| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
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| Marriage | Jane Stone married Robert Comben.1 |
| Birth | She was born about 1814 in Portland, Dorsetshire, England.2 |
| Death | She died on 28 March 1888 at age ~74 in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia.2 |
| Daughter | Elizabeth Comben+ |
| Son | John Comben (b. about 1840) |
| Daughter | Jane Comben+ (b. about 1841, d. 14 November 1935) |
| Son | Edward Stone Comben (b. about 1843, d. 28 August 1892) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Birth | Robert Stevenson was born about 1827 in Ayrshire, Scotland.1 |
| Marriage | He married Mary Ann Ingram on 11 March 1862. Robert Stevenson was, age ~35, Mary Ann Ingram was, age ~19. Presbyterian Church, Bombala, NSW1 |
| Death | He died about 1922 at age ~95.1 |
| Daughter | Agnes Stevenson (b. about 1862, d. about 1864) |
| Son | James Stevenson (b. about 1864, d. about 1865) |
| Son | John Stevenson (b. about 1866, d. about 1866) |
| Son | Robert Stevenson (b. about 1868, d. about 1960) |
| Daughter | Sarah Ann Stevenson (b. about 1870, d. about 1966) |
| Daughter | Agnes Jane Stevenson (b. about 1874, d. about 1949) |
| Daughter | Isabella Stevenson (b. about 1877, d. about 1965) |
| Son | William Stevenson (b. about 1881, d. about 1881) |
| Son | William Henry Stevenson (b. about 1883) |
| Son | David Stevenson (b. about 1886, d. about 1975) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Birth | James Emerson was born about 1836 in Cullen. Louth, Ireland.1 |
| Marriage | He married Louisa Calloway on 4 May 1861. James Emerson was, age ~25, Louisa Calloway was, age ~17. Temporary Church of England, Delegate, NSW1 |
| Residence | James Emerson lived at Wollendibby in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia, on 4 May 1861. |
| Occupation | On 4 May 1861 James Emerson was a Labourer. |
| Occupation | On 4 January 1863 James Emerson was Stockman at Currawong in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Son | John Andrew Emerson (b. 31 January 1862) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | John Mease married Isabella Turnbull on 12 May 1791 in Stokesley, North Riding of Yorkshire, England.1 |
| Daughter | Jane Mease |
| Son | Thomas Mease+ (b. 17 February 1792, d. 16 July 1863) |
| Daughter | Isabella Mease+ (b. 25 July 1794) |
| Son | John Mease+ (b. 6 May 1799, d. 20 July 1876) |
| Daughter | Rachel Mease (b. 17 September 1807, d. 13 September 1882) |
| Daughter | Mary Mease (b. about 1810) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Father | James Calloway |
| Mother | Maria Philpott |
| Birth | Louisa Calloway was born about 1844 in Winterham, Wiltshire, England.1 |
| Marriage | She married James Emerson on 4 May 1861. Louisa Calloway was, age ~17, James Emerson was, age ~25. Temporary Church of England, Delegate, NSW1 |
| Son | John Andrew Emerson (b. 31 January 1862) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | Emerson married McIntyre.1 |
| Occupation | On 4 May 1861 Emerson was a Carpenter. |
| Son | James Emerson+ (b. about 1836) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | McIntyre married Emerson.1 |
| Son | James Emerson+ (b. about 1836) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | James Calloway married Maria Philpott.1 |
| Occupation | James Calloway was a Labourer. |
| Daughter | Louisa Calloway+ (b. about 1844) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | Maria Philpott married James Calloway.1 |
| Daughter | Louisa Calloway+ (b. about 1844) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Birth | John Brown was born about 1834 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.1 |
| Marriage | He married Charlotte Maria Carroll on 11 July 1860 in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. John Brown was, age ~26, Charlotte Maria Carroll was, age ~18.1 |
| Occupation | On 11 July 1860 John Brown was a Stockman in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Last Edited | 16 November 2021 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Father | Patrick Carroll |
| Mother | Emma |
| Birth | Charlotte Maria Carroll was born about 1842 at Williams River in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.1 |
| Marriage | She married John Brown on 11 July 1860 in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. Charlotte Maria Carroll was, age ~18, John Brown was, age ~26.1 |
| Daughter | Johanna Helen Brewer (b. 25 May 1862) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | Patrick Carroll married Emma Floyd.1 |
| Occupation | About 1860 Patrick Carroll was a Bushman in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Father | John Mease |
| Mother | Isabella Turnbull (b. 31 December 1765, d. 21 January 1825) |
| Birth | Thomas Mease was born on 17 February 1792 in Stokesley, North Riding of Yorkshire, England.1 |
| Marriage | He married Mary Mellanby on 28 May 1816 in Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Thomas Mease was, age 24, Mary Mellanby was, age 17.1 |
| Death | He died on 16 July 1863 at age 71.1 |
| Daughter | Sarah Mease (b. about 1818) |
| Son | Thomas Turnbull Mease (b. about 1820) |
| Daughter | Isabella Mease (b. about 1823) |
| Son | Joseph Mellanby Mease+ (b. 16 September 1827) |
| Daughter | Mary Mease (b. about 1829) |
| Daughter | Jane Mease (b. about 1833) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Marriage | Emma Floyd married Patrick Carroll.1 |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
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| Birth | William Stephenson was born about 1836 in Van Diemans Land, Australia.1 |
| Marriage | He married Isabella Weatherhead on 25 September 1860. William Stephenson was, age ~24, Isabella Weatherhead was, age ~22. Res. of Capt. John Stevenson, Bondi, Bombala, NSW1 |
| Occupation | On 25 September 1860 William Stephenson was a Squatter at Bondi in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Father | Weatherhead |
| Birth | Isabella Weatherhead was born about 1838 in Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia.1 |
| Marriage | She married William Stephenson on 25 September 1860. Isabella Weatherhead was, age ~22, William Stephenson was, age ~24. Res. of Capt. John Stevenson, Bondi, Bombala, NSW1 |
| Last Edited | 16 July 2025 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Father | Henry John Stevenson |
| Mother | Christina Campbell |
| Birth | Captain John Stevenson was born on 18 June 1791 in Kingsbarn, Fife, Scotland.1 |
| Marriage | He married May Bachelor in 1815 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. Captain John Stevenson was, age ~24, May Bachelor was, age ~30.1 |
| Marriage | He married Margaret Small on 18 December 1835 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland. Captain John Stevenson was, age 44, Margaret Small was, age 26. a widow1 |
| Marriage | He married Agnes Fairweather in 1865 in Bondi, New South Wales, Australia. Captain John Stevenson was, age ~74, Agnes Fairweather was, age ~66.1 |
| Death | He died on 28 March 1874 at age 82 in Bondi, Now known as 'Rosebank'. (South Bombala) New South Wales, Australia.1 |
| Occupation | Captain John Stevenson was a Sea Captain. |
| Anecdote | CAPTAIN JOHN STEVENSON He was a native of King's Barns, Fifeshire in Scotland, and a man of enormous strength and vitality. In his later years he boasted to his family that he had "eloped" with a Lady Rosebery but she had disliked her new lifestyle and returned to live with her father. Stevenson came North to Dundee and married May Bachelor in 1815. It is believed that May died, leaving Stevenson with the difficult task for a sea captain of raising his infant daughter, Annie, who was born in 1825. He probably paid a widow Mrs Margaret Small to care for her. Manning the sailing ships and small whaling-boats in the cold Arctic waters off Greenland was a job for strong and brave men. In the 5 years that Stevenson was Captain of the "Horn", owned by the "Dundee and Union Whale Fishing Company", he won a reputation as a skilled sailor and successful whaler and for his own integrity. Near disaster struck the Horn at the end of the 1834 whaling season. The ship was "stove by ice". Only courage and skill saved the ship. Stevenson was awarded a gold watch and chain, a key and a seal by the insurers. Lloyd's of London, with a message of thanks for the "care and