life of agnes

THE LIFE OF AGNES DAVIDSON BUNTINE HALLET
9.2.2000
Contact Lesley DuVe l.duve@latrobe.edu.au telephone 9479 1925)
1804
Hugh Buntine Born Kilwinning, Co Ayr in Scotland
1822
Buntine, Agnes (Davidson) 1822 - 1896
Bullock driver in Gippsland late (19)
Msb 208 Description of meeting between Mrs Buntine and JJ O'Connor
Ms 10409 the memoirs of JJ O'Connor
1822
Agnes Davidson, pastoralist and bullocky, Gippsland Vic
Daughter of John Davidson died Sale Vic 29February 1896
1822
Buntine, Agnes (Davidson) B 1822 - D 1896

643/10 (d) mother Buntine of Gippsland
3 p, Xerox copy of manuscript
copies from parade, September 1966
Enclosure
Marriage certificate of William O'Rourke and Margaret Thorne, Gippsland 22 April

Ms8092 Buntine, Agnes (Davidson) 1822 - 1896
O'Rourke, William
Ref from O'Callaghan, Mary
O'Rourke family, reedy creek, Victorian Gippsland
See also Buntine Hugh 1804 p 1867
1
1822
Born Agnes Davidson - Ayrshire Scotland
1838
Emigrated to Austral with Jane Symington on the Wilton Rogers
1838
Hugh Buntine came to Melbourne to escape the drought and depression of New South Wales and for a
time settled at Richmond Flat where he established a dairy farm on the Merri Creek. Here he married
Agnes Davidson, an 18 year old Scottish girl who had come out on the "Glenhuntly"
Together they decided to move to Gippsland, and Hugh took four of his children and tow men on the
"Corsair" to Old Port. Agnes and his eldest son, John, joined him and they set up home in a shack on
the Albert River settlement. Here Agnes gave birth to Gippsland firstborn child, Alexander Buntine
1839
Agnes Davidson arrived alone at Melbourne and was met by Hugh Buntine
1840
Worked as dairymaid 17.4.1840
1840
Married Hugh Buntine (B 30.10.1840d 1867)
1840
Married Hugh Buntine
1841
Son Albert was born, first white child born in that first Gippsland town
1841
Worked County Bourke 6 months to Gippsland with husband
1844
Hugh and Agnes settled at Running Creek, later called Morris's Creek at a place, which he called
"Waterholes". Hugh planned to set up an inn and applied for a licence, and here the second son,
William was born. Tyers checked out he Buntine's inn but was not impressed noting "the house which
was filthy, is built of logs and slabs" ugh tried again, setting up at Bruthen Creek with a lease over
some 4 sq miles (10.3 Km)
1844
2nd Son William born at Running Creek
1845
Ran cattle Port Albert Running Creek (Morris Creek) and Flooding Creek (Sale) obtained past lease
Bruthen Creek and opened hotel c1845
1850
after husband became ill established bullock carrying business
carried supplies between Port Albert and Walhalla goldfields
1852
A man by the name of Davy was travelling towards Walhalla. It was during one of his trip that he me
a dray and bullocks. They were slowly cutting a road through the scrub, and their team was the first
that made its way over the mountains from Gippsland to Melbourne. Their captain was a lady of
unbounded bravery and great strength - a model pioneeress, with a talent for governing the opposite
sex. When at home on her station she did the work of a man and a woman too. She was the one in a
thousand so seldom found. She not only did the cooking and housework, but she also road after stock,
drove a team, killed fat beasts, chopped wood, stripped bark, and fenced.

She did not hanker after woman's rights, nor rail against the male sex. She was not cultured, nor
scientific, nor artistic, nor aesthetic. She despised all the ologies.

All great men respected her, and if the little ones were insolent she boxed their ears and twisted their
necks.

She conquered all the blackfellows around her land with her own right arm. At first she had been kind
to them, but they soon became troublesome, wanted too much flour, sugar, and beef, and refused to go
away when she ordered them to do so. Without another word she took down her stockwhip, went to
the stable and saddled her horse. Then she rounded up the blackfellows like a mob of cattle and started
them. If they tried to break away, or to hide themselves among the scrub, or behind tussocks, she cut
pieces out of their hides with her
1863
Agnes Adamson Buntine married Charles Ignatz Du Vue
1868
Hugh Buntine 11.8.1868, born Scotland 1834 was the youngest son of Hugh Buntine and Mary
Buntine (nee Symington), he was four years old when the family arrived in Australian , and when his
mother died in the Quarantine Station in Sydney 1838
1868
Hugh Buntine (13.8.1868 son) die, "guardian newspaper" reporting his death by accident, stated that
he had hired one of Mr Sinnbeck's horses to ride to Sale, leaving Rosedale at 1.00 pm and starting back
fro Sale about 6.00 pm. He was found dead on the roadside, about five miles along the road,
apparently having been thrown from the horse, and possibly kicked. The paper added that his death
was "a crushing blow to his wife and young family" he is buried in the Rosedale Cemetery, the
officiating clergyman being Rev W.S. Login, Presbyterian Minister at Sale.
1873
Married Michael Dawe Hallet
1876
Robert Buntine - counsellor Shire of Rosedale
1877
John Buntine - member of the twelve member council, shire of Rosedale
1898
George Dunderdale, The book of the bush
(London: Ward, Lock, (1898)) pp 281 - 2 - facsimile published 1975 by Penguin
1915
Both Agnes Adamson and Charles Ignatz Du Vue died



Grandmother of William Talone Raymond Ordell B (ADB11 under Tal Ordell

From State Library

Entry in Biographic register

other references.
Diana Chase & Valerie Krantz, The Outback spirit
(5th Melbourne: Macmillan, 1995) pp 24 - 29 - children’s book

Several references in Peter Synan, Index to the Gippsland Times
(Churchill, Vic Centre for Gippsland Studies, Monash University 1993)

Gippsland time is available on microfilm at State Library.

Several references in catalogue of the State Library’s Australian Manuscripts Collection
Copies of catalogue entries enclosed.

If you wish to look at the manuscript material, please phone the Australian Manuscripts Collection,
9669 9014 to arrange for it to be made available.
Manuscripts office hours are 1 - 5 Monday, 10 - 5 Tuesday - Friday.

The reading room for manuscripts and Rare Books is open
1 - 8.45 pm Monday,
10 am - 5.45 pm Tuesday,
10 - 8.45 pm Wednesday.,
10 to 5.45 pm Thursday and Friday and
0 - 12 and 1.30 to 5.45 pm Saturday and Sunday.

Prior arrangement must be made for retrieval of manuscripts and rarebooks.

(From page 33 of a book on Victoria).

Roads within Victoria.

Walhalla.
“Amongst the very first suppliers was Mrs Buntine of Rosedale. She had her own bullock team, and
drove it herself, loading at Port Albert, and delivering at Seaton, from whence she despatched the
loading by packhorses to Walhalla. I think I hear some city lady of the present generation exclaim:
“goodness me! A lady drive a bullock team - shocking” - Dear young friend don’t be shocked. I have
not only seen her drive her own bullocks, and follow her own plow and harrows, and sow her own seed
corn, on her own farm, but once saw her flog at Seaton with her own bullock whip, a cowardly,
drunken ruffian, who had dared grossly to insult an unoffending girl, while other cowards, who should
have been his chastisers, turned away and laughed. An active, enterprising strong woman - a
representative of the best of the old business pioneers.

Manuscript department 96699014 - ms11235 - John Buntine - lived in the Rosedale Port Albert area.
(no original to find, this was just a note I had written from the telephone

Gwen Hardy, 56 Duke Street, Rosedale Vic - 5199 2015. Rosedale - 150 years pictorial history

Mr D Macreadie, Stony Creek Road, Cowwarr, Vic 3857 - The Rosedale Story, Volume 1 with
foreword by Elsie Wright

Bullockies - L Braden 636.212 B79813

“A colourful female bullocky was a Mrs Buntine, who is mentioned in the private memoirs of J.
O’Connor (reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Gross of Ferntree Gully).

Refer photocopies of “Book of the Bush”

For future information the email address of the Australian Literature and History Team is
“ltres@newvenus.slv.vic.gov.au “
1871 - 1971
Main Collection A919.45 M179C (Gippsland)
Centenary History of the Shire of Rosedale 1871 - 1971
Author IT Maddern

7a - Refer photocopies of Shire of Rosedale Centenary - 1871 - 1971


Third child born 18.. at Bruthen Creek was Agnes Adamson Buntine

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