Smith family visit the Historical Society

History Notes

Last Saturday morning was a day to remember when we welcomed members of the Smith family to the museum.  They were descendants of James Smith who was Mr Dean’s partner in the firm Dean & Smith who ran the business for thirty plus years in Barraba from 1900.

The visitors showed lots of interest in the museum as well as the history of James Smith.  Several visitors were studying the map to see just where Doonba was in their ancestor’s years and lots of questions were asked.  Their visit for an hour was over in no time, and they then moved onto the cemetery and lunch before visiting the family’s old home.

Not many of our visitors had heard of the company of Barraba businessmen who owned a property in north Queensland.  They visited it regularly and on one of the visits, after lunch, Mr Dean was lying on the verandah floor, having a rest before the party moved on.  When he stood up there was the pattern of his body in sweat on the verandah – it must have been very hot! Soon after this the group decided to sell out, and it is said that Mr Dean and Mr Smith used their share of the money to build their homes in Barraba.

Members are still having a problem sorting out the Kilgour family who lived in this area in the past.  We have a few facts but not enough to help the descendant making the enquiry.  They were apparently here in the early 1900’s but may be connected to a Barraba family that we do not have in our records.

To change the subject, I wonder if there are Barraba residents enjoying some of the poetry written by past residents.  I am presently re-reading one of the Gun-a-roo books – it is still just as entertaining as it was when I purchased my copy at the Champagne Breakfast in 1983.  Kennedy’s pigs published in the Cobbadah book introduced me to his writings – he was a rather clever writer.