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Archiver > AUS-NSW-WEST > 2006-05 > 1147410175


From: Rusheen Craig <>
Subject: Sketches of Darling River near Para, Cuthro, and Mallara -1865.
Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 15:02:55 +1000


Looking at an exhibition at the Mitchell Library I peered into a glass case
to see a book opened at an 1865 drawing of the Darling River, near Para,
J.Scott's station - where my relatives had been just 5 years before, and
where these relatives went on to have a Homestead Lease 20 years later. Boy
was I happy!!!

Went downstairs to ask the librarian about it. Part of Helena Scott's
collection of drawings entitled "Sketches of Murray and Darling Rivers Taken
in Camp, 1865-66 / H.Forde" These can be seen on PICMAN at:

http://image.sl.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/ebindshow.pl?doc=pxa551/a948;thumbs=1

Helena Scott was the daughter of Alexander Walter Scott (1800-1883) an
entomologist and entrepreneur based around the Hunter area. Helena
(1832-1910) was an artist and a naturalist. She and her sister Harriet
collected for and corresponded with leading colonial scientists. In 1864 she
married Edward Forde. A year later she accompanied him on what was meant to
be a survey of the Darling River between Wentworth and Bourke. She made a
collection of fodder grasses and of specimens for her proposed "Flora of the
Darling". During this time she completed the sketches. They only reached as
far as Menindie when Edward died of fever on 20 June 1866. He is buried in
the cemetery at Menindee (See Mary Wilson's Cemetery Pages). Helena returned
to Sydney and transferred her collection to Rev.William Woolls who used them
for a section in his "Contribution to the Flora of Australia" (Sydney,
1867).
[Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol.6, 1851-1890, pp.93-94.]

If trying to fit the location of the images of the Darling with your
ancestors, don't forget that the boundaries of properties were very
different then. Looking at my faded 1879 map the properties are -

Starting at today's Pooncarie and travelling downriver to Wentworth:

Mulloljama - river - Pooncarree
Mallara - river - Pooncarree and then to south - Tarcoola
Tarangara - river - Tarcoola and start of Parra No.2.
Illingerry - river - Parra No.2 and Parra No.1
Parra - river - Parra No.1.
Sturt's Billabong - river - Tapio
Tapeo - river - Tapio and then Tiltao
Neilpo or Grand Junction (as written) - river - Tiltao
WENTWORTH.

Looking at Helena's family as given in the Australian Dictionary of
Biography, and looking at the BDMs, I can't seem to see any link between
these Scotts and the Scott who owned Para and many other properties in the
Darling area. Yet Para is mentioned as Scott's Para when the other property
owners aren't mentioned. Helena has a sister Harriet and brothers Robert and
Helenus. Her parents are Alexander Walker SCOTT (b.1800 Bombay, d.1/11/1883
Paddington, Sydney) and Harriet CALCOTT (bc.1805, d.1866 Newcastle).
Helena's grandparents are Dr.Helenus SCOTT, Physician and Botanist, and
Augusta Maria FREDERICK.

Regards ...........Rusheen.

ps Just realized that my careful explanation of property positions doesn't
include Cuthro.


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