Reference ‘Tragedies and Triumphs’ by John D Brown, Alfred Cove WA
(private publication circa 1990)
Like most parents, Tom and Ann Kite would have had strong
reservations when they said goodbye to their son who was deserting
the sleepy Wiltshire hamlet of Tishead, called Tilsit by its
inhabitants, for the fleshpots of London.
The villagers would have heard of the terrible things that happened
to young country folk who had been drawn to the excitement of
London, the centre of the world, where the best and the worst of
mankind lived. Could Thomas resist the temptations of Mamon? The
seething mass of humanity, beyond the imagination of the humble
denizens of Tilshead, could swallow a man without trace. Few from
the countryside of Wiltshire would have ventured beyond Salisbury,
a day’s ride from Tilshead, where the towering Cathedral spire
beckoned weary travellers to the comforts of the town.
Eventually Thomas completed the long journey to London and found
employment as a porter at Hugh Jones’ linen-drapery situated at
84 Gracechurch Street, close to the Monument, near London Bridge.
His salary was twenty guineas a year, which was reasonable considering
he had lodgings upstairs in the dwelling-house part of Hugh Jones’
shop, together with Mr Jones himself.
Thomas had been born and raised in Tilshead where everyone knew
everyone else. The opportunity to commit crime was slight, but in
the immense metropolis of London every vice conceivable flourished.
Visitors to London were warned “never to stop in a crowd or look at
the windows of a print-shop, if you would not have your pocket
picked”. All went well for over a year. But the temptation was too
great for Thomas.
************
OLD BAILY SESSIONS:
1811 – 1812.
Second Session, 1812:
************
THE TRIAL OF THOMAS KITE
The jurors of our Lord the King upon their oath present that
Thomas Kite late of London … Labourer … on the 21st of December
in the 52nd year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the
Third by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland King defender of the Faith … in the dwelling house
of Hugh Jones … feloniously did steal take and carry away Two
Bank Notes for the payment of the sum of Two Pounds each and of
the value of Two Pounds each and one other Bank Note for the
payment of the sum of One Pound and of the value of One Pound.
The said Bank Notes at the time of committing the felony
aforesaid being the property of the said Hugh Jones …
ASSIZE RECORDS.
London Gaol Delivery.
Wednesday, 15 January, 1812.
************
TRANSCRIPT
Hugh Jones: “I am a linen draper. I live at 84 Gracechurch-
street.”
Wm. Hughs: “I am shopman to Mr Jones. On the morning of 21st
December, a young man with me counted the money
in the till, and two hours afterwards he counted
the money again; there was not money sufficient
for what we had taken in the shop.”
Q. “Is that young man here? ”
A. “No. I asked him to look if there was any one-
pound note with the mark on it; there was not.
The notes we could not find in the time. The
prisoner, Thomas Kite, was porter at our house.”
Q. “Did you see the two two-pound notes and the one
pound note in the till before?”
A. “I did. When Mr Jones came home the prisoner was
asked whether he had the notes; he said no; he took
some silver out of his pocket.”
Q. “You do not know who took them out of the till, do
you?”
A. “No. Afterwards I saw Thomas Kite take them out of
his pocket himself”.
Q. “Where they …..
Shepherd: “I am an officer. Here they are. They were taken
out of his pocket before I came up to him”.
Hughes: “We charged him with the notes; he denied having
them. He then took out two two-pound notes, and
said that was all he had got; Mr Jones
took him upstairs and searched his box; he said,
you may as well give me the notes and go about your
business; are these all the notes that you took; he
said, no, there are more in the packet; they are in
this paper. These are the two two-pound notes, I
put them in the till that morning, not an hour
before they were missed. There is the lady’s name
on them. They are the two two-pound notes that I
took of that lady here is the one-pound note that
perhaps had been taken the same morning about three
hours previous. They were taken out of the till, and
the prisoner gave them out of his pocket”.
Mr Alley: “For aught you know, the prisoner might have given
change for them out of his pocket; and the other
man is not here”.
A. “No” .
Q. to Mr Jones: “Where did you get these notes?”
A. “The prisoner gave them out of his pocket to me;
when I missed these notes I took him upstairs and
insisted upon searching his box. I took out all
his clothes, I found this pocket book, it contained
five pound odd in silver I said I was certain he
had the noted, he had better give them up; he put
his hand in his pocket and gave them out before
the other witness; they were loose in his coat
pocket” .
Q. “What else did you find upon him?”
A. “Forty-seven pounds. He was my porter, he lived in
the house and had twenty guineas a year; he lived
with me between thirteen and fourteen months”.
Mr Alley: “Was the other man that is not here a shopman?”
A. “Yes; he is not here; he is in my service now”.
Court: “What parish is your house in?”
“St Peter’s Cornhill”.
Q. “Have you any partners”.
A. “None, at all”.
Q. “Is the shop part of your dwelling-house?”
A. “Yes , it is”
Shepard: “I know nothing of the robbery, the property was
given to me, fifty-two pound in bank notes and
five in cash”.
***************
The prisoner left his defence to his counsel, called four
witnesses, who gave him a good character.
GUILTY.
DEATH (by hanging) .
Aged 24.
The prisoner was recommended to mercy by the jury on account
of his former good character.
LONDON JURY, BEFORE MR RECORDER.
***********
The death sentence was subsequently commuted to transportation
for LIFE.
***********
CONVICT TRANSPORTATION TO AUSTRALIA
At his trial and on his Absolute Pardon Thomas Kite’s calling was
given as Labourer but, on his Indent, his calling was recorded as
Blanket dresser, that is, someone who trims blankets.
His eyes were Hazle [sic] his Hair was black and his complexion
fair.
Eighteenth century English gaols, such as the one that held
Thomas Kite, were a far cry from today’s prisons. Filthy and
overcrowded, the ancient gaols housed men, women and children
without discrimination and without segregation. Those awaiting
trial were herded together with sentenced criminals. Prisoners’
friends could bring them money to buy the necessaries of life
and things not so necessary, such as beer. Female prisoners who
had few, if any, friends prostituted themselves to their gaolers
who were not civil servants but men who made their living from
selling food and services to those in their charge.
Elizabeth Fry spent much of her time working at prison reform,
notably Newgate where many contemplated their impending trans-
portation. Prisoners adored her and kings heeded her. Quite
probably Thomas Kite met her, as she frequently visited the
London gaols at the time he was incarcerated. He waited for nearly
a year from the time of his trial, on 15 January 1812, until his
abode was changed from a stinking prison to the dank, vermin ridden
ship that was to take him away from the only country he knew. Two
days before Napoleon abandoned what was left of his armies on the
Russian front and retreated to Paris by sleigh, Thomas was put
aboard the ship Fortune on 3 December 1812 to arrive in Sydney on
11 June 1813.
Being a pre-1815 convict ship, the Fortune was subject to few laws.
Thomas Kite probably suffered the privations that were common on
such ships at the time. Apparently he disembarked in good condition
as he was taken to Windsor in January 1814 where, in October of the
same year, he was assigned, with 2 other convicts, to the service of
a Mr Purcell, probably Charles Purcell, a farmer who came free
to Evan on the ship Anne in 1810.
With the crossing of the Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and
Wentworth in 1813, the rich Western Plains were opened up to provide
grazing lands for the ever increasing numbers of sheep which had
reached 85,000, an increase of 59,000 in 3 years.
This monumental exp1oritory achievement led to an equally
remarkable accomplishment – the construction of the road from
Emu Plains to Bathurst.
The Introduction in William Cox’s Narrative of Proceedings brings
to us the enormity of the undertaking, as do Cox’s hand written
lists of the names of the men who carved their way through the
mighty bastions of the Blue Mountains. These names are listed in
the order they were written. Some men became “absent” and some
were “joined” to balance the numbers.
Transcript of Convict Road Book
They Came Road Book 1815 Road Book 1815
by a Road 30th Sept 24th Oct
——————————————————————————————-
Sergt Bounds Lewis Lewis
Ray Dye Richards
Minehan Freeman Ayres
Richards Dye
Corp Harris Bryan Freeman
Monk Lawrence
Pvt Carrol Watson Dwyer
Paris Sullivan
James Watson Logan Watson
James Dwyer Pierce Bryan
*Thomas Goram Henley Monk
William Dye Brown Paris
Sam Freeman Kendall Henley
Thomas Cooke Kelly Galayley
Robert Fowler Bennett Logan
James Richards Brockway Pierce
William Herdman Neale Brown
John Hanley Mclntire Wesor?