attention" he gave the ship when it was stove by ice. The gold watch was handed down through the generations, until more recently Graeme David Stevenson gave it to his son Mark Stevenson, as Mark had an affinity for shipping having spent 20 years in the Australian navy. CRICHTON FAIRWEATHER He was a whaler in Dundee, Scotland. By 1834 he became First Mate the whaling ship "Horn", sailing under the command of Captain John Stevenson. After Crichton married Jessie Kilgour in 1835, the Fairweathers and Captain Stevenson decided to seek their fortune in Australia. Perhaps it was on hearing stories of the whales being so easily taken in the bays of Tasmania and New South Wales. It is thought that Crichton went first, working his way to New South Wales in a ship by December 1835, which is when Captain Stevenson set out with Margaret Small, Agnes Fairweather, and Jessie Kilgour; to Liverpool to board a cargo ship called The Kilmours and sail to Hobart Town. Captain Stevenson's 10 year old daughter, Amelia, was left in Dundee with Margaret's mother, Margaret Scott, to continue her education. Crichton's wife, Jessie, was the youngest of the group at 23 years of age. 26 year old Margaret Small had just married Captain Stevenson on 18 December 1835. It isn't known when the Captain started his relationship with Agnes, who was 10 years older and unlike Margaret, had not had any formal education - but it's thought Agnes may have been expecting the Captain's child before they set out from Dundee, which means maybe the Captain got her pregnant before he married Margaret!. They all reached Hobart Town on 19 May 1836, and soon after Agnes gave birth to William Stevenson. Captain Stevenson befriended the Imlay brothers - three gentlemen who had come to Two Fold Bay a few years earlier, having been fascinated with stories of how killer whales helped aborigines and early whalers capture and kill the Great Right Whales which came into the bay to calve. The Imlays welcomed Captain Stevenson's expert whaling knowledge. At that time whaling boat crews were almost entirely aboriginals as they were the most skilled local whalers, and understood whale movements in the bay. The business of bay whaling would fill Captain Stevenson's time while the season lasted. Crichton Fairweather remained a mariner all his years in NSW, and sometimes sailed the Imlays ship the Merope. On 6 March 1837 Crichton and Jessie had their first son, John Stevenson Fairweather. On 12 August 1837 George Imlay Stevenson was born to Captain Stevenson and his wife Margaret, followed by a daughter a year later on 20 November 1838 - 6 days after which Margaret died. The baby was named Margaret Small Stevenson. The mother was buried facing the Northern bay where her gravestone remains, still easy to read today. Agnes Fairweather took responsibility for Margaret's two children, George Imlay and Margaret Small Stevenson, along with her own son William. Within a year Agnes was being called Mrs Stevenson. A year later and Agnes had a son, Robert, and Jessie had her second child, Eliza. When Margaret died, Captain Stevenson wrote to her mother, Margaret Scott, in Dundee to inform her of her daughter's death, and to invite her to join them in Two Fold Bay, and bring his daughter Amelia with her. However, Margaret Scott had to stay in Dundee to look after her son, who had been locked up in an asylum after losing his mind. 15 year old Amelia sailed from Grenock, near Glasgow, on the ship Harvest Home on 12 Oct 1839, and reached Sydney on 3 May 1840. By late 1841 Captain Stevenson and his family left Snug Cove for Broulee, a small village two hundred kilometres north of Two Fold Bay. Broulee was expected to become an important town but it offered little protection to shipping and on 9 and 10 October 1841, Stevenson played a vital part in the rescue of some crew of a Schooner, the Rover, that was wrecked on the bay. The report Captain Stevenson wrote to the shipping company in Sydney was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday 25th October 1841. In 1841 Agnes gave birth to John Walter Stevenson, probably in Broulee. Later that year Captain Stevenson, Agnes, Amelia, Jessie, and the 7 children, moved to Mallacoota