HOLLIBONE FAMILY
Blood runs thicker than water and in April 1932, seven brothers, some of whom did not know each other by sight, are at present enjoying a happy reunion in Sydney. Several had not seen each other for as long as 43 years. Their name is Hollibone, and they have come from the length and breadth of Australia, and even from New Zealand, to celebrate the gathering.
The full muster of brothers is as follows:
Henry Hollibone, timber merchant, of Burwood;
Charles Ernest Hollibone, butcher, of Footscray, Victoria;
S. W. Hollibone, wheat grower, of Western Australia;
G. A. Hollibone, sugar planter, of the Maryborough district, Queensland;
J. F. Hollibone, works foreman of the Auckland City Council;
A. O. Hollibone, orchardist, of Dural, near Sydney; and
W. Hollibone, estate manager, of Boorowa, New South Wales.
The Harbour Bridge opening celebrations provided the occasion for the gathering. "It is extraordinary," declared Mr. H. Hollibone yesterday. "We had never sat down at the one table together before. You see there is the difference in ages, and we got out into the world pretty young. We had to battle. We did a lot of pioneering."
Some of the brothers were born at Corowa, New South Wales, and the others at the neighbouring Victorian town of Gooramadda.
Their parents were the late Henry and Mary Ann Hollibone. Mr Hollibone, senior, was a pioneer of the Corowa district. He owned the One Tree estate and sawmills there. Mrs Hollibone was the second white woman born at Collingwood, Victoria. That was 80 years ago.
The reunion has been tinged with sadness, for the only sister, Mrs D. MeKeowen, of Bogan Gate, who had been looking forward to it keenly, died about six weeks ago. Her widower, Mr D. MeKeowen, joined the gathering.
Most of the brothers have had interesting histories. Mr H. Hollibone went to Trundle in 1887, when tho district consisted of virgin scrub land. "There was not a white man there," he said. "The Government was subdividing Crown land. I selected a paddock of 96,000 acres. It was just scrub, and you could get nothing off it for years. It was pioneering, all right. Now, if you get anything off it, these Brothers reckon you are not entitled to 'unearned interest" The name of Mr H Holllbone's property at Trundle was Botfield. In 1894 he took charge of Mr H. V. Foy's interest in a station at Mordialloc, and managed it for 12 years He opened the first general store in Dorrigo in 1906, and, while there, commenced saw milling. In 1914 he sold out, and came to Sydney. He started business as a timber merchant at Burwood In 1920. "I started there in a small way," he said, "and the combine was going to blow me out, but I kept on increasing my plant"
Mr. C. E. Hollibone was also a pioneer of the Trundle district. He afterwards moved to Forbes, and later to Melbourne, where he became skin and wool expert of a freezing works.
Mr. S. W Hollibone, the mining member of the family, took up land in the Trundle district in 1889, but did not stay there long. In 1894 he went to South Africa, where he took part in the Bechuanaland campaign in 1897 and in the Jamieson raid. While there he saw much of the diamond mines. In 1899 he commenced to try his luck on the Western Australian goldfields. In 1920 he took up wheat growing. Taking up land like most of his brothers, Mr. G A Hollibone went to the Parkes district in 1892. Then, in succession, he tried gold mining in Western Australia in 1900, became part-owner of a lumber mill in New Zealand. In 1904, purchased a dairy farm on the Burnett River, Queensland, in 1906, returned to sawmilling in 1925, and is now a cane grower on the Mary River, near Maryborough.
Mr. J. F. Hollibone, after having resided in the Corowa district for several years, went to New Zealand in 1901, and thence to the South African War.
Mr. A. O. Hollibone settled on the land in the Trundle district in 1898, moved to Dorrigo in 1906, and returned to Nundle in 1914 He went to the Great War In 1015.
"We have been having the time of our lives," said Mr. H. Hollibone, "what with seeing the sights and chiacking each other.' A couple of us even climbed on to the arch of the bridge on the opening day."
