The Gormley family lived at Belmore River then called Darkwater River. They were farmers and owned a number of parcels of land from the 1860s. In the years preceding the First World War, John Thomas Fanning, the grandson of Cornelius Gormley farmed at Belmore River on land left to his mother Ellen by her brother Peter Gormley.
The Gormleys from Co Roscommon Ireland lived and farmed around Gladstone and Belmore River NSW. They had emigrated in 1863.
John Thomas Fanning, the son of Ellen Fanning nee Gormley, also farmed land on Belmore River, on land which his mother had inherited from her brother Peter Gormley. He was there in the years preceding the First World War when he enlisted.
On the property John Thomas Fanning farmed I was told the original farmhouse burned down in the 1940s. Fortunately and coincidentally the owners had all their belongings out the front of the house when it burned down!
All that is left along Belmore River from the days the Gormleys lived in this area are old sheds and fences.
I looked for old farmhouses dating back to the time the Gormleys lived there but the only one I think could be that old is the one that was most likely the Ryan home.
The present owner told me that when he bought the house he was advised to pull it down but he didn’t. The design is very old with the separate kitchen to prevent the whole house burning down if the kitchen caught fire! He said that when he was doing some repairs the old fireplace had 1903 marked on it and the rest of the house pre dates this fire place.
The village closest to Belmore River is Gladstone which was called Darkwater Village. It has quite a few historic and well preserved buildings dating back to 1873.
Cornelius and Ann Gormley and their children arrived from Co Roscommon in 1853. They settled and farmed in NSW at Belmore River. Ellen Gormley married Joihn Henry Fanning and lived at Bulla in Victoria. Their three other daughters married into the Hanly, McClymont and McGuire families.
The Passenger list of the “Ellenborough” 1853
In the Sydney Shipping Gazette http://www.nla.gov.au/ferg/
Volume 10, Number 497 (17 October, 1853) page 310:
October 12 :- ELLENBOROUGH, ship, 1038 tons, Captain Thornhill, from
Southampton July 10th, with 405 Government emigrants. Mr. Burke
surgeon-superintendent. Young & Co. agents.
On board were Connor Gormley, his wife Ann, sons Thomas and Peter, daughters Sarah, Eliza, and Ellen.
Cornelius’s father was Thomas Gormley. In Griffith’s Valuation for Co Roscommon, Ireland, 1851, there are two listings for a Thomas Gormley in the Parish of Kilcorkey. One is in the townland of Bellanagare for 3 acres of land and the other is in the townland of Bellanagare Village for a house and yard. There are no other listings for a Thomas Gormley in Co Roscommon. The obit for Cornelius Gormley in The Sydney Freeman’s Journal below states he was from the Parish of Elphin. This parish is next to the Parish of Kilcorkey.
The Gormleys lived at Belmore River, which is in the Macleay Valley, on the Mid North Coast of NSW.
In Greville’s Post Office Directory 1872 for the town of Gladstone, there are three Gormleys listed at Belmore River: Cornelius Gormley, James Gormley and John Gormley. They are all farmers and may be brothers of Cornelius or cousins from Co Roscommon.
Most of the Gormleys are buried in Fredrickton Cemetery which is just north of Kempsey in NSW.
Gormley Family Graves Fredrickton Cemetery NSWCornelius and Ann Gormley nee MacDermid Fredrickton Cemetery NSW
Obituary for Cornelius Gormley in The Sydney Freeman’s Journal 2 Nov 1895
DEATH OF MR. CORNELIUS GORMLEY.
At Gladstone, Macleay River, after receiving all
the consolations of religion, a sterling old Irish
Catholic has passed away in the person of Mr.
Cornelius Gormley. He had reached the good old
age of four score and four. He was born in the
parish of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland, and
was a brother of the Rev. F. Gormley, of the same
parish, and the Rev. John Gormley, of Dublin. In
1853, owing to the depression prevailing m his
native land, he, with his wife and family, came to
New South Wales, and although he exiled himself
he was ever true to the land he loved so well,
aiding pecuniarily and otherwise every movement
for its advancement and welfare. Even in his
advanced age, a few years back, when Sir Thomas
Esmonde paid a visit to the district, he was con
spicuous for his energetic endeavours to help ‘ the
cause.’ Being a devoted Catholic, he always took
a great interest in Church matters. He did much to
advance the interests of religion in the early days
on the Macleay by the hospitality he extended’ to
the pioneer priests and his endeavours to facili
tate their modes of travelling through the district.
It was in Mr. Gormley’s house that the first Mass
was celebrated on the Lower Macleay many years
ago by the late Rev. Father Coghlan. He was
always active in the political field from the year
1835, when in his native county he recorded his first
vote for O’ Conor Don, to the 24th of July last, when
he rose from a bed of sickness to give what he well
knew would be his last vote to the present member
for the Macleay, Mr. Frank Clarke. When New
South Wales received responsible government, he
played a prominent part in the elections, being at
that time in Sydney. He worked hard endeavour
ing to secure for the country the services in Parlia
ment of such men as Messrs. Plunkett, Deniehy,
and W. Forstor, and afterwards, in 1864, was one of
a party in inducing Mr. Forster to stand for
the old electorate of the Macleay, which seat
Mr. Forster subsequently won. Being a man of in
dependent means, he latterly rested from work, and
until about a year ago, when old age began to weigh
him down, he enjoyed the best of health. The de
ceased was attended in the closing scenes of his life
by the Very Rev. Father Doyle, who administered
the last rites of the Church. The coffin, which was
adorned with many lovely wreaths and crosses,
was placed in the family vault in the Catholic por
tion of the Frederickton cemetery, where his wife,
eldest son, and one daughter had been previously
laid to rest. The funeral was one of the largest ever
seen on the Macleay. The deceased leaves one son
and three daughters, and several grandchildren.
