JOSEPH MILNES
(1811-1906)
AND
ANN BARNES
(1810-1850)
Joseph Milnes was born 7th September 1811, the 6th child of Charles and Frances Milnes of Nether Broughton, Leicester, England, and was baptised 22nd September 1811. His parents had ten children, four boys and six girls, all born between 1800 and 1823. His hometown of Nether Broughton was a village in North Leicester, on the border of the county, about 5 miles northwest of the town of Melton Mowbray. In the 1820's the parish comprised 2,300 acres and Nether Broughton had a population of 303.
His brothers and sisters (and their date of baptism) were: John (1800), George (26/9/1803), Isaac (29/8/1805), Frances (9/6/1807), Sarah (16/7/1809), Elizabeth (10/4/1814), Emma (20/10/1816), Charles (11/4/1819), Phoebe (22/7/1821), and Mary (23/9/1823). He must have been a proud and loving brother, for some his siblings were eventually to be the namesakes of his own children, with their names then flowing on to his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren.
His uncle and aunt, David and Mary Milnes, also lived in Nether Broughton and had six children (5 girls and 1 boy) all of similar ages to Joseph's siblings (baptised between 1808 and 1821), and so with only 303 souls in the whole village, the many children of the Milnes' families must have been quite a lively bunch in that neighbourhood.
As a lad Joseph found work as a stonemason and bricklayer, and eventually became a tradesman building contractor, an occupation he was to follow for the remainder of his life. His father died in 1830, when Joseph was an 18 year old teenager. A follower of the Wesleyan Church, he preached his first sermon in 1833 when aged 22. In 1835 he married to Ann Barnes at St Marylebone parish in London. Ann was born 9th August 1810 in “Leicester”, but it is uncertain whether this refers to the city of Leicester or to the shire itself. The names of her parents and other details of her family are unknown, but it is likely she also came from the vicinity of the village of Nether Broughton. Very little is known of her life in England.
The couple had six children born between 1836 and 1847. During this time they apparently lived in Nether Broughton until 1838, then moved to nearby Grimstone between 1839 and 1845, then to Swinton in Nottingham for a year or so. In January 1849 Joseph’s mother died in Nether Broughton. That same year, perhaps because both his parents had now died, Joseph, now aged 38 and Ann 37, decided to leave England and immigrate to South Australia, most probably to seek better economic and employment opportunities for the prosperity of their young family. The children were then aged between 13 years down to 2. Also travelling with them was Joseph’s orphaned nephew, Robert Goodacre, aged 8 years, the younger son of his sister Sarah and her husband John Goodacre. Both parents had died just before, leaving two sons and one daughter. The other two children stayed in England with relatives, while Robert became a close part of his Uncle Joseph’s family for the remainder of his life.
The young family boarded the 386-ton barque Bolivar, under Captain William Murray, at London and sailed on 5th October 1849, calling at Plymouth, Devon on 12th October 1849. After three arduous months at sea, the Bolivar arrived at Port Adelaide on 29th January 1850, in the heat of the South Australian summer.
Upon arrival in Adelaide the Milnes family first settled in a cottage in Wright Street, today part of the central business district of the city. Joseph immediately looked to resume his trade as a stonemason and the young family must have been looking forward to an exciting future in their new homeland. However, tragedy struck when, only two months after arriving in Adelaide, Ann developed what was diagnosed as a liver complaint that led to her untimely death on 14 March 1850, aged only 40. Joseph and the children buried their wife and mother in the West Terrace Cemetery and remained nine more months in Adelaide, living for short periods at North Adelaide and Rundle Street.
Then, around late 1850, they moved to the Strathalbyn district, which was still a remote place, even though it had been first settled some ten years earlier by a few pioneers, mainly of Scottish origin. Along with all their worldly goods, Joseph and his young children made the journey from Adelaide in a dray and three horses. Set among rolling hills 55 kilometres south of Adelaide, Strathalbyn then, and now, is a place of peaceful charm and beauty. Established on the meandering Angas River, the name Strathalbyn (of Scottish origin) apparently means “an open valley with a river running through”. Although a hotel had been built there in 1840, the village grew very slowly and by 1855 there were still only five houses.
According to his obituary published in 1906, two years later, in 1852, Joseph was among the many thousands of South Australian men who joined in the gold rush and walked overland to the Victorian Goldfields. Strathalbyn was directly on the main route from Adelaide to the Wellington ferry, then the only crossing of the Murray River, and Joseph was probably inspired to join the rush after seeing the buoyant throng of expectant miners passing through town. It is unlikely the children went to the goldfields with him, so they must have been cared for by friends he had made in Strathalbyn.
He must have experienced many adventures during this exciting segment of his life as a gold miner. Unlike many hopeful gold diggers who returned home merely poorer but wiser for the experience, Joseph was one of the few lucky miners who actually struck gold. In fact, his goldfields venture was so successful that after only nine months he was able to return home and purchase property at Strathalbyn. This land was purchased for Fifty Pounds on 12th April 1853 from an absentee investor, John Prankherd, a London surgeon. The land was virgin bush and comprised 22 acres, being all of Section 2745, Hundred of Bremer, near the town of Strathalbyn. This land he named “Broughton Farm” after his birthplace in England.
Joseph must have felt his fortunes had now taken a turn for the better. On 15 October 1855, aged 44, he remarried. His bride was a 40-year-old widow, Betsy Cozens, nee Bennett, and the wedding took place at his home, Broughton Farm, in Strathalbyn. Betsy had arrived from England the previous year with her husband, Thomas Stephen Cozens, and her stepson George Cozens, and their daughter Mary Cozens, but Thomas Cozens had unfortunately died soon after arrival. The wedding of Betsy and Joseph Milnes was to lead to another wedding, as Betsy’s brother Joseph Bennett, a saddler from Watervale SA, attended and met Joseph Milnes’ daughter Pheobe. Joseph Milnes’ home was to be the scene of several weddings, one being that of his daughter, Phoebe, when she married to Joseph Bennett not quite two years later, on 24 May 1858. After the wedding, Phoebe left Strathalbyn and went to live with her new husband at Watervale, near Clare.
His son, Isaac, also moved away, first to Watervale and then, after marriage, to settle on a farm at Lower Broughton, near Port Pirie. His youngest, Hugh, also moved away later, first to Watervale and then to Booleroo. Of his sons, only Charles remained in Strathalbyn, working with his father as a stonemason in the construction business.
On 2 July 1860 Joseph purchased more land, namely all of Section 2557, being 91 acres, Hundred of Bremer, for 150 Pounds. This land was purchased from Reverend J Fanell, Dean of the Church of England, Adelaide, who was trustee for the estate of the late owner, Joseph Tregilgas, a farmer of Strathalbyn. Later he also bought Section 2746, Hundred of Bremer. In the Land Tax Assessments of 1888 it is recorded that he owned Sections 2745, 2746 and 2557, which together comprised several hundred acres.
The Milnes’ family homestead at Broughton Farm, presumably built around the 1860’s by Joseph himself, is located at what is now 22 Milnes Road, Strathalbyn. It was built of solid stone with a slate tile roof. At the time of being built it stood in open countryside at the outskirts of town, but 150 years later it stands surrounded by the suburban spread of many modern houses and buildings. Originally the homestead had its own spacious grounds on the southeastern corner of the junction of Milnes Road and Hooper Road. The rear roof is still original Willunga slate (in 2002), though the front sections have been replaced or covered with corrugated iron.
When in August 1868 the local citizens decided to form a municipality, Joseph was elected as first Councillor for West Ward on the first Strathalbyn council and in that capacity took an active part in the settling of the town boundaries and naming of the streets. In his honour, the road on which Joseph lived was named Milnes Road after him, and remains so named to this day. He was to be active in council affairs for many years thereafter. During these years his life must have been very busy, what with his family, farming, building, council, and church activities.
Joseph not only served on the council, but also undertook council contracts. For example, at a council meeting on 17 December 1859, the minutes note that a tender from Mr Milnes for a culvert at Strathalbyn for 16/- was accepted. On 28 September 1861 Messrs Joseph Milnes and K. Hooper moved for repairs to the road near Limestone Range, and tenders were called.
