soil and climate yied us, we are apt to forget that our conditions were not those
of the men and women who pioneered the district and blazed the track which subsequent settlers
have followed. Those early days called with clarion voice for stout hearted, determined
industrious men, for patient, devoted self-reliant courageous women, for the type indeed that
has been responsible for the widening of the bounds of the empire till it has brought within
its scope every climate nature knows. Of such women Essex Evans charmingly sings:
The adventurous spirit which fires the anglo saxon race, has led them on exploration
expeditions in all parts of the globe, hence it was but natural that the early
colonisers of Australia, true chips off the old stock block, should set about acquainting
themselves with the huge continent of which they found themselves in possession. Their wanderings
were attended with the greatest difficulties and the sharpest dangers; firstly, because the
territory traversed was unknown to them and secondly, because the aboriginals encountered almost
daily were ever over the border by means of their death dealing spears.
A member of such an exploring party was the late MR ABRAHAM PEGG.
"Glenmore," Gooburrum, his mother, brothers and sisters, whose association with Australia
extentds over a period of about 65 years and with the Bundaberg district for only a little less
than that time. When their family were still in comparative childhood, the parents of the
late Mr Abraham Pegg left England for Australia. This was in the very early 1840's.
Sydney was reached after a slow passage, and after lingering in this at that time comparitively
unimportant settlement for some 3 months, Mr Pegg, senior engaged to go to the Clarence River
district with a pioneer pastoralist named Mr Gregory Blaxland, the journey from the Clarence to
Envoy station, about 35 miles being made by the family in bullock waggons - 3 days travel.
After 2 years service on this station Christmas - tide of 1845 brough a great sorrow to the
family in Mr. Pegg's accidental death by drowning. The widow and her little children, however,
continued in Mr. Blaxlands employ, the elder boys assisting in shepherding. Finding himself
pressed for additional country. Mr. Blaxland, in 1847 started out at the head of a party,
of which Mrs. Pegg and here children were members, to discover new areas. The party moved of
with 10600 sheep, 800 cattle and a number of horses, and after some 12 months travelling and
many trying and dangerous experiences, the present area on Bundaberg was struck.
Movement, however, was continued, and a final halt made at Gin Gin where the present station
was formed in 1848. The blacks were numerous, and very daring in their attacks upon the
newcomers who sought to divide possession of the country with them, and daily the small
band carried their lives in their hands as they worked to erect suitable habitations and
station equipment. Those familiar with the station have noticed in the heavily built outhouses,
which are veritable timber fortresses, evidences of the precautions the early settlers had to take
against their alerts and wily enemies. Greater security followed a year later by the arrival of the
brothers Dr. and Archibald Thompson and party, who, following in the tracks of Mr. Blaxland and party,
settled on what is now Walla station, the property of Mr. S. N. Innes. But despite the increase in the
number of whites, danger was ever present from the aboriginals, who hung menacinly around both
settlements. The first great sorrow experienced came through the hostility of these blacks,
who speared to death two brothers of the late Mr. Abraham Pegg. The unfortunate young fellows
who were mere boys, were shepherding some little distance away from the homestead, when they
were thus cruelly done to death on the 4th June, 1849, the blacks breaking upon the flock
and driving off about half the sheep.
After the rites of death had been administered the two lads, all other members of the station band
got on the trail of the blacks, who were finally come upon at the site known as Gibson and Howes'
Cedars Estate. The attack was made by the whites at the break of day, Mr. Blaxland, a capable
bushman and a courageous man, heading it. The late Mr. Abraham Pegg, who was deemed to young to
move off with the attackers, always averred that a wholesome lesson was dealt out to the natives,
whose escape was cut of by the river. Mr. Blaxland remarked of the plucky fight put up by the
aboriginals, who taken at close quarters were unable to use spears or boomerangs, their most
dangerous weapons, but retured punishment to the attackers to some extent by means of nulla-nulla's
and stone tomahawks. It will be remembered that some few years ago a quantity of the later were
turned up in Cedar's Estate by the ploughmen, and Mr. Pegg always maintained that these were
portion of the weapons used by the aboriginals in this great fight. After administering
a sound thrashing to them, the attackers drove the blacks across the river in the direction of
Bundaberg. A few months later the tribe returned to Gin Gin, and showed signs of friendliness, being
met in kindrid spirit by the whites, who treated them liberally in the matter of beef and stores.
Harmony, however did not reign long, as within a few weeks of their return to the district the blacks
set upon in his hut and permanently maimed an old shepherd. Though greatly annoyed at this of the
fighting spirit amoung the blacks the settlers took no punative action, hoping to win the aboriginal's
goodwill by kindly treatment and forbearance. Matters, however, came to a climax shortly afterwards,
through the treacherous act of a blackboy in the station emply, who nullahed Mr. Blaxland to death.
The murder was perpetrated within 200 yards of the hut in which Mrs. Pegg lived with her children.
The murderer then dragged the body down the bank to a creek nearby, and placed it under a log, where
it remained undiscovered till the following morning. Mr. J Blair, brother in law of the late
Mr. Abraham Pegg, and father of Mr. J. Blair - one of Gin Gin's oldest settlers, where he still
resides - at once on Mr. Blaxland being reported missing, headed a search party, though, with
the knowledge they had of the savagery of the blacks, they had little hope of ever seeing
Blaxland alive again.
