My name is John Kane. I’m talking with Tom Kane, my uncle, known as Ballie and we’re recording the history of this farm, the history of the family and a fair bit about the district. Today is the 22nd June 1999 and I’m going to hand the microphone over to Ballie, who is just going to give us the history as he understands it right from the time when his father settled the land and we’ll just see what happens over the next couple of hours.
Good on ya, John. Well, we’re turning the clock back to well over a hundred years because Dad’s father settled here around about 1865. My Dad was born in 1880 and to the best of my recollection, he would have been about 28 when he left the old home over on what was then know as the Saltpans Road, now Tarrenlea Road and he along with his brothers were given small parcels of land by his father.
His father came out from Ireland. He couldn’t read nor write and his first residence was down in Church St. where Dolly ended her days. (Dolly was the daughter of Daniel Kane the blacksmith – brother of Tom Kane). Dad’s elder brothers Uncle Jim and Uncle Jack would have been born prior to Dad’s father shifting out on to the property that Neville Barnes now has. And himself, my grandfather, he was more a less a bridge builder, doing Shire work, road works and that, and then as Dad and his brothers finished their schooling – they were only labourers being educated in what is now the residential area. That was the old church and school and also Sunday school because Dad always recalled that after attending Mass on the Sunday, which was 11 o’clock, they always had to go back around 2 o’clock or 3 o’clock for religious instruction for what the called the Sunday school.
So after leaving school and that, as I say, they were only labourers doing shearing and normal farm work and it would be around about 1908 at the age of about 28, when Dad would have come up on the original little area of land here, adding to it later on.
John – “How many acres was it to start off with?”
Here in this little place – it would have been about 20 (acres) and he lived in a hut – one of the smallest little huts because the foundation blocks were there right up to about 20 years ago. Just on the east side of there I built the woolshed. They were real pioneers – not a shadow of doubt because all they had to work with – it was the era of the horse, the crowbar, shovel and pick. Dad recalled that the only two trees that were up on the tableland were what we call the ‘sheep tree’ and the old ‘crow tree’. The two old red gums. So, he really started off from nothing.
John: “Did your father build the hut up near the woolshed?”
No, I wouldn’t have any recollection but whatever it was it was a very primitive existence and I can just imagine it with no shade or shelter and in the middle of winter, or in the middle of summer, to be able to exist and do his own cooking, washing or whatever was required of him, it was a magnificent performance.
Mum, she came here as a cook and worked in a hotel down there now where Watson and Cameron’s are. And in due course, Dad and Mum would have married around 1914 or 15. So, I would say that this present house was built in around 1914. But prior to that this portion of the farm belonged to Winniburn Station and like a lot of those stations at that time they were eventually resettled and split up. This sale took place in 1911 and the sale was held up on the corner of what is owned by Gore now and Lanes previous to that and what we now own which we call Pierces. And Dad recalled that those attending the sale from the Tarrenlea area drove across in their fantons? and gigs and road horses which make us realise that the erosion that must have taken place after that because all that is bisected by big eroded creeks and everything. So, I would say that Dad added to his holding with another 20 acres of Winniburn and I’d say at the same time Uncle Jim would have purchased something likewise to add to his holding which made that 75 acres owned by Uncle Jim which is now incorporated in our own holding.
John “Which was the original 20 acres”
The original 20 acres was referred to as in the Parish of Coleraine and that area now just on the north side of the orchard. That was the dividing area of Dad’s holding of that 20 acres paddock which we call the house paddock and having purchased that from Winninburn and it is on this land; on this bordering of Winniburn that Dad had built the house that we still have.
John “What was the second 20 acres that you bought?”
Down here that runs as far as Pierces boundary where I put that last plantation.
John “Gores?”
Yes, and that bordered Uncle Jim’s which comes around from we call the cultivation and the philarus paddock. The Philarus and that cultivation paddock and up around, right along at the bottom which we’ve added to with half that orchard: that all belonged to uncle Jim that made a parcel of 75 acres.
Now Uncle Jim died in around 1922 and by this time I was born – I would have been two year old and Dan and Jack would have been 6 year old. But in his will, Uncle Jim left that to the three of us. And that was to be held in trust until we had all reached the age of 21. Dad had made arrangements and had leased that for that period of time for that 21 years, so that in itself must have been a pretty hard problem because all through that period of time we saw the First World War in 1914 till 1918