| [Index] |
| Arthur Ernest ELWORTHY (1866 - 1935) |
| Proprieter of 'Gundagai Times' |
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| b. 18 Jan 1866 at Tumut, New South Wales, Australia |
| m. 07 May 1890 Leah Christian ISAAC (1865 - 1930) at Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia |
| d. 19 May 1935 at Cooma, New South Wales, Australia aged 69 |
| Parents: |
| James Baker ELWORTHY (1833 - 1889) |
| Henrietta Sophia Jane LARGE (1846 - 1915) |
| Events in Arthur Ernest ELWORTHY (1866 - 1935)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| 18 Jan 1866 | Arthur Ernest ELWORTHY was born | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 15436/1866 | ||
| 03 Mar 1889 | 23 | Death of father James Baker ELWORTHY (aged 55) | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 9866/1889 | 2 |
| 07 May 1890 | 24 | Married Leah Christian ISAAC (aged 24) | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 3965/1890 | |
| 31 Jan 1891 | 25 | Birth of son Frederick Arthur ELWORTHY | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 15629/1891 | |
| 19 Oct 1892 | 26 | Birth of daughter Eileen Christian ELWORTHY | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 16031/1892 | |
| 07 Jul 1894 | 28 | Birth of son James Baker ELWORTHY | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 15407/1894 | |
| 17 May 1896 | 30 | Birth of daughter Doris Henrietta (Dobbie) ELWORTHY | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 21934/1896 | |
| 15 Jun 1898 | 32 | Birth of son John Douglas ELWORTHY | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 30982/1898 | |
| 05 Jul 1915 | 49 | Death of mother Henrietta Sophia Jane LARGE (aged 68) | Grafton, New South Wales, Australia | 11474/1915 | 22 |
| 03 Feb 1930 | 64 | Death of wife Leah Christian ISAAC (aged 64) | Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | 1140/1930 | |
| 19 May 1935 | 69 | Arthur Ernest ELWORTHY died | Cooma, New South Wales, Australia | 6133/1935 | |
| aft 19 May 1935 | 69 | Burial | North Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| Personal Notes: |
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Just nine months and one week after James and Henrietta were married at All Saints at Tumut, little Arthur greeted the world on 18 January 1866.
Many other important things also happened that year - HG Wells was born, Degas began painting ballet scenes, Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment, Kingsley wrote Hereward the Wake, Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and Dr Barnado opened his first home for destitute children in London. The family left Tumut in 1868 when Arthur's father James started the Times in Gundagai where Arthur spent the rest of his life. Little is known of his early years except that he was educated at Gundagai Public School and Sydney Grammar School, then served a six year apprenticeship in the printing trade. The Times faced stiff opposition when outspoken WH Bailey started the Gundagai Herald in 1882. Bailey was a pioneer among a few who opened up a township on the Endeavour River in north Queensland, and was instrumental in having it named after Cook. He had published the Cooktown Herald, the first newspaper north of Townsville, at that time the furthermost point of civilisation and called Cleveland Bay. Its office was a tent on the exact spot where Cook careened the Endeavour. Deemed "the father of Sunday journalism", Bailey founded the Sunday Times in 1883 in Sydney. Perhaps it was just as well for James' and Arthur's future success that he departed from Gundagai after four years! The Gundagai Times newspaper and printing premises were situated below street level in Sheridan Street. Over the years, some noted journalists worked on the paper including Louis Wilson, Tighe Ryan, Kidgell Richards, L.C Badham, M.R Mooney and George Gray. Arthur worked for his father on the Times until 09 July 1887, six months after his 21st birthday, when the partnership of J.B Elworthy & Son was formed, giving a one-third share to Arthur (his mother Henrietta was the other shareholder). But he did not take over the sole proprietorship immediately after his father's death in March 1889. As James had died intestate, Henrietta was granted Letters of Administration in July 1889 and it was not until the night before his marriage that Arthur's ownership of the Times became official. His family had gathered at the Elworthy family horne with staff members Wilson, Scanes, Elliot and Vaughan who presented Arthur with their wedding gift - a silver fish slice and jam barrel 'of exquisite design'. Arthur vowed he would cherish them all his life for the spirit in which the gift was given. Editor Wilson congratulated him on the step he was about to take as well as upon the new responsibilities of a newspaper proprietor and trusted when it came to Arthur's tum to render an account of his stewardship, he would be found to have as good a record as his late father. The health of the firm was drunk and on behalf of their mother, his brother Billy thanked the staff for the way they had carried out their duties since his father's death. Arthur responded that he was surrounded by men in whom he had every confidence and hoped they would be spared to remain in the office for many years. On 07 May 1890 Arthur married pretty, dark-haired