April 2018 Gathering

Gathering Again

On Saturday 7 April 2018, once again coinciding with Brigadoon, the annual Scottish Festival held at nearby Bundanoon, the descendants of Farquhar MacRae gathered. This time it was decided to hire the CWA Hall in the centre of Mittagong as there were facilities for more people, ample parking and the adjacent park provided a comfortable place to gather with plenty of shade.

In addition to the afternoon tea, a morning visit was also arranged to the Maguire's old farm on Diamond Fields Road, Mittagong. Although there was some overlap in attendance, as you will see from the photos, these two activities largely attracted the interest of two different groups.

Those who hadn't been in Mittagong for a while, or not before, also took the opportunity to visit the resting place of many of the MacRaes/McRaes - the Marist Brothers Cemetery also on Diamond Fields Road, Mittagong.

Afternoon Tea

Shortly after 1 p.m. the doors were opened at the CWA Hall on the main street of Mittagong adjacent to Winifred West Park. Before the doors were even open there were some people waiting. Unfortunately, Kerry and Brian Bugden from the Central Coast, had not located the farm in the morning so they were making sure that they didn't miss meeting their MacRae/McRae cousins in the afternoon. Lionel and Leone McRae were also waiting and eager to give a hand to set everything up. As it was a prefect Autumn day it was decided to set up tables and chairs outside in the park under the shade of a large tree.

Altogether 26 people attended including some cousins from last year. As this year we didn't take group photos for each branch here is a list of guests and the branch from which they descend:

descendants of John MacRae and Elizabeth Ann Loseby - Patrick MacRae, his daughter Jo Ryan & her husband Mark all from Sydney.
descendants of Ewen MacRae and Susanna Fethers (Izard) - Ray Hynes & his wife Judy from Tamworth, and Colin MacRae & his wife Roslyn. As Ray, Judy, Colin, and Roslyn were once again manning the Clan MacRae tent at Brigadoon, they were not able to attend until after 4 p.m. Unfortunately, that meant they arrived after the photo session but photos of both Ray and Colin can be found on the page about last year's Gathering.
descendants of Farquhar MacRae and Sarah Ann Griffiths - Jennifer D'Acunto & her husband Alfonso from Caloundra, Queensland; Brian Bugden & his wife Kerry from the Central Coast; Kevin Maguire & his daughter Ayya Esika (Clare) from Mittagong; and Kevin's son Peter from Burwood.
descendants of Christopher McRae and Ellenor Noble - brothers Garry & Christopher Brown from Sydney; Dale McCormac from Nowra; Jannette Bannon & her daughter Stacey Bannon from Sydney, Lionel McRae & his wife Leonie , Joy Vost and her husband Wayne from Bomaderry, Bernard McRae & his wife Dorothy from the Southern Highlands; and Elaine McRae also from the Southern Highlands.

If there had been a prize for the branch with the most attendees then the descendants of Christopher McRae and Ellenor Noble would have won that prize with 12 attending. We are still looking for descendants of two branches: descendants of Alexander McRae and Ellen Hennessy Ryan, and Mary Isabella MacRae and George Izard. We would also like to meet more descendants of Mary McCrea (MacRae) and George Rankin.

If you are a descendant of Farquhar, please consider contacting us. We would love to hear from you.
You can also find us on the Facebook group, Descendants of Farquhar MacRae.

Afternoon tea at the CWA Hall, Mittagong
Click on the thumbnail to see a full-size colour photo.

Peter and Kevin Maguire, Patrick MacRae, Garry Brown, Jo and Mark Ryan

Chris Brown, Leone McRae, Bernard McRae, Jan Bannon, and Lionel McRae

Wayne and Joy Vost, and Dorothy McRae

Kerry and Brian Bugden, and Alfonso D'Acunto

Elaine McRae and Jennifer D'Acunto

Stacey Bannon and Dale McCormac

Visit to Maguire's Old Farm

At 10 a.m. we met at the gate of Greenville farm at the end of Diamonds Field Road. Jane and Peter, the current owners of the property, had kindly opened the farm for us to visit for the morning. We were met at the gate by the organiser of the visit, Ayya Esika (Clare), holding "Thank You" cards for us all to sign. As we drove to the end of the driveway Brad Beer made sure we were all parked neatly.

After everyone had arrived, we gathered in the guest house and the morning began with a brief history of the property given by Ayya Esika. A little over one hundred and fifty years was covered in roughly 10 minutes. It included background on James and Alice, natives of County Cavan, who were the first Europeans to settle on the land; how the current generations are related to James and Alice; a brief look at life in 1859, the year James and Alice arrived; a description of life on board the sailing ships of the time; an explanation as to why they had chosen to settle in Mittagong; the origin of the property name; and the growth of the property from the original 54 acres to 144 acres during James's life and the additional purchase in 1924 of another 80 acres by James's son Joseph Maguire.

With the historical introduction over we were led by Carolyn Beer on a tour of the property. Carolyn spent many weekends and school holidays on the farm during her childhood, and also lived on the farm for a time in early adulthood. Carolyn shared with us the adventures of Allan and Doreen Maguire's grandchildren during their stays on the farm and pointed out various landmarks such as the place where the big Oak tree stood and the two old pear trees planted to commemorate the deaths of two infant children. It is believed, but not confirmed, that the two infants were the newly born unnamed children of William and Emily Maguire that lived but 3 days. William was the second youngest son of James and Alice.

After the tour we returned to the guest house where Jane had generously prepared a sumptuous morning tea. To thank Jane for her kindness and hospitality, the youngest children and the oldest living Maguire, Kevin Maguire, presented Jane with flowers. It was wonderful to see 5 generations of descendants of James and Alice together, and to share the history of the Maguires with some of our MacRae/McRae cousins. A total of 30 of our extended family attended.

Many thanks to Carolyn Beer, Dale McCormac, and Darren Maguire for the photos of the visit to Maguire's old farm.

Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
Greenville farm
as seen from Diamond Fields Road.
The farm was named after Greenville, County Cavan, Ireland.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
Old farm house
This is the third and last house built by the Maguires.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
Old farm sign
The sign was made by Bettie Maguire who ran a small signing making business (partnership) from home.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
Old mud brick building
that was adjacent to the old dairy and where the milk was churned and stored.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
New farm house
The new farm house was built after the Maguires sold the farm in 1988.
Two old pear trees at the Maguire's old farm
It is believed that two infant children of William Maguire and his wife Emily Bauer are buried under these two trees. The trees, said to be over 100 years old, still produce fruit. The trees are a variety of wild pear so the fruit is hard and woody, and too hard to eat.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
Natalie Beer & Keegan Sara, Leone & Lionel McRae, Farm Manager? (back), Dale McCormac, Jan Bannon, Mrs Beer snr & Brad Beer; in front, Rebekah Holt & Saxon, Carolyn Beer; behind Jack Beer, Ryan Maguire, Chloe Chobi Holt, Jackson Maguire; Kevin Maguire (in vehicle), Darren Maguire; back Brendon Maguire, Terry Maguire, Kellie Maguire, Kate Wilcox behind Ayya Esika, Zoe Maguire, Mark Maguire, Rachel Maguire, Jennifer D'Acunto, sitting Maddi Wilcox & friend, behind Rachel ?.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm
McGuires Creek
The spelling of the surname evolved over the years and now all the family use "Maguire". However, the creek appears on maps as McGuires Creek. Further south of this location is a place by the creek where James Maguire and his wife Alice Devine camped with their young family until they were able to build a house.
Visit to Maguire's Old Farm

Morning Tea