The mysterious Caterina Cordelia

 

As an historian with a particular interest in sugar and migration history I find myself immersed in predominately primary and secondary sources written by men. Fleshing out the lives of women from the few women’s memoirs and the men’s insubstantial recordings of women’s lives on the north Queensland frontier is no easy task. 

The invisibility of women in the history of the Herbert is typified by the mysterious Caterina Cordelia and begins with the land upon which she walked. White men named the geomorphological features they observed, in complete ignorance of the names already given those features by the Indigenous landowners. The features were given names according to physical attributes, for example Valley of Lagoons, Stoney Creek or Waterfall Creek, or named after prominent male identities. Hence the Herbert (named Bagirr by the Warrgamay) was named after colonial secretary and later Queensland’s first premier, Robert G Herbert while Stone River was named after the aforementioned Henry Stone, Ingham after the failed planter William Bairstow Ingham, Halifax after George Montagu Dunk, Earl of Halifax Secretary of State in England from 1763 to 1765, and so on.  Disproportionately few to the European male appellations were Indigenous names. Examples though, are Jourama Falls (singing or murmuring waters), or Toobanna (plenty of big rushes near water).[i] The same was for European female place names. The latter include: Francis Creek named after Mrs Francis Allingham of Waterview Station, Helen’s Hill and Mount Helen named after a daughter of William Ewan of Waterview (its Indigenous name of Mandabin or Mandalin was ignored) and Mount Cordelia, Mount Catherina, Cordelia Creek and Catherina/Catterina Creek named after the enigmatic Caterina Cordelia — the spelling of whose christian name is disputed, while it is not known whether Cordelia was her surname or a second christian name.[ii]

Cordelia Vale homestead 1883 along the Lower Herbert River. The old McKenzie house from the Gairloch.
Source: Flickr Hinchinbrook

According to local lore an Italian woman, Caterina Cordelia, arrived on the Herbert as the housekeeper for a Maurice O’Connell.[iii] The honour of the first plantings of sugar in the Herbert River Valley is awarded to licenced surveyor, Maurice Geoffrey O’Connell, his brother John Geoffrey O’Connell and William McDowall (McDowell).[iv] By 1869 the O’Connell’s had abandoned their venture and forfeited their lands. McDowall, who actually come to the Herbert looking for pastoral land, left in1870 to pursue a pastoralist’s life. That Caterina should be with the party in 1868 was a remarkable example of fearlessness and sense of adventure. At the time, on the lower Herbert, there were no public facilities as the European population numbered little more than 12 people, while clearly the party had not considered what they would do with any crop they produced for there was no mill to crush their cane, nor did they have the resources to build one of their own. The blunt reality was that their enterprise had no possibility of expanding and their cane had no market.[v] And why or how Maurice inveigled Caterina to accompany him will forever remain a mystery. Housekeeper could be a euphemism for a more intimate relationship and some infatuation on the part of O’Connell is indicated by several landscape features being named after her. What happened to the O’Connells and McDowall can be tracked through newspaper reports and documents, but Caterina Cordelia remains an enigma

SOURCES:

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[i] Family history of the district: Landmarks, streets, parks or buildings named after local ancestors, Herbert River Express, Ingham, n.d., p.20.

[ii] Queensland place names search, https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/qld/environment/land/place-names/search#/search=Catherina%20Creek&types=0&place=Catherina_Creek6521; and Map. Parish of Cordelia, County of Cardwell, Survey Office, Department of Public Lands, Brisbane, October 1922.Variously spelt also Caterina, and Catterina.

[iii] Alec S Kemp, The Kemp Report, Second instalment of History of the Herbert River: The dawn of sugar, unpublished text, n.d., p. 5.

[iv] Queensland Government, Queensland Government Gazette vol. X, 1 January to 31 December 1869, p. 361; Douglas R. Barrie, Minding My Business: The History of Bemerside and the Lower Herbert River District of North Queensland Australia, Douglas R. Barrie, Ingham, 2003; and Bianka Vidonja Balanzategui, The Herbert River Story, Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Ingham, 2011.

[v]  ‘Cardwell and the Vale of Herbert’, Queenslander, 23 September 1871, p. 10. 

JOSIE SHEAHAN 1932 – 2020

 

*This is a lengthy blog but a beautiful tribute to a both a beautiful and generous woman so worth including here in its entirety. As an historian I am every grateful to Josie's tenacious work to preserve the history of this district. I am grateful to Vivienne and Christopher Parry and Kerry Davison and the Sheahan family for this touching and fulsome tribute to Josie.*

1949 Josie in VAD uniform              Dan, Molly, Shaun,                                                                Josie and family

Josephina Rosa Miguel, “Josie” Miguel, was born to a Spanish immigrant family in February 1932, and as she proudly would say was the same age as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Her grandfather, Antonio, came to Australia in 1907 to work in the canefields and his wife Teodora and two sons, Joseph and John followed in 1910. By this time Antonio was cutting cane with a gang on 10 acre blocks at Beeva, and Teodora joined with another of the wives in cooking for  the gang of men.  What a different and challenging life these migrants had, but they took it willingly with gusto and appreciation of the opportunities offered by this new and wonderful country.

In 1929 at age 26 Josie’s father, Joe, went on an overseas trip with his friend Joe Donatiu from Innisfail.  They sailed via Suva, the US, through Europe and ended in Spain.  As the family hailed from Catalunya he visited there first.  In San Feliu de Guixols, he met and courted Dolores “Lola” Rabionet, married her there and brought her back over to join his family at Hawkins Creek.

Josie’s early life was a happy one on the Forest Home farm at Hawkins Creek.  Her beloved sister Mary was born in 1934.  As she said in her Miguel family history book, “There were not many luxuries, but not having had them, we did not miss them.” To our generation of technology and labour saving devices, this pioneering era was life of hard work and minimal comforts. 

To quote from Josie’s Miguel book again – “In the tributes to the early cane cutters of the sugar industry, the work efforts and sacrifices of the women are often overlooked.  Whether wielding a hoe or raising a family in conditions never before encountered, the women who supported their men in overcoming the hardships of a new country merit some attention. With courage and determination, they battled the problems of language, climate, isolation and often physically gruelling work, maintaining family stability throughout the Depression and uncertainties of war time”.

Josie’s brother Henry was born in 1941. At that time Joe leased the farm out and joined the Civil Construction Corp based at Mt Spec as part of the war effort.  The family were evacuated down to Inglewood for the duration.  After the battle of the Coral Sea was won in 1942, the family returned to a rented house in Cartwright Street and resumed “real life”.  Another brother Ray joined the family in 1943. Real life for Josie involved Lourdes Convent School and later a Scholarship year at St Pat’s College in Townsville.

It was at this time, in 1948, that Josie first met Shaun Sheahan when he brought his parents down to Townsville to visit his sister Mary who was also attending St Pat’s. 

Josie’s first job in Ingham was as a stenographer in a solicitor’s office and she then joined the Commercial Bank. Her free time was spent as a member of the basketball and tennis association and as a Lifesaver’s Club Associate with her sister Mary and her many friends, in particular, Vi Day, and going to dances at the Drill Hall and the pictures at the De Luxe theatre.  It was here that she reconnected with Shaun Sheahan.

It was a romance threaded with work and family commitments and punctuated by Shaun’s decision to learn to fly and Josie’s work stint in Brisbane.   A major highlight in their lives was when Shaun achieved his pilot’s wings and acquired his Tiger Moth…..the “other woman in his life”.

Eventually however, they were married in Ingham in November 1958 with a huge celebration of 400 guests at the Drill Hall. There were Italian caterers, Spanish singers and a Scottish bagpipe band in the mix that ended up, in Shaun’s words, “The best wedding I’ve ever been to!”

Family and work continued to be the major facets of their new life on the farm at Elphinstone Pocket.  Lives came and went – Shaun Jnr was born in September 1959 to much joyful celebration and Joe Miguel died in August 1960 to much sadness and heartbreak.  More children were welcomed – Kerry in 1962, Peter in 1963 and Brendan in 1966. 

Throughout the ensuing years, Josie and Shaun were the mainstay of each of the branches of the Miguel and Sheahan families. They were always there to give their time, effort and support to anyone who needed it regardless of the personal cost to themselves.

