Michael Cullinan works on the rail lines in Port Augusta, South Australia in the late 1870s.
Port Augusta is Nukunu country. It is 310 km from Adelaide.
It was proclaimed on 24 May 1852 by Thomas Elder, named after the wife (Augusta Sophia) of the Governor of South Australia, Henry Edward Fox Young. Augusta was the daughter of Charles Marryat Senior who had been a slaveholder in the West Indies (source: Wikipedia).
Port Augusta was considered the ‘cross-roads of Australia’ since it was the junction of major roads and rail links at the head of Spencer Gulf (source: Wikipedia).
Kapunda is in South Australia, Australia. It is 77 km from Adelaide and began as a copper mining town in the 1840’s. This mining continued till 1879. Marble was also mined here.
According to Wikipedia, miners were traditionally Cornish, labourers were Irish and smelter specialists were Welsh. Trade and agriculture were Scottish and English. There were German farmers and timber cutters.
2 June 1886: Michael Cullinan and Betsy Wakefield are married here.
Michael Cullinan marries Mary Ann Haywood (nee Cuff) at the Wentworth Roman Catholic Church Presbytery. Michael is 62 years old, Mary Ann is 55 years old.
Michael is listed as a grazier from Killeen [sic] Station in NSW. Mary Ann is listed as home duties from Burtundy, NSW.
Mary Ann’s birthplace is listed as Deloraine, Tasmania.
Avoca Station, on the River Darling in NSW, was established in the 1870s. At its height it covered 1,100 square miles.
In the 1870’s, Michael Cullinan works here for Mr Daniel Henry Cudmore. The Cudmore family owned properties in South Australia and New South Wales. Avoca Station remained in the Cudmore family from 1871 to 1915.
Initially Michael travels to Wentworth and takes back a pack of 16 kangaroo dogs, a type of dog specifically bred for hunting kangaroos (see: Wikipedia and Outback Family History). They hunt in the Milkingay country near Traveller’s Lake.
Michael is paid a salary and what he could get for the kangaroo skins. He has one man working as a cook for him.
He does not work here long though as the dogs aren’t good hunters. He takes them back and moves onto another job (Source: Doug Curran: The Family History of James Cullinan).
Next, Michael does rabbiting with Tom Wakefield (his future brother in law) for 1 schilling a scalp on the east side of the Darling River. Tom had a dray and 3 horses carting water and food out to the Michael and his men. Between them they had 100 traps of which Michael worked 100 for himself. He averaged 100 rabbits per day 7 days a week. He made his first 1000 pounds through this job. Eventually the price for rabbits dropped to 1 penny and they stopped rabbiting (Source: Letter to Cherry and Don, from Andrew Edward Cullinan, Glenora, Box 16 Birchip, 1980).
During his rabbiting period, he is courting Betsy Wakefield from the Hackham, Noarlunga, South Australia.
At the age of 21 Michael Cullinan emigrates (with his sister, Bridget) to Australia from England – aboard The Glenlyon which is a 1300 ton fully rigged ship.
The ship carries 21 other passengers. The trip to Outer Harbour in Adelaide, South Australia takes 13 weeks. (Source: Doug Curran – The Family History of James Cullinan), arriving on July 3rd, 1874.
