The Bowens of Gunnedah and Manilla

1887

The Bowen family line of Margaret Louise Robinson comes through her mother, Patricia Bowen (b 1921).  The Bowens were prominent builders involved in the early development of the NSW towns of Manilla and Gunnedah.

Bowen early history in Australia, and their connection with the Seage family

Patricia's parents were Thomas James Bowen (1887-1961) and Mary Veronica Seage (1881-1942).

Mary was the daughter of James Seage (1841-1894) and the grand-daughter of John S Seage (1791-1868).  The Seages were a prominent farming family in the history of Bathurst through the second half of the 19th century (see the Sage Seages of Bathurst).

Thomas John Bowen was a son of Martin Bowen and another child of John S Sage, Elizabeth Sage (1834-1910).

Martin Bowen (also spelt Bohan, Boaen or Bohen) had been tried in Kilkenny Ireland as a 16-year-old illiterate for "feloniously killing a sheep".   Sentenced to transportation for life he arrived in Sydney on board the ship St. Vincent in January 1837.  Martin was given his Ticket of Leave in 1847 and a conditional pardon in 1853.  He was assigned to the Australian Agricultural Company at Port Stephens, established in the early days of the colony as a land development company with the assistance of a land grant from the British Parliament's Crown Grant of 1,000,000 acres in the area.  Sometime later Martin found his way to Bathurs where he met Elizabeth Seage.  They married in 185, first living in Evans Plain near Bathurst before settling in the Dubbo / Triange area.

As a result of Martin’s marriage to Elizabeth Margaret’s mother, Patricia Bowen, was actually related to the Seages of Bathurst through both her parents.  Through Patricia's mother John S Seage was her great-great-grandfather.  At the same time through her father John S Seage was also her great-grandfather.  Perhaps this also helps explain how Patricia's parents met -- they were second cousins.

Thomas James Bowen

We have a newspaper account of the marriage of Thomas James and Mary Veronica in September 1914, but know very little of their lives beyond that.

They had three children, the first of whom, Marie Therese, died as an infant in 1920.  Sometime soon after that death the couple appear to have moved from Gunnedah, NSW to Sydney, where Patricia was born a year later.  Thomas James was a builder, like his father.  He may have had early success but family tradition is that he suffered badly financially during the 1930s Depression..

Thomas James Bowen, 1952

Mary died in Sydney in 1942 and the next year Thomas James remarried, to Katherine "Ken" Kennedy.  By the late 1950s Thomas and Ken were living at 11 Arthur St,  Moss Vale where his daughter Patricia would visit, along with grandchildren Margaret and Katherine Robinson.

Margaret remembers her grandfather as rather severe person, a view she believes that her mother Patricia also shared.  But she also remembers that Thomas James was a keen handyman, with his Moss Vale home littered with various hobby projects on which he would be working.

Thomas James died in 1961.  Thomas' will and subsequent probate reveals an interesting problem he left behind for his daughter, Patricia and son, Jim.  Thomas James made them co-executors as well as bequeathing them two properties in Gunnedah.  But the Gunnedah properties were also saddled with debt.  As a result his children quickly renounced both their executor roles and their inheritance, leaving everything to wife, Ken.

Thomas James is buried at Bowral.  It is unclear what happened to Ken, although she probably returned to her home state of South Australia.

The former Bowen house in Moss Vale is still intact, having been carefully restored by its current owner, Terry.  Margaret returned to the house in 2011 to find the interior much as she remembered it was five decades earlier.

Patricia Robinson (born Bowen) with her children Katherine (L) and Margaret (R) outside the house of her father, Thomas James in Moss Vale, 1958

Thomas John Bowen

Going back a generation we know a little more about Thomas John Bowen.  He was a prominent builder in the Gunnedah / Manilla / Tamworth region of NSW.  He is believed to have first come to the area about 1884 to assist G.H.Royce, NSW chief engineer, for the construction of the iron traffic bridge over the Namoi River (1884-86), an important milestone in the development of Manilla.

Iron bridge over the Namoi river at Manilla, built by G.H.Royce & Co. This photo was taken just before the official opening in 1886.  Acknowledgement: Manilla Historical Society

Thomas John went on to construct many major buildings in Manilla including the Courthouse, St Michael's Anglican Church and various hotels.  He is also said to have re-built the (timber) Mechanic's Institute as a substantial brick building around 1900 - now the Manilla & District Soldier's Memorial Hall.  As well Thomas John is thought he constructed E.G. Royce's own house, which now houses the Manilla Museum and is listed on Register of the National Estate.  His building projects extended to Tamworth and Gunnedah. 

Thomas John was sufficiently important in the community to be elected to Manilla's first Municipal Council in 1901.   Only a couple of years later he had to fight off an insolvency case brought against his by a disgruntled creditor.  The case was settled between the parties before reaching the Supreme Court.

Thomas' wife, Roseanna ("Rose Ann") Allingham, came from a well established family.  The first Allinghams arrived in Australia in 1841 from Ireland (like Thomas John's own ancestors), with the family spread throughout country NSW over the next few decades.  Thomas John and Rose Ann were married in 1886 and had six children, including Thomas James his eldest boy in 1887.

Thomas John is buried in a joint grave at Gunnedah with his grand-daughter, Marie Therese as the two died within a few months of each other in 1920.