The Wood Family History Page

Jamberoo - The Early Years

Religion & Education

In 1860 money was raised to build a parsonage and to repair the teacher's residence. In February 1864 it was proposed to build a church at Jamberoo.

	The list of donations, as at 1 December 1865 published in the Independent, showed the Tate and Wood families as substantial donors. John Tate is shown as the Treasurer. (Note the list appeared in the edition dated 4 January 1866, but the typesetter had put the date as 1895)
	A Public Ball was organised on 7 December 1865 at Mr Wood's barn to raise money for the addition to the Teacher's residence.

The Church of the Resurrection was built on Tate's Hill, on land donated by George Wood Snr, who also donated £50. The stone crosses on the gable ends were vandalised twice, once during construction and again after completion. On 17 May 1836 John Tate advertised a reward for information in the "Independent". The fittings and furniture were of cedar made by residents of Kiama and Jamberoo, mostly as gifts. The building itself cost £1,101.

The church was opened on Wednesday, 2 January 1867 by Rev. Barker, Bishop of Sydney. Refreshments were served in the church grounds after the morning service. Memorial windows were installed in memory of the wife of Rev. J. C. Corlette in 1867. Nearly ten years after its completion, four stained glass windows were installed in the church, two of them at the expense of John and Edward's wives, Sarah (Wood) Tate, and Jane (Wood) Tate. John's wife, Sarah, placed one in memory of her three children who died young (sadly she died before it was installed). The headstones of these children were in the old Church of England Cemetery. Jane Ellen Tate contributed hers in memory of her father, George Wood Snr who died in 1871.

One of the earliest schools in the district was at the top of Spring Hill between Jamberoo and Kiama where the old road met that to Riversdale. Like most country schools of its time it was built of hand-cut slabs with shingle roof. In January 1872 the school board of Broughton Village consisted of George Tate, John Tate, William Tomlins and John Elliott.

On 17 September 1872 an application was gazetted, seeking the opening of a public school at Jamberoo. The school was to be located at the former Man of Kent Inn which had been used as the Woodstock Stores till they were closed through lack of business. The school opened in mid-January 1873 and it's location was described as "at the late Man of Kent, North Jamberoo". It was normally referred to as the Woodstock Public School.

Two acres on Tate's Hill were bought from John Tate in July 1875, as a site for a public school . In 1876 the Government Council of Education prepared designs and called for building tenders. The school was opened on 28 January 1878, with the government paying the full cost of the school.

Recreation

In the early days when Jamberoo was the more populous centre the school of arts was founded there on 21 August 1846 and became the Jamberoo Literary and Debating Society on 5 May 1849. On 18 June 1850 it united with Kiama Young Men's Institute and remained active until 11 June 1860.

Both the Wood family and the Tate family had an interest in horse racing. The Boxing Day Races for 1865 list George Wood as the Judge, G.Tate jnr as a Steward and G. Tate as the Starter. George Wood and George Tate also owned racehorses.

In 1867 there was a meeting at the Man of Kent Inn to try to form a racecourse at Jamberoo. George Wood junior donated a site on the Minnamurra River and built the racecourse. The Illawarra Turf Club held its annual races on the Woodstock course each year until 1876 when the course was closed due to it's poor state of repair. No further races were held at Woodstock until the Prince of Wales' birthday in November 1885.

Farming & Work

	On 2 February 1864 George Wood Jnr advertised for a farm hand in the Kiama Independent.
	In February 1866 George Wood is abandoning dairying for other agricultural activities.

The area is recorded as the birthplace of dairying in Australia. Exports of butter to England were tried and the area pioneered factory production. Until the establishment of the factory system milking was done by hand. The cream was skimmed from the top of milk in wide shallow dishes. The butter was then hand-made and sealed in kegs. The sun often melted the butter in the unprotected kegs and it often arrived at Sydney as oil dripping from the kegs.

A Butter Export Co-operative Co. was formed in 1870. The Co_operative made some exports to London and India. But the lack of refrigeration and the uncertainty of shipping schedules doomed the enterprise.

The Fresh Food and Ice Co. sought fresh milk from local dairymen for the Sydney market. The milk was supplied by S. Marks, T. Honey, H. Robb, G. Wood jnr, W. Grey and D. Weir. The first shipment left on the Prince of Wales on Saturday, 1 April 1882, with the cans of milk in deep iron tanks packed with ice. Again the uncertainty of shipping doomed the enterprise. It was hoped that the proposed Illawarra Railway would again revive milk exports to Sydney.

With the failure of the exports of fresh milk to Sydney, the Fresh Food and Ice Co. suggested a butter factory in 1883. A factory would save the farmers the drudgery of hand making their butter. A larger supply of milk was promised if the factory was built west of Pike's Hill, a site was selected on a portion of Riversdale owned by John Honey and leased by George Wood who made two acres available. The factory was 70 by 25 feet built on stone blocks with oak shingled roof. The factory opened on 18 June 1884 using the milk from eighteen farms produced by 800 cows. The company supplied 10 gallon cans to farmers and delivered them twice daily. The milk was strained and separated, giving quicker results than skimming. The butter was packed in 42 lb. jars and sent to the Fresh Food and Ice Co. which paid 3d. per pound more than top market price. Suppliers collected skim milk and took it home for their pigs.

In the early 1880's cheese making was tried in the district, however, the farmers withheld milk to make butter whenever the prices were good. The butter factory brought an end to cheese making.

Two dairy factories began in 1887 at Jamberoo, one at Waughope on the eastern side and one at Woodstock on the west. The directors for Woodstock were J. T. Cole, D. L. Dymock, W. Stewart, H. Dudgeon, M.King, M. Boyle, and G. Wood. The manager for Waughope was H. F. Noble who, however, immediately resigned and was replaced by Frank McCaffrey. The Woodstock manager was W. Graham. The milk cans were made by the tinsmith, George Bullen of Kiama. Waughope began operations on 14 November 1887. Woodstock began early in 1888.

Woodstock paid 4d. a gallon for milk. Gradually more dairymen joined the factories. The farmers in the hills had to use pack horses or slides to deliver the milk. By 1888 Waughope had twenty-seven suppliers and Woodstock fifty-five. In 1889 a dinner in the Protestant Hall, featuring "turkey fowls and sucking pigs" was held to express appreciation of the work of D. L. Dymock, W. Stewart and G. Wood at the Woodstock factory.

The District

	The roads around the District had been progressively deteriorating. On 20 July 1864 the Independent reports that work had commended on the repairs.
	The edition dated 3 August 1864 reported that Moses King had finished repairing the road near George Wood's property at Jamberoo.
	By 1864 crime was becoming a problem around the district. On 12 August 1864 the Independent reported on a particularly low act, where Robert Brindley was robbed. Mr Brindley could no longer work and survived by cultivating a garden on land allowed to him by George Wood.
	On 5 October 1864 the Independent was again reporting problems with the roads.

Woodstock Mills Estate

The estate was situated west of the current Jamberoo-Albion Park road, and north of the Minnamurra Falls road. On the estate of John Ritchie a flour and timber mill was erected in 1838. Operated by a water wheel in the Minnamurra River, the mill was built by Captain J G Collins. He secured a lease of eight acres from Ritchie and built the three-storey mill 100 feet long and 24 feet wide. He named it the Woodstock mill and the surroundings became known as the village of Woodstock.

By 1836 the Woodstock Mill had become undependable for grinding wheat into flour "owing to the rickety state of the waterwheel". The grinding of flour was taken over by the Bush Bank Steam Flour Mill on 23 July 1836.

In 1844 a brewery was added for which the Vidlers grew hops.

The mill had a cooperage, a piggery, a bacon factory and a two-storey barn. The premises near the turn-off to Curramore became the Man of Kent Inn.

	The Independent carries an ad on, 9 March 1865, for the sale of the Woodstock Mill and grounds at Jamberoo.
	Rumours were circulating the district about the Mill and by 20 April 1865 it was reported that a group of local business men were considering the purchase with a view to cultivating sugar cane.
	By the 11th of May 1865 George Wood was advertising his farm at Wingecarribbe for sale. Presumably he was raising funds for the purchse of the Woodstock Mills.
	On 22 November 1865 George Wood junior is reported as having purchased the Woodstock Mills Estate.

The Other George Wood

There was also a George Wood in Kiama (no relation) and some historians have confused the George Wood's. On Boxing Day 1893 Captain Thomas Honey, his wife, George Wood junior, his wife, his three children and Miss Pike were boating on a punt after lunch when it was swept to the surf by a current, all being drowned except Mrs Wood who was rescued by Harry Calambus, R. Fadden, E. D. Seymour, W. Campbell and James Walker. Honey commanded Kiama Company of the military forces and was accorded a memorial service to which a special train from Sydney carried representatives to Kiama. The rescuers were awarded National Surf Rescue Society awards.

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