Inlet. Two bark huts were built on a small point towards the southern headland of the inlet, a position of great beauty. The scene would have included Aboriginal people standing in their bark canoes with spears ready, peering into the water waiting for fish. Theirs seem to have been one of the idyllic early encounters between the Aborigines and the white settlers. The single white group offered no threat to the way of life of the Aborigines. The Aborigines would have known of the good treatment the Aborigines had received from Stevenson and the Imlays at Two Fold Bay. Life at Mallacoota was not easy for Agnes, her son Robert died in 1843 and was buried there in the area still called Captain Stevenson's point. In late 1843 the Stevensons realised that their farming venture at Mallacoota would not succeed, and so moved 50 kilometres up the Genoa River to Wangrabelle, to a tiny parcel of good land surrounded by wilderness. This was to be home to Agnes for the next 12 years. In 1844 Agnes gave birth to Creighton Fairweather Stevenson, and in1845 Jessie gave birth to her second son, James Allan Fairweather. Amelia was 20 when she married James Allan in 1845 at Wangrabelle, and they started their own large family. Captain Stevenson gave James and Amelia the adjacent property called Merramingo 5 years later. By 1854 James and Amelia had moved to East Boyd on Two Fold Bay where James was listed as being a "Ship Wright". In the same year, Agnes and Captain Stevenson had another son, Gordon. Three tragedies struck this little group of pioneers from Dundee during these years. While disembarking from a ship, Jessie Fairweather slipped and was crushed or drowned. Crichton was suffocated by fumes along with other sailors, in the hold of a ship near Jervis Bay. Their tiny daughter, Jessie, was accidentally shot when James Allan went to kill a beast for provisions. Her grave is in the little cemetery at Wangrabelle. So Agnes found herself with quite an extended family to raise consisting of her own children; William, John, Creighton and Gordon; Margaret's children George Imlay and Margaret Small Stevenson; her niece Eliza, and two nephews John and James Fairweather. John Stevenson made full purchase of the run at Wangrabelle in 1850, and he then bought the licence to the Bondi Station Run at auction aged over 75 and moved there with Agnes. Their son William remained at Wangrabelle to manage the property. Agnes's youngest son, Gordon, was the first Stevenson to die at Bondi. They laid him to rest on a high ridge overlooking the homestead and the beautiful rugged hills and valleys of the run. In Oct 1859 George Imlay Stevenson married his sister-like "cousin", Eliza Fairweather, in Bondi. Captain Stevenson bought the lease to Wog Wog at Towamba at this time and that became the home to George and Eliza for the next 20 years. A year later William Stevenson married Isabella Weatherhead in Bondi. She was a daughter of their old friend and neighbour, Alexander Weatherhead, of Nungatta. This couple returned to Wangrabelle, where Isabella remained until her death in 1931. Though the property passed into other hands, Stevenson's grandson William Allan married Isabella Weatherhead's youngest sister, Elizabeth, and they would live in Merramingo for many years. By 1863 the lease to the Bondi run must have been expiring, so on 23 Apr Captain Stevenson selected a 4,000 acre portion of the run and kept the homestead site and the name "Bondi". The next marriage at Bondi came in 1865 and may have been conducted in secret. The 67 year old bride, Agnes Fairweather, married her 85 year old partner, Captain Stevenson. In 1869 James Allan Fairweather married Elizabeth Roberts at Towamba and lived round the area for many years before returning to Wangrabelle where he was killed by a falling tree in 1917 as he tried to collect wild honey. By coincidence, Margaret Small Stevenson married an unrelated James Fairweather at Bondi in 1871. This James died at Gunning in 1896 but just what happened to Margaret is not clear. In 1867 John Stevenson junior brought Laura Benjamin, a fiery young 19 year old lady into the Bondi household. Laura was one of the younger children in a family of five girls and a boy, who