John Buckley


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John Buckley

Back to Nimitybelle Profile – The Buckley Family

John Buckley came to Australia in 1859. He married Catherine Lawless at St Patrick’s Church, Cooma on 27th March 1864. Shortly after their marriage the couple settled at Myalla on a property called “Ti Tree” where John put together a very comfortable property. Like most Irishmen he was most hospitable, big-hearted and highly respected all over Monaro.

John and Catherine had 14 children, nine boys and 5 girls, two died in early childhood and Jeremiah was killed at the 1st World War, ten married and raised families. So continued the Buckley-Burke-Manning-Thornton names.

As a result of hard work and wise planning by both John and his wife, he was able to provide sufficient money to each member of his family to buy land in the district. They all settle within 10 miles of Nimmitabel. The families who had dairying properties had to send their cream by rail to the Argyle factory at Goulburn.

With growing families able to help with farm work, most of the men took the opportunity to boost funds by taking jobs as labourers, shearers, or carrying rocks, sleepers and rail, supplying their own horses and carts on the Nimmitabel-Bombala railway line in 1910-1912

All of the children attended St Joseph’s Convent School, back in the 40’s there were 96 children at this school, 26 of these were Buckley’s.   But with big families and not much work locally, farms were sold and families moved to the Goulburn, Queanbeyan, Canberra, Moss Vale and Sydney.  Some of the next generation stayed around Nimmitabel, they married and raised their families, names which come to mind are Jerry, Jack, Con, Steve, Tom, Finnan Buckley, Bill and Frank and Rex Burke, Katie James, Doris Clear, Amelia Owers and Kitty Bales.

The families were, and are very clannish. They would gather at Myalla each year for Christmas, and stay from Christmas Eve until New Year with much dancing, singing, cooking, drinking and minding each other’s children  (The Buckley’s loved to dance, it was part of their way of life.)

Each year a fox hunt and Ball was held at the Myalla homestead. Visitors would come early in sulkies or on horse back for the hunt and the Ball to follow. They would stay the night and leave next morning.

The families were always eager to help each other such as at harvest time or in times of sickness. Times were hard, and discipline was strict.

There were some good sportsmen among them - footballers, foot runners, tennis players and horsemen. They had good horses in which they took a lot of pride, they were good riders and Con, Jim and Jack all had racehorses.

The Buckley name has been carried on over a century; there have been two Buckley Reunions in Nimmitabel in the last 25 years, with families coming from all over Australia. There are still 3 families in Nimmitabel Bernie and Val, Ron and Gwen, and Esther, with the Rayner and Blyton names been added to the clan through marriage. There are also several other descendants living locally.

 Showtime was a big event in the area with all the Buckley families trying to outdo each other in ring events and exhibits.   Interest in the annual show and horses in particular has been carried on to the present day by Bernie Buckley, a fourth generation to be involved.


JOHN BUCKLEY c. 1863
Myalla

JOHN BUCKLEY was born in Ireland in 1835 and arrived at the Victorian Goldfields via America. From Victoria he came to Manaro, where he married Miss Catherine Lawlis, daughter of Patrick Lawlis, of The Peak. He shortly after settled at Myalla. where from 1863 till his death in 1913, he and his family resided and prospered. The sons who survive him are Cornelius (now an hotel-keeper in Bega), Charles, James, John, Jeremiah, Stephen (a dairy farmer in Bemboka) and William; his daughters being Mesdames John Burke, P. W. Burke, J. H. Thornton, and Julia Buckley.

"BACK TO COOMA" Felix Mitchell 1926 Page 74 - Transcribed by Pattrick Mould 2002