McClimont - Cox Family Tree

Old Barrier Mates

MR. Frank Harvy is down on holi- day from Kanbara Station, Broken Hill, and went out to Payne-ham yesterday to see his old friend Harry McClimont. Frank said he had been interested to read that I had dug up another old friend of his — Tony Rolfe. "He and I were youngsters of 13 when we first met in Broken Hill more than 50 years ago." he told me. "We were living there and signed on at Drew and Company's office to go wool-picking at Corona George Mellish and Tom Daly were with us, but I cannot remember who the others were. "We carried our swags 52 miles to the station. I blew out with mine; my mother had made it for me, and it was pretty heavy. One strong fellow in the party finished carrying it for me, and that is how I got there. I can tell you I was very pleased with it because there were only board bunks, and I had a bit of nap put under me. The other fellows only had cigarette swags. I never met Tony Rolfe again until last Broken Hill Show and am glad to know where he is. I did hear about him from Harry Bray, who retired to Sydney. "We have had good rains since you were there in May, and they have brought up more green stuff, and we are all very pleased."

Source:
Old Barrier Mates. (1946, August 8). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved March 15, 2012, from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/35708731

OUT Among The PEOPLE

By VOX

A LIFE IN THE BUSH
This week Mr. Sidney Reid took me out to Evandale to see Harry McClimont, a well-known bush- man who has retired from Koo- nowla, Mr. Reid's property at Auburn, because of ill-health. Harry was a young boy when his father went to Momba Station as head drover under Mr William Hogarth (manager). They left there when the big shearers' strike was on in the 1890's, and McCli- mont. sen., brought 11,000 Momba wethers to the Burra. Years later he went back to the station as over- seer. The son went droving, and then settled down at Mutooroo under Mr. Andrew Smith; fellow station hands were Charlie Hemmings and W. S. Findlay. Harry enlisted from there in Great War I, and was in the 10th Bn. when Mr. Smith's son Colin was killed on the Menin road in France. He himself was gassed.

IN THE BIG SPACES
HARRY McClimont told me that after the war he put in a couple of years on Koonamore, and then went back to Mulyungarie for a time, put in a few months on Man- unda, and left there is 1929. There had been big rains in the New South Wales corner, and Harry heard the call of the back country again. He was on Morden for a while, and went to Mount Poole, which he managed for eight years. While there he built up a fine flock of sheep off scratch, and topped the district for wool prices. His next move was to Sir Sidney Kidman's sheep stud at Kapunda, and then he transferred to Koonowla. "The first time I went into the north-east for Mr. Smith," he said, "I went out with camels to see how far the waters went towards Lake Frome. I got to a dry water-hole on Booleroo. Bill Hickman found another lake up there on Lake Elder country, which holds water for about 18 months. It comes from Lake Charles. The blacks told me that used to hold water for seven years. "Mr. Peter Waite and Mr. Smith went out there, and I think Tommy Chambers was with them. They had a blackboy, but none of the blacks would tell them where Lake Charles was. It is right in the sandhills, and can be found easily now. Brumby runners used to work the three States there once. They had duffing yards not far away. Tom Rae, who died at 87 recently, told me about that country."

ON THE PIPE LINES
HARRY told me they had miles of water pipes on Mutooroo. He ploughed the first pipelines with bullocks, 30 miles in practically a straight line. He carted out 60 odd tons of piping, and also took most of the netting for the Mul- yungarie fence when it was virgin country. "Twenty-eight bullocks were re- quired to take four tons of netting over the sandhills," he said. "We would take seven or eight tons, dump half of it at the hills, and take the rest on. Bill Hickman put the fence up." They say that Harry McCJimont could sit on a horse with the best of them, and handle a bullock team as efficiently. He recalled good riders—Sonny Sharpe. Jack Cleghorn. Tony McNamara, Fred Heinnch, Dempsey brothers, Dick Mabony, Jack McMegan.

Source:
OUT Among The PEOPLE. (1945, December 7). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved March 15, 2012, from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/48680909

Out Among The People. (1945, December 13). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 39. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93338652

OUT Among The PEOPLE

By VOX

MUTOOROO FRIENDS
AUSTRALIAN bushmen love to get together to talk about the good old days. Roy McGowan came in from 91 Marion street, Unley. to tell me that after much searching he found his old Mutoo-roo mate Harry McClimont at 15 Albert street. Rugby, Payneham; had not seen him for 32 years. "I was in the north-east for about four years from 1910, and was all over the Mutooroo Station country, first as Mr. Andrew Smith's buggy boy and later as a general hand," Roy McGowan said. He showed me a snapshot of a group of men at the old Mutooroo homestead—Jack Oliver (black smith), Alf Branton, Doug. Munro (overseer), Sailor Shaw, Bill Collett, Syd. Wright (home-stead cook), Butcher Browning (musterers' cook), George Bull- winkel (bookkeeper). Alf. Dann (colt breaker), Steve Greer (gar- dener), Albie Heinrich and Roy McGowan. Roy recalled other contempor-aries—Bill Findlay (manager), Charlie Hammings. Smoker Bur-gess, Hiram Stewart, Cocky Mat-thews, Burrs McNalty, Tom Honan, Tom Rae and Jim Moxam (bullock drivers), Baidy Menz (cook), Harry Kench (boss musterer), Peter Rankine (colt breaker), Don Squires, Jack Reid, Wally Payne, Ned Saunders. old Black Charlie.

VICEREGAL VISIT
ON Mutooroo before motor cars were used Roy McGowan re-called when His Excellency the Governor (Admiral Sir Day Hort Bosanquet), attended by Capt. Wright. ADC, visited the station. "Mr. Andrew Smith and Charlie Hemmings met the Broken Hill express at Mannahill one cold morning at 3 o'clock with two bug-gies," he said. "Perce Walsh, the colt breaker, and I bad the spare horses running at the back of them. When we reached Alabama, 22 miles from Lilydale, Capt. Wright wanted to get warm and expressed a wish to ride a big chestnut Sailor. I took the saddle off him and let him go, and Mr. Smith told me to catch him again, saddle up, and let the stirrup irons down to the last hole. "Capt. Wright" swung his long legs over the horse, which imme- diatel humped its back and gave him a harmless spill. Mr. Smith turned to His Excellency, and with a quiet Scotch drawl, said:—'I thought your man could ride.' "Andrew Smith was a white man. We had some good times up there. Ever heard of water running up hill? I could take you to a place on Mulyungarie — Force-em-up Swamp, where it runs up to Cane-grass dam. Harry McClimont used to pass that swamp with his bul-lock waggon."

Source:
OUT Among The PEOPLE. (1945, December 14). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved March 15, 2012, from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/48681940

Seated In Eagle's Nest

FRANK Whittington has sent me from Edithburgh a snapshot of his wife, her sister, and a friend up a tree sitting on an eagle's nest, holding an eaglet a fortnight old. "The picture was taken by me when I was looking after Ophara a few miles from Cockburn, be- longing to Mutooroo," he writes. "I called on Harry McClimont when I was in Adelaide, and we had a talk about happy days in the Far North. Frank Harvy was a friend in my boyhood. Wishing your trips in the country best of luck."

Source:
GENERAL NEWS. (1946, August 13). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved March 15, 2012, from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/35709587

TOUCH OF MATESHIP

Don M Squire, who lives at Arnold terrace, West Croydon, reckons that some of the names mentioned in this column by Harry McClimont and Roy McGowan will live with Mutooroo.

"Bullock driver, musterer's cook, or manager, they all were men with that clean touch of mateship in their nature that fused the parts, and made unbreakable tbe weld." he says.

"Harry and Roy mentioned Tom Rae. but I think Roy must have had young Tom in mind. Old Tom carted copper ore from the Mutooroo mine into the siding. He had two white bullocks in the pole, and he sported a beard, grey with age. At the end of the cart- ing his polers were green, likewise his beard.

"Another buggy boy, not referred to by Roy McGowan, was long Harry Clendinnen. But came the day when nature made the buggy boy bigger than the 'boss,' as Mr. Andrew Smith was affectionately called, and so 'Long-un' went off- sider to Peter Rankine (colt breaker). Harry Clendinnen was a great plaiter of bridles and whips made from kangaroo hides he and Peter shot. I still have one thong he did."

Source:
OUT Among The PEOPLE. (1945, December 27). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 7. Retrieved March 17, 2012, from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/48683739

ON NORTH-EAST STATIONS

FRANK Whittington has written me from Edithburgh asking for Harry McClimont's address "Harry," he says, "after a lot of coaxing, came down and spent a holiday with me when I was on Koomooloo with the late I. J. Warnes. "I want to send Harry snapshots of the old days round Lake Charles, Mulyungarie, and Cockburn. I spent 35 years in that part before coming to the Burra with my dogs, with which I spent the best days when Mr. Andrew Smith came to see them working sheep on Mul- yungarie."

Source:
OUT Among The PEOPLE. (1945, December 12). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved March 17, 2012, from http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4868166

KNOWS HARRY McCLIMONT MR. Frank O. Harvy, of Kambara station, Broken Hill, said he was interested in my recent reference to Harry McClimont, well-known back country man, now living at Evandale, Payneham. "In 1902, when the big drought was raging, it was the first year that Netley station shore at New Well." he told me. "They afterwards had a shed built there in case anything went wrong and they were not able to take the sheep in to the river. "My brother Tom and I carted all the stuff for the men's and shearers' quarters at New Well, and got the contract to cart the wool to Broken Hill. Jack Evans was with us. We only had two teams and wanted more. Harry McClimont, then 19, and his mate Edgar Bailey came down from away up the other side of Wilcannia with two 12-horse teams in very poor condition, and we put them on to help us with the wool carting. "Harry only did one trip, and landed back at New Well for his second with Bailey when he contracted pneumonia. Mr. John Dunne came through to New Well that day, saw the serious condition Harry was in, and sent his buggy boy Jimmy Eddy to Broken Hill with him. He landed at our camp half-way between New Well and Broken Hill at 11 p.m. Harry was unconscious then. I got up and told Jimmy to take him straight to my father's place at Broken Hill, and he would see about getting him into hospital. "Harry came out six weeks later and stayed with my mother until he was well enough to take his team over again. I had had charge of his horses and handed them back in good condition. I did not make much profit out of them. After we finished our contract at New Well, I went to Wilcannia with Harry, and he took me to see his people there. "I had not seen him from that time until five or six years ago, when he came down from Mount Poole on his way to Kapunda. He always called and saw my mother, to whom he was very grateful. Harry McClimont is a very friendly fellow, and was a good boss. I saw him at Kanowla, Auburn, last year, stayed the night with him and had a great chat." Mr. Frank Harvy must have been a good horseman in his day; he still retains a lean, athletic figure. He won the Jumbo race at the West Darling picnic fixture three years in succession on Kambara, which he bred. He rode at 14 stone. Before that he landed four Jumbos on his brother Tom's horse.

Source:
Out Among The People. (1946, June 6). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 39. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93154198