Sam WaIters McMann Davis
Henry Cryer Adams Kendall
Samuel Crook? Dwyer Kelly
Patrick Harman Sullivan Bennett
John AlIen Davis Brockway
Thomas Adams Bannister Neale
John Finch Miller Adams
Stephan Parker Mclntire
Tom Roddocks M’Mann Flarty
John Manning Bannister Finnigan
John Tindall Miller Ladne
James Kelly West Berwick
Matt Smith Pierson Flarty
Harry Sullivan Lawrence Finnigan
John Ross Thorpe Ladner
William Lawrence West West
Thomas Kendall Pierson Pierson
Sam Davis Lawrence Thorpe
Henry Morton Thorpe Neville
Thomas Watkins Weson Baker
Jim McCarthy
William Appledore Kite
Pat Hanhaghan Nevile**
Stephen Hockey Baker** Richards***
William Ramsay Faulkes**
George Keen Kite**
Hearn**
** Joined 30 Sept
*** Absent
* Most likely Thomas Gorman
**************
7 Oct – 36 Rations
Hearn discharged infirm
Baker sent to hospital
Galayley joined
14 Oct – 36 – R[ations]
McCoy & Ayres joined
Lewis & Richards absent
21 October – 40 Rations
Baker & Richards joined
Return to company the 23rd Oct
******************
First Bathurst Settlers
5 Freemen
William Lee
George Cheshire
James Blackman
John Blackman
Richard Mills
5 Convicts
John Ablett
John Neville
Thomas Kite
Thomas Swanbrooke
John Godding
******************
LAND GRANT AND PARDON
Of the forty men who conquered the Mountains, only two settled
in Bathurst. One was John Neville, spelt in various ways, and
Thomas Kite who probably returned to Mr Purcell until he was
granted his conditional pardon dated 28 October 1818, although
he and the other four convicts, were chosen on 2 February 1818.
The pardons they were granted for their parts in conquering the
daunting gorges and 1000ft sheer rock cliffs for those who made
the Blue Mountains impenetrable for so many years.
Governor Macquarie devised a plan to establish a number of settlers
on small agricultural grants. The scheme took effect on 2 February
1818 when grants of 50 acres were made to each of ten men, of whom
five were convicts serving life sentences and five were born in the
colony.
Those born in the colony were:
William Lee, George Cheshire, James Blackman, John Blackman and
Richard Mills.
The pardoned convicts were:
John Ablett, John Nevill, Thomas Kite and John Godding.
The only exception was Thomas Swanbrooke.
Although Macquarie had proclaimed
that the ten men should be “half of them young men born ln the
colony-and the other half free men who have been convicts” on 2
February 1818, their Conditional Pardons were actually granted on
28 October 1818. To assure the success of the scheme, each grantee
was given an assigned convict servant, a cow, four bushels of seed
wheat and a guaranteed market at the local Commissariat store.
Thomas’ efforts resulted in a surplus of produce from his 50 acres
In March 1820, bringing him the sum of thirty five pounds, or
nearly double the twenty guineas he earned in a year as a porter in
Mr Jones’ Linen Drapery in London. Taking in account his costs, he
would have probably broken even.
When Tom Kite was assigned to Mr Purcell, Windsor, or Hawkesbury
as it was known then, consisted of about 50 dwellings and the usual
cluster of government and military establishments. St Matthews, one
of Francis Greenway’s finest architectural masterpieces, was barely
started whilst Tom was in Mr Purcell’s care. In such a small
settlement it was inevitable that everyone knew everyone else. Tom
certainly met Joe Baylis and Ann Taylor and their 10 year old
daughter Sarah, as well as William, John. Mary, Jane and Maria.
His epic journey over the Blue Mountains and his work establishing
and increasing his farmlands did not sever his friendship with Joe
and his family. Nine months after he sold his surplus produce, Tom
married the not yet 17 year old Sarah Baylis on Boxing Day 1820 at
Christ Church, Castlereagh.
Tom must have been a charmer. He was 31 when he married Sarah. To
a 16 year old girl, a 31 year old man seems positively ancient.
In 1820 Tom had not started to amass his wealth. His land was
barely productive enough to provide sustenance for those working on
it, so Sarah did not marry for money. Nor was she pregnant. With men
outnumbering women by about two to one, young women could pick and
choose. Sarah chose the black haired, hazel eyed five foot nine and
a half , dark ruddy complexioned Thomas Kite. Almost a year to the
day after the wedding, Tom and Sarah had a daughter. She was named
Ann after Tom’s mother.
PROSPERITY
During the next 7 years Tom laid the foundations of his fortune.
Sarah Mary, named after her mother, arrived in 1823, Jane followed
in 1825 and Eliza two years later. The absence of boys in the
farming family must have been some concern but, like most people
of the era, large numbers of children were common, and Sarah was
still young at 24 when Eliza was born. By 1827 Tom was sufficiently
important to have connected with the presentation of an autographed
address to Rev Thomas Hassell, who was to marry Ann Marsden, the
Rev Samuel Marsden’s first child, on 12 August 1832, at Parramatta
and, in the same year Tom became an Elder of the Independent Academy.
Sadly, his mother-in-law, Ann Baylis, died on 21 December 1826, just
before he was honoured.
Joe must have been devastated. He left Windsor, where Ann is
buried, and took Maria and Jane, now 13 and 15, to stay with
him at Tom Kite’s farm where he could be comforted by Sarah,
his daughter and Tom’s wife.
