| Title | to Phil, e-mail, 9 Oct 2008, "81009 Ada Lister"; privately held by. | |
| Short Title | Susannah Cox Timeline | |
| Author | Dave Collins, Papakura, New Zealand | |
| Source ID | S3230 | |
| Text | 1870 06/12/1870, Carden's first wife, Mary Helena, died at Thornhill, aged 37. Cause of death given as 'phthisis', a contemporary term for tuberculosis. She had been ill with this for 18 months. Alfred was James Glennie's brother, Mary's uncle. Malcolm Glennie Holmes extracted the following from Alfred Glennie's diary of 1870: I found a reference in Alfred's diaries that seems to be to Mary Helena Collins: 16th May 1870: Received a telegram this evening from Mary Collins, saying she intends being with us by early train tomorrow. 17th May 1870: Drove to the station this morning to meet Mary. Marianne & Jessie accompanied me. 18th May 1870: Began by driving Marianne & Mary to the station, to catch the train for Singleton. At 4 P.M. I again went to the station to bring Mary & Marianne home. 27th May 1870: Cousin John drove Mary to Dalwood today. 28th May 1870: In the afternoon I was engaged making up a collection of vine cuttings for Mary to take to Queensland with her. Note that she went to see the Wyndhams at Dalwood (her cousin Lucy Ellen, daughter of her Uncle Dr Henry Glennie, had married John Wyndham who took over Dalwood from his father in 1870), and then to Singleton to see her uncle. Then she went back to Queensland. This visit to her uncle Alfred at Lochinvar Parsonage in the Hunter Valley, NSW, was shortly before Mary Helena died - 6th December 1870 at Thornhill. I suppose Mary knew she was dying and made a last journey visiting family. 1871 age 42 01/04/1871, Carden married second wife, Susan Jane Cox Lister [nee Pugh] [b February 6 1840, in Bermuda], in the District Registrar Office, Toowoomba. Their marriage certificate gave her name as Pugh and described her as a widow. However an annotation dated 12/9/1972 corrects the name to Lister and the description to divorcee! I wonder who sorted the correction? Perhaps Ada or John, her children by Lister, or a descendant of them. Perhaps Ada is in one of the photographs for 1881-1885 later in this chapter. [More about Susan in Chapter D-04.] 02/04/1871, daughter Florence Montgomery Collins born to Carden and Susan, at Toowoomba [one day after the marriage!] She died in December. 17/06/1871, son Alfred Carden Collins died at Thornhill. The death certificate gives "cystitis" as the cause. I cannot find the reference at present, but I am certain I read he died of head injuries after riding into a branch. Perhaps Bob Collins of Yeppoon told me. Need to follow this up - cystitis is a bladder infection. 1872 In 1914 Carden Collins recalled: After a bit my son took charge of Thornhill and I came further North. Passing through Rockhampton in 1872, I proceeded up into the St. Lawrence and took over the management of Torilla cattle station. The son was Frederick Glennie Collins. It is assumed that James and Susan Glennie lived on at Thornhill to look after their grandchildren. Notes from the book Rockhampton: A History of City and District, p 53 on: - "Despite the great age of Gracemere [just west of Rockhampton I think] and the Glenmore homestead complex, climatic conditions and white ants have not been kind to early homesteads in the coastal areas, and even though the old stone house at Stanage Bay remained it had been unoccupied for years and had begun to crumble. It was built on part of Torilla Station (early spelling 'Toorilla') which was taken up by Hochert and Campbell but was transferred to Frank Newbold in 1860, who was the first to stock the station and build a homestead. [My note: Bob (Robert James Carden) Collins told me in May '98 that 'the remains of JCC's house at Stanage Bay were still standing'.] Toorilla was the Aboriginal name for the beautiful marine plains, but nostalgia prevailed in the naming of adjoining blocks, The Hollins, and Stanage Bay, to link the colonial property with Stanage Park, the home of the Rogers family in Shropshire. When Frank Newbold died in 1872 his sister Mrs CV Rogers of Stanage Park inherited Torilla. As her sons were then very young, Carden Collins was appointed Manager but when he took up Langham in 1876, Edward Powys Rogers went to Torilla................." 1873 26/03/1873, son Arthur John Carden Collins born to Carden and Susan. 1874 age 45 In 1914 Carden Collins recalled: Soon after taking over the management we experienced a very severe cyclone. It was, I think, in January 1874. The storm started about 9 a.m. and lasted until 3 p.m. During this time all the buildings on the place, with the exception of one small hut, were blown down. Hardly an upright was left to show where the houses had stood. Some portions of the roofs were carried over a mile and sheets of iron were twisted around limbs of trees as though they were pieces of calico. We had to rebuild the station and outstations, which was a big task when material was hard to procure and everything had to be carted nearly 100 miles by teams. [See interesting account of this hurricane in Chapter D-06.] This is probably the original Torilla house the 1874 hurricane destroyed. The stone walled house some years after Carden would have lived there. A close examination of the background of the verandah shows the stone construction, and it is likely the ends of the verandah were not enclosed originally. I don't know who the people are, possibly the Rogers. This is a photo [1960s?] of the abandoned stone house at Torilla which replaced the one destroyed by the hurricane. And here is a very recent photo of the stonework remaining. 27/12/1874, daughter Helen Margaret Collins born to Carden and Susan. 1875 In 1914 Carden Collins recalled: In February 1875, we had very big floods. In fact I had a punt built in case we should have to leave the homestead - at that time Old Torilla. Later the homestead was moved to higher ground and named Wandoorah. The following Torilla photo probably shows the flood, possibly from close to the house. The next photograph is probably of the boat Carden had built. The caption says it is the 'boat used by convicts to escape from gaol at ……..'. I cannot make out the last word so I don't know any more about it, yet. Torilla cattle were all marketed in Rockhampton. Mr. William Pattison, who had a big butchering business, being our principal buyer. We also sold to Lakes Creek. Before going to Torilla I was engaged for a little while selecting fat stock for Lakes Creek. Mr. Thomas Archer, was the then manager. Mr. Uther, of a Sydney firm of hatters, at this time had Marlborough Station, which afterwards passed into the hands of Mr. O.C.J. Beardmore. Douglass and Sheaffe, the latter a cousin of mine, took up Tooloombah Station before I came to Torilla, Mr. Beardmore, I think, afterwards purchased this property. I also at this time knew Mr. Ernest Henry, who held some country. Mr. Henry went to the north, and the discovery of Cloncurry was due to him. [2004. I finally discovered that "Sheaffe" was most likely a 'cousin' of Carden's mother. I have found from the Sheaffe family that their ggg-grandfather, William Sheaffe, married Rosalie Danvers Earle. Presumably this 'cousin' was a son of Rosalie. This explained where 'Earle' comes from in Judy Stevenson's line. Refer Chapter D-04.] [The Mitakoodi and Kalkadoon tribes occupied the land around Cloncurry exclusively until in 1865 while searching for grazing land, Ernest Henry discovered copper ore, and established of the Great Australian Copper Mine in 1867.] Bob Collins of Yeppoon, died 1999, who as a child lived with and knew his grandfather, says "Carden arrived in the area as an officer and took on the task of finding fresh water in the Stanage Bay area for ships becalmed en route to Mackay". He thought that somewhere a plaque had been erected to commemorate this, and that Collins Island off Stanage Bay on the Torilla Peninsula was named after him. Again, Carden never mentioned that. 1876 age 47 12/08/1876, son Carden Noad Collins born to Carden and Susan. Noad was Carden's grandmother's maiden name. In 1914 Carden Collins recalled: After managing Torilla for seven or eight years I took up land on Torilla, named it Langham, and lived there for ten years. This seems to be the Langham homestead in 1885 while Carden and family were there. Note the house is on high ground! This was in 1876. However it seems he lived at Langham for more like twenty years since his next move was to Woodlands in about 1895. Jenny sent information that Carden had 'selected' land on Torilla about 1874 and named the property Langham, so he probably started Langham before leaving the management of Torilla. 1877 1878 age 49 04/03/1878, son Conrad Carden Collins born to Carden and Susan. 