(Photo: State Library of Qld)
The relationship of Family was at the heart of our pioneer’s lives. Life revolved around having connections to each other, to family members and to friends. People depended on one another sometimes just to survive and so developed very close ties.
Men helped each other as did the women and strong friendships were formed. Older children cared for their younger siblings who in turn looked up to them.
These relationships were important for social occasions, for entertainment, for health and well-being and for education.
Life was simpler. The bare necessities were all many folk had and that was enough for them. There were no mod cons to distract them. Enjoyment came from simple pleasures and they made their own fun.
Occasions like attending a town meeting, going to church or Christmas celebrations where people gathered together to talk and share their experiences were looked forward to and always enjoyed. These may have been the only time people stopped work. Everyone knew a little bit about everyone else’s business, just enough to help them recognise that a friend may be in need.
Of course there were frictions, which is normal when people live and interact in small communities, however, it is widely known that small towns behave just like families. They may bicker between themselves but should something threaten to disrupt their unity or harm a member of the group, they quickly close ranks.
Often the pioneer families became interconnected by the marriage of their children and they stayed close to each other by living nearby. Sometimes multiple generations lived under the same roof. Traditions were passed down.
It was common practice for neighbours and friends to assemble to farewell families who’d had long associations with the district and whose names would always be linked with the district. Those departing carried with them their memories and the absolute goodwill of their friends who would always welcome them back.
On the whole these men, women and children were accepting of their circumstances and content with their lot. We could learn a lot from our pioneer families.
Names of families who have lived in the Rosewood district
Acutt, Ahearn, Akes, Andonora, Anthony, Armstrong, Atkinson, Austin
Baills, Bales, Barram, Bartzloff, Bassett, Battle, Bell, Bennett, Berlin, Berrell, Blake, Bloxidge, Boland, Boughen, Bourke, Bowles, Boyd, Brooks, Brown, Bruce, Bulow, Burchmann, Butt, Buys, Bygrave
Campbell, Cameron, Cannan, Carmody, Cassimatis, Castrisos, Chalk, Chisholm. Churchett, Christensen, Clark, Cochrane, Cole, Coleman, Collier, Collingwood, Collins, Comino, Cooper, Coulson, Courtney, Coveney, Coyne, Crawford, Crombie, Cuthbert
Dale, Deas, Denning, Desjardins, Dickens, Dolling, Donoghue, Domrow, Downing, Draper, Drysdale, Dutney
Elder, Edwards, Elliott, Else, Embrey, Erbacher, Evans
Farrell, Federer, Feldhahn, Foote, Franklin, Fraser, Freeman
Gabardo, Gehrke, Goddard, Goos, Grant, Grealey, Greet, Gunthorpe
Haines, Hardie, Harding, Harm, Hartwig, Hawkins, Hayes, Headrick, Heenan, Heit, Hill, Hinrichsen, Hinton, Hobden, Hogan, Hohnke, Holonan, Horne, Holzy, Howe, Hughes
Jacobs, Jackovitz, Jakimowicz, Johansen, Johnston, Jones, Joynson
Kanofski, Kavanagh, Keats, Keene, Kelly, Keogh, Kerle, Kerslake, Kildentoft, Kington, Klauke, Kleinschmidt, Kleve, Knack, Koch, Kopelke, Krause, Kruger, Kuss
Lacey, Lane, Langan, Langdon, Lee, Legesner, Lenihan, Lencz, Littlejohn, Loveday, Lovell, Ludlow, Lucas, Lund
Madden, Macdonald, Mahoney, Mandlekow, Manz, Maroske, Mason, Mathew, McBean, McKee, McKey, McLaren, McGeary, McGukin, McKenzie, Maxwell, Meier, Merritt, Mogensen, Morrison, Muller. Must
Nation, Nissen, Nuffer, Nugent
O’Brien, O’Donohue, O’Donnell, O’Neil, O’Reilly, O’Shea
Park, Perrin, Pocock, Potts, Price, Purnell,
Rackley, Rafter, Rawle, Rea, Reinecker, Reinke, Richardson, Ridsdale, Rieck, Roache, Rodgers, Rohl, Ross, Ruhno, Ryan
Savage, Sbeghen, Schefe, Seeney, Sellars, Semph, Scheifelbein, Schmidt, Schrieweis, Schulze, Skinner, Slack, Sloane, Smith, Steinhardt, Stephan, Stitz, Strybos, Stumcke, Stokes, Stubbs, Sugden, Symonds
Teves, Thomas, Thompson, Thouard, Tierney, Turnbull
Vance, Verrall
Walker, Walsh, Wanka, Ward, Wass, Waters, Weigand, Wendt, Wilks, Williams, Wood, Wright, Wrigley, Wyatte
Yarrow, Yates
Zahnow
by Jane Schy