By David Grieve.
In part one David Grieve told us of his great great grandfather, William Grieve, who emigrated from Rousay, Orkney in 1857 to start a new life with his wife and young child in Australia.
Part 2: The Family and the Farmstead (Brickwall) Grows.
William and Jane’s eldest daughter Mary, who was born on the voyage out to NSW married a neighbour, Daniel Sutherland. Below is a map of some of the Grieve property selections and you can see that the Sutherlands were neighbours. Also, the Baths, who married into the Grieve family can also be seen. Note William Grieve property number is “1”, indicating the first selection in the area.
What happened to William and Jane?
William and Jane had 11 surviving children, 6 daughters and 5 sons and at the time of their deaths (Jane died in 1912 and William in 1913) (they had 78 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren). Three of the sons selected land and became farmers, and of the other two, they became a blacksmith and a carpenter in Walcha.
It is probably fortunate that William and Jane died before the outbreak of World War I as 9 grandsons volunteered to serve and sadly 3 were Killed In Action (KIA). Details of their service will be provided in a future publication.
Both William and Jane died and were buried in “Brickwall”, the graves within sight of the homestead had no headstones but were protected by a paling fence. Alick Grieve, their son sold the property in the 1930s and moved out of the district. Sadly, the homestead burnt down not long after and “Brickwall” was absorbed into an adjoining property. Any Grieve connection was lost.
In the early 1990s, Keith Grieve (my father) upon remembering visiting the graves as a young child decided to try and visit the graves. Despite not knowing the location of the graves, a family visit was organised and with some luck, they were located with the assistant of the property owner. The paling fences had rotted and fallen over, and the graves were in danger of disappearing.
It was decided to erect a new memorial in recognition of these pioneers of the Walcha district before it was lost. Two large boulders were sourced from my father’s property in Quirindi NSW and a cairn was erected in 1994.
The location is approximately 20 kms from the Walcha township and is within sight of the the original homestead that was destroyed by fire in 1930s. As the cairn was in a paddock where sheep and cattle grazed, a protective chain fence was erected to stop cattle in particular rubbing up against the cairn.
It was thought that to fully recognise William and Jane as pioneers in the Walcha district a brief history of their story etched in stone was placed along with their photograph was placed on the cairn. Today after over 30 years, it is still in very good condition. As part of the Grieve reunion, there will be a visit to the site. This will be followed by lunch at the Walcha Pioneer Cottage and Museum Complex .
Extract from the local Walcha newspaper, The Walcha Witness in 1912 on the death of Jane Grieve on 28th November 1912.
Death of a Kirkwallian in NSW:
“There passed away on Thursday afternoon at her home, Brickwall on the MacDonald River, one of the pioneers of the district, Mrs W Grieve at the ripe age of 79. Mrs Grieve had been ailing for some time and was not unexpected. Her eldest daughter, Mrs D Sutherland, came down from Ashford in time to see her. Her husband, Mr Grieve, who is now 84 years of age, has been unwell for some time, but this proves to be the first death in the family, coming here from Kirkwall, Orkney Isles, over 50 years ago, they reared 11 children, all of whom are grown up, and they have 78 Grandchildren and 18 Great Grandchildren. Mr & Mrs Grieve were sterling local residents, pioneers of industry, straightforward, good neighbours, conscientious, yet withal strict and honest in their dealings. Their residence is a typical pioneer home in the New England mountains, and the children went forth valiantly to face the world on their own, carrying the wholesome influence of a good and well directed home, strong constitutions and best of all, the living examples of true loving parents”
Extract from The Farmer and Settler Sydney, NSW Friday 13th December 1912;
GRIEVE – There passed away on Thursday afternoon at her home, Brickwall, on the MacDonald River, one of the pioneers of the district, Mrs. W. Grieve at the ripe age of seventy-nine years. She came with her husband, who is now eighty-four years of age, from Kirkwall, Orkney lsles, over fifty years ago. They reared eleven children, all of whom are grown up, and there are living seventy-eight grandchildren and eighteen great grandchildren.
Next in this fascinating series from David Grieve ‘Rewriting History’.
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