1879 1880 age 51 23/01/1880, son Humphrey Danvers Collins born to Carden and Susan. In 2004 Lyn Chapman found that James Carden Collins was released from Roma Gaol in 1880 after spending six months there! It seems strange but I think there is not a lot of doubt! A 'Collins' was released from Roma Gaol on July 29, 1880. But the page does not have his first names except the last two letters and they seem to be 'es'. All the other names have the middle name or middle name initial. It seems certain to be James Collins - but was it James Carden Collins?? It gives his home as Blackall, and the Electoral Roll has James C Collins at: * Logan River - 1870-71 * Thornhill - 1870-71 * Torilla - 1874-75, 1876, 1877, 1878 * Blackall - 1876-77, 1879 * Charters Towers - Kennedy - 1879 Previously we only had evidence James Carden Collins was only at Torilla through all the period from 1872 to at least 1884. On the other hand the record has the age 51 which would be correct, and the general description of the person sounds about right [5' 3.5" = 1.62m, medium build, fresh complexion, sandy hair, grey eyes]. The court record [Police Magistrate, Blackall] for the conviction of 'Jas Collins' shows a total sentence of six months was imposed for larceny and being in possession of property [money] believed stolen. He was also in possession of dice and other gambling equipment. The event took place after a race meeting at Blackall - the offender was said to frequent race meetings. He was convicted on January 28, 1880. The probability is very high that it was our James Carden Collins. This implies he was at the Blackall races - the arrest was on 24/01/1880 - at the time his last child, Humphrey, was born! See also Chapter C-10. It all seems a bit odd, but it is hard to dispute facts like these! 1881 - 1885 "A noted Norwegian naturalist, Carl Lumholtz was the guest of Carden Collins at Torilla in 1883 while searching for dugong." Presumably actually at Langham. Right to left: Susan, Jack, Cardy and Margaret - I think. The Collins family at Langham. I guess Humphrey, seated front, to be four years old, so this is 1884. Jack, b 1873, behind seat; Margaret, b 1874, sitting far left; Cardy, b 1876, in front of Susan; Conrad [my grandfather], b 1878, standing at left; Duke, b 1880, sitting at front; Carden seated with Susan standing. Which leaves the young woman on the seat - possibly a tutor for the children, or Susan's daughter Ada Lister, b 1965 so 19. Now this, taken the same day, I think, is interesting. Jack is missing, so he took this photo. And we have an extra, unknown, girl - presumably she took the other photo. Perhaps Ada, 19, daughter of Susan's first marriage, but looks too young, I think. I have no ideas about the name of the dog in each photo. 1887 Carden 'selected' another block, about 7000 acres just south of Langham, known as Burri Bri, in 1887. That block transferred to Miss E M W Geddes in 1899. 1889 1895 - 1900 In 1914 Carden Collins recalled: I then came down here to Woodlands and took over the management of the station for the Union Bank, a post I held for ten years. I was here in the big drought of 1902 and I saved all the cattle for the bank by sinking a number of wells. These proved immense value to the owners who were enabled to buy stock and depasture them on Woodlands. 1901 age 72 28/07/1901, Helen Margaret Collins died at Woodlands, Yeppoon. This may have been from appendicitis. Her grave and headstone were rediscovered some time between 1964 and 1974 when new owners of the property were doing some clearance. They uncovered a potters wheel and hundreds of flower pots near a natural spring. Nearly 200m away, under a stately gum, a gravestone was uncovered. It reads - "In Loving Memory of Helen Margaret Cox Collins, daughter of James Carden and Susannah Collins, who died at Woodlands, July 28, 1901, aged 26 years." It was erected by Charles H. Dawson her devoted friend.3 1902 age 73 The 1902-03 drought must have been one of the very worst. Carden mentions the problems at Woodlands. In the book History of Rockhampton, in July 1902 John Archer saw Frank Collins [Carden's son Francis] passing Torsdale with "50 frames of horses from Waterton [carrying water?? Some jargon here I do not understand.] He gives an awful account of the Dawson country. Says bush turkeys come right into the house and pick up crumbs thrown at meal times." This would have been at Belldeen, near Banana. "The Archers' greatest losses occurred on St Helens which before the drought and under A J Carden Collins' management carried 7,000 Herefords and a stud herd of Durhams. Even though some were moved to Torsdale the greatest part of the herd did not survive. Conditions were very bad on Gracemere itself by March 1903, but by another twist of fate it was prickly pear [with the thorns singed off] which saved the milking herd. The NZ Herald of April 19, 2003, reported that 100 years ago the price of meat in Christchurch rose sharply in price due to the shortages of beef caused by the drought in Australia. Note there were huge losses in major floods in 1896, and again in 1918 in 'the greatest flood of them all.' Wonder how that compares with the 1999 floods? Floods were the preferable disaster because they were over quickly. 1905 In 1914 Carden Collins recalled: When Woodlands was cut up and sold I came here and lived at Erewhon with my son. Erewhon is part of an old Woodlands Estate. This was about 1905, I guess. The son was Carden Noad Collins, and his son, Bob [Robert James Carden] Collins, lived on the property until his death in May 1999. Very likely the old house I visited him at in 1998 is the original one - it is becoming rather decrepit. The name 'Noad' has now been dropped, with 'Noel' taking its place. 1907 The prickly pear was introduced in 1875 from Mexico as a food source - it made excellent crimson jam. It quickly became a public nuisance and by 1925 had overrun 58,000,000 acres of NSW and Qld. By the 1890s it was a pest at Rockhampton. F H Shepherd, Rockhampton Inspector of Stock, devised a chemical compound in 1907 which was marketed by Wilson and Broome and managed by C Carden Collins who used it successfully at Bushley and Stanwell. This 'CCC' was probably my grandfather Conrad Carden Collins, then aged 29, before he moved to Innisfail. 1910 In 1910 John Blair, [I guess] the editor of the Rockhampton Bulletin, died. At the very large funeral "his body was carried to the hearse by Bulletin employees J Bird, E Coar, G Coar, E Crane, P Shackleton, and JC Collins". If that was James Carden he would have been 81 then. It may not have been Carden - possibly his son Jack Carden Collins. 1911 Carden's sister Jessie Compigne, mother of Marie Irvine, died 27/06/1911. She is buried at Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane. Her grave is currently having some restoration work done. The plaque reads: A pioneer in this state, b 1836, d 1911, whose courage, sympathy and helpfulness brightened many lives. Erected by her daughter Mary. [Should have been Marie? I think Mary may be correct, Marie an affectation, but her father had a French background ….. .] 1912 - 1915 Carden and Susan, probably at Erewhon, Yeppoon. Still very fashionably dressed. This is possibly the house I visited to meet their grandson Robert Collins. 1916 age 87 James Carden Collins died at Erewhon, 05/06/1916, and was buried at Yeppoon Cemetery. His obituary in the Morning Bulletin of Rockhampton of June 6 1916 was found by Lyn Chapman. Here is the transcription: News was received in Rockhampton yesterday of the death, at Yeppoon, of Mr James Carden Collins at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. Mr Collins was born at Trinidad, in the West Indies. He was the son of Captain Thomas Collins, who came from a very old family in Somerset. Captain Collins served as an officer in the Indian navy. Being of an adventurous nature, he quitted the service and embarked in the whaling industry, buying an old sailing vessel named the Elizabeth. He followed this perilous occupation for twenty years. Mrs Collins frequently accompanied her husband on his voyages, and it was on one of these trips, while passing Trinidad, and on the 16th of January, 1829, that the subject of this notice was born. Captain Collins mapped out a career in the British navy for his son, but financial losses prevented him from carrying out the idea. Captain Collins came to Sydney in the year of his son's birth, with his wife and son, but went to England shortly afterwards in the Elizabeth, travelling via Cape Horn. Mr Carden Collins remained in the old country until he was thirteen years of age. When Captain Collins settled in Australia he received a grant of 640 acres of land at Bathurst, New South Wales, from the Government, but afterwards took up a farm at Maitland. By the time that Mr Carden Collins returned to Australia about 1842 his father was settled on Cooloomunda, M'Intyre Brook, Darling Downs. Mr Carden Collins travelled all the way from Sydney to his father's home, a distance of 400 miles, overland with his uncle, Mr William Meeks. After spending several years on Cooloomunda, Captain Collins sold it and purchased Telemon, a property on the Logan River. While Captain Collins was on Telemon Mr Carden Collins founded Tambourine Station, on the Albert River but subsequently sold it and formed Maroon. There he tried sheep-breeding in conjunction with cattle-raising, but finding that the two did not do well together, sold the sheep and devoted himself entirely to cattle. Maroon eventually became the property of Mr Thomas Murray Prior, while Mr Collins travelled in search of fresh country. Finally he settled on Baffle Creek, the property afterwards becoming known as Thornhill. After a while Mr Collins left his son in charge of Thornhill and came further north. For a time he acted as cattle selector for the old Central Queensland Meat Export Company, but later took over management of Torilla