Early History of Dalebrook

…Written by Grace Blyth of Geelong, who is the daughter of Ernest Higgs and Ellen aka "Nellie" (nee Winsor). Her Grandfather is Edward Higgs who owned a sawmill at Western Creek and well known Shipbuilder of Devonport.

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It is hard to imagine people living in the remote mountainous area of the Western Tiers in Tasmania formerly called 'The Dalebrook', taken from a stream of that name running out of the foot of their properties.
Before many years pass, the former existence of four houses in this area will be forgotten. Even now it is difficult to find the few traces that a left.
Bush fires, neglect and time have taken their toll, after the original owners moved away and the bush itself moved back and covered what was left.

On a visit to Tasmania in November 1964, we went to Western Creek to visit the places where my grandparents had lived.
We turned up 'Higgs Track' to go to the Dalebrook. Not far up to the track a utility was parked with two men cutting firewood nearby. They seemed surprised when I said I was the grand daughter of the Winsors – “Mrs. Windsor was late nice lady”, one said, and recalled that their eldest daughter had taught in the school, and that my grandfather had built a few dinghies up there.

One had gone to school with my father Ernest Higgs, and their own father Vin. Pickett had been my grandfather's bullock-driver
They told us where to find the remains of the Windsor house. We walked along Higgs track. Wildflowers grew under the gums, tall white native orchids, wild violets, all sorts!
We eventually came to Winsor's Bridge.

The original bridge decayed and rotted with age, and it had to be rebuilt. It is built over the Dalebrook, the lovely rushing stream cascading down the mountain over its rocky bed.
The road begins to climb beyond the bridge and we came to the site of the house. We found ivy growing up the trees, then two moss covered fire places, and terraces further up the cliff, held up by orkery-stone walls about four feet high. There was a part of a shingle roof and another fireplace detached from the house, which could have been the washhouse. That was all that was left of the Winsor Place.
It had been the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Richard Winsor and their family at the end of the last century. The land was an area of 134 acres.

Just over the bridge, below and above Winsor's was and area of land owned by Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes Wood and their family.
Their house was very well built. It was two storied and had a blackwood staircase.
They had a fine orchard. There are still apple and pear trees growing wild.
The Woods did not stay long. One son, Bob Wood learned carpentry from my grandfather Edward Higgs. Rufus Wood had a milk business in Launceston.
Ada Wood married and went to South Africa.
The land was eventually sold to saw millers.
Below Woods property, down the Dalebrook was an area of 127 acres owned by G Balfour, while across the Creek above Winsor's, a W. J. Westrope owned 140 acres.
My grandfather's brother Sydney Higgs owned a section across the Creek, below Winsor's.
Many old these small settlements sprang up in Tasmania at the turn of the century.

My grandfather William Richard Winsor was born in Devon, England. He was a widower with two children [Charlie and Elizabeth] when he married my grandmother Alice Kennell Hinels.
Her father was manager of the estate of Sir Thomas Thornhill in Norfolk, and they lived on the Home farm. After they married, my grandparents lived in Fort Road Bermona, London.
William Winsor was a builder and owned a street of houses. They had a maid to help with the inside work and employed a man and a boy for the outside work.
They decided to leave all this and emigrate to Australia.

The family sailed on the 12 July 1883 on the Orient of 5386 tons, carrying 400 passengers to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. The voyage took 85 days.
There were eight children in the Windsor family.
Charlie, 16 years and Elizabeth (Lizzie) 14 years, from the first marriage.
Alice, 11 years; Florence (or Katy) 9 years; Ellen Grace or “Nellie”, 7 years; William, 6 years; Henry Richard, 3 years and Robert only one month old.
The children enjoyed the voyage and did not want to leave the ship on arrival to Melbourne.

William Windsor was building houses at Invermay, Launceston, when he was told of the Western Tiers by Sydney Higgs.
Sydney Higgs was the bricklayer, and constructed the chimneys.
He talked much about the mountains for he and his brothers had formed a great attachment for this area. They had lived in the log house on 'Dalebook Farm' [East Caveside] in their young days, before their parents Joshua and Ann Higgs moved to Trevallyn, Launceston.
Surrounded by mountains, the scenery there is magnificent and it was Sydney Higgs' influence that eventually brought the Winsors to live at Dalebrook, at Western Creek.
The land was purchased in 1889, but events were to happen before they settled there…...

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When the land boom came in the early 1890's the Winsor family were living in Moreland, Melbourne, Victoria. Grandfather Winsor was foreman for a Mr. McLean who went insolvent, as did many others. My mother Nellie, then a girl 16 years was teaching at the Moreland School receiving 6/8d per week!
When she left, the Head teacher a Mr. Sheehan presented her with 'Scott's Political Works' dated September 4th 1891.
The land boom was brought about by over confidence with the banks in loaning and by inflated prices of land. In 1893 the Federal Bank, then called the Commercial Bank of Australia, suspended payment.
Panic followed, and altogether 22 banks suspended payment in Australia - only 11 remained open throughout. The greatest suffering was in Victoria, adding to the distress caused by the trade depression and unemployment.
My mother said that at this time, there were streets of empty houses in Melbourne.
The Winsors went back to Tasmania, to the land purchased at the Dalebrook. Grandfather built a house from the natural resources.
It was of timber supported by sapling poles, where it jutted out over the hillside, the roof was of shingles.
The fireplaces were of rocks apparently brought up from the creek. These fireplaces were coated with white pipe clay from the banks of the creek; this was applied when the fire was burning.
The oven was made by grandfather; it was oval, of camp oven style. Hot coals were heaped over the top. My mother said grandfather made beautiful bread in this oven.
Later on, a one fire stove was installed.
The walls of the house were lined inside and it was very comfortable.

There was no bridge across the Creek at first, all supplies had to be carried in, across a big log, including bags of roller flour brought from John Taylor who lived on good land further down on Western Creek.
In time, the government built a bridge across the Dalebrook, the men employed on its construction camped nearby and Grandma supplied them with home made bread.
The bridge was named Winsor's Bridge, though it served Wood's also.
Grandfather intended starting a sawmill using the water from Dalebrook to drive a turbine.
My father's father, Edward Higgs was already established in this line at Western Creek, using a race to bring the water from higher up to a huge water wheel he had built himself, to drive his mill.
With the help of his three younger sons, the eldest remaining in Melbourne as a builder, he constructed a race, but the mill did not eventuate.
Retaining walls were constructed near the house and higher up, where gardens were planted in terraces.
Vegetables, strawberries and flowers were grown.
Apparently they had a pedal lathe as William Jr. made a set of chessmen by hand. I have three in the original hand made bag. Grandfather Winsor also made a blackwood dining table with turned legs for Edward Higgs, my maternal grandfather.

The Winsor's did a lot of entertaining while there, collecting their guests in a horse drawn vehicle from Chudleigh Station about twelve miles away.
Many were from the mainland. They loved it up there.
One of their visitors was later knighted. Most of them were Exclusive Brethren, as were the Winsor's.
With one or two others, one probably Joe Lee, a meeting was held at their house.
[Joe Lee was one of the pillars of the Exclusive Brethren assembly. RJ] It is difficult to imagine the sound of the singing of hymns in this area now! They were joined by a number of people from Western Creek who walked two and a half miles along a bush track to the Winsor's.
My grandmother and grandfather Edward Higgs and their large family were among them. There were the Lees, the Cunningham's who had the Post Office, and others.

Eventually Edward Higgs donated land at Western Creek and Grandfather Winsor built a Hall on it for the use of Exclusive Brethren. He also made the blackwood seats. This hall was in use until 1964 and in very good condition, when the Brethren moved away to Deloraine.
This meant a loss of a number of families from this area and the Post Office was closed. The Hall was sold, the purchaser taking it to another area and attaching it to a house.
When young men, the three boys by the second marriage left home to seek their fortune overseas.
William the eldest son of the second marriage settled in Christchurch, New Zealand as a builder. He married and had three daughters.
After touring New Zealand, Harry and Tom went to America.

Harry established a cabinet making business at Palo Alto, California, carried on by his sons Alvin and Mervyn until all the former passed away in 1969, Mervyn carries on alone.
Alvin left a widow, two daughters and a son - Richard Winsor is the only male Winsor descendant of his generation. He is at present at the University of California (Professor Richard Winsor)
His older daughter Joan, is a graduate of San Jose College and is a teacher. Her sister Janice has a University Degree.
Tom settled in Gary, Indianna, USA after leaving Tasmania with his brothers.
One of his two daughters has a degree as a Dr. of Child Psychology; she is now married to a Church of England clergyman.

The following is a quotation from a letter written to my mother, by her brother in 1944.

"I wonder who owns the old Winsor acres now, and does any member of the Higgs family run their old sawmill? One thing I learned there, was to do without luxuries, and do things for myself - self reliance - also I haven't forgotten "swiping" Lizzie's peppermints; and putting my fingers carefully into the cream pans, so as not to leave any trace, but to know avail as it always left a thin spot which showed. Darkie and his 'snails pace' and the lump on his side are indelibly impressed on my mind, how I used to tease and torment him, and he would get even finally, by biting or kicking me. Joe Lee used to come over after a hard day's work picking up to the burnt scrub, he would come to see you girls, but fall asleep in his chair. That was a time and place when we worked too hard".

It had not been all work back in Tasmania. There were caves, some of which contained water, and they walked through carrying candles.
There was a small hall at Western Creek used for concerts, in which all joined in. After one of these concerts 'Chat' Cunningham was taking some of the young ones home in his bullock dray. As his passengers were getting in the bullocks bolted, spilling the occupants of the dray out, one by one. There was only minor damage.
My father, Ernest Higgs wrote a piece of poetry about this, entitled "The Bullock Dray Ride", he used to quote this, laughing in between verses. Unfortunately this has been lost.

There were expeditions up the mountain. Higgs Track went up past Winsor's and Wood's.
The track was constructed by my paternal Grand father's brothers, Sydney and Joshua Higgs. This foot track passes through Man fern glades, Sassafrass, Myrtle etc. so thick the sunlight is obscured near the top of the mountain, well up under the towering cliffs of 'Nell's Lookout', named after "Nell" Symmons who used to sit there, by Sydney Higgs.
It is possible to walk over grassy plains up on top, for about six miles.
There are about 14 lakes with native pine trees growing along the edges - Pencil Pines, some of which are said to be up to 2000 - 3000 years old.
There is a Lady Lake and Nameless Lake, five miles back.
Sydney Higgs built a hut at each of these lakes, his nephew Arthur helping him for two weeks, camping up there.
Sydney could name any of the countless variety of shrubs that grew on the mountains.
My grandmother Windsor loved the mountains and often walked up to Nameless Lake.
The Winsor's lived at Dalebrook until Grandfather's money began to run out, then returned to building at Invermay and Devonport, he passed away at Devonport in 1910, and was buried in the old Bluff Cemetery.

Grandma Winsor went to live with her daughter Alice, in Launceston. Alice Winsor is still remembered by some, as a beautiful woman and a gifted one. She was head dressmaker at McKinley's.
Katie had married Percy Knight of Launceston, they had two girls and a boy.
Marion the eldest, is the only descendant of the Winsor's left in Tasmania.
Ellen aka “Nell” married Ernest Higgs, there are five of their seven children still living, all born in Victoria.
.....end

Written by Grace Blyth, Geelong, Vic.
Copied from documents supplied to Richard Holmes by Rema Jago of Launceston, Tas.

Quote from “The Australians” 1943

by Arnold Haskell as a tribute our forebears. “ It is the little man, his wife and children who never get into history, who made Tasmania out of Van Diemans Land, who suffered from the stupidity of officials, who broke the first soil and planted their crops, who defended themselves against bushranger and black and whose sturdy commonsense won the day. With grit and determination they carved out a life for their families and descendants, homesick for their families, friends and homeland, bringing with them a limited supply of their treasures.” Etc. * This belongs to Kenneth Jacobs, grandson of Kate Quinlan

Footnote; by Rema Jago, granddaughter of Sydney Higgs.

The Woods family, who lived near Winsors were important to the Higgs family.
The families were educated by their parents and all addressed themselves well in their various skills and professions.
When the families moved away from the 'Dalebrook' their next generation had an opportunity to be educated in schools.
They excelled and in turn addressed themselves well through their chosen professions in all walks of life.
Their talents and achievements should be recognised. That includes the Woods family and the Winsor family.

Extract of Journal written by Rema Jago.

The early Pioneers must have been daunted by the challenges of the new country so different from the cleared farms surrounded by orderly hedgerows of that in Britain.
Close by, were the villages with their thatched roof houses, the village green and the church steeple. Even the dirt and clutter of the Industrial towns and cities may have been preferable.
Tasmania was a land of virgin forests. Mountain ranges, hostile bushrangers, (a legacy from the Port Arthur system) and 'confused' bushrangers.
Even the seasons determining the weather were different.
No one knew the proper time for planting the crops in this new land and mistakes were disastrous.
Native cats, Tasmanian devils and Tasmanian tigers were frequent visitors to the farms.
(And one could go on and on. The Pioneers should be valued more…Rema)

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