came from Port Macquarie. Laura argued often and fiercely with Captain Stevenson. His mind remained sound, but as his body deteriorated with age, he became more dependent on Laura, much to his anguish. Laura's three sons, Lindon, Mortimer and Walter were all born before Captain Stevenson died on 28 March 1874, at the age of 96. He was buried in the same spot as his son Gordon on the hillside, but was buried in a standing position so he could look over his lands. Four trees were planted by the corners of his grave, of which two survive. The year of death appears to be incorrectly engraved on his stone as 1871 instead of 1874, perhaps because of a repair to the stone in 1971. In 1874, after the Captain's death, Laura was again pregnant and she asked her husband to send for a Governess. A 19 year old girl named Mary Ann "Annie" Kearney filled the role, she came from Newcastle in Australia. Annie was a daughter of a coal miner, but she was very well educated, strong minded and attractive, with "town" ways. This all rubbed Laura up the wrong way, and she made Annie's life in Bondi a hell on earth. When Laura's brother-in-law, Creighton Stevenson, announced he was going to marry her, it was a further cause of Laura's wrath. Annie's children and grandchildren grew up with stories of how terrible Laura had been to Annie. Annie and Creighton married in Bondi in February 1876. Soon after, Laura and John moved out to the Mila property they had inherited from Captain Stevenson, and the bitterness between the two families was never resolved. In 1877 Annie and Creighton had the first of 7 children. They named her Agnes after his mum, but she became better known by the nickname "Tot". On 20 Nov 1878 Agnes (mother, not the grandchild) died of respiratory problems in Bondi at the age of 79. She was carried up the hill to rejoin her husband, Captain Stevenson. By 1883, financial problems caused the bank to foreclose on Creighton and Annie's mortgage loan, and along with their daughter Agnes, they became homeless. Annie Stevenson and the children moved to a cottage in Croydon, Sydney. For nearly 20 years after that, Creighton made only brief visits to his family between various kinds of work in the country. In 1884 their daughter Emily was born in Croydon, followed in 1886 by another daughter, Kathleen.2 |
| Daughter | Annie Amelia Stevenson (b. 1825, d. 9 April 1903) |
| Son | George Imlay Stevenson+ (b. 23 August 1837, d. 18 June 1920) |
| Daughter | Margaret Small Stevenson (b. 20 November 1838, d. 15 February 1898) |
| Son | William Martin Stevenson (b. 1836, d. 20 October 1898) |
| Son | Robert Stevenson (b. 1839) |
| Son | Creighton Fairweather Stevenson (b. 1841, d. 5 June 1911) |
| Son | Douglas Stevenson (b. 1847) |
| Son | Gordon Stevenson (b. 1854) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Birth | Agnes Fairweather was born in 1799.1 |
| Marriage | She married Captain John Stevenson in 1865 in Bondi, New South Wales, Australia. Agnes Fairweather was, age ~66, Captain John Stevenson was, age ~74.1 |
| Death | She died in 1878 at age ~79.1 |
| Son | William Martin Stevenson (b. 1836, d. 20 October 1898) |
| Son | Robert Stevenson (b. 1839) |
| Son | Creighton Fairweather Stevenson (b. 1841, d. 5 June 1911) |
| Son | Douglas Stevenson (b. 1847) |
| Son | Gordon Stevenson (b. 1854) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Occupation | On 25 September 1860 Weatherhead was a Squatter in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Daughter | Isabella Weatherhead (b. about 1838) |
| Last Edited | 25 May 2017 |
Interactive Pedigree Chart
| Father | Strickland |
| Mother | Hill |
| Birth | Frederick Strickland was born about 1839 in St Leonards, Sussex, England.1 |
| Marriage | He married Mary Ann Reville on 26 September 1861. Frederick Strickland was, age ~22, Mary Ann Reville was, age ~25. Res. of Capt. Ronald Campbell, Bombala, NSW1 |
| Occupation | On 26 September 1861 Frederick Strickland was a Servant in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Occupation | On 21 December 1862 Frederick Strickland was a Groom in Bombala, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Son | Nathaniel John William Strickland (b. 17 September 1862) |