Station. This position he retained for seven or eight years and then took up land on Torilla, naming it Langham. There he lived for ten years. He then became manager of Woodlands Station, near Yeppoon; but after holding the position for about ten years he retired, going to live with his son, who had bought part of Woodlands. Mr Collins was always a great lover of horses and he was a very fine rider. He indulged in both flat and steeplechase riding but was better known as a hurdle rider. He was gifted with a wonderful memory and could relate incidents of the early days with remarkable detail. End. Well, there are a number of inaccuracies in that but it is interesting. I have underlined the more significant inaccuracies, or at least what I believe are inaccuracies, and the more accurate versions of those events are earlier in this chapter. Until this document appeared it was only logic, and my interpretation of Bob Collins' recollection that it was "Spaniel Bay", that gave us Trinidad as his place of birth. It is good to have that confirmation. DCC Note. February 2006. At the remembrance service for the famous Australian Kerry Packer, Prime Minster John Howard said "He was a larrikin and a gentleman, something all Australians aspire to be." Well, I think Carden also fitted that description and was therefore a very genuine Australian! 1918 05/08/1918, Susan Jane Cox, Carden's second wife, aged 78, died at the General Hospital, Rockhampton, and is buried with Carden. Notice from the Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, August 6, 1918. | |
| Linked to | Alfred Carden Collins Arthur John Carden Collins Carden Noad Collins Conrad Carden Collins Florence Montgomery Collins Helen Margaret Cox Collins Humphrey Danvers Carden Collins James Carden Collins Jessie Lambert Collins Mary Helena Glennie Jane Susannah Cox Pugh Family: James Carden Collins / Jane Susannah Cox Pugh | |
| Photos |  | Collins Family at Langham Dave Collins: "The Collins family at Langham. I guess Humphrey, seated front, to be four years old, so this is 1884. Jack, b 1873, behind seat; Margaret, b 1874, sitting far left; Cardy, b 1876, in front of Susan; Conrad [my grandfather], b 1878, standing at left; Duke, b 1880, sitting at front; Carden seated with Susan standing. Which leaves the young woman on the seat – possibly a tutor for the children, or Susan’s daughter Ada Lister, b 1965 so 19." |
 | Collins Family at Langham Dave Collins: "Now this, taken the same day, I think, is interesting. Jack is missing, so he took this photo. And we have an extra, unknown, girl – presumably she took the other photo. Perhaps Ada, 19, daughter of Susan’s first marriage, but looks too young, I think. I have no ideas about the name of the dog in each photo." | |
 | The Getaway Boat This photograph is probably of the boat James Carden Collins had built. The caption says it is the ‘boat used by convicts to escape from gaol at Caledonia’. | |
 | Stanage Bay Homestead The stone walled house some years after James Carden Collins would have lived there. | |
 | Torilla Flood Torilla photo probably shows the flood, possibly from close to the house. | |
 | Langham Homestead This seems to be the Langham homestead in 1885 while James Carden Collins and family were there. Note the house is on high ground! | |
 | Plaque The plaque reads: A pioneer in this state, b 1836, d 1911, whose courage, sympathy and helpfulness brightened many lives. | |
 | Riders Right to left: Susan, Jack, Cardy and Margaret – thinks Dave Collins. | |
 | Memorial James Carden Collins and his second wife Susannah Jane Pugh | |
| Old Torilla House This is probably the original Torilla house the 1874 hurricane destroyed. | |
 | James Carden Collins and Susannah Pugh Dave Collins "Carden and Susan, probably at Erewhon, Yeppoon. Still very fashionably dressed. This is possibly the house I visited to meet their grandson Robert Collins." |
| Pending |  | Funeral Notice Notice from the Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, August 6, 1918. |
| Grave of Jessie Compigne Carden’s sister Jessie Compigne, mother of Marie Irvine, died 27/06/1911. She is buried at Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane. Here her grave is having some restoration work done. | |
| Grave of Jessie Compigne Carden’s sister Jessie Compigne, mother of Marie Irvine, died 27/06/1911. She is buried at Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane. Here her grave is having some restoration work done. | |
| Torilla Stone House This is a photo of the abandoned stone house at Torilla which replaced the one destroyed by the hurricane. | |
| Torilla Stone House A recent photo of the stonework remaining. |
