Cornelius O'Brien and Kangaroo Valley

| Aborigines / Indigenous / First Nations archive |

Kangaroo Valley, 1912

1. Introduction

Cornelius O'Brien (1796-1869) is a minor figure in early Australian colonial history. At the age of 19 he arrived in Sydney from Ireland during 1815. O'Brien initially settled with his family at William Browne's Appin property and worked in the Illawarra before going on to acquire various properties, primarily at Bulli and then Yass (King 1965, Scott 1967, Browne 1975). He also occupied land at East Bargo, Bathurst and Kangaroo Valley. O'Brien has been written about in various publications since the late 1800s, including historical newsletters, bulletins, journals and booklets (see References list below). The following article brings together known references regarding his activities at Kangaroo Valley, in the Shoalhaven region southward of the Illawarra. It seeks to clarify some issues raised with the present writer during May 2025. One of the most significant accounts of O'Brien's time there - brief though the account is - can be found in A History of Kangaroo Valley (Griffith 1978). O'Brien's association with the area appears to have been short-lived. In regards to the name of the place, the following account is useful:

* The original name for [Kangaroo] Valley was the Aboriginal spelling - gun : guru : gara - which means 'very valleyiferous place.' [Cornelius] O'Brien erroneously called this Kangaroo Ground and so it stuck as the interpretation. [O'Brien's 1824] map clearly shows five arms of the terrain are fingers of the right hand. The palm was placed on the Barrengarry Creek, index finger on Upper Kangaroo Creek and the others on Geringon, Brogers and Sawyer's Creeks. In 1846 in each of the valleys were five camps of Aborigines.... The name of the Kangaroo Ground clan was kun : di : gun : dy - men of the forest, and that of the Broughton Creek clan yaa : null : i : t - men of the tomahawk or clubber. (Bray 2011).

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2. Chronology

The following chronology focuses on O'Brien's association with Kangaroo Valley, and encounters both there and elsewhere with Indigenous peoples.

1796

* Cornelius "Neal" O'Brien is born in Ireland.

1815

* O'Brien and family arrive in Sydney, settling at the farm of William Browne, Appin. Cornelius begins managing property for Browne in the Illawarra region.

1816

* The writer is not at present aware of the evidence for involvement by O'Brien in the Appin Massacre of 1816, as noted in Joan Bray's Views and Visions: stories of Wattamolla and Woodhill, Brogers Creek Landcare Group, Kangaroo Valley, 2011. Therein he is referred to as the Appin Scalper.

c.1817

* Cattle owned by Captain Richard Brooks - an early land grantee in the Illawarra - is brought from Dapto to Kangaroo Valley (Kangaroo Ground) for protection from cattle duffers.

1818

* 1 October: Lt Weston, owner of a property at Dapto, Cornelius O'Brien, overseer of William Browne's property at Yallah and seven labourers and convict workers, attacked an Aboriginal campsite and fired muskets at them (Elder 2003). 'Bundle, a Native came and told me that the Natives (Men and Women) at the river were all killed.' (Wild n.d.). Sources: Depositions to the Sydney Bench, October 24, 1818; Report by Joseph Wild, District Constable at Illawarra n.d.; Elder 2003, p 25-6.

1820

* Governor Lachlan Macquarie grants Brooks 700 acres, or approximately 30 square miles, in Kangaroo Valley (Kangaroo Ground).

1821

* O'Brien settles at Bulli. He remains there until 1836, setting up an establishment later purchased by Captain Robert Marsh Westmacott (Bayley 2002). He developed a farm with convict labour westwards from land at Sandon Point. He also engaged local Aborigines to aid him in fishing and whale hunting; he had a collection of crude boiling-down buildings on the beach near his farm (Christian n.d.).

1822

* 14 October 1822 - Cornelius O'Brien marries Rebecca Broughton (1804-1888) at Campbelltown, New South Wales.

1823

* 14 February 1823 (King 1964): Within six months from that time that he was married, O'Brien evidently found that the number of cattle and sheep he possessed was too great for the Bulli holding or at least until he had a greater area, for on 14 February 1823 he wrote to His Excellency, Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane request land at Lake George near his brother Thomas O'Brien (d.1823 ):

Sir, I beg leave to solicit You Excellency's permission to grace the undermentioned cattle in the new South Western Country, within six miles of the station applied for to Your Excellency by Mr. Henry O'Brien to the south east of Lake George. The following are the persons who will go in charge of cattle, viz. Patrick Hopkins, convict servant, Peter Hall, convict servant, 445 cattle, 196 sheep, with various brands, stated.

* March 1823: O'Brien requests 700 acres at Little Bargo, near Appin, and it is granted on 3 July.

* 24 October 1823 - O'Brien applies for a Ticket of Occupation for ten square miles of hilly country at the Kangaroo Ground, for use of his herd as a grazing run. The following is a partial copy of the application:

To F. Goulburn, Esq. Colonial Secretary,

Sir, I humbly beg leave to state to you that the recent loss of my brother makes it necessary for me to attend to my affairs in the Bathurst Country, more than I have hitherto done and precludes the possibility of my availing myself of the occupation which you were pleased to allow me some time ago at Lake George in the new South Western Country. I beg leave to solicit of you to change my ticket of occupation above alluded to, to the hilly country west of Shoalhaven and commonly called Kangaroo Ground. The part of which I wish for, is bounded on the north and south by a range of mountains, on the East, by another range and on the West by a river, and is, to the best of my judgement, about 15 miles westward of Messrs Berry and Woolstonecraft's establishment at Shoalhaven. ..... I have the honour to be etc.C.O'Brien". He then listed an amount of cattle, to be in charge of John Stewart, overseer, came free, and Patrick Ward, convict.

* 1823 - O'Brien occupies land at Kangaroo Valley, adjacent to the Brooks grant and across the river from it. A hut is erected and occupied by overseer John Stewart and two assigned convicts. The overseer is subsequently assaulted by Richard Brooks, supposedly over use of land previously m bade use of by him:

Soon after Stewart and his men arrived in 1823 they had crossed the river to recover some of O'Brien's cattle from near Brooks's stockyard and here Stewart was "violently assaulted" by Brooks. This resulted in a court case heard before the bench at Campbelltown (Griffith 1978).

1824

* O'Brien writes a letter to Governor Brisbane and within it includes an accurate map of Kangaroo Valley, showing the boundaries of both his and Brooks' land. It is assumed O'Brien was granted the Ticket of Occupation, though the fate of his use of the land is unknown.

1836

* O'Brien sells his property at Bulli and moves to Yass.

1869

* 4 July 1869 - Cornelius O'Brien dies at his residence, Bendinine, Yass. Obituary, Yass Courier, 6 July 1869:

DEATH OF MR. CORNELIUS O'BRIEN.

It is our painful duty to announce the death of Mr. Cornelius O'Brien, which took place at Bendinine, a few miles from Yass, on Sunday morning last, at the ripe age of seventy-three years. By his decease a warm-hearted, hospitable, silver-haired old friend and neighbour has passed over to the majority. The ranks of the early pioneers of the district around Yass are rapidly becoming thinned by the hand of Death. Of those the deceased was one of the earliest, as for many long years he has been one of the most respected.

Some thirty-six years ago, about eight or nine years after Hamilton Hume and his daring exploring party first placed foot upon and gazed over Yass Plains, the deceased gentleman took up his abode in the wilderness beyond Yass. He had been preceded by his brother, the late Mr. Henry O'Brien, who had purchased the Douro property, upon which he then resided, and as an inducement to the deceased to settle in this part of the country, made him the offer of a hundred acres of land adjoining Douro, and now known as Cooma, the residence of our old and respected neighbour, Mr. Hamilton Hume.

