HAWKESBURY HISTORY
with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld
Hall ’ s Heelers
Most of us at some time in our lives have met an Australian Cattle Dog , but are you aware of the Hawkesbury connection with these famous Blue Heelers ?
Thomas Simpson Hall was born at Bungool on the Hawkesbury River at Cattai . His parents , George Hall and Mary ( nee Smith ), were from Northumberland , England and arrived on the Coromandel in 1802 as free immigrants . The couple had a large family ; seven sons and two daughters .
The Hall family settled on a 100-acre grant near Little Cattai Creek in 1803 where they started their agricultural pursuits . George was from a farming family and had experience as a carpenter and agricultural machinist . It is believed he brought additional funds with him which assisted with the acquisition of land and livestock .
George was educated , a sound businessman and went on to be a sizable property owner . Encouraged by their father , the Hall sons pursued new grazing land and were some of the first settlers in the Upper Hunter and owned and leased large tracts of land in New England , Liverpool Plains and Queensland .
The Hall family helped build Ebenezer Church in 1809 , along with other Coromandel settlers .
By the time George died in 1840 aged 77 he had established a substantial business empire eventually distributed to his family . His wife Mary had died in 1827 , aged 58 . Both are buried at Ebenezer Cemetery .
Thomas Simpson Hall left the Hawkesbury as a young man with several of his brothers , looking for opportunities to expand their father ’ s pastoral empire . By 1828 he was residing at Dartbrook , near present day Aberdeen . Aged only twenty , he was responsible for 4700 acres , 700 cattle and eight convict workers .
He returned to the Hawkesbury periodically and in 1835 , when he was twenty-seven , he married at Ebenezer , nineteen-year-old Ann McGinnis . The couple had nine daughters , one died as an infant , and four did not marry .
Thomas developed the property , where Dartbrook House , a two-storey home was constructed . From this centre of operations , he managed cattle , horses and merino sheep . Following his father ’ s death , Thomas eventually inherited the property , however the extended Hall family , siblings , cousins and children still worked collectively .
The biggest issue faced by graziers in the nineteenth century , was to get their livestock from their faraway landholdings to the Sydney markets in reasonable condition . Much of the route was overland with few bridges and roads little more than tracks . Keeping control of the herds was vital .
Several endeavours were made to find a suitable breed of dog to help with the livestock but they were unsuccessful . The early breeds of dogs that arrived in the colony were not suitable for Australian conditions , were notorious barkers and bit the cattle .
With the family ’ s plan of expansion Thomas understood that suitable livestock would be needed for the new properties . He started a breeding program to develop
T . S . Hall is commemorated on the Hall vault in Ebenezer Church . Photo : J . Auld , 2023 . more suitable
Photograph of the portrait of Thomas Simpson Hall . Courtesy Mitchell Library , State Library of NSW .
breeds for the tougher Australian conditions and as stud master , “ managed the breeding programs for all the family properties from Dartbrook .”
Thomas knew the benefits of a reliable working dog . He focussed on developing a new breed , which he started in the 1830s , as it would take a number of years to achieve the outcome . It was part of his plan that the dogs he bred would have strength and loyalty as well as stamina .
He imported two drover dogs , known as Blue Merles , coincidentally from Northumberland , where his parents had originated . By 1840 Thomas had successfully produced the breed known as Hall ’ s Heelers by crossing the imported dog with dingoes he had tamed . There is much conjecture about later cross breeding however the Hall family are adamant about their story .
Thomas ’ workmen used the new breed and took them to other Hall properties , including Queensland . The breed Thomas evolved , eventually became known as the Blue Heeler , the famous Australian Cattle Dog . The dogs were instrumental in managing livestock on properties all over Australia and the world .
Not only was he an efficient property manager , Thomas was also elected as a magistrate in the 1840s In 1848 he was elected to the Scone and Murrurundi District Council and held office for three years .
He supported many local organisations
The 2001 Hall ’ s Heeler monument in Muswellbrook . Photo : M . Nichols , 2017 .
and charities plus his local Presbyterian Church and still maintained connections with the Hawkesbury . In 1857 , a meeting was held at Windsor Court House where a decision was being made about land for a school of arts .
Thomas was visiting Windsor and was invited to preside at the first meeting where the erection of a school of arts was being discussed . The following year Thomas donated £ 100 for the construction of a community building facing Bridge Street in Thompson Square .
Thomas died in his early sixties on his property in 1870 and was survived by his wife Ann , aged 78 . Ann passed away in 1893 . Both are buried in Dartbrook private cemetery , which was originally located on their property .
The Dartbrook property remained in the family until about 1910 when some land was sold , with the remainder acquired by the Government after the end of the Great War . The old residence was demolished sometime in the 1960s .
On a bridge that was originally part of Dartbrook , a bronze plaque commemorates Thomas and his involvement in breeding the Blue Heeler , erected in the 1970s .
Then in 2001 a statue was erected in Muswellbrook , featuring a cattle dog sculpture , “ in recognition of the contribution to Australian rural life by the Australian cattle dog and the development of our ‘ Blue Heeler ’ in the Upper Hunter .”
(
02 ) 4577 8200 38 Fairey Road , SOUTH WINDSOR www . difftrans . com We can replace your tired old original Gear Box , Driveline & Rear End parts with new or reconditions after market components . FOR CARS – 4WD – TRUCKS – MACHINERY
Also Mini Spools , Full Spools , Detroit Locker , Tru-Trac , Planetary Gear kits .
Diff conversions a speciality , Billet axles made to order Mark Williams - Moser stockist , 9 inch Borg Warner and Hi-Lux , Kaaz race LSD units - Manual Gearboxes - free strip and quote . We are the Top Loader - Muncie - Saginaw and Tremic TKO Specialists . Complete I . R . S . AND S . T . Differential Assembly . Don ’ t delay - call the experts today !
10 ISSUE 164 // JANUARY 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT