William Thomas Atkins was born on 16 April 1825 at Great Casterton, England and Rachel Ann Richards was born on 22 September 1828 at Stamford, Lincolnshire. They were married on 1 May 1849 at All Saints, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.
Soon after their marriage William and Rachel set out with Rachel’s parents and a number of her brothers and sisters on board ‘The Blonde’, which left Plymouth on 18 September 1849 arriving in Sydney on 27 December 1849. William and Rachel paid £1 each for the journey and were assisted immigrants. Rachel was 2 months pregnant with her first child when they boarded the boat.
About the same time, the remainder of the Atkins family embarked on a boat bound for America.
It appears after arriving in Australia they settled in Nelsons Plains where the first five children were born. They then moved to Woola Woola around 1858 where 2 more children were born. On 5 February 1863 William purchased a 60 acre block at Mitchell’s Island where a house was built and Rachel and William moved in with their five surviving children. George was the first to be born at Mitchell’s Island on 19 January 1864. Four more children were born at Mitchells Island.
GEORGE ATKINS
8th child of William Thomas Atkins and Rachel Ann Richards
George’s first marriage lasted 1 year when his wife Sarah Emma Bulley died of typhoid fever on 9 June 1886. He then married Elizabeth Porter on 1 August 1887 at Cundletown. George and Elizabeth had 8 children. After helping his son Vic to buy his farm in Upper Lansdowne in 1907, George began to take an interest in the area. His first purchase was a 95 acre block in December 1908. Here he set up a dairy farm. George, Elizabeth and family probably moved on to this land about 1909. In 1919 he added the 81 acres next door. This land was bought by son Newt in 1931.
As well as farming, George was involved in road contracting in his early years under the supervision of Mr F M Baker. While living in Upper Lansdowne he was one of a committee formed to establish a Church of England. He erected the church in 1909 with the help of his son Vic. He was also one of those instrumental in the establishment of the Lansdowne Bakery Company. George died in 1942 at his home in Lansdowne.
His wife Elizabeth was the daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Richard Porter and was born in Ballarat, Victoria. She died at Lansdowne in 1939. Both George and Elizabeth are buried in Scotts Creek Cemetery.
George and Elizabeth’s 8 children were:
- Victor (1888-1974) m Harriett Amelia Potts (1891-1979). They were the 2nd couple to marry in the new Upper Lansdowne church. They raised a family of four boys and three girls. Vic was a handy man, being a builder, blacksmith and with mechanical talents that allowed him to improvise and repair equipment for around the farm. He built his own first wireless set. He had a love of working with timber, especially cedar and made much of the furniture for his home as well as furniture for district churches. Vic built the altar in St Barnabas Church, Upper Lansdowne which he made as a gift from the congregation in memory of his father, the builder of the church. Much of the timber in the Upper Lansdowne church came from Vic’s farm.
Millie too, was involved in church and community life. As a girl she went to school in Lansdowne and also to church in a slab building there. She was at the first meeting to establish a church at Upper Lansdowne and took on the job of collector. Vic and his father were at the second meeting.
Vic died of a heart attack on 3 November 1974 at his home in Upper Lansdowne and Millie died of a stroke on 16 October 1979 in Taree. Both are buried in Lansdowne cemetery.
- Effie May (1890-1961) m James McCaffrey (1885-1962). James and Effie bought a property at Hannam Vale in 1919 where they established a successful dairy farm. They raised a family of one boy and four girls.
- Sarah Emma (1892-1965) m Albert Victor Schubert (1891-1960). For a while Albert worked in a sawmill at Upper Lansdowne while the family lived in a small house near the mill. They moved onto George Atkins’ farm before buying a property at Mt Coxcomb in about 1917. Emma was a strong member of the church and also worked diligently to have a school established at Mt Coxcomb. 2 older sons served in WW2. In 1942, leaving family on the farm at Mt Coxcomb they moved to Harrington. Sarah and Albert had 12 children, (8 boys, 4 girls).
- George Melbourne (1896-1952) m Mary Ann Hately (1892-1966). Meb and Mary Ann settled on the family farm at Mitchell’s Island. They had four sons and two daughters.
- Stanley (1898-1968) m Elsie Christensen (1903-1988). Stan and Elsie initially farmed at Upper Lansdowne. At one stage he worked as a baker. Later Stan and Elsie moved to Lansdowne where Stan built a sawmill cutting his own timber for milling. He built many houses as well as the pavilion at Lansdowne Park. They had 10 children (6 girls, 4 boys).
- Sylvia Daisy (1901-1902) – Sylvia had spina bifida.