After disposing of the Cooma estate, Mr. C. O'Brien purchased the Hardwicke property, on the opposite bank of the river, and resided there for a number of years. The deceased gentleman and his brother took up a large extent of country about Jugiong, and formed a cattle station, the head-quarters of which stood very nearly on the spot now occupied by the inn and other premises erected by Mr. J. P. Sheahan. To this squattage the Messrs. O'Brien, having previously parted with a large grant of land near Bathurst, forwarded a considerable number of cattle and all the requirements necessary, and they personally superintended its formation.

The blacks in the neighbourhood were very troublesome, and wild, and a rumour went abroad and reached Sydney that the Messrs. O'Brien had been cruelly murdered by the aborigines. They were at the time located on the extreme borders of civilisation, and the rumour received ready credence. By accident the report that was abroad as to his own and his brother's death reached Mr. Cornelius O'Brien, and that gentleman immediately mounted his horse, and rode across country nearly as far as Bathurst, where Mrs. O'Brien then resided, pushing his animal to the utmost in order to reach in time to allay the alarm and distress the false report would have created, supposing it to have travelled so far; and he had the satisfaction of arriving before, but on the very same day that the unfounded rumour of his murder reached the place. At the time this journey was undertaken it was a feat of great daring, and the incident will indicate the zeal and activity, as well as the thoughtful consideration of others, which characterised Mr. O'Brien in his earlier years. In August of 1823, Mr. Thomas O'Brien, a brother of the deceased, in travelling across the mountains to Bathurst, was lost. The horse returned without its rider, and no tidings were subsequently ascertained of his fate. This circumstance may have had some influence in urging the deceased to undertake his perilous journey.

As we have stated above, for many years the deceased and his brother resided on opposite banks of the Yass River — the deceased at Hardwicke and the late Mr. Henry O'Brien at Douro. The latter resided on his estate up to the time of his death, vacating it for a few years only for the purpose of visiting England ; but circumstances occurred that compelled the deceased to part with his property on the Yass River, and he some time afterwards formed a station at Bendinine, between this town and Burrowa, at which place he has since resided and where his death occurred. This estate he greatly improved, and erected upon it one of the prettiest and most complete residences around the town.

The deceased gentleman came to the colony in 1815, under the auspices of his late uncle, known as "Mr. Merchant Brown." For several years before coming to this colony he resided with his uncle at Galway, in Ireland. Mr. C. O'Brien was perhaps the oldest magistrate in the colony, having been included in every commission of the peace issued since his first appointment by Governor Macquarie; but failing and uncertain health for some years past caused him to take but little part in the duties of the office. At one time, however, he was most active and zealous in the performance of his magisterial duties, and frequently sat on the bench at Yass.

We think it was in the month of October that the deceased last visited town, and he was then in unusually good health and spirits. Some considerable time before he had succeeded, through professional aid in Sydney, in overcoming a frequently recurring illness of a severe and dangerous character, and appeared, when we last had the pleasure of meeting him, to have taken, as it were, a renewed lease of life. Shortly after the date named, however, his old complaint returned, supervened by dropsy, and it has only been through the unceasing care, attention, and skill of his medical attendant (Dr. O'Connor) that life has been so prolonged. Notwithstanding the protracted and painful character of his complaint - endured unmurmuringly and with Christian fortitude and resignation — it has only been within the past week or two that death appeared to be imminent, although it has been for a considerable time known that such must be the ultimate effect of the attack. The near approach of death was anticipated by the deceased for some time before it took place, and feeble as his protracted and sever illness had made him, he yet arranged and spoke even with cheerfulness of matters appertaining to his burial and to the settlement of his worldly affairs.