The 50 acres granted to Tom in 1818 had now grown to 150 acres
of which 80 acres had been cleared, grazing 18 horses, 230 cattle
and 1000 sheep. To help with the running of the farm there was a
staff of three, plus 4 convicts and 3 ex-convicts. Now the tables
were turned. Instead of being a virtual slave to Mr Purcell, he
was now master of seven men, two teenage girls and one wife. We
know who the girls and his wife were, but who were the seven men?
Transcript of Indenture
Name Age Status Ship Arrival Date Status Sentence Trade
Ben Mansfield 31 GS Champion 1827 7 years Cook
Jas Muir 28 TL Ship1ey 1817 14 years Shepherd
John Purvis 29 FS Batavia 1818 7 years Stockman
John Quinlam 28 GS E1iza 1827 L Hut keeper
Thos. Sanders 30 FS G. Hewitt 1819 7 years Carter
Wm. Shreeves 24 GS Guildford 1824 L Shepherd
Mack Smith 45 FS Tottenham 1818 7 years Shepherd
The ever present ship’s name was listed on the 1828 Census as well as the Status code:
7 Seven years transportation
14 Fourteen years transportation
L Life sentence transportation.
Gs Government Service (convict working for the Govt.)
Tl Ticket of Leave
Fs Free of Servitude (having served his time)
From these bare facts we can see that Ben Mansfield and John
Quinlam had been assigned to Tom almost as soon as the ship docked.
Jas. Muir had served 11 of his 14 years but was still subject to
the conditions of his Ticket of Leave. John Purvis, Thos Sanders
and Mack Smith were all free men, having served their time and
had chosen to work for Tom Kite. William Shreeves with only 4
years served had much assigned work ahead of him. Because fences
were seldom seen, three of Tom’s seven farm hands were shepherds;
the others were what we would expect.
By now Thomas Kite was regarded as the most successful of the
original settlers. Many were granted land but few made the most
of their grants. It took hard work and intelligence to get the
most out of unknown soils in unknown climatic conditions, but Tom
obviously had all the qualities needed for success. What would he
have thought of today’s sheep and wool industry? His sheep were
shorn manually with “blades” those wrist developing shears that
were used by the millions, and are possibly still used to shear
valuable stud rams. Certainly they were so used in the 1940′s.
Herbert Austin and Frederick Wolseley, who were to build cars
bearing their own names, had not yet journeyed to Australia (and
when they did they would have travelled in more comfort that Tom
Kite and Charles Gornall did) to design and -eventually manufacture
vast quantities of their sheep shearing machinery.
Rather than stuffing fleeces into bags of various sorts, Tom would
see a highly efficient wool classing operation with classified
fleeces being pressed into uniform bales to be taken away by a
transport system that would stagger his imagination. Not for him
the speed and ease of motor transport, or trains, aeroplanes and
steamships. Journeys were by foot, horse and coach in Thomas Kite’s
day. Communications were carried by the same means. Houses were lit
by candles or oil lamps; heating and cooking were by wood or coal
fires. There were no refrigerators, electric appliances, telephones,
radios, television, air conditioning, computers, cinemas, cameras,
typewriters and a host of other things we take for granted as they
make our lives easy and enjoyable.
Governor Phillip’s land grant policy was changed by Governor
Macquarie who favoured granting land to free settlers of means in
preference to convicts, or even ex-convicts, yet Thomas received a
grant of 640 acres (a square mile) in 1830, by which time he had
applied for 4 more assignees, but he was allotted only two.
The assignment system dated back to the days when convicts were
transported to America, and even Africa, where they were sold as
slaves for the term of their sentences. This practice continued
until the American War of Independence in 1775-83. By the time
the war was over Australia had replaced America as the repository
for Britain’s unwanted felons. The trade of British convicts to
Africa also ceased. The virtually uninhabited spaces of Australia
presented a totally different proposition to the relatively
settled America. Britain wanted Australia populated to deny the
continent from France and Holland, both of which had mapped large
parts of the Australian coastline. There was no market for slaves
in Australia, so the government, in essence, sold the convicts to
themselves by assigning them to free settlers (of whom there were
very few in the early days) and other convicts who had been given
conditional pardons almost as soon as they walked off the ship.
Land was handed out to any pardoned convict who had any potential,
and to some who had none. There were many convicts assigned to
other convicts who had been given conditional pardons only months
after they had arrived. It is on record that fortunate convicts
had written home giving glowing reports of the future in New South
Wales, encouraging their wives to commit crimes so they could be
sent to NSW to be assigned to their husbands. No one has said what
would happen if the husband were in Sydney and his wife sent to
Hobart Town!
Whatever the facts of family reunions, there was
enough corruption to justify the creation of an Assignment Board.
Masters applied to the Board giving details of the convicts already
under their control and the amount of land under pasturage or
cultivation. Often they applied for more than they needed, in the
knowledge that the Board would reduce their requirements. The net
result was that they got what they needed, not what they wanted.
In 1832 Tom was monopolizing the hotel trade in Bathurst. The
population of Bathurst in 1821, the year after Tom and Sarah were
married, was a meagre 287, rising to 3599 in 1841. In between these
times Tom had set up the Dun Cow in 1827 and the Wayside Inn some
time later. He continued expanding his pastoral activities and
added another 640 acres to boost his growing empire. His next
acquisitions were the purchase of 1050 acres and the grant of
yet another 640 acres. The wool boom which had started in 1834
boosted the price of land and started the new Bathurst Bank, with
Thomas Kite elected as a director. The first dividend was 34.75
on paid up capital. By 1840 the banking industry was more complex
and competitive, so the Bathurst Bank was sold to the Union Bank,
and Tom concentrated on his other businesses. The expansion of his
land holdings continued with one more lot of 894 acres and another
of 960 acres at Molong which, in 1849, was officially declared “a
site for a village”. It was established on land originally held by
Thomas Kite. Still in 1835, he took up “Wardry” a sheep station of
some 27,000 acres west of Condobolin, and four other properties
amounting to a total additional area of 124,660 acres. The expansion
program was maintained until, in 1851 he held more than 200,000
acres of some of Australia’s finest pastoral an farming land.
But Thomas’ most satisfying day would surely have been in 1836
when he was granted his Absolute Pardon which freed him from the
restrictions imposed by his Conditional Pardon. Because Governors
could no longer grant pardons, but only recommend them, Thomas’
Certificate had to be signed firstly by Richard Bourke, Governor
of New South Wales, on the twentieth of November 1837, then by
Sir George Gipps, Knight, who took over from Bourke, had been
“duly signified to me through the Right Honorable Lord Glenelg
Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, by
a Despatch dated 23rd June One thousand eight hundred and thirty
eight No 136 Given under my Hand at Sydney, within the said
Territory of New South Wales, this Tenth Day of January in the
Year of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty nine.
(signed) Geo. Gipps.” All this was “Entered upon Record at Pages
125/126 Register No.3 this Twenty first Day of January One thousand
eight hundred and thirty nine~ The last signature is from Colonial
Secretary Deas Thomson.
By the time his Absolute Pardon certificate arrived in Sydney,
Thomas had built his mansion “Woolstone” although the precise year
of its construction is unknown, it is believed that he built the
single storey home in the 1830s and his son William added the
upper storey and the tower. With a fine sense of history, Thomas
set Woolstone on his original grant near the village of Kelso.
The man who was saved from the hangman’s noose and became a wealthy
and respected gentleman, died of “Old age General debility” on
13 September 1876, aged 87, at his residence “Woolstone” which is
still intact. His will ran to 49 pages. Sarah Mary and Richard
Young Cousins inherited Orr’s Wharf in .Sydney, all his lands in
Clarence and York Streets in Sydney, land in Bathurst and Orange,
plus 10,300 acres covering 17 parcels of land. His intention was
to divide his possessions equally to his seven surviving children,
surely a mark of a wise and compassionate man. In his obituary in
The Bathurst Times of 16 September 1876, Thomas Kite’s wealth was
“variously estimated at from six to eight hundred thousand pounds
in real and personal estate.” There were few in the colony who
were so successful and so respected.
**************
WILL OF THOMAS KITE transcript
Thomas Kites seven children named in the original Will were:
Thomas Kite the younger
William Kite
George Kite
Sarah Mary Cousins, wife of Richard Young Cousins
Ann Lee, wife of William Lee
Emily Louisa Lee, wife of George Lee
Elizabeth Forest (or Forrest) wife of Mowbray Forest.
********************
LIST OF PROPERTIES BEQUEATHED IN THE LAST WILL OF THOMAS KITE
Bequests to Thomas Kite the younger:
30 acres 20 perches (more or less) in the North of the town of
Orange in County of Wellington granted to me by the Crown by Deed
of Grant on first of March, 1955.
30 acres 3 roods 36 perches in North of the town of Orange (as above)
640 acres in Parish of March; Crown Deed of Grant on thirtieth of
November, 1842.
13 lots totalling 729 acres near Kangaroo Bay on the Nandillion Ponds.
Crown Deed of Grant of first of July, 1857
40 acres in Parish of March in County of Wellington but in the Deed
of Gift stated to be in the County of Bathurst. Crown Deed on
seventeenth of May, 1839.
16 lots totalling 676 acres at Mullyan Creek, in Parish of March,
six on second December, 1856; and ten on second December, 1859.