 Mary, Henry and Ray all married and started families and Shaun’s siblings did the same. The family tree expanded into many branches and life for everyone was hectic and wonderful all at once. 

 It was an amazing era for families to grow up in with space and lots of playmates nearby. Sundays were gathering days and the Miguels and Ganzas would join with the Sheahan clan over at Molly and Dan’s on the ridge. Molly’s sister Bridie Murphy and her family joined in and the Hennessys were included too. Close friends and neighbours the Lows, Kauppilas, Kaurilas, Guerras, Linos, Duffys and Smithwicks helped the family to appreciate the wonderful mix of people and cultures that was Ingham community at its best.

When Dan “Pop” Sheahan eventually retired from physical work, his thoughts turned to the poetry that he had written throughout his life.  He decided to publish his poems and asked Josie to help him with this.  Of course Josie agreed, but with a young family and workmen to cook for as well she didn’t have much spare time. So it took almost 10 years to come to fruition.  Pop would walk across from his home when he was in the mood, and it didn’t matter what Josie was doing, she had to put it aside and sit down with him and type as he recited.  There were quite a few “interesting discussions” over his brogue and its translation!  Eventually though all this time and effort resulted in the “Songs of the Canfields” book which gave Dan much pride and pleasure.  Josie then did a huge amount of work alongside Robert Clarke in 1988 to get Dan’s biography published.

Josie and Shaun’s house and shed were the mainstay for the family and local community.  There were many weddings and celebrations hosted there and the shed always had someone who had called in to borrow equipment, get something repaired and just get advice and/or company. It was the generous spirits of Josie and Shaun that was the feature of hearth and home.

 One of the constants throughout this time was Shaun’s love of flying. Many family and friends got to experience the thrill of a Tiger flight when Shaun was able to snatch free time amidst all his commitments. He treasured his flying time and they had lots of long-time friends in the Aero Club.

The family expanded further and life continued, always busy and messy and ever-changing. Especially heartbreaking was the death of Josie’s beloved sister Mary after a lengthy illness. Josie and Lola took on the role of surrogate mother to Janine, Louise and Diane.

Life in the sugar industry had its ups and downs. The 1980s saw the family in a very low patch economically and Josie was finally able to benefit from her 12 years of volunteer time at Abergowrie State School and St Teresa’s College to become Librarian at the Hinchinbrook Shire Library. She held this role for sixteen years, also being the Shire Historian. Josie built and maintained the Local History section of the library and it is thanks to her that we have this wonderful resource today. Josie was very generous helping many researchers with family and district histories. She initiated research into private burial sites in the district, work that has been continued by others.

While she selflessly divided her time between her own family, the extended family, her job and community work, Shaun was her “other half” throughout all of this. Then the unthinkable happened and Shaun passed away in 1994 after a relatively short illness. To quote Josie, “I was Shaun’s passenger many times, but he was always the pilot of my life”. Eventually life resumed for heartbroken Josie but unfortunately she was dealt another blow less than six months later when her mother Lola passed away. But life resumed and Josie’s time was filled again with family, work and community obligations

Josie had two amazing trips overseas to Spain, Ireland and Europe and in doing so completed the circle that both Shaun and Lola did not get to do by visiting the home countries and revelling in the people, the history and the landscapes that were so dear to them both.

Josie also continued her community work along with her enthusiastic lifetime friend and stalwart Vi Groundwater. The Museum at Halifax came about largely thanks to their work. In the years after her retirement from the library Josie continued to be contacted for help and advice on historical matters by many people from near and far. She did enjoy peaceful times to be amongst her stories and books and it is her record keeping and amazing personal photo and historical collection that will be one of her ongoing legacies to family and the community.

Everyone who has been connected with Josie and Shaun, and then later Josie alone, will appreciate their good fortune and treasure that friendship. Josie was truly a kind and humble woman who was very generous with her love and she will be remembered as one of the great women of the Herbert Valley.

 

 

Thanks to Kerry Davison and the Sheahan family.

 

The Right Honourable Sir Arthur Fadden and his Herbert River connections

This blog is written by Christopher and Vivenne Parry, fellow history sleuths, who have kindly given me permission to publish the research they have conducted on famous local identities. The first of these identities is The Right Honourable Sir Arthur Fadden.

Sir Arthur Fadden. Source: Parliament of Australia. Portraits of Parliament https://www.aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Art/Online_Gallery/Portrait_Gallery

The Right Honourable Sir Arthur Fadden, or Artie to his friends and supporters, was Prime Minister from 29 August to 7 October in 1941. As well as his “40 days and 40 nights” in office, he was acting Prime Minister for periods totalling nearly two years during his coalition governments with Prime Minister Robert Menzies. He was a member of the House of Representatives for 22 years, from 1936 to 1958, and leader of the Country Party for 17 years, from 1941 to 1958. As Treasurer in 1940–41 and from 1949 to 1958, he presented a record 11 budgets.

         

He was born in Ingham to Irish immigrant parents, Annie (née Moorhead) and Richard John Fadden. His father was the police constable at Halifax and met Annie not long after moving to the district. They married in 1893 and Artie was born not long after in 1894. He was the eldest of ten children – seven sons and three daughters. The family moved to Walkerston near Mackay around 1900, where his father was officer-in-charge of the police station. He was raised in Walkerston, his first paid jobs included collecting cane beetles and performing sound effects at the local cinema. He left school at the age of 15 and began working as a "billy boy" (odd-job man) on a cane-cutting gang at Pleystowe. He later got an indoor job as an office boy at the Pleystowe Sugar Mill. In his spare time, he developed an interest in the theatre, both as a performer and treasurer of the local theatre company.

In 1913 he moved to Mackay as assistant town clerk. In 1916, his superior, Frederick Morley, was dismissed over allegations of theft, which Fadden himself had uncovered. Morley eventually received a two-year jail term, and Fadden was promoted in his place, after defeating more than 50 other applicants; he was reputedly the "youngest town clerk in Australia".

He had tried to enlist in the Australian Army in 1915, but was rejected on health grounds. In 1918, he served on the committee of the relief fund for the Mackay cyclone, which devastated the town and killed thirty people. He then moved to Townsville where he established his own accountancy firm. He had qualified as an accountant through a correspondence course from a school in Melbourne.

In 1928 and 1929 Artie bought two cane farms near Trebonne. He formed a company called Sugar Lands, and H. H. Cousins managed the properties until 1940. G. G. Venables was the next manager. It has been said that he drove up to see the farm in his Rolls Royce, and called in to the Trebonne Hotel for a chat with the locals. In 1943 Artie sued The Worker newspaper, the Australian Labor Party’s official paper in Queensland, for defamation. The paper had claimed that Sugar Lands had employed Italians, who they called “enemy aliens” in preference to Australian trade union members. Artie won the case, but was awarded much less than he claimed in damages.

He was elected to the Townsville City Council in 1930, and in 1932 was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly for the Country and Progressive National Party. He lost his seat in 1935, but the following year won a by-election in the Federal Electorate of Darling Downs.

In 1916 he had married Ilma Nita Thornber who worked as a milliner in Mackay. Like him, she was active in local community affairs. Ilma Fadden was an active ‘political wife’ and well known in the Townsville community in the 1920s. When the family moved to Brisbane Ilma became active in state and national organisations. She was a tireless campaign worker in the nine federal elections Arthur contested and she also accompanied him on many of his official trips overseas.

In 1940 Artie was named a minister in the government of Robert Menzies, who led the United Australia Party in a coalition with the Country Party. Also in 1940, he narrowly escaped being killed in the Canberra air disaster which claimed the lives of three government ministers and the Chief of the General Staff. He was scheduled to be aboard the flight which was transporting the ministers back to Canberra after a cabinet meeting in Melbourne, but instead he took an overnight train.

In 1940 he became leader of the Country Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer. He presented his first budget less than a month later. The budget featured increased spending due to the war, paid for by increases in taxation. It was highly unpopular among the general public, which up until that point had seen the war to be still quite distant. The independent MPs contemplated voting with the opposition to reject the budget, but after negotiations and some amendments it was passed, allowing the government to continue in power.

Artie served as acting prime minister for four months early in 1941 while Menzies was away in Europe. After dissension within the UAP-CP coalition, Menzies resigned as Prime Minister. A joint party meeting chose Fadden as Coalition leader even though the Country Party was the smaller of the two coalition parties. Artie consequently became Prime Minister.

Artie’s term of office was troubled from the start. Even parliamentarians in his own party feared the worst. It was said that he decided against moving into The Lodge, the official Prime Minister's residence in Canberra, after fellow Country Party member Archie Cameron crudely told him "You’ll scarcely have enough time to wear a track from the backdoor to the shithouse before you’ll be out". He held office for just 39 days before being replaced by John Curtin, whose Labor Party had successfully moved a motion of no confidence. After losing the prime ministership, Arthur continued on as Leader of the Opposition for two more years.

Menzies then formed the Liberal Party and was elected Prime Minister in 1949. Artie became Treasurer for a second time, holding this office for ten years until his retirement from politics in 1958. Only Peter Costello has served in the position for longer. Although inflation was high in the early 1950s, forcing him to impose several "horror budgets", he generally presided over a booming economy, with times especially good for farmers.

 After the 1951-52 'horror' budget he was so unpopular that he remarked, “I could have had a meeting of all my friends and supporters in a one-man telephone booth”.

On the night before the 1954 federal election, Artie was seriously injured in a car accident while travelling back to Brisbane from Dalby. The car in which he was travelling failed to negotiate a curve on a slippery road, and rolled three times. Artie, who had been sitting next to the driver, was pulled from the car unconscious and spent election day in hospital, unable to cast his vote. He was left with injuries to his face, head, and legs, and required five separate operations.

Artie resigned as leader of the Country Party in 1958, with John McEwen elected as his successor. He retired from politics at the 1958 election.

In 1969, Artie published a memoir titled They Called Me Artie. He had previously published articles in the Courier Mail describing episodes from his past. One story from his childhood, when he was about 12 years of age, related to the time his father had left him in charge of the police lockup.  He was to let the five prisoners out for exercise and lock them up again later.  Artie let them out but got involved in a game of cricket with his mates. When his father rode in he saw the cell doors open and called out, “Where are the prisoners Artie?” His father then rode down to the pub where he found the five prisoners in the bar.

Arthur Fadden enjoyed one of the most rapid rises in Australian political history, moving from private citizen to the prime ministership in just 11 years. He was the first prime minister born in Queensland, and the first and only member of the Country Party to become prime minister with his own mandate (rather than just serving as a caretaker after the death of a predecessor).

He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1951. He was knighted in person by King George VI in London on 31 January 1952, only a week before the King's death. In his memoirs he recalled that the King had accidentally knighted him as "Sir William" (his middle name). He corrected the King who performed the ceremony again as "Sir Arthur". In his memoirs there is a story about his arrival at Mackay soon after he had been knighted. An old friend from his childhood, an Aboriginal person named Harry, greeted him warmly, only to be told by one of the entourage that he should address Fadden as 'Sir'. 'What', replied Harry, 'You now a school teacher, Artie?'

After Artie’s death in 1973, the Canberra suburb of Fadden and the federal electoral Division of Fadden were named in his honour, as is traditional for Australian prime ministers. His sculpture is in the Prime Minister's Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. In 1950 and again in 1994 he was depicted on postage stamps. In 1976, the Sir Arthur Fadden Memorial Garden was established in the Brisbane suburb of Mount Ommaney, consisting of 3,000 trees. In Townsville, there is a Fadden Park in Mundingburra while Ingham honours him with Sir Arthur Fadden Parade, a road leading out of town.

Minister for the Army Percy Spender, Arthur Fadden and Robert Menzies at an emergency meeting to discuss the Japanese crisis, 1941. Source: State Library of Victoria. Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs. Image No. H99.201/2592.

                                 Former historic Halifax Police Station (no longer on site). Source:                                                           https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-other-qld-halifax-106144880

 Sources:

Sir Arthur Fadden. They Called Me Artie. Jacaranda Press: Milton, Qld., 1969.

Cribb, Margaret Bridson. “Fadden, Sir Arthur William (1894–1973)”. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14. Melbourne: Melbourne University Publishing, 1996. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fadden-sir-arthur-william-10141

“Fadden claims £5000 says was defamed”. Trove.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/42060899

Parliament of Australia. Portraits of Parliament https://www.aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Art/Online_Gallery/Portrait_Gallery

Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArthurFadden