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Thomas Small (1822–1893)

from Northern Star

The death of Mr. Thomas Small, sen., J. P., of Alfred Bank, Ulmarra, which took place at his residence early on Saturday morning, has occasioned deep regret to his very large circle of relatives and friends over the length and breadth of this district, and though the deceased had been suffering under a very painful illness for a considerable time, the news of his having at last succumbed came as a great shock. Though it was necessary that a very short time should elapse between the decease and burial, large numbers from all parts assembled to follow the remains to their last resting place in the Ulmarra cemetery, where they were interred at about 6 o'clock on the evening of his decease, the last sad rites being performed by Archdeacon Greenway assisted by the Rev. Mr. Tait.

Mr Small, who was 71 years of age at the time of his decease, was born at Kissing Point, Ryde, Parramatta River. In 1842 he came to the Clarence and settled at Swan Creek: from thence he went to Pillar Valley, subsequently purchased the Coldstream Station, then owned by Mr. Johnson, and in the year 1857 came to Ulmarra, where he has since resided. He at one time owned all the present site of the village of Ulmarra, and erected there the Commercial Hotel and several other buildings, and made a free gift to the Government of the land on which the post office, court house, and police station now stand, as also the site of the Belmore Sugar Mill to the company which erected that mill. He was the first returning officer for the Clarence district, one of the first J.'s P. and one of the aldermen elected for the first Ulmarra Council, for which body he acted as treasurer for a number of years. In the early years of his settlement, Mr. Small's life was replete with hardships and attended with much danger, caused principally from the hostility of the blacks, of which he was wont to give most graphic accounts. Mr. Small was an eminently public spirited man, and took a lively interest and active share in all matters effecting the welfare of the district, and the church. He was open-handed, large spirited, generous, and noted for his hospitality and charity, in which virtues he had an able helpmate in his excellent, and now aged wife, who has the lasting respect and deep sympathy of the whole district. Besides his esteemed wife, Mr. Small leaves six sons, and about 25 grand-children to mourn their loss. —Grip.

[We regret by the foregoing to note the death of an old friend, and one of the oldest and best known residents of the Clarence. Mr Small was one of the heaviest men in the district, for many years his average weight being 25 stones, and in those days few men worked harder than he did. He was a type of the pioneer settler, of which there are very few left now, and he had a good deal of this kind of work on the Murrumbidgee before he came to the Clarence. He was brother of Mr. William Small, J.P., of Swan Creek, near Grafton.Ed. Star]

Original publication

Other Obituaries for Thomas Small

Citation details

'Small, Thomas (1822–1893)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/small-thomas-26429/text34250, accessed 19 March 2024.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2024

Life Summary [details]

Birth

3 October, 1822
Ryde, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Death

27 October, 1893 (aged 71)
Ulmarra, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

heart disease

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

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