Gunning & District Historical Society

Abel Alchin: First Cousin, First in the Colony by Garry Smith St John the Baptist Church, Wateringbury, Kent, England We have all puzzled, at some time, about which family member was the first to come to the colony of New South Wales. Was it a convict? A free settler? A member of the military? I had thought that Martha Alchin, convict from County Kent, might have been the first; she arrived in 1835 – but more about her at another time. The puzzle might now be solved. Abel Alchin (1805-1842) arrived in the colony in 1826. He was aboard the convict ship Marquis of Huntley. He was not a convict. He came to Sydney as a member of the 57 th (The West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to be garrisoned in the colony to guard against convict uprisings, track down bushrangers and generally keep order. Convict Chain Gang for recalcitrant convicts sent to work on the roads Abel Alchin was born in 1805 in Wateringbury, in the Parish of Frindsbury, Kent,...

Bushrangers Hall, Dunn and Gilbert attack police guarding the Gundagai Mail 1865. Dunn and Gilbert may have splashed out a substantial sum for lunch in the Lade Vale/Mundoonen district not long before or after this event [Picture: State Library of Victoria via Wikimedia Commons]. New Discovery About Local Bushranging History – Or Mundoonen Myth? Over the last few months lifelong Gunning and Lade Vale resident, Mr Sid Hillier, has been generously and helpfully back grounding me on local history. Among other things, Sid has told me about a family story concerning his grandmother, Ellen (Granny) Hillier, and the notorious bushrangers Dunn and Gilbert. I bring Sid’s story to you despite it leaving some important questions unanswered. The Gunning District Historical Society would not normally publish mythical tales but I believe this to be an essentially true account of an historical event. Yes, there are a few significant gaps which you may feel places it more in the ...

Notorious bushranger’s grave may be uncovered in Goulburn’s CBD-The RiotACT https://t.co/pEJoLCYbUM — Gunning History (@GunningHistory) February 9, 2017