- Beatrice (1903-1987) m Sydney Thomas Thompson (1895-1976). Syd was a WW1 veteran from Queensland. After their marriage, Syd took Beattie to Ballandean where they lived for 17 years and where their four children were born (1 boy, 3 girls). They returned to Lansdowne about 1940 and moved into Beattie’s father’s house where they looked after George until his death. In 1949 Syd and Beattie moved to Queensland where they remained until their death.
- Newton (1905-1993) m Ettie Jane Tagg (1904-1995).
Newt was born on 29 June 1905 and died on 30 May 1993. He married Ettie Jane Tagg on 12 October 1927. They lived in Lansdowne where Newt had built them a house. He later built a house in Spence St, Taree where they lived for a while. Newt’s father then asked him to take over the farm at Upper Lansdowne. They lived there for about 17 years building up a successful dairy farm. While there, he bought 2 blocks of land in Lansdowne. One was on the corner of Croki and Cundle Streets. He sold both of these to his father George in 1938. He also bought a house block at Jervis Bay in 1926. It was sold in 1963. He then moved to Harrington where he continued building including St Peters Church. Newt and Ettie had 3 boys.
His wife Ettie Jane Tagg was born on 2 October 1904 and died on 11 November 1995.
WILLIAM ATKINS (1879-1927) married in 1903 to LAVINIA MAY DAVIS (1884-1953)
Grandson of William Thomas Atkins and Rachel Ann Richards
Son of Charles Thomas Atkins and Sarah Lawson
William, known as Bill was born at Mitchell’s Island on 16 July 1879. He married Lavinia May Davis at Scotts Creek in 1903. Bill and May operated a dairy farm, firstly at Mitchell’s Island and then at Upper Lansdowne. Bill bought two blocks of land at Upper Lansdowne; one of 178 acres and one of 56 acres. The land was almost at the end of the Mt Coxcomb road and backed onto the Comboyne range. Because the farm was not very good dairying country, Bill also drove a cream wagon to add to his income. Bill is also said to have worked in the forest. Bill was said to have been short and fat and was thus known as “tubby’ or “billy fat”. He was a very popular member of the community and took a prominent part in public affairs at Upper Lansdowne. He was a member of the Memorial Hall committee, a director of the Lansdowne Bakery Co., and also an honorary member of the GUOOF.
Bill died from diabetes in 1927 at the age of 47 leaving May with a very young family. May continued to live at Mt Coxcomb after the family had grown up and left home. May was still living at Mt Coxcomb at the time of her death.
Bill and May’s 10 children were:
- William Alexander (1904-1968) m Ida Emile Stace (1908-1951). Bill took over the family farm after the death of his father in 1927. He also became the guardian of his younger brothers and sisters. Bill and Ida had four children (3 boys, 1 girl). His wife Ida was the daughter of Mr and Mrs J J Stace and was only 43 years old when she died in 1951 leaving her husband with 4 young children to raise.
- Maisie (1907-1990) m William George Turner (1898-1970). William and Maisie farmed at Mitchell’s Island and Upper Lansdowne. They had a large family of ten children (5 girls, 5 boys)
- Charles Thomas (1910-1991) m Edna May McKay (1912-1986). Charles went into the navy and at one stage he served on the HMAS Melbourne. He was a timber worker at Melinga and later a fettler in the railway while living at Lansdowne. Five children were born to Charles and Edna (2 girls, 3 boys).
- Dollie – (1912-1912) died as a baby.
- Silvie – (1913-1922) died at about nine years of age.
- Gilbert (1916-1973) m Joy Fleming (1921-1967). In WW2 Gilbert served in Papua New Guinea where he was wounded in action. On returning he married and became a butcher. He farmed on his father-in-law’s farm at Central Lansdowne. Joy moved into Taree after Gilbert’s death. They had 3 children (1 girl, 2 boys).
- Elizabeth (1918-1981) m Arthur Sill (1908-1981). Arthur was a labourer living in Taree at the time of their marriage in 1935. He and Elizabeth later moved to Newcastle where it is believed he became a wharfie.
- Percy Raymond (1922-2012) m Jane Loveday McDermott (1922-1990). Ray initially worked for the Potts family who also farmed at Mt Coxcomb. He enlisted in WW2 but didn’t go overseas as his parents wouldn’t sign the papers. He then lived in Sydney where he married Jane and worked in woollen mills, cold storage and a bus depot. Ray and Jane had 2 sons.
- Peter James (1924-1961) m Elsie May Mills (1925-2013). Peter served in the Middle East in WW2. On returning he took any work he could get – labouring and handyman. They lived in Upper Lansdowne. Peter and Elsie had 6 children (1 girl, 5 boys).
- Oscar (1925-1926) Oscar died young.
THOMAS ROBERT ATKINS (1889-1916) m OLIVIA ELIZABETH CICOLINI (1897-1973)
Grandson of William Thomas Atkins and Rachel Ann Richards
Son of Charles Thomas Atkins and Sarah Lawson
Thomas Robert Jobson Atkins was born at Mitchells Island in 1889. He married Olivia Cicolini at Lansdowne in 1916. Olivia was the daughter of Emanuel and Mary Cicolini. The Cicolini family had land at Upper Lansdowne. Olivia was a music teacher.
Thomas was a labourer. He looked after the Cicolini farm at Upper Lansdowne while three of his wife’s brothers enlisted in WW1. In June 1916 he took up a farm on Mitchell’s Island and was preparing to start dairying. On 18 July 1916, Thomas was riding a horse along Pelican Bay Road, Mitchells Island ahead of his wife who was driving a buggy. He was on his way to meet his mother who was expected by cream boat from Lansdowne. It is thought that in trying to avoid cattle, the horse fell causing him to fall heavily on his head. He never regained consciousness and died the next morning on 19 July 1916. Olivia gave birth to a son Thomas Robert a week after Thomas’ death.
Ten years later in 1926, Olivia married Frederick Desmond Payne and had six more children. She moved from Upper Lansdowne to Taree in 1942 and to Sydney in 1946 where she died in 1973.
Thomas and Olivia’s only child Thomas Robert never married. He volunteered as soon as WW2 broke out. He wanted to get into a tank section and did so but to his disappointment remained in Australia serving all over the country. He then had a successful corner store in Cabramatta. He sold this and then worked for Goodyear at Rydalmere.
Information obtained from ‘A Land of Plenty’ celebrating 150 years of The Atkins Family in Australia compiled by Margaret Cole
HECTOR ARTHUR ATKINS (1892-1974) m ANNIE MARIA UNICOMB (1898-1997)
Grandson of William Thomas Atkins and Rachel Ann Richards
Son of William George Atkins and Phoebe Moy
Hec Atkins was born in 1892 at Kolodong (Woolla Woolla) the fifth child of William George Atkins and Phoebe Moy. As a young man he used to play in the town band. In 1916 he married Annie Unicomb. Annie was born in 1898, the daughter of William Henry Unicomb and his wife Emma Ann (nee Tisdell). She was one of fourteen children. Annie was only a baby when her family moved to Upper Lansdowne. She went to school at Upper Lansdowne until she was 13. Before she was married she worked for a while as a housemaid for a dentist in Taree. Hec and Annie were married in Annie’s parents home at Upper Lansdowne, with Annie’s sister Senia as the bridesmaid and Hec’s brother Dudley as the best man. They had fourteen children. The first ten were delivered at home with ‘Granny’ Cicolini as the midwife.
All of the children survived to adulthood and twelve were still alive in 1999.
Hec and Annie worked their own dairy at Upper Lansdowne. Hec bought 182 acres there possibly about 1911. They also bought 165 acres on the Comboyne in 1938. In 1922 they bought a house block in Taree on the corner of Pulteney and Albert streets. This was sold in 1948.
Hec and Annie’s children are:
- Raymond Arthur born 1916 died 2007 married Sadie Audrey Haydon in 1945.
- Kenneth Verle born 1918 died 2008 married Alice Maude Yarnold in 1938
- Dallas Wilfred (Snow) born 1920 married Ednis Alice Latimore in 1944
- Allister Rex born 1921 died 2007 married Phyllis Merle Stace in 1948
- Enid Joyce born 1922 died 1977 married Harold James Irwin in 1942
- Coral Isabel born 1925 died 2025 married Neville Gordon Fahey (1) in 1945, Athol Carmody (2). Coral and Neville had 2 children Ross and Claire.
- Joan born 1926 married Archibald Barr in 1944
- Hazel Gwyn born 1928 died 2009 married William Elliott Gill in 1949
- Lyal Glen born 1932 died 1996 married Valerie Joy Dries in 1951.
- Nola Clare born 1935 died 2000 married Alan Thomas Drury in 1954
- Valma Gay born 1936 married George Raymond Sheather in 1957
- Norman Ross born 1944 married Valerie June Hewett in 1966
- Lola Joy born 1940 married James Alexander Brown in 1959
- Heather Ann married Bruce Tull in 1966
