Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
Watson family papers concerning the New Australia Scheme, 1893 1937
A 3306
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Each For All All For Each
NEW AUSTRALIA
CO- OPERATIVE SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION.
CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP
If this book is lost, immediate notice must be given to the Secretary;
Any person finding it is asked to kindly forward it to:
The Secretary,
New Australia Co-operative Settlement Association,
P.O. Box 15, Brisbane, Queensland.
[ Signed] H. Geo. Watson.
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This Is To Certify
That The Person Named Below
Has Been
Officially Accepted As A Member
Of The
New Australia Co-Operative Settlement Association
On the conditions contained in this Book
Harry G Watson Name
Miner Occupation
Broken Hill Address
W. W. Head
For the Board of Trustees.
Provisional Certificate Number 1804
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To insure against misunderstanding or mistake, any
member not receiving from the Secretary due acknowledgement
of payment made, by return of post, or not obtaining
reply to any letter requiring reply within a reasonable
time, is requested to notify
W. W. Head,
Treasurer N.A. Co-operative Settlement Association,
Wagga, N.S.W.
Members are asked to be very careful to give their best address with every
communication.
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This Is To Certify
That The Person Named Below
Has Been
Officially Accepted As A Member
Of The
New Australia Co-Operative Settlement Association
On the conditions contained in this Book.
Caroline Watson - Name
Housewife - Occupation
Broken Hill N.S.W. - Address
W.W. Head
For the Board of Trustees.
Provisional Certificate Number 1808
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Letter to Mrs Watson from Edwin & Eliza Jones.
New Australia April 12th 1898
Dear Mrs Watson,
I expect you often think that we are never going to answer your letter, which Eliza received in october last, while I was down at Las Palmas. where I went to work again about the end of June & returned home again on the 24th of December, ever since I have been home Eliza has been at me to write to you, to Mrs Beasley, my relations & others, but I kept driving it off from time to time till now. I dont know how it is but, lately, I have not felt inclined to write to any one, & only wrote to My Brother a few days since in answer to a letter which I received from him 12 months ago & with whome, hitherfore, I have allways kept up a regular correspondence with.
Well I am glad to tell you that we are all happy, & enjoying the best of health, & hope these few lines will find you all the same. Another Boy was born to us on the 17th of January, we have named him
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Richard, & he is doing well, this makes 9 now, all living. Eliza had a very good time of it, & fared better in the way of food than she did with Tommie, as I brought flour, Tea, Sugar, Rice & other things from Asuncion as I came up. She was atended to by Mrs Robson, who was living out at the Estancia. Eliza took ill about 3 oclock in the morning, & I saddled my horse & went for Mrs Robson about 4 calling at the Native woman on the road, asking her to go and stay with her untill I returned, which she had previously asked me to do. Me & Mrs Robson returned about 8 oclock, & in ten minets later the Baby was born. The Native woman above referd to think a lot of Eliza, & will do any thing for her,, Bringing her little nic nacs to eat any time when she is not well, & doing her washing, & will not take payment for it, but of course, we allways make it up to her in some way. There was no other woman at La Nova at this time. &
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what a contrast between this woman & the Kidds family, for a while before I went down to Las Palmas the last time, Eliza was ill for several weeks, & during that time, kept to her bed for days together, & during all that time not one of the Kidds even asked how she was, though they had had no words, but appeared as friendly as ever. We thought this very strange, but we had heard before that Kidds were very strange people. After the decision I bought Shultz place at La Nova for 70 dollars, including his house, crops 2 shars of fencing wire, tools & improvements, & went to live there as soon as he left.
Eliza likes La Nova better than Fuga rugua, & I am glad to say that since the illness above referd to she has enjoyed very good health.