Joseph was obviously proud of his stonemasonry skills and used them to artistic effect when possible. The Advertiser newspaper of 9 October 1860 reports that a bazaar was held at Strathalbyn in aid of raising funds to enlarge the Wesleyan Chapel. Its correspondent notes, “The display of fancy goods, both useful and ornamental, was really splendid, and included a miniature monument and other works in freestone from the studio of Mr Joseph Milnes.”
In August 1861 The Advertiser reports that a gala day and tea meeting was held at the opening of the new Wesleyan Church at Mine Flat, during which several stirring sermons were given, including one by Joseph Milnes, who had constructed the church at a cost of £123.
It is worthwhile to consider for a moment what would be involved in being a stonemason and building contractor at Strathalbyn in Colonial days. All stone, whether used as freestone or later dressed, was usually hand dug from small quarries in the district. It then had to be carted by dray and draught horses to the job site, as well as all the scaffolding and other equipment. Lime was not available commercially, so limestone commonly was burnt on-site in a large pit, using mallee stumps, which also had to be carted to the site by wagon or dray. This process transformed the stone into the powdered lime used for mortar or plaster.
Quoins and features were sometimes built of red brick, shipped from Adelaide, but often were dressed from local sandstone. Stones were selected and/or dressed on the job from a big stone heap, and when the construction was completed there was always a mound of residue to remove. To maintain such an operation, Joseph kept considerable plant including horses, drays, stables, as well as construction materials such as hoists and scaffolding. In later years much of the building work was done with the assistance of his son, Charles. A Mr John Pennycuik also worked in the building trade at times with Joseph, and on larger projects he worked in conjunction with other local builders, particularly Messrs Halliday and Trenouth.
He was very successful and well known as the local building contractor, employing quite a few men from time to time and being responsible for building many of the fine stone buildings and houses that still stand today in Strathalbyn. The obituary of his son Charles, published 1914 in the local newspaper, records that, “with his father (Joseph) he helped in the building of most of the original houses of Strathalbyn, as well as its early public buildings and bridges.” Joseph was always a very active and agile man, and it was one of his proudest boasts that he could still climb on building scaffolding until he reached the age of 90 years. In 1973 H.J. Stowe published a history of Strathalbyn with the metaphoric title, “They Built Strathalbyn” - which was something Joseph could claim he had actually done!
In October 1874, tragedy was to strike Joseph and Betsy while they were minding Betsy’s grandson, Alfred Edwards. The little boy, aged nearly 8, had been living with them at Broughton Farm for about 14 months while his parents, along with his younger siblings, were away working in the South East. The boy was accustomed to go for the cows each day. One heartbreaking day he went out to do so just before sundown but failed to return after half an hour. After a frantic search Joseph and Betsy discovered him drowned in a sloping waterhole on the Milnes’ farm, about 400 yards from the house. Betsy’s screams brought neighbours and two doctors to the scene but the boy could not be revived. Albert was sorrowfully interred in the Strathalbyn Cemetery, with many children attending the funeral from his Sunday School, where they sung a hymn over his grave.
Joseph was widowed again when his beloved second wife, Betsy, aged 69, caught hepatitis and died at their Strathalbyn home on 17 November 1883. Then aged 72, he was to remain a widower for the next 23 years, until his own death in 1906. However, he was an active man and overcame this misfortune by applying himself to his church and business affairs. Also, the first steam trains reached Strathalbyn in 1884 and over ensuing years he took the opportunity of this swift and comfortable new mode of travel to make trips to visit his sons and daughters and their families at Port Pirie and Booleroo Centre, and they used the railway to visit him.
All his life he took a prominent part in the Wesleyan church (later named Methodist, now Uniting) and frequently preached from the pulpit. It is recorded in his obituary that he first began preaching aged 22 (1833) and continued this service to his faith until after his 90th year, preaching his last sermon at nearby Queen's Own Town church (now named Finniss). On 30 October 1900, then aged 88, he was among eight trustees of the Wesleyan church who bought part of Section 73 in Strathalbyn for £20 for the purpose of building a new church.
In October 1905 Joseph’s youngest son, Hugh, died at Melrose, aged 58. Just five months later the Old Colonist himself died, on the morning of Friday, 30 March 1906, at his Strathalbyn home of "senile decay" – in other words, old age. Aged 94, Joseph was one of the oldest residents in the district, having seen during his abundant lifetime the whole of the Victorian era, and part of the new Edwardian era. He had been sharp of mind and body right up until his death, still caring for himself at home.
At a large funeral on Saturday afternoon, 31 March, he was buried at the Strathalbyn Cemetery. That same day an obituary appeared in the State-wide Register newspaper (later merged with The Advertiser) published 31/3/1906, page 7b, and reads:
“Mr Joseph Milnes died at Strathalbyn on March 30 at the age of 94 years. He came to South Australia with his wife and family in 1849 on the ship Bolivar. He lived in Adelaide for a year on arrival, carrying on his trade as a contractor, then moved to Strathalbyn, where he had resided since, with the exception of nine months spent on the Victorian gold diggings in 1852. Mr Milnes was a successful mason and contractor, and was able to work and climb on the scaffolding until he reached the age of 90 years. He took a prominent part in the Wesleyan Church, and frequently occupied the pulpit. He was also a Town Councillor for many years. The deceased has left three children – Messrs. C. Milnes (Strathalbyn), Isaac Milnes (Port Pirie), and Mrs. Arthur (Booleroo Centre) – and a number of grand and great grandchildren.”
Another obituary of Joseph appeared a week later in the Observer newspaper, published 7/4/1906, page 37d, but has the same facts as contained in the Register newspaper obituary. A similar obituary also appeared in the local Strathalbyn newspaper, Southern Argus, the following week.
Details of the children of Joseph and Ann Milnes are:
1. Phoebe (Phebe) Milnes
born 20th February 1836, died 8th September 1920. She migrated with her parents and lived in Strathalbyn for 8 years assisting her widowed father to raise her younger siblings, until her marriage in 1858 to Joseph Bennett, brother of her father’s new wife, who had a saddlery business in Watervale. She then lived in Watervale and had four children (two died as infants). Joseph Bennett died in 1873 and in 1875 Phoebe was one of the few females, along with her two teenaged sons, to pioneer a farm at Booleroo when that district was opened up. In 1882, aged 45, she remarried to Samuel Arthur, a widowed farmer from near Booleroo Centre (Samuel and his descendants feature in a family history book “Along the Arthur Line”, published 2002). There were no children of this marriage. After Samuel died in 1885 Phoebe lived in Booleroo with her son, Harry Bennett. Her youngest brother, Hugh, joined them there for a time. In 1907 Harry moved to take up a farm at Gnowangerup, Western Australia. Phoebe went with him and lived there on his farm until her death in 1920. Her other son, Stanley Bennett, married and had six children. He lived at Booleroo and Quorn as a farmer and grazier.
2. Charles Milnes
born 19th July 1837, died 23rd September 1914. He was about 12 when the family migrated and in 1850 settled in Strathalbyn with them. Unlike most of his siblings, he never left Strathalbyn. Following the same trade as his father, Charles became a local builder and stonemason. He married Elizabeth Cock, had 10 children, and eventually inherited and died in the home of his father at Milnes Road, Strathalbyn. His obituary appears at p.46, Observer, 3/10/1914 edition. One of his children, Hettie, never married and lived to over 100 years of age. Another child, Charles Milnes, had a son, also named Joseph Milnes, who was employed at the Southern Argus newspaper in Strathalbyn for over 50 years and who, in 1912, purchased the Victor Harbour Times newspaper. This was subsequently published by three generations of the Milnes family until it was sold in 1985 to SA Regional Media Ltd.
3. Hannah Milnes
born 20th December 1839, died 19th March 1889. Hannah spent her teenage years in Strathalbyn and it was there that she married in June 1864 to Charles Hathway (1836-1872). Charles was a publican and is recorded as residing in Adelaide and at Victor Harbour. The couple had three children, Hannah, Lewis, and Henry Walter, before Charles died an early death in 1872.
4. Harriet Milnes
born 9th February 1842, died 11th May 1866. Married Richard Martin on 14th May 1863 at Strathalbyn and died there three years later, just 24 years old, on 11th May 1866 as a result of childbirth with her second child, Harriet. She and Richard had two children: Fred Martin, who later lived in Winton NSW, and Harriet, who died aged only 10 months. Richard married again in 1870 to Mary Jane Walker and he died on 24th February 1875, aged 36, in the famous wreck of the ‘Gothenburg’ on the Great Barrier Reef, QLD.
5. Isaac Milnes
born 11th May 1844, died 7th January 1935. He lived in Strathalbyn until early adulthood and then, in his early 20’s, joined his sister Phoebe at Watervale for a time where he learnt the trade of saddlery from his brother in law, Joseph Bennett. In Watervale he met a local girl, Edith Badcock, and they married there in 1871. Their children are Albert, Arthur, Eva, Florence, Percy, Oscar, Lucy, Sidney, Elsie, Idabel, and Clarence. Not long after Joseph Bennett’s early death in 1873 they took up a farm at Lower Broughton near Port Pirie. The 1885 Land Tax Returns record that Isaac then owned 266 acres there. He was still farming there in 1906 when his father died. Like his father, Isaac was much involved in community life, serving as councillor for Pirie Ward from 1908 to 1918 on the Port Pirie District Council.
6. Hugh Milnes
born 7th April 1847, died 30th October 1905. Only an infant when his parents migrated to South Australia, Hugh was raised in Strathalbyn. He later lived with his sister Phoebe at Watervale where he learnt the trade of saddlery, and then later lived at Booleroo Centre where he assisted Phoebe to establish her farm, and later worked as a farm hand in that district. Hugh never married. He is buried at Melrose Cemetery
A brief biography of Joseph appeared in the book They Built Strathalbyn by H.J. Stowe, 1973, Investigator Press. This was based upon the obituary published in the Southern Argus in 1906. It reads:
"Joseph Milnes was born in Leicestershire, in 1811, and came to South Australia with his wife and family in 1849. He settled first in Adelaide and resided there for one year, carrying on his trade as building contractor, and then came to Strathalbyn, where he lived ever since, with the exception of nine months spent on the Victorian gold diggings in the year 1852, his venture to the gold rush being successful, enabling him to purchase a property in Strathalbyn. The late Mr Milnes was a successful and very well known contractor, and it was one of his proudest boasts that he being elected to the first council, took part in the settling of the town boundaries, and was able to work and climb on the scaffolding until he reached the age of 90 years. He took a prominent part in the Wesleyan Church, and frequently occupied the pulpit, commencing this work at 22 and continuing it till after his 90th year, preaching his last sermon at Queens Own Town. He was twice married, his second wife dying about 20 years ago."
Many of the fine Victorian-era stone buildings in Strathalbyn that remain today are a testament to Joseph’s building and construction skills. Back in the 1860's Joseph's name was perpetuated in the naming of Milnes Road, Strathalbyn, but in 2004 he very nearly had a second street in Strathalbyn named after him.
In 2003 a developer created 8 allotments around a small cul-de-sac and proposed to the Alexandrina Council that it be named Laurel Court, after his mother. Council staff thought there might be a more appropriate name in terms of local heritage. The Council's Heritage committee delved and learnt that the land, which was part of Section 2745, had been originally purchased in the 1850's by Joseph Milnes, was transferred to Charles Milnes in 1906 on the death of his father, and passed to his son Joseph in 1911 and was held by the family until 1958, over 100 years.
At a council meeting on 15 November 2004 it was recommended by the Heritage Committee that the cul-de-sac be named Joseph Milnes Court. However, as there was already a Milnes Road, and as the Council's rating department was not in favour of full names, a subsequent council meeting on 6 December 2004 agreed to the name Laurel Court.
Compiled 1996 and revised 2008 by Max Slee, Tranmere, SA, 5073, combining the researches of Max Slee of Tranmere SA, Julie van de Water of Port Pirie SA, and Patricia Fletcher of Beaumont SA. Patricia published a comprehensive family history in limited edition in 2001 titled, “Milnes from Leicestershire to Strathalbyn SA in 1849”.
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