Leah Christian Isaac, born 15 Aug 1865, the last of seven children of Lizzie and John Isaac who married at Kirk Braddan, Isle of Man on 02 Mar 1853 and carne to Australia soon afterwards and eventually settled at South Gundagai. When James ran the paper, family matters rarely got a mention but the Times of Friday, 09 May 1890 reported fully on the wedding which took place the previous Wednesday at 2 pm before a "goodly concourse" in the prettily decorated St John's church, with Miss Fry playing appropriate selections on the organ and a full choir adding greatly to the impressiveness of the ceremony. The charming bride was attended by her sister (probably Lizzie, the only one unmarried at that time), Arthur's 14-year-old sister Edith and Leah's niece, Florrie Lindley. Leah was attired in white pongee silk draped with lace, a long duchess train, tulle veil and a spray of orange blossom on the left side of her hair. Her sister wore a gown of cream lace with a hat to match and carried a basket of flowers tied with cream ribbon. Little Edith wore a cream pongee silk frock and hat with heliotrope sash and carried a basket tied with heliotrope ribbon, whilst nine year old Florrie was similarly dressed in blue. Brothers John Isaac and Billy Elworthy were witnesses. Mr Bibo, Gundagai's baker and pastrycook provided a very handsome wedding cake for the reception at 'Mona Cottage', the Isaac's horne at South Gundagai. Among the numerous and varied gifts were a lady's side saddle and bridle, silver egg stand, cheques for two and five guineas, silver tea pot (from the Mayor and Mayoress), railway rug, lady's companion(?), gold bangle, tete-a-tete set, afternoon tea service, three initial brooches, a dozen knives, set of napkin rings, pillow slips, cushions, two cruets, silver butter dish as well as the terra-cotta jam barrel and silver fish knife from the Times staff. To Leah, Arthur gave a very handsome gold bracelet, and gold brooches to her attendants. Leah wore a very neat navy blue cashmere costume with matching hat when they left for a honeymoon tour to Sydney. The young couple was showered with rice as the train drew away from the station. Arthur and Leah made their horne beside the Times office, and behind the printing works Leah established a lovely garden. She was a gentle woman to whom flowers were a lifelong source of happiness. Probably it wasn't long after the marriage that Arthur's mother and sister moved to Grafton where they remained for the rest of their days. Life was settled for Arthur but neither of his brothers, Ernest and Harold, were married and maybe Henrietta felt she could be of more assistance to her bachelor sons. Besides, Ernest was a bank manager and no doubt a much wider social life would open for Edith in Grafton than was available in the small town of Gundagai. Over the next eight years Arthur and Leah had three sons, Frederick Arthur, James Baker and John Douglas (named for his grandmother's birthplace on the Isle of Man) and two daughters, Eileen Christian and Doris Henrietta. With Arthur at the helm as Secretary, Gundagai set up a Patriotic Fund to provide assistance to the widows and orphans of men who fell in the Boer War. The hall was crowded for 'the most remarkable meeting every held in Gundagai' in Jan 1900 and more than 109 pounds was collected! A one-time journalist on the Times said in a Sydney paper that Gundagai was "pro-Boer" - the local paper stoutly defended the town, proclaiming "Gundagai stands out by its manifestation of practical sympathy with the cause as one of the most loyal corners of New South Wales". The Jubilee of the Times was proudly emblazoned in the 03 Jan 1908 issue of the paper. This was not strictly accurate as it was in actual fact 50 years since J.B. Elworthy commenced his newspapers. I copied it from microfiche records at the N.5.W. State Library ... FIFTY YEARS IN BUSINESS The Gundagai Times Jubilee "The attainment of the jubilee of The Gundagai Times marks an interesting epoch in the history of journalism in the southern section of the State. The occasion not only brings this journal under notice as the oldest newspaper in Riverina, and the oldest business in Gundagai - one of the first settlements in the southern part of the State but provides also the almost unique case of a country paper being conducted uninterruptedly by the one family over the long period of fifty years. The newspaper which in 1858 was established by the late Mr JB Elworthy is today conducted by his son, who held a junior partnership at the time of his father's death on March 3, 1889. Very old hands - and some of them are still on our list of subscribers - will remember the launching of the paper in the fifties. The late Mr J. B. Elworthy was first heard of in these parts as the owner of the Adelong Mining Journal which was launched by him and the well-known journalist C.W. Morgan, in 1858, the office of publication being in Campstreet, Adelong. The size of the sheet was about a quarter of the present dimensions of the Times, and the antiquated hand-press upon which the paper was produced is still in our possession. Mr Morgan's connection with the paper was of but a few months' length. In 1860 the rush to the Kiandra gold-field carried with it the bulk of the Adelong population and business at Adelong became paralysed, necessitