The Thomas Family

Sarah and William Thomas were typical examples of early settlers whose hard work and persistence built the foundations of the community in Shellharbour.

Sarah and William had three children William, John and Clorinda, by the time they migrated to Australia. This in itself was an adventurous step – a strange unknown continent with a small town called Sydney, which was the only real outpost that was at all familiar.

They arrived at Wollongong Harbour in 1838 on a steamer nicknamed ’Puffing Billy’ and were immediately engaged by Henry Osborne at Marshall Mount. The Thomas’ occupied the gardener’s cottage. Many years later, the Thomas’ daughter Clorinda (Cloe) recalled the time when they landed at the harbour. She remembered the place where the convicts were housed a little back from the landing spot. As there was no wharf, their possessions had to be carried from the boat to dry land. Clorinda recalled it was very cold and one of the sailors carried her ashore. Dan, the bullock driver met them and drove them up Crown Street which was at that time just a dirt track.

William Thomas was employed as a carpenter and built the cedar staircase in Marshall Mount House and planted and English Oak on the farm, which is still there today. Sarah was engaged with the house duties for the Osborne’s.

Sarah and William later moved to Log Bridge Farm at Yallah where their other seven children were born.

In the early years Sarah would have worked alongside her husband on the farm, tended her children as well as the normal house duties, which would have included making her own butter, grinding flour, washing by hand and making the family clothes.

Unlike so many others at the time who lasted only two or three years in the country, William and Sarah tackled the fear of the bush, the unknown, worked with the land and made it their home until their death. A patchwork cot quilt made by Sarah Thomas c.1840 on her voyage to Australia is part of the Tongarra Museum collection.

The Thomas family remained in Shellharbour and continued to prosper. John Thomas, who arrived with his parents in 1838, married Maria Haslam and they lived at Shellharbour Village owning a store, and later a Butchering business. John served briefly as an Alderman and was a member of the first Albion Park Show Committee, he was one of the founders of the Allowie Temperance Lodge, Church of England Shellharbour where he occupied the position of Church Warden. His greatest work is considered to be his work with the Co-operative Shipping Co. where he assisted with the formation and was a shareholder and director when the company commenced operation in 1856.

Another son, Henry (Harry) coomenced farming at Clover Hill Macquarie Pass in 1894. He married Mary James, daughter of pioneers William and Elizabeth James of Shellharbour in 1896 and most of Mary and Harry's children were born at Clover Hill. In 1912 they moved to St Ives at Dunmore, leaving their son Kenneth to carry on the farming until the property was sold to Ben Turner in 1950.

                                                                                

The museum has six handmade wax cows made by Maria Thomas at Shellharbour, and a working Victoria Automatic Sock Knitting Machine, used by Mary Thomas at Clover Hill to make socks for the soldiers in World War One.

The museum also holds Sarah Thomas' silk tartan skirt, a cot quilt made by Sarah, a brooch and a lock of her hair.

The Thomas family remains in Shellharbour and continues to be actively involved in their community. Tongarra Museum is lucky enough to have a source of some authority on this family, Maurece Kelly, working as a volunteer.

The Thomas children and their father Harry at Clover Hill farm, Macquarie Pass c.1907.
Shellharbour Images Shellharbour City Libraries.

Wax cows handmade by Maria Thomas at Clover Hill, c.1900.
Tongarra Museum collection.

Cot quilt handmade by Sarah Thomas c.1838
Tongarra Museum collection.





Joyrides

The following recollections are taken from Albion Park Saga, by local identity Bert Weston for the Tongarra Heritage Society.

‘Few people, if any had seen an aeroplane at Albion Park until ex-Flying Corps pilot Bob Potts of Sydney arrived for the 1920 Albion Park Show, offering 'joyrides' at $2 a head for four minutes aloft.

Using a DH6 wartime biplane powered with 90hp RAF motor giving it a top speed of 75 mhp, it was nicknamed the 'Clutching Hand' in flying circles and reputedly went  backwards if headed into a stiff breeze.