While I was at Las Palmas, the boys, with her management & assistance planted the farm well up with Maize, pumkings & Mandeoca. we have a good few pumkings
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stored up, & plenty of Mandeoca. But the Maize was nearly destroyed by Kiff Birkses horses, he used to turn them loose inside the fence, & they walked into our corn at night to feed, & though Kiff was told about it he took no notice, untill Eliza was near drove crazey, & our crop destroyed, when he tethered them, or turned them out side. Through this I have had to buy 50 dollars worth at 2 dollars an aroba, for my own Maize was finished by the end of February. So when I returned from Las Palmas, I ran a desideing fence down to Estera, & planted about an acre & 1/2 of Maize. The same with native beans, & a 1/4 of an acre of the Brazilian Sweet potatoes. The Maize & all were planted in January, the Maize is now tasseling and looks splendid, the beans are near ready to pick, & the potatoes look well too, so there is every prospect of plenty of food. We have allso plenty of cabage plants near ready to plant out, we had a fine lot of cabages, Beet, & tomatoes last year
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I have not selected my 60 squars at La Nova, but about a mile & a 1/2 from here, on the red ridge where Birkses wanted their land, & where they used to go picknicing. It is on the road between, Loma Rugua, & Las Ovejas, going by the ring coon way. It containes low [?] camp land, high camp like Las Ovejas, good Monte, a spring of water, & 4 orange groves. There is allso good camp land outside, & about 15 Chains in front, is the creek that runs past Fugi Rugua. I did not select at La Nova because the camp is not much good for cattle & the Monte is too much on a slope for cultivation. The house we lived in at Fugi Rugua, is ours, which I intend to shift when I remove from here. The Kings have Fugi to themselvs now. Whitehorn[e] has selected Father in Las place, taking in the house & the 2 orange groves there. Kiff Birks joines him on this side taking in Vincentes place, the corn yard & the house where you lived, he is going to
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get married shortly to Bessie Jacobson, I expect they have told you. Jack Thomas has selected at La Nova, taking in Kidds house (which they bought, & are now living at the road side corner of Whitehorns alotement & the Monte over the road from, Walkers house & Mine, Walker went to England and died there. The land containing, Whitehorns house, Walkers house, (origanly the single men & mine) is held in common, no one being aloud to select it. So we can shift when we like. The Robsons, have selected at the estancia. Mrs Thomas & Jim, between there & the orchard. Murry, & Connely, at the orchard. Jacobson, the slaughter yard Monte, but they are living in the barn at Las Orejas at presant, which they have bought. German, Casey, Butler, Ben Jacobson, & uncle, at Las Ovejas. Bill Thomas, on the road from Las, to the ring coon. Springer & Antell, at Leon quay. M Creen, Butterworth, Dan
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[ Tim?] Pane, John Mc Pharland, & Gus Edburg, at Loma Rugua. Skippon & Mattson, near the gap. Tom O Donal at Las Amijas . Stanleys place will be put up to auction shortly, the highest bidder for the improvements having the right to the land. We expect our deeds any time now. John Neman died lately, & old Thomas died near 12 months ago. I forgot Prior, he selected, & is living at (Ewdwar) Edwardos. & Colthurst (a man with wife & one child) who came here from Australia while I was at Las Palmas, selected where me & Harry used to be splitting in the big Monte, taking in the orange grove near there. He is living at presant where Degunst first lived in Las. German is living in Beasleys house, & Casey is living in mine.
Jim Scot & Donald Walsh, went down to the Argentina to work, intending to return, but we have heard the Donald Walsh died in Buenos Aires.
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Kidds are living in Buenos Aires, & I hear they are thinking of coming back here.
Alic McDonald is back in the Argentina, working to earn mony to come up here to settle I hear, leaving his Wife & children in Australia, where he returned from Africa. A man came here a few days ago from Australia, he says that Twible came out with him but got off at Las Palmas to earn some money. I received a letter from Meadikie some months since & he says if he could see his time over again he would stay in Paraguay. Ian
O Donald received a letter from Beadle, he says that him & others were going to see the Paraguyan cunsol in Melbourn, with a vew to getting back here. So we expect to see most of you back here again some day, & if you can have a bit of money clear when you get here, so that you can make a start & buy a few cattle with, with what one can grow you might do worse than come back, for with a few cattle it is not hard to make a living here
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not even with a family like mine, the Robsons are buying about 100 head, & others are getting all they can. We have 16 head of cattle now, & 6 head of horses includeing foal, 4 rideable horses, one mare a cripple, & one foal, & 3 Mares in foal, our cattle consist of, 6 cows, 4 heffers, 2 big Steers, 2 heffer calvs, & 2 Bull calvs. I have told you the names of all the people who are here & am glad to say that no one seems to have any idea of leaving but seem to have settled down to make homes for them selvs. I never had any idea of leaving Paraguay, but I did think of shifting down nearer to the railway, but have given up all thought of that now. We have received about 6 applications for land here, from people out side (Greason of Villa Rica is one of them) & I expect all of them will be granted.
Mary is at home now, she came home
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on the 1st of October [Page badly torn]
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the parcles all safe which Mrs. F. Birks sent out to Eliza, & she whishes me to tell you that she did enjoy the tea, & says that if you can do any thing in that way she will only be to glad. She allso wishes you would send her a card of the Braid inclosed, & a packet of Wertheim Machine needles. & if you could send any fruit, flower, or vegatable seeds (especialy good Mulbry & peach) we should be much obliged. The oranges are comeing in now & Mrs. Jones wishes you were all here to have a good feed of them, & hopes you will some day & if you bring a good stock of tea, she hopes to be able to give you scons & Butter with it & have a good chat about the past. The Children are all looking well, & wish to be remembered to Amy. We hope you are getting on well in the Buisness write soon & let us know, & I will answer you quicker next time, Believe us to remain your friends & wellwishers E & E Jones, not forgetting Watty