A STUDY of WORLD WAR I SOLDIER SETTLERS at COOMINYA, QUEENSLAND, 1920-1929 Murray Johnson
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HIGH HOPES TO HEARTBREAK: A STUDY OF WORLD WAR I SOLDIER SETTLERS AT COOMINYA, QUEENSLAND, 1920-1929 Murray Johnson PUBLICATION DETAILS First edition, published as an e-book, 2018 Published by the Coominya and District Historical Society c/- Mervyn Dixon, 13 Main Street, Coominya, Qld 4311 © Coominya and District Historical Society Permission is given to copy any part of this publication provided acknowledgement is made to its source. Reference can be made to this publication as: Johnson, M. (2018) High Hopes to Heartbreak: A Study of World War I Soldier Settlers at Coominya, Queensland, 1920-1929 (Coominya and District Historical Society, Coominya, Qld) ii CONTENTS Introduction and Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………iv Abbreviations …………………………………………………………………………………vii Tables of Measures …………………………………………………………………………..viii A Message from the Premier ………………………………………………………………….ix Disclaimer……………………………………………………………………………………...x Preface ………………………………………………………………………………………...xi The Coominya Soldier Settlement……………………………………………………………..1 1. The Formative Years (1918-1920) …………………………………………………………2 2. A Storm Brews (1920-1922) ……………………………………………………………….7 3. Disaster Strikes (1922-1923) ………………………………………………………………14 4. Exodus and Abandonment (1923-1925) …………………………………………………...18 The Soldier Settlers of Coominya: Their Stories……………………………………………...22 Endnotes ……………………………………………………………………………………..117 Index of Coominya Soldier Settlers………………………………………………………….132 iii INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Coominya and District Historical Society undertook two projects as part of our contribution to acknowledging the centenary of the service of local personnel in World War I. We obtained financial assistance for both from the Queensland Government. The first under the auspices of the Lions Club of Lowood Pty Ltd in 2014 from the Queensland Anzac Centenary Grants Program for a project titled ‘Coominya Soldier Settlers Commemoration’ [GPR100155] for $15,000, and the second under the auspices of the Coominya Public Hall Committee Inc. in 2017 from the Queensland Anzac Centenary Spirit of Service grants program for a project titled ‘Coominya Soldier Settler Family Histories’ [SSGP2054] for $18,466. These applications were supported by the local members of the State and Federal parliaments: Deb Frecklington, Member for Nanango, Jim Madden, Member for Ipswich West and Shane Newmann, Member for Blair. Two bronze plaques, made by Evan Worssell, Carol Park, were mounted on a sandstone plinth, donated by Cedric Zischke, in the Coominya Memorial Park by the Somerset Regional Council. The first, unveiled on Anzac Day 2015, commemorates the names of the Coominya soldier settlers and the location of their blocks of land, and the second, unveiled on Anzac Day 2018, describes the Coominya Soldier Settlement Scheme. Copies of these plaques (in reverse order) appear on the following pages. In addition, the Society produced this book of the lives of the Coominya soldier settlers, their origins, their war service and their experience at Coominya and after they left. We wish to express our grateful thanks for the research undertaken by Jean Hynson and Frank Uhr and for the research and assembly of materials and writing of the text by Murray Johnson. Former and current members of the Coominya and District Historical Society are thanked for their contributions: Mervyn Dixon, Jeff Hewitt, Ann Utz, Dawn Oliver, Fred From, Eric From, Greg Banff and Brett De Grussa. John Dingle Editor iv COOMINYA SOLDIER SETTLEMENT SCHEME Soldier Settlements were established in all Australian States during World War I to support returned AIF and Allied ex-servicemen and give them a fresh start in life. Coominya was one of 18 Soldier Settlements established in Queensland by 1920. 3000 acres on both sides of the railway line west of the town were purchased from the Watson brothers, and Mrs Lumley Hill provided 15 blocks from Bellevue Station. The plan of the 100 blocks in the Coominya Soldier Settlement Scheme and their ex-servicemen lease holders are shown on the main plaque. Each soldier settler received a repayable Government loan of 625 pounds to pay for land clearing, a house, basic tools and running costs, planting grape vines and citrus trees and living expenses until the farm became viable. The scheme lasted less than four years due to poor soil, shortage of water, the settlers’ lack of farming experience, and grapevine disease that resulted in low or no crops. Many soldier settlers abandoned their farms and moved on, whilst some transferred to other Soldier Settlements elsewhere in Queensland. By 1925 only two remained on their Coominya blocks. However, the influx of new families had a great effect on