[The background to this Post on the KM Descendants FB group was discussion of the move from Woodstock to Northcote c1880 – set off by related discussion of both John Richardson Glover’s sketch of Woodstock cottage and the Constantini painting of a young Edward Kennedy Murray. In the middle of this a cousin updated us about the recent sale of Northcote farm at St Leonards – which had been visited in 2006 by some of those attending the Harry Murray VC statue unveiling in Evandale. They initially provided us with a photo and related info of the wrong house and small farm (91 Blessington Road – which sold for $3.5 million in 2013) – but soon corrected this to 104 Blessington Road a more modest but still historically significant house and farm. Northcote farm was where Harry Murray and a number of his siblings ‘grew up’. The background of this Post on the KM Descendants FB group involved a discussion about the relocation of the EKM family from Woodstock to Northcote c1880. This discussion was prompted by the mention of John Richardson Glover’s sketch of Woodstock cottage and Constantini’s painting of a young Edward Kennedy Murray. Amidst this conversation, a cousin informed us about the recent sale of Northcote farm in St Leonards. Initially, they shared an incorrect photo and details of a different property (91 Blessington Road, which sold for $3.5 million in 2013), but later corrected it to 104 Blessington Road, a historically significant yet more modest house and farm. Northcote farm holds significance as it was the childhood home of Harry Murray and several of his siblings. ]
The significant of Woodstock cottage is perhaps a little larger than most think for many Murray descendants. My research indicates that following a decade or so of Thomas John Murray and family living at Woodstock Cottage up (part of KM’s Blanchfield farm) until 1855 – and possibly William Kennedy Murray and family for a few years after that – that it was Edward Kennedy Murray who lived there at the time of the sale of both Prosperous and Blanchfield in the early 1860s after KM’s death. And then from the mid-1860s he apparently continued to live with his new family before and after his marriage to Clarissa Littler in 1867 – whilst leasing both the Cottage and part of Blanchfield farm from the new owner of this section from the early 1860s through to 1880.
We don’t know what happened exactly but it is clear that EKM and family had to move out by late 1879 or early 1880. They then had a year or so at the Clairville workers cottage whilst EKM did some work for the Camerons. It was at this time that son Harry was born in December 1880. The following year EKM and family took on the lease of Northcote farm at St.Leonards from the new owner Samuel Richards (no relation to me) – who bought this from reps of the long-term previous owners the Rev. Francis Brownrigg and family (Brownrigg and wife produced 12 children whilst living there). In c1964 Brownrigg built the main house and adjoining cottage that survive today – and were part of the recent sale. There was another cottage on the farm until 1951 apparently that was the original Northcote cottage built in 1826 by the first owner James Hill.
Edward Kennedy Murray lived at Northcote farm up until his death in 1905 with his wife Clarissa Littler Murray and their family. From my research it seems that at least two EKM siblings likely lived on the farm inn one of the two adjoining cottage to the main house. One was older brother from the first family William Kennedy Murray who died at St. Leonards in February 1904. And a second sibling we think lived at Northcote was Catherine MacQueen Murray (1837-1916) who never married and spent many years working in the St.Leonards Anglican parish.
We are not sure when Clarissa Littler moved to live with her youngest daughter Annie Summers Murray in Launceston. Annie married David Cocker in 1910 and Clarissa was known to have lived at their house in Erina Street up until the time of her death in late 1933. So it may have been until 1910 when a new tenant Robert Young took over the lease (Young bought the farm from Richards in 1916).
The younger children of Edward and Clarissa went to the St.Leonards school where they all excelled – perhaps because of Clarissa’s home schooling. But whilst the two older brothers Albert and Charles had gone to some ‘good school’ (can anyone confirm it was Launceston Grammar which was quite near?), Harry was kept at home by Edward to help on the farm after Charles and Albert had departed interstate in search of work opportunities. If anyone knows exact dates would like to hear, but believe this was in the early 1890s. The house was nice but farming at Northcote was challenging and by the 1890s EKM was in this Fifties perhaps struggling after a life of toil on farms.
This is the background to Harry’s known relationship issues with his father. But EKM had a difficult life because of what happened at Prosperous at a time he was keen to become a farmer and assist with the family farm. The full true story of what happened to unnecessarily cause the sale of Prosperous and Blanchfield is told in my upcoming book – but from what I found out a good deal of sympathy is owning to not just EKM but all the other children of Kennedy Murray as well as second wife Hannah Goodall Murray.