42 acres at Mulyan Creek. Crown Deed, on eleventh January, 1860.
746 acres on Nandillion Ponds. Crown Deed dated sixth of June, 1836.
832 acres on Nandillion Ponds. As above.
1,193 acres on Nandillion Ponds. Crown Deed on twenty-ninth of
June, 1839.
2 Messuages and shops nearest to the corner of Howick and William
streets, Bathurst.
4 messuages or tenements and shops which I have erected on the site
of what was formerly the Wool pack Inn;
Also all those parcels of land in George St., Bathurst, portions of
allotments twelve and ten of Section fourteen, with the messuages or
tenements thereon which by Indenture dated 5/7/1870 were conveyed to
me by Domingo Gressier;
and two allotments at the corner of Howick and Stewart Sts, Bathurst,
Numbers 14 and 15 of Sectionl7, which with other hereditaments were
conveyed to me by Messieurs Robert Towns and Alexander Stewart by
Indenture dated first of June, 1870.
***************
Bequests to William Kite:
1,050 acres at Molong Creek in County Bathurst. Granted on the
twenty-sixth of November, 1834.
920 acres at Molong Creek. Granted on twenty-eighth January, 1836.
1,130 acres ar Bell River. Granted thirtieth of April, 1837.
733 acres at Molong Creek. Granted on sixth of June, 1836.
725 acres at Molong Creek. Granted Granted of June, 1836.
1,830 acres at or near Molong. Granted on thirty-first, January, 1839.
1,920 acres (three lots each of 640 acres) near Molong. Granted
on thirty-first of January, 1839.
712 acres near Molong. Granted on Thirtieth of January, 1839.
550 acres near Molong in County of Ashburnam. Granted on ninth
of July, 1861.
2,000 acres on Bathurst Plains, A.K.McKenzie’s Grant known as
“Dockairn”, and purchased by me from William Henry McKenzie Esq.
and those two messuages and shops and premises nearest the corner
of Durham and William Streets, Bathurst;
and four messuages shops and premises I erected on the site of
what was formerly the Wool pack Inn.
************
Bequests to Sarah Mary Cousins:
894 acres at Nubrigyn Creek. Granted eighth of February, 1836.
980 acres at Nubrigyn Creek. Granted thirtieth of June 1838.
1,269 acres ar Nubrigyn Creek. Granted twelfth of July, 1839.
21 acres at Weandra Creek. Granted thirty-first of Junuary, 1839.
1,180 acres at Nubrigyn Creek. Granted on sixteenth of June, 1837.
1,104 acres at Nubrigyn Creek. Granted as above.
640 acres at Bell River and Weandra Creek. Granted on thirty-first
of January, 1839.
60 acres at Kelso purchased from George Chesher on thirtieth of
June, 1823.
2 acres of Chesher’s Grant purchased from the Assignees of the
estate of the late Frederick Strachan and the Inspector of the
Union Bank of Australia by Indenture of first of January, 1864,
and the house and grounds now in occupation of Richard Young
Cousins as a dwelling house.
400 acres on Bathurst Plains known as Jew’s Hill conveyed to me
by the representatives of the late Samuel Terry by Indenture on
fifteenth of November, 1860.
the parcel of land in the City of Sydney known as Orr’s Wharf
conveyed to me by William Orr on fifteenth of December, 1852.
all my lands in Clarence and York Streets Sydney, conveyed to
me by the Trustees of the Australian Trust Company on the 23rd
of August, 1848.
1280 acres granted by the Crown to G.F.Blackett in County of
Bathurst and conveyed to me by Dodds and Blackett on thirteenth
of May, 1846.
and certain lands, messuages and hereditaments in Orange,
mortgaged to me by Hyam Phillips and which I subsequently
purchased from R.Y.Cousins, conveyed on sixth of May, 1860.
1280 acres at Fitzgerald’s Swanp in County of Bathurst, conveyed
by Thomas Weavers the younger by Indenture of sixth of January,
1868.
That parcel of land in Parish of Cole, near Fitzgerald’s Swamp,
number 72, containing 37 acres 1 rood; Crown Deed of Grant
dated fourteenth of September, 1866.
3 parcels of land totalling 95 acres 3 roods (Nos 73, 63, 65)
in Parish of Cole. Granted on first of April, 1868.
2 parcels of land totalling 88! acres (Nos 80 and 54) at
Fitzgerald’s Swamp. Granted on sixteenth of September, 1870.
A parcel of land at Fitzgerald’s Swamp, No 69, of 40 acres 3 roods.
Granted on third of November, 1866.
40 acres in Parish of Vittoria on Neal IS Waterholes. Granted by
the Crown on first April, 1868.
