Henry Furze
1865 Henry Furze bought a farm at Wahring were he built a brick house called "Burra Murra" meaning "many waters", overlooking the Goulburn River Reservation in the district of Wahring, about four km north of Nathalia. He traded as an auctioneer and valuer and insurance agent.
1879 Henry fell from his trap [horse and cart] at his farm gate as he stood up to view some work being done in his paddocks Christmas eve, hit his head, became unconscious and died 25 December 1879 aged 47.Henry Furze was buried at Avenel Cemetery with his 3 children: Ellen Elizabeth & Annie Frances and Mary Furze . A memorial to them all has been put in this cemetery in 1990s. That was the nearest cemetery when his girls drowned and he helped get the Nathalia Cemetery organised.
From Laurie Hockings
"A Record of Henry and Elizabeth Furze " with maroon binding is - now out
of print. A few bound photocopies of this book - no family
trees at back- are available to family at cost price $5 from email
"This is a map of the original subdivision of Wharing, in the Noorilim District.
Henry Furze's allotment went right to the river bank which is now covered by the lake formed by the weir, the line of the river bed may still be seen marked by the old dead trees.
"You will notice the dotted line running almost through the centre of the property , this represents the present level of the lake and has taken almost half of "Burra Murra".
"The road into the weir was originally straight but had to take a bend later to avoid the new water level at the Eastern outlet.
"The weir was a good attraction for visitors as it had built -in equipment to generate its own electricity for lighting and power to operate the gates.
"The Parris and Stirling children were rowed across the weir each day and went to school with the Furzes.
"The land between Henry Furze's house and the river was low lying flood plain partly occupied by the big lagoon, surrounded by huge red gums.
" Great grandfather Parris said the Furzes were well established in a large brick house when he arrived in 1868. The house was destroyed by a tornado like storm in the same year that Great Grandma died. [who is this? Perhaps this spooked the locals, but for some reason although the surrounding land has been farmed, the pile of bricks and trees remain untouched to this day."
Notes on the map read top first :
- " Present Road alignment to accommodate flood water once the weir was filled. Weir was completed in 1885" LH
- "homestead was by the big gum tree"
- in pink and red at left- farms of PARRIS and STIRLING
| The
notes on the map (right ) by Laurie Hocking, read:
in red, "Joe Muntz , sawmill and house; " [refers to Joe Muntz who was married to Margaret Martin ], in pink , "FURZES" refers to Frederick Furze m. Sarah Muntz [dau. of Joe and Margaret]; in blue, "A 3 mile walk for the Furze children to the Yielma school, later moved to Yalca North". in pink, At the bottom centre of this map, at Goulburn Weir, is an arrow pointing to the first farm property of Henry Furze,"Burra Murra". |
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[Has anyone tried to find an obituary for Henry Furze in the local papers of the day?]