All families have stories, here one of my most interesting;

My ancestors settled the Wellington Valley area of NSW around 1850, Their Run,'Gum Flat' was near the Nubrygyn Inn, many of my relatives are in the Nubrygyn Cemetery. Seems the inn did very good trade being on the road about halfway between Bathurst and Dubbo, and before the railway bypassed it in the 1880.

In April 1865 Ben Hall the bushranger and his gang held up the Nubrygyn Inn, not a quick hit and run, the gang "booked in" the Sunday and not wishing to leave until Monday morning. Stealing the Inns takings, 14 pounds, Ben then proceed to shout the "hostages" free drinks, as word got around the number of "hostages" grew until half the men of the district including many of my relatives were drinking freely within the Inn. The Monday morning readying to leave Ben then proceed to pay the publican William Brazier the remained of the 14 pounds for all the drinking. Unfortunately for Brazier, Hall also borrowed his finest horse, the best in the district, promising to return it in good condition. Two weeks later while holding up the gold coach at Eugowra Ben Hall was shot dead, and Brazier never got his horse back. The relatives only had a good word for Ben Hall, "a gentleman and a decent bloke" so its said.

According to Cuz, The hostages had a time wakening Ben and the gang next morning so they could make their getaway. The publican was not happy, in his opinion holding up banks and stage coaches was one thing, but holding up an inn, and drinking the contents was beyond the pale.

Dear Paul,

You really should write all this down.
If for no other person but a legacy for your
children and family. I kept asking my
father-in-law to write his experiences and
memories down for us. He did not get around to
it and now they're lost forever. What you know
should be shared. It lets people know about
different times and experiences.

Hi Foxy,

History is a fascinating subject, I devoured history books, and geography at school, easily my two favourite subjects. Other subjects were interesting and I enjoyed most of them as well, but not to the extent of H & G. I'm not a great reader of novels although I read a couple a year, but don't go particularly looking for them, my wife is a fiction addict. I never could see the worth in reading about non existent people. BTW, Brisbane has a most excellent BCCL, literally 10's of thousands of books etc spread over about 20 outlets, and all can be ordered online for quick delivery (If not on hold) to my local branch. BBTW we are going to a book fair this Saturday $5 a bag full.

P/s, where is Issy, I'm sure he's got some interesting facts and stories. That story about people working naked in the fields is true, they even did that in Island. How little people had that they were forced to live in such awful conditions. Slavery might have officially ended in the British Empire in 1834, but it continued under other guises for years after, penal servitude, indentured systems, work houses and outright forced labour. The crime committed by millions of people was that they were poor. One thing the British colonials were good at is record keeping, so much of the history is still there just waiting to be put back together.

Dear Paul,

I also loved history. I enjoy reading about real
people and hearing their stories. It transports
you to a different world. I also enjoy novels.
I remember as a young girl reading - Ruth Park's
"Playing Beatie Bow." It made me look at Sydney
in a different way. Then there was "A Day in the life of
Ivan Denisovitch," by Solzhenitsyn. And later -
"The Frozen Inferno," by Dalia Grinceviciute (not sure
if I spelled her surname correctly). And many more.
All fascinating reads.

I started this discussion in the hope of getting to know
the people we post with just a tad better and hopefully
that it would make us appreciate each other more.
Is Mise was the one who inspired me with his tale
about Dorset.

I hope that more people will end up contributing.

Dear Paul,

I recently learned through friends in Los Angeles
about the death of our family doctor.
Dr Bernard Townsley. I tried to look up his
obituary on the web and came across a Memorial
from the Temple Emanuel of Beverley Hills.
It had the most beautiful Readings and Prayers
and ways of mourning that I had never encountered
before. So moving. And something called a
"Kaddish" - which I took to be a way of grieving
and mourning by the Jewish people for their dead.

This was so appropriate. I found this on Saturday.
The day of my mum's Birthday. She would have been
100 years old. Even though I'm not Jewish - those
prayers helped me so much. And I took them to heart.