The feeling on the settlement at all times being that if a man was unaccountered for even a
few hours and especially overnight he was gone forever. Mr Blair, senior, found Blaxlands
pistols - which he always carried - and therafter informed those with him they were assuredly
searching for a dead body. Getting on a track apparently made by a trailing body, they followed
it, and soon found the body of Blaxland as described above. All the blacks, who were present
in hundreds at the time cleared out immediately the murder was perpetrated, and with the object
of organising a punitive expedition, messengers were despatched to the neighbouring stations
of Walla, Tenningering, and also further afield in the Upper Burnett district, namely Yenda,
Wetheron, Ideraway, and Barambah, and promptly there was a mustering of representatives from
each at Gin Gin. With an old black gin, who had been won from her tribes people by the
kindliness of Mrs. Pegg, the party set off on the trail of the blacks about a week after the
murder. The tribe numbering about a thousand, were come upon at Paddy's Island, near Fairymead.
Dense scrub covered the approach to this locality, though it was a recognised crossing place
of the blacks when in migrating mood, their tracks being from Gin Gin via Paddy's Islandto the
Woongarra or Barolin Scrub as it was then called. When the punative party drew up on the trribe
they read them a sharp lesson, and thereafter quiet prevailed, and safety was restored to the
Gin Gin settlers, which subsisted for a couple of months. At the end of that time "Bunce,"
Blaxlands pet boy, who has cleared off after the murder (suspician being generally directed
to him as the culprit) returned with his gin to the settlement, and in his own way pleaded
for forgiveness for this tribe. The latter shortly afterwards returned, and matters thereafter
moved along comparatively smoothly, the anger of ther blacks apparently spending itself with
the murder of Blaxland.
Shortly afterwards, the Hon. William Forster, at one time Premier of New South Wales
(of which Queensland was then a part) - and who was in partnership with Blaxland, arrived at
Gin Gin with his family, who journeyed from Brisbane to Maryborough by schooner, and thence by
teams to Gin Gin. It is interesting to note that the eldest Miss Forster, several years later was
married to Mr. Henry Palmer one of Maryborough's earliest residents. The object of Mr. Forster's
visit was to adjust the partnership arrangements, and, this completed, the property was disposed
of to Messrs., A. and H. Brown. Mrs Pegg, senr., with her three children, of whom the late
Mr. A. Pegg was the oldest, left the station about 1850, and journeyed under engagement to Kalonga,
just then taken up by Messrs. Lansborough and Rankin. Here recommenced all the old difficulties
and dangers with the aboriginals, but fortunately pacification was ultimately without loss of
life on either side. The family remained on Kalonga till the end of 1851 when Mrs. Pegg accepted
an engagement with Mr. H. C. Corfield, then owner of Teebah station. Meantime her sons
Abraham, Peter and Joseph, had developed into quite handy young fellows in the station life, and
the lads arranged to travel sheep and cattle on behalf of Mr. Corfield in search of new country
- the central district being the objective. After reaching Degilbo, however Mr. Walsh, the manager,
advised the party to go no further, pointing out a stretch of country on Towah, near the present
Stanton Harcourt, which filled the bill so far concerned. Thus was Towah Station formed,
the Pegg Family remaining there for about 18 months. At the end of that time they joined teams
returning from Gin Gin and went to Maryborough, and subsequently Abraham entered the service of
a team master as "off-sider". A few years later saw Abraham and his brothers in charge of three
teams on their own account carrying supplies to Dalgangal station and returning with wool the
station being at the time owned by the original founder, Mr. James McCoy, the Upper Burnett in
those days being famed throughout Australia as a magnificent wool growing area.
The Dalgangal clip yearly used to run up to about 200 bales, representing the shearing of
100,000 sheep, and among the station staff was our old and esteemed townman Mr. John McGill,
of Rubyanna, then noted as a sterling bush and stockman. After 2 years carrying on this route he
changed in favour of a Gin Gin to Maryborough route which he likewise continued for a couple
of years, and he saw the sale of Walla station from Messrs. Tompson Bros. to Mr. John Barker
of Nanango. Mr. Pegg during his carrying career built himself up to be the biggest man in the
line on the roads, having in active work four teams with 70 bullocks. After another brief turn
in hauling the Dalgangal clip Mr. Major, manager, Mr. Pegg accepted an engagement from
Messrs. A. and H. Brown for himself and teams to work on Fairymead, in the Gooburrum, the firm
named having taken up the land in the provision of Sugar Can and Coffee Encouragement Act.
He was quickly at work, being practically manager of the place, and ploughed up 140 acres,
which he subsequently planted with cane. The crop developed magnificently, and there was nothing
to equal it even in the then famed Antagua sugar growing belt. The crop, however, was virtually
only grown to be ploughed out again or fed to the stock on the property. He quitted the service
of the firm in 1871, but not before they had persuaded him to settle in the locality, his choice
of land falling on "Glenmore" holding where by his industry, frigality and enterprise he was able
to surround himself and his family with conditions of all-embracing comfort, and to pass his
declining years in peace and contentment. His was a strenuous, courageous and self reliant life,
and it closed after a lingering illness, borne with great fortitude, on the 8th March last,
to the deep and abiding regret of all who knew him.