In the town of Bathurst, Nos 17 and 18 of Section 4, conveyed Qy
Robert Towns and Alexander Stewart on first of June, 1870.
***************
Bequests to Ann Lee:
2,000 acres on Winburndale Creek in County of Roxburgh originally
granted to J.T.Palmer, conveyed by J.T.Morisset on thirtieth of
July, 1838.
300 acres on the Macquarie River in County of Roxburgh originally
granted to John Day and conveyed to me by Indenture (Date unknown).
350 acres on Macquarie River. Granted by Crown on twenty-fifth of
August, 1838.
1,250 acres on Macquarie River. Granted by Crown on twelfth of
April, 1837.
640 acres on Macquarie River granted to – Webb, and purchased by
me from the trustees of the Estate of Samuel Terry on fifteenth of
November, 1862.
1,060 acres near Macquarie River and adjoining John Dayls Grant,
originally granted to James Edrop, 530 acres whereof I purchased from
James Edrop and the other 530 acres from James Stirling, Chairman of
the Bank of Australia.
4 parcels of land totalling 409 acres on Bathurst Plains, granted
originally to William Charles Wentworth and purchased by me from
William Lee Senior.
Allotment No 3 of Section 7 in the Town of Bathurst whereon is
situated a messuage or tenement known as The Free Selection Inn
which with other hereditaments was conveyed to me by the Official
Assignee of the Insolvent Estate of William Nason on twenty-fifth
of October, 1864.
Several allotments in Bathurst, Nos 3 and 4 of Section No 64, and
No 3 of Section 29, conveyed by the above Official Assignee.
Allotment in the Village of Peel in County of Roxburgh containing
1 acre (allotment No 10 of Section 9) conveyed by said Assignee.
Allotment No 13 of Section 18 in Bathurst, conveyed to me by the
Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney by Indenture of twenty-second of
June, 1869, and upon which are situated the buildings formerly
known as the Red Lion Inn and the Victoria Theatre.
Allotment in Bathurst on the Corner of Howick and Bentinck Sts.,
Nos 19 and 20 of Section 4, conveyed by William Campbell Mockett
and his mortgagees on twenty-first of June, 1869.
Store and premises in Castlereagh Street Sydney near Circular Quay
now occupied by one, – Mayfield as my tenant,
and 2 allotments at the back of the said store, all which said
hereditaments I purchased from the Crown.
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Bequests to Emily Louisa Lee:
All the farms at Emu Plains in County of Cook three of which
contain 50 acres and the other 38 acres.
2,000 acres of land at Winburndale known as Brown’s Farm.
The cottage and premises in Castlereagh Street, Sydney, conveyed
The cottage and premises in Castlereagh Street, Sydney, conveyed
by William Brady by Indenture on third of December, 1856.
The messuage and premises at the Corner of Castlereagh Street
and Hunter Street, Sydney, purchased by me from Messieurs Brady
and McRoberts on seventh of December, 1850.
Several parcels of land in Morrisset and Ranken Streets, Bathurst,
formerly the property of John Joseph Ashe, and since conveyed to
me by R.Y.Cousins.
The messuage and premises in Russell Street, Bathurst, formerly
occupied as a Town Hall and mortgaged to me by John Joseph Ashe
and since conveyed with other lands to me by R.Y.Cousins by
Indenture dated sixth of May, 1863.
850 acres at Queen Charlotte’s Vale in County of Bathurst formerly
granted by the Crown to John Lake (Date unknown).
Parcels of land in Bathurst, portions of allotments 16 and 17 of
Section 1, conveyed to me by the Trustees of the Estate of
John Ireland on eleventh of July, 1869.
Parcels of land in Bathurst, allotment No 1 of Section No 4, and
thirty-five perches of land adjoining thereto, conveyed by
Robert Towns and Alexander Stuart by Indenture on first of June.
1870.
674 acres in Parish of Malmsbury and County of Bathurst at
Macquarie River. Crown grant by Deed of Grant on twentieth
of May, 1840.
1,001 acres on west side of Macquarie River adjoining the aforesaid
674 acres granted by the Crown to Hughes and Hoskings and purchased
by me from the Bank of New South Wales.
35 acres in Parish of Malmsbury, Portion No 4 granted by the
Crown to me on sixteenth of January, 1861.
Seven other lots totalling 316 acres and 18 perches, Portions
11,12,17,18,19,20, in Parish of Malmsbury. Crown Deed on the
sixteenth of January, 1861.
40 acres in Parish of Malmsbury at the Back Swamp, Portion 28.
Crown grant to me on the fourteenth of September, 1866.
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Bequests to Elizabeth Forest:
2,000 acres in the County of Roxburgh known as Junes’s Grant,
purchased from the representatives of the late Samuel Terry.