Grave of Thomas Gormley 1875 Fredrickton Cemetery NSW
Glory In Excelsis Deo
Erected By
Cornelias & Ann Gormley
In Memory Of
Their Beloved Son
Thomas
A Native of Cy Rosscommon
Ireland
Who departed This Life
August the 29th 1875
Aged 33 Years
All young men as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you must be
So be prepared to follow me.
Obituary for Ann Gormley nee McDermott Freeman’s Journal 14 Mar 1891Gravestone of Eliza Hanley nee GormleyMary Ann McGuire nee Gormley 1916 and Peter Gormley 1916Mary McGuire nee Gormley The Northern Star 1916Obituary for Mary McGuire in The Catholic Press 16 March 1916
Ellen Fanning nee Gormley Bulla Cemetery Victoria Australia
The following is a descendant report on the Gormley family from Co Roscommon Ireland who settled at Belmore River NSW Australia:
Descendant Report for Thomas Gormley Co Roscommon Ireland Nov 2016
Photos of the Belmore River area NSW Australia where Cornelius Gormley and his family lived and farmed from at least 1860.
The Gormley family, Cornelius and Ann and their four children, arrived in Australia in Oct 1853, from Co Roscommon, Ireland. Cornelius selected lot 10 after it was proclaimed on 14th May 1860. He is listed as a farmer at Belmore River in 1867 and 1872. Connor as he was called died in 1896. Thomas, his eldest son, had died in 1875. His lands were left to his remaining son Peter.
When Peter Gormley died in 1916 he left his property to his sister Ellen Fanning, his nephews, Terence Bernard McGuire and Thomas Hanley, and his niece, Mary Hanley.
Ellen’s son, John Thomas Fanning, farmed the acres which was eventually left to his mother by her brother Peter. John Fanning farmed there for at least five years leading up to his enlistment in 1915. She sold this land in 1924 for 2,216 pounds to John and William Eakin.
These photos are of the area where the Gormleys and John Fanning lived.
I thought the Gormleys, Peter and Thomas, just had land in Beranghi Parish, so I just took photos around there. Later I discovered they had lands in Kempsey and Kinchela Parishes as well as Beranghi Parish, Macquarie County. These photos of the Belmore River area were taken south of Loftus Rd near Loftus Bridge.
Belmore River (formerly Darkwater Creek) NSWRyan’s Old Farm House Belmore River Right Bank Rd Gormley neighbours.Farming Land at Belmore River NSW
Parish Maps showing land owned by Cornelius, Peter and Thomas Gormley at Belmore River, NSW.
Cornelius Gormley and his sons Peter and Thomas owned several lots of land around Darkwater Creek (Belmore River) which is on the mid-north coast of NSW Australia very close to the coast. It is a lush farming area and very beautiful. Today it is prime real estate.
Their lands are in three parishes: Kempsey, Beranghi and Kinchela and the maps are online at NSW Lands Dept , Parish Maps Preservation Project.
The Kinchela Parish Map shows the land owned by their father, Cornelius Gormley. The Land Titles Office in Sydney records Cornelius Gormley as selecting land in 1863. Image below is 1920 Map 10556201.
Land Owned by Cornelius Gormley in Kinchela Parish NSW. Parish map of Kinchela 1920, lots 47,48 & 123.Land Owned by Cornelius Gormley Kempsey Parish Map 1954, lots 180 & 194
Below is from the Beranghi Parish Map which shows the lands of Peter and Thomas Gormley.
Lands Owned by Peter and Thomas Gormley in Beranghi Parish Darkwater Creek NSW
Lots 55 & 56 where John Thomas Fanning farmed before WW1 .Lots 55 and 56 are the lots that Ellen Fanning inherited from her brother Peter after his death in 1916. This is where John Thomas Fanning, her son, farmed before he enlisted for WW1. They are shown in the next map of Kempsey Parish.
John Thomas Fanning’s land before WW1 Kempsey Parish Map
A summary of the life and work of Terence Bernard McGuire, son of Mary Ann Gormley and grandson of Cornelius Gormley. He became the first Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Australia.
Bishop Terence McGuire 1930
Terence McGuire was the only son of Terence McGuire and Mary Ann Gormley. He had a sister, Mary Ann who became a sister of the Good Samaritans. She became Rev Mother Mary Coleman. She died in Sydney in 1963.
He was born at Moree, New South Wales, on September, 1881. His father Dr Terence McGuire was a doctor. He died young at the age of 34.
Death Notice for Dr Terrence McGuire Moree 1881
As a young man he studied for the priesthood at St. Patrick’s College, Manly (Sydney), and at Propaganda Fide College in Rome. He was ordained in Rome on 19th March, 1904.
After many years of service within the diocese of Lismore he was consecrated as Bishop of Townsville in the Sacred Heart Cathedral on 25th May, 1930.
Among his many achievements as Bishop of Townsville was the establishment of St. Teresa’s Agricultural College, Abergowrie, in 1933, and St. Anne’s Mission on Palm Island in 1934.
He was transferred to Goulburn as Bishop in 1938, and became the first Archbishop of Canberra – Goulburn on 11th February, 1948. He was succeeded by Hugh Ryan as Bishop of Townsville.
The Canberra Times, 14 June 1948, describes the ceremony conferring the title and role of Canberra’s first Archbishop on Bishop Terence Bernard McGuire.
Cardinal Gilroy described Archbishop McGuire as being “noted for his culture, administrative ability, oratory and wit, but these qualities of the mind were surpassed by the qualities of his heart which had won the affection of all his friends.”
Bishop McGuire died at Lewisham Private Hospital, Sydney on 4th July 1957.”
