Daniel Gowing - 'The Father of Tathra'

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Daniel Gowing – ‘The Father of Tathra’

Daniel Gowing, born in 1812, left Norfolk, England for Australia in 1841. His wife, Mary, four-year-old daughter, Ellen, and 9-month-old son, John, accompanied him.

Daniel settled for 15 months on a clearing lease at Bong Bong (now Moss Vale). He also spent time as a nurseryman near Sutton Forest. For the last six years, before arriving in the Bega Valley, Daniel leased a substantial property called ‘Glenfield’ south west of Sydney.

While market gardening at Sutton Forest, he initially took produce to market by wheelbarrow. Through hard work as a market gardener, and by dealing in horses and livestock, he accumulated funds to purchase more extensive property.

Daniel and his son John, then aged about 14, travelled to the Monaro to look over a property he intended to purchase. On arrival, after the cattle were mustered, Daniel thought the cattle were not according to contract and objected to taking the stock. The sale did not go ahead. The two started for Twofold Bay, with the intention of going back to Sydney, but heard that the Government were selling a quantity of land near Bega.

The rest is history. Daniel bought 500 acres at Jellat Jellat (to the east of Bega township) in February 1855 and made this his home for the rest of his long life of 93 years. His 500-acres grew to around 3,000-acres by the time of his death in 1906.

After initially camping on his land, he built a modest home close to the river. However, after being affected by flooding, he selected a site for his house (adjacent to today’s Bega-Tathra Road) and built a small dwelling in 1860. In 1876 he built a two-storey lath and plaster (wood strips coated with plaster) homestead adjacent to the original home. Over time he added offices, stables, a blacksmith’s forge and other buildings.

With horticulture being a passion, he surrounded his house with extensive flower gardens and an orchard of approximately eight acres. Within this hedged area he grew many varieties of flowers, ornamental trees and orchard fruits, including exotic varieties. He also erected a gardener’s cottage, hot house with a boiler room for steam heating, and a glasshouse.

Daniel named his property the ‘Garden of Eden’. It was to become a show piece of the district. Guests were very welcome at the property and garden parties were held to raise funds for the local hospital and various Bega charities. An annual picnic was also held for school children.

When Daniel arrived in the area, the river flats were heavily timbered. They were eventually cleared, after which crops were grown on the land.

Daniel imported milling machinery from England in 1858 and built a flour mill in 1860. After a number of years, he discovered that growing wheat on the coast wasn’t successful as rust destroyed the crops.

The growing of maize was much more suited to coastal conditions. Daniel had much success with his maize crops which played a major part in building his fortune. In the drought of 1885-86, his was the only corn that could be bought in the district.

Several prizes were won in maize competitions at the International Exhibition at Amsterdam in 1883, London in 1886, and also in Sydney.

Daniel Gowing’s Jellat Jellat sawmill supplied first class timber used in building Sydney’s General Post Office in 1872. He later set up sawmills at Reedy Swamp and Tanja.

He introduced the cream separator to the district in 1885. Illawarra Shorthorn cattle were mostly used for milking. It is believed that butter was made from the cream, and the milk was used to feed the many pigs produced at Jellat Jellat.

Daniel also owned teams of draft horses which were well looked-after and were well bred. It is understood that he bought horses for breeding into the district, one of which was a stallion from Carlton Draught. The horses were used to work the ground and cart produce to Tathra for shipping.

Daniel Gowing has been acknowledged as the ‘Father of Tathra’ due to his endeavours, primarily in the 1850’s and 1860’s, to provide access to shipping for the produce from his own and the other farms at Jellat Jellat.

Daniel was involved in building the first road to Tathra. He also built the first Store and Post Office in the town.

In 1858 Daniel and the other Jellat farmers built a small jetty and store shed at the present site of the Tathra Wharf, having first tried less suitable shipping sites at Kangarutha and Kianinny. In 1860, with financial assistance from the Illawarra Steam Navigation Co, they became involved in building a more substantial wharf. This was added to and improved over time, facilitating the growth of trade and passenger services for the district up until the 1950s.

Befitting his role in the establishment of the Wharf, Daniel was elected the first Chairman of Trustees of the Wharf.

Daniel Gowing bought approximately 3-acres of land in Carp Street, Bega in the late 1800s to build retail shops. Many of these remain in use today.

The Central Hotel in Gipps Street was built by Daniel in 1895. It had 40 rooms, including 20 large bedrooms, 2 dining rooms, pantry, meat room, scullery and storeroom and 2 large shops underneath. The parlour and dining room could seat 60-70 people. At the back there was a splendid brick stable of 10 stalls and 3 other stables. It was said ‘Mr D. Gowing has not been sparing of expense in providing an up to date hotel.’

Daniel was instrumental in establishing the Bega Agricultural Society. He built four alms houses in Peden Street (now demolished) and supported the Anglican Church. He was a member of the national school’s board, the hospital and the school of arts. He was vice president of the Bega AP and H Society for many years. To start operations of the Bega Cooperative Creamery Company, he and John D’Arcy became guarantors to the bank for the necessary amount.

From his early days, it was evident Daniel had an affinity with machinery and a willingness to try new technology.

While farming at ‘Glenfield’, he bought a Garrett thrashing machine as well as reaping and sowing machines. By 1860, having become established at Jellat Jellat, he had purchased a 7hp Garrett portable steam engine and thrashing machine, as well as milling stones to value add his wheat crop for his four-storey flour mill.

Over the next 20 years a large amount of machinery was acquired, particularly steam-related gear, including a 10hp Ruston Proctor portable, Ransomes Head and Jefferies 8 hp portable, Fowler Traction Engine and a 6hp Robey hoisting engine.

In 1872 Daniel exhibited a large quantity of machinery at the first Bega Show. The Bega Gazette reported at the time, ‘we venture to assert that no town in the Colony can show such an extensive collection of scientifically made machinery.’

The Bega Gazette also reported in June 1872 ‘Mr Gowing had added a 6-ton planing apparatus capable of turning planed tongue and groove flooring for the local and Sydney markets.’

In 1882 Daniel purchased an 8hp Ruston Proctor Traction Engine and a set of Barford Perkins Round About Ploughing gear. He demonstrated its use on Jellat Jellat flat and invited the public, some of whom turned up believing Gowing’s new way of ploughing was little more than a whim or a hobby. By the end of the day, with 12 acres worked, his innovative approach was declared a spectacular success, the Bega Gazette observing ‘The words are not too big for the occasion when we say that Jellat and its speculative owner will have a place in Australian History.’ (Further information on this steam engine and plough is at www.bit.ly/begahh50)

Daniel’s interest in steam engines even extended to the importation of a steam launch, the ‘Rose of Eden’ that was built to his specifications in 1886 at Millwall, London. It was unloaded at Eden as deck cargo and was towed to the mouth of the Bega River by an ISNCo ship, arriving there on February 19th 1887.

However, the launch capsized in waves and suctioned upside down in the sand. Stories vary, but Daniel Gowing used an axe and/or removed a metal plate to make a hole in the bottom of the vessel and then used teams of bullocks to tow it into the river.

The ‘Rose of Eden’ was mainly used as a pleasure craft for the family, but was also useful in times of flood.

Daniel and Mary were survived by eight children: Ellen, John, Eliza, Mary, Daniel, Sarah, Rebekah (Rebecca) and Benjamin.

Unusually for the time, Daniel willed a substantial legacy of his town properties to his two surviving daughters and six granddaughters.

Many of Daniel and Mary’s descendants still live in the Bega/Jellat Jellat area.

• The Gowing Family History Group