Bob operated out of Ned Sawtell's paddock under no safety conditions, which would give a modern pilot the cold sweats, and gave ‘Parkites’ their first experience in being airborne. Some were thrilled, some landed in a state of near collapse, but all survived.

Sometime later Lieutenant Barkell landed an Avro in Stapleton's paddock and bent the axle on a hidden stump. Typical of aviation in those days, he dismantled the undercarriage, put the damaged axle on his shoulder and humped it to Moods smithy shop to be heated and straightened’.

‘Albion Park Saga’, Bert Weston, The Tongarra Heritage Society, 1996.

 

Albion Park Showground 1972.
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries.



A Tale of Two Brothers

Warwick Douglas Thomas was born at Shellharbour 9 September 1912. His brother Noel Francis Thomas was born 16 November 1915.

After enlisting in the Army in 1939 and 1940 respectively the Thomas brothers served their country in the Middle East and both arrived home to Australia safely, however both met with accidents and were tragically killed shortly after their return home.

The Thomas brothers were raised at ‘St Ives’ dairy farm at Dunmore. Warwick, the third brother of ten children was keenly interested in farming and land management. He was also a Sunday School teacher, good at tennis, and loved swimming, horses and his motor bike. Warwick was engaged to Grace Campbell from Mascot in 1943 when a terrible accident occurred. It seems Warwick left a train while it was moving near Goulburn Station, and stunned himself. He crawled onto the railway line and was hit by an oncoming train. He died instantly.

Noel Thomas was a Surveyor and was away from home a great deal of the time. He had been promoted to Lieutenant in 1942 and served with the first Australian Railway Company. An         article appearing in the Australian Surveyor booklet stated ‘Lieutenant NF Thomas who died of injuries accidentally received in Northern Territory 17 April 1944 was born at Shellharbour, NSW...In 1940 he enlisted in the AIF and went to the Middle East where he won his commission in the field. He returned to Australia early in 1943 and was transferred to railway construction work’.

Noel Thomas was one of the original members of the railway unit during the construction of the Beirut to Tripoli line. The tragedy of his death was a severe blow to the whole unit for there was no one in the unit more popular than Lieutenant Thomas. He had been driving his platoon in a dust storm in the Northern Territory at the time and came into a collision with another army vehicle. Sadly, he too died from his injuries.

‘They Served Their Country and Then’ by Joyce Bailey (Joyce Whatman)

 

Warwick Thomas
Joyce Whatman collection.

Noel Thomas
Joyce Thomas collection.

 

 

Gabrielle Timbs

Gabrielle Timbs was the victim of polio at the young age of two or three and was confined to a wheelchair all of her life.

Gabrielle attended St Joseph’s Convent School (now St Paul’s) at Albion Park with one of her brothers pushing her to and from school. In later years her cousins from Rosetta Hill farm at Mount Terry would take her to and from school before making the journey home again.

From very early on Gabrielle was encouraged to sew and on leaving school she took classes at Wollongong Technical College, travelling there by train.

Gabrielle became a qualified dressmaker and worked from the family home Moculbo, Tongarra Road, Albion Park (now demolished). Initially Gabrielle did all of her sewing by hand before acquiring a hand operated machine.

Every year the Timbs family would spend six weeks in a cottage at Manly for the holidays and Gabrielle loved it. The family rode ferry’s and saw the latest shows and musicals.

Gabrielle moved to Manly permanently with her family in 1937 and set up a dressmaking school under the name Mena Brielle. She had up to 100 pupils at a time and conducted evening classes at home as well.

Gabrielle was an expert pattern drafter and could create patterns from simple photographs or drawings. Her skills were widely known and holiday makers would go to her for measurements and to have patterns drafted. These patterns were then posted to the clients home to be made and were always an excellent fit.

 Gabrielle retired from dressmaking when she was in her 70s. She died 17 October 1988 aged 86 years.

‘Journey Through Timbs’, Timbs Family Tree Incorporated, 1997.

 

Gabrielle Timbs 1902-1988.
Shellharbour Images, Shellharbour City Libraries.