Bringing Gads Hill Old Station Back to Life

It seems like we’ve known about Gads Hill forever.  But it was just a place to drive past on the way to more interesting spots. It never captured our imaginations enough to be a destination. For Ian Gads Hill goes back more than 50 years to when he listened to his father and mates tell … Read moreBringing Gads Hill Old Station Back to Life

Old Station, Gads Hill no.3: The Bonneys and the Shaws

In the period 1915–22 a veteran Field stockrider William Bonney (1857–1935)1 was the resident stockman at Old Gads Hill Station.2 Molly Pedley, née Field, recalled a trip to his hut. With typical bush hospitality, Bonney boiled the billy—but shocked his visitors by stirring the tea with his false teeth.3 While that story suggests the habits … Read moreOld Station, Gads Hill no.3: The Bonneys and the Shaws

Old Station, no.2: Harry and Mary Stanley, a Gads Hill double act

The most famous Gads Hill stockman was Harry Stanley (1820–98), a tiny (162-cm tall), illiterate, former Sussex basket weaver transported for horse stealing as a 21-year-old in 1841—although his version of events was that he simply held a rope, which happened to have two horses at the end of it.1 He served two years in … Read moreOld Station, no.2: Harry and Mary Stanley, a Gads Hill double act

Old Station, Gads Hill, no.1: Field brothers’ highland base

In April 1842 a new settler named Frederick Wilbraham Ford, his future father-in-law Thomas King and four convict servants drove 75 cattle overland from Longford to King’s new property at Table Cape.1 This was an adventure. There were unbridged rivers to ford, including the smooth-stoned Mersey, along the Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL Co) Track through … Read moreOld Station, Gads Hill, no.1: Field brothers’ highland base