Gundagai
I researched and wrote this when I thought my Robert Magrane Reily owned pubs in Gundagai. I now think there were two Robert Reilys in the area at the same time: Robert/Bob Reily who was there in the 1830s and farmed for a while before getting into pubs; and my Robert Magrane Reily. There were certainly three convicts named Robert Reily who all came to NSW in the 1820s, albeit on different ships. I suspect my Robert Magrane Reily adopted the Magrane to distinguish himself from Bob Reily. Saving this info in case I need it later. Copies of the Gundagai pub licences on file.
Aboriginal people have lived in the area now known as Gundagai for at least 50,000 years. The river flats were used by the Wiradjuri people as a camping and meeting place and as a hunting ground and they knew the area well.
The first Europeans to reach the area were an expedition led by explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell who passed through in 1824 while creating a route from Sydney to Port Phillip (Melbourne). The site that became Old Gundagai was a natural place to cross the Murrumbidgee River.
By 1836 the area was being used as a squatting run by early pastoralists, including the McArthur brothers, James and William. A site was surveyed on the low-lying river flats, a town plan was drawn up and Gundagai was gazetted as a township in 1838. By this time settlers were already building on the river flats, ignoring warnings from the local Wiradjuri people that the area was prone to flooding.
Gundagai grew quickly as a service town for travellers and pastoralists. A punt service, established at Stuckey’s Crossing in 1838, was the only place to cross Murrumbidgee River on the route between Sydney and Melbourne.
In 1847, a Robert Reily had been living and working on Nangus for around 10 years. In 1847 he sold 300 head of his own cattle (which had been running on Nangus Station) for £1 a head, a price that was considered excellent at the time. He needed the money because he had entered into partnership with a man called John Massey who had a blacksmith's shop in Gundagai to build a public house in the town. This they did in 1847, calling the pub the Blacksmith's Arms Hotel [11,13].
Massey held the licence for the Blacksmith's Arms Hotel (licence no. 676) from 1 January 1848 [13] and the two men operated the pub together for about a year. Twelve months after the hotel opened Riley bought out Massey's interest for £250. I assume this was so that he and his family were able to live at the public house and operate it as a family business. In 1915, James Gormley recalled that Robert - known as Bob - came to his father at Nangus Station, as a friend, to borrow part of the money to buy Massey out [11]. When Robert took over the running of the hotel, he changed its name to the Milton Head while John Massey went on to conduct his business as a wheelwright and blacksmith near the hotel [13].
Gundagai was an important stop for travellers between Sydney and Port Phillip and, as the goldrush began in Victoria, every day saw more and more hopeful would-be goldminers travelling the road between the two cities. Robert Reily, as a Gundagai publican, would have profited from the traffic and was also well-placed to hear all the news from these travellers. I imagine he, like most people at the time, thought about the possibility of finding gold for himself and was interested in hearing of the developments on the various goldfields.
The first Europeans to reach the area were an expedition led by explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell who passed through in 1824 while creating a route from Sydney to Port Phillip (Melbourne). The site that became Old Gundagai was a natural place to cross the Murrumbidgee River.
By 1836 the area was being used as a squatting run by early pastoralists, including the McArthur brothers, James and William. A site was surveyed on the low-lying river flats, a town plan was drawn up and Gundagai was gazetted as a township in 1838. By this time settlers were already building on the river flats, ignoring warnings from the local Wiradjuri people that the area was prone to flooding.
Gundagai grew quickly as a service town for travellers and pastoralists. A punt service, established at Stuckey’s Crossing in 1838, was the only place to cross Murrumbidgee River on the route between Sydney and Melbourne.
In 1847, a Robert Reily had been living and working on Nangus for around 10 years. In 1847 he sold 300 head of his own cattle (which had been running on Nangus Station) for £1 a head, a price that was considered excellent at the time. He needed the money because he had entered into partnership with a man called John Massey who had a blacksmith's shop in Gundagai to build a public house in the town. This they did in 1847, calling the pub the Blacksmith's Arms Hotel [11,13].
Massey held the licence for the Blacksmith's Arms Hotel (licence no. 676) from 1 January 1848 [13] and the two men operated the pub together for about a year. Twelve months after the hotel opened Riley bought out Massey's interest for £250. I assume this was so that he and his family were able to live at the public house and operate it as a family business. In 1915, James Gormley recalled that Robert - known as Bob - came to his father at Nangus Station, as a friend, to borrow part of the money to buy Massey out [11]. When Robert took over the running of the hotel, he changed its name to the Milton Head while John Massey went on to conduct his business as a wheelwright and blacksmith near the hotel [13].
Gundagai was an important stop for travellers between Sydney and Port Phillip and, as the goldrush began in Victoria, every day saw more and more hopeful would-be goldminers travelling the road between the two cities. Robert Reily, as a Gundagai publican, would have profited from the traffic and was also well-placed to hear all the news from these travellers. I imagine he, like most people at the time, thought about the possibility of finding gold for himself and was interested in hearing of the developments on the various goldfields.