At his particular desire a vault is to be erected in the Catholic cemetery at Yass, and we are informed he also expressed a wish that when the vault is completed, the remains of his mother and brother, now mouldering in the mausoleum on the Douro estate, should be removed, and the coffins placed side by side with his own. It is rarely indeed that we hear of Death approaching and claiming a victim so resigned! The deceased gentleman at one time interested himself in public affairs in this neighbourhood, and his genial temper, great tact, and straightforward character made him a general favourite, while his unbounded hospitality at his home at Bendinine will not readily be forgotten by the large numbers who have been its recipients. Mr. O'Brien was an excellent man of business, and personally managed his extensive property. Rather over three years ago (in January, 1866), when his brother died, the deceased, as executor, also took the management of the affairs of the Douro estate on behalf of his sister-in-law, and it was only some three or four months ago that failing health induced him to transfer the control of the latter to other hands. The deceased possessed the warm respect and the esteem of all classes of the community, and his death leaves a void that will not easily be filled. He was a warm-hearted and genial friend; possessed in an unusually high degree the hospitable and kindly feelings for which is countrymen are so noted ; was a man of sterling worth and probity — in a word, was in every respect the perfect gentleman. Mr. O'Brien leaves a widow, but no family.

Yesterday and to-day every place of business in town was half-closed, and expressions of regret were general, as the deceased possessed the respect and good-will of all classes of the community. The funeral takes place this afternoon. The cortege is expected to reach town before two o'clock, and it is probable that the various places of business will be entirely closed before that hour. This morning, at nine o'clock, a Requiem Mass was celebrated at St. Augustine's Catholic Church. The Church was draped in black, and the services were of an imposing and most solemn character. Telegrams were sent to procure the attendance of as many of the neighbouring clergymen as time and circumstances would permit. The Vicar-General had unfortunately left Goulburn for Sydney before the telegram reached the former city.

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3. Discussion

At this stage it is unclear how long Cornelius O'Brien made use of land at Kangaroo Valley beyond the 1823-4. The notice of an initial conflict with Robert Brooks may have resulted in this use being short term. The most historically significant aspect of his presence in the valley is his preparation of a map in 1824.

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4. References

Bayley, William A., Black Diamonds - History of Bulli District, New South Wales, Illawarra Historical Society, Wollongong, 2002, 124p. Originally published 1956.

Christian, Kerrie, Bulli since 1769, Bulli Black Diamond District Heritage Centre, Bulli, n.d.

Botsman, Peter, Give us this ground - the story of the Aboriginal reserve at Kangaroo Valley, Peter Botsman's Working Papers, 19 June 2024, 25p.

-----, Barbarity of our own Countrymen, Academia.edu, Peter Botsman's Working Papers, 27 November 2020.

Bray, Joan, Views and Visions: stories of Wattamolla and Woodhill, Brogers Creek Landcare Group, Kangaroo Valley, 2011, 263p.

Browne, J.F.R., A history of William "Merchant" Browne of Abbotsbury and Appin, 1762-1833, Manly, 1975, 86p.

Cornelius O'Brien, WikiTree, accessed 9 May 2025.

Elder, Bruce, Depositions to the Sydney Bench, October 24, 1818: Report by Joseph Wild, district constable at Illawarra, in Blood On The Wattle - Massacres and maltreatment of Aboriginal Australians since 1788, 3rd edition, New Holland Press, 2003, 25-6.

Griffith, John, A History of Kangaroo Valley, Kangaroo Valley Historical Society, 1978; 2nd edition 1980; 3rd edition 1986, 104p.

Kangaroo Valley - Culture and History, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 November 2008.

King, N.S., Cornelius O'Brien" Pioneer of Bulli, Illawarra Historical Society, Wollongong, 1965, 18p; reprinted 1980, 28p.

Minamurra Massacre, Kiama Library, Kiama, accessed 10 May 2025.

Minamurra River Massacre, Wikipedia, accessed 10 May 2025.

Ryan, Lyndal, Minamurra River, South Coast, Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1830, Centre for 21st Century Humanities, University of Newcastle.

Organ, Michael, Appin Massacre 1816 - Australia's first officially sanctioned massacre of Aboriginal people, blogger.com, 7 April 2016.

Scott, Peter, Cornelius Neal O'Brien and Henry O'Brien, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, Canberra, volume 3, 1967.

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Last updated: 14 May 2025

Michael Organ, Australia

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