All the buildings and premises in Pitt Street, Sydney, purchased
from W.J.Packer and conveyed to me on the sixth of November, 1846,
and now in the occupation of Pay ton and Day and known as The
Auction Mart.
That messuage and premises in William Street, Sydney, purchased
from – Smithers.
Those parcels of land in Bentinck Street, Bathurst, allotments
Nos 14, 15, and 16 of Section 4, conveyed by Robert Towns and
Alexander Stuart on the first of June, 1860.
27 acres 3 roods 20 perches in the Parish of Malmsbury at the
Back Swamp, Portion No 60. Granted by the Crown on fourteenth
of September, 1866.
Ten other lots totalling 360 acres in the Parish of Malmsbury
Portions 61 to 70 inclusive. Crown Grant as above.
40 acres in the Parish of Malmsbury, Portion 29, granted on the
first of June, 1866.
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Bequests to George Kite:
The parcel of 80 acres at Kelso on which the house and premises
wherein I now reside are built.
1,000 acres on Bathurst Plains known as Blarney, purchased from
the Estate of Thomas Aspinall.
55 acres adjoining this, being a portion of W.I.Brown’s Grant
and purchased from Sir William Verner, on which the Woodside Inn
is built.
376 acres 3 roods purchased at Auction from the Crown at Bathurst
on the ninth of May, 1871, for which I hold a receipt for the
balance of the purchase money dated ninth of August, 1871.
640 acres on the west side of the Macquarie River granted to
C. Wall and purchased by me from William Charles Wentworth.
2,500 acres on the West side of Macquarie River adjoining,
granted to Colonel Wall and purchased from William Charles Wentworth.
50 acres in the Parish of Malmsbury near the Macquarie River,
Crown grant on sixteenth of September, 1870.
50 acres 2 roods in the Parish of Malmsbury, Portion 80, purchased
from the Crown and granted by Deed dated the second of November, 1869.
Two parcels of land containing 107 acres each, on Bathurst Plains
adjoining Robert Bonner’s Grant of 1,2000 acres and granted to Willi
Charles Wentworth and mortgaged with me (with other lands) by
Robert Bonnor.
1,200 acres on Bathurst Plains purchased by me from William Lee t e
elder.
All my household furniture, plate, linen and china, and also all
the live stock and farming implements and other chattels at my
dwelling house at Kelso and the 80 acres thereunto belonging.
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Miscellaneous bequests:
The Trustees of my Will to stand possessed of 12 acres 2 roods 15
perches in Queen Charlotte1s Vale conveyed to me by John Liscombe
on the thirtieth of July, 1842 upon trust for Thomas Bayliss,
eldest son of the late Benjamin Bayliss of Gorman1s Hill near
Bathurst.
Real estate not hereinbefore specifically devised, at the discretion
of the Trustees, to be sold and converted into money. The unsold
portion of such realty to be divided in equal proportions among the
seven children.
I give and bequeath to my Trustees for my said children in equal
proportions all my Bank shares.
I give and bequeath to James Rue, a stockman in my employment,
the sum of 100 pounds. Also an annuity or clear yearly sum of
50 pounds for life, to be paid quarterly.
All my horses, sheep, cattle and all the rest and residue of my
personal estate not hereinbefore specifically bequeathed,
including moneys due to me on mortgages and moneys in the Bank,
to be converted into money and the proceeds divided among the
children in equal shares.
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The Will was signed on the twenty second of August, 1871, in the
presence of George Pinnock, Solicitor of Bathurst, and John
McPhillamy Junior.
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CODICIL TO THE WILL
The Will had to be revised as the result of the deaths of Thomas
Kite’s sons: George, who died on 2 November 1873 and Thomas who
died on 28 May 1861.
The two sons’ bequests were revoked and distributed amongst the
remaining five children, excepting some amendments to their
previous legacies, and with provision for Thomas’ children.
One bequest, which apparently was not mentioned in the original
Will, was made to Elizabeth Forest:
2,000 acres known as Yarrows situated in the County of Roxburgh,
Township of Peel, conveyed to me by Samuel Hughes and others by
Indenture of the first of September, 1861.
(The Codicil was signed on the sixth of July, 1875, and
witnessed by George Pinnock, Solicitor, and Robert Booth,
Clerk to McIntosh Pinnock and Price, Solicitors, Bathurst.)
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Probate of the Will was granted on the nineteenth of October,
1876:
“This day upon Petition, Probate of the Last Will of Thomas
Kite deceased was granted to William Kite and Richard Young
Cousins, Executors, Thomas Kite the younger being deceased
and George Lee having renounced. Testator died on 13/9/1876.
Goods were sworn at 220,000 pounds.
Probate was dated the same day as granted.”
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