Coominya. The school was enlarged, the shops and churches were built and a Bush Nursing Centre was established. This monument was erected as a Queensland Anzac Centenary project by the Coominya and District Historical Society to honour the returned servicemen and their families who lived at the Coominya Soldier Settlement after the 1914 – 18 War. This project is proudly supported by the Queensland Government. COOMINYA AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY v vi ABBREVIATIONS AIF Australian Imperial Force AWM Australian War Memorial AWOL Absent Without Official Leave BC Brisbane Courier C-M Courier-Mail FGR Family Group Record NAA National Archives of Australia QPD Queensland Parliamentary Debates QPP Queensland Parliamentary Papers QT Queensland Times QSA Queensland State Archives vii TABLE OF MEASURES Area: 1 acre: 0.405 hectares Currency: 1 penny (1d) in the 1920s: 42 cents (42c) in 2000 1 shilling (1s) in the 1920s: 5 dollars ($5) in 2000 1 pound (£1) in the 1920s: 100 dollars ($100) in 2000 Distance: 1 yard: 0.914 metres 1 chain: 20.1 metres 1 mile: 1.61 kilometres Liquid: 1 pint: 568 millitres 1 gallon: 8 pints: 4.55 litres viii ix DISCLAIMER This is not an official publication of the State of Queensland. The material contained in this publication does not represent the views of the Premier or Queensland Government policy. The State of Queensland makes no statements, representations or warranties in relation to the information in this publication (including the accuracy, completeness, reliability, currency, or suitability for any particular purpose). The State of Queensland does not accept any responsibility or liability howsoever arising (including, but not limited to, liability in negligence) for any loss, damage or costs (including consequential damage) relating to the use of, or reliance upon, the information in this publication. For the avoidance of doubt, the State of Queensland accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any errors, faults, defects or omissions in the information contained in this publication. This project is proudly supported by the Queensland Government x PREFACE A pleasant little town on the since-closed Brisbane Valley Railway south-east of Esk and 83 kilometres west of Brisbane, Coominya today bears no indication that in the 1920s it was the scene of a disastrous agricultural enterprise that brought scores of First World War veterans to the brink of financial and physical ruin. After being caught up in the carnage of the Great War of 1914-1918 these men, many with wives and children, aspired to a quiet existence in the rural landscape where they could rebuild their shattered lives. It was not to be. The Coominya district was selected by government officials as part of Queensland’s post-World War One soldier settlement scheme intended to reward Allied servicemen for their sacrifice and sterling service. While the intention was undeniably honourable, the planning and implementation lacked sufficient foresight to achieve the desired outcome. Nature, too, conspired against the weary veterans of war. Only one of the dozens of soldier settlements established throughout the State in those immediate post-war years can be said to have met with any degree of success. Most did no more than stagger through the 1920s until the scheme was officially terminated in 1929. A small number were spectacular failures, totally collapsing within the space of just a few short years. Coominya Soldier Settlement was one of them. xi THE COOMINYA SOLDIER SETTLEMENT 1 1. THE FORMATIVE YEARS (1918-1920) From 1915 the Commonwealth Government began implementing schemes to rehabilitate injured, maimed and ill service personnel invalided back to Australia, but it also had in mind the need to provide support services for the tens of thousands of veterans who would be repatriated once the horrific global conflict of the Great War had been brought to an end. With unemployment and the cost of living running high,1 the possibility of trained fighters venting their frustrations against civil society was also a very real issue.2 At the same time, however, the authorities were keen to provide tangible rewards for the illustrious deeds performed by its citizenry on foreign fields. Preferential employment, affordable housing and vocational training were all implemented to satisfy the needs of repatriated troops. As a primary producing nation, the idea of settling returned servicemen on farms of their own where they could turn their swords into ploughshares and contribute to the country’s wealth slowly became a significant aspect of the repatriation program. Not only would this mean increasing rural production, it would also deflect a potential threat away from congested urban areas. It was not an entirely new concept. Right from the initial colonisation of Australia in 1788 British officers and