Adams and Witten families at Barraba Station

History Notes

 The family project to research and publish the Adams/Witten family has now concluded and most of the interested family members have a copy of the books. However, I still hear questions re Wittens living at Barraba Station - not Adams - so it seems a bit of early history is needed.

Alfred Augustus Adams arrived in Australia in July, 1839, aboard the "Strathfieldsaye". Some of his fellow passengers were George and Walter Galley, Dr. Adams (no relation), the Sinden family with their child, William, and Henry Parkes.

Alfred found employment with James King of "lllawong" and Captain Caswell of "Trilba" while his father's estate was wound up in England. He met his future wife working at "Thilba" and they married in 1844.

Barraba Station appears in the 1848 Government Gazette as well as other government records - 45 square miles on the Manilla River and owned/leased by Armitage J.T. and C. who were in charge there in 1840. It is known that A. A. Adams had visited the area several times before he bought the station.

Alfred and Jane moved to Barraba in July, 1845 - she and Mrs. Mckid were the only white women in this area at that time. Sadly, Jane's sister died in the late 1840's and Jane went to the Hunter Valley to collect the two orphaned daughters with just a teenage boy to drive the cart. They arrived safely back in Barraba and settled into the Adams family. Jane's first two children were born in 1850 and 1852 in the old slab hut which was their first home in Barraba.

Thoughts about a new home had to be put aside for some years as A. A. Adams partner, who managed Gineroi, was killed in a horse accident just north of Bingara in 1854. A. A. Adams bought George Galley's share in Gineroi and moved his family to live at Gineroi. The new house at Barraba was built a few years later and was used by the managers and their families until Arthur Witten married Mary Jesser Adams and her father settled them on Barraba Station in the mid 1870's. Thus, there were Adams from about 1845 until 1854 and then Wittens. A. A. Adams came back to live at Barraba Station with his daughter and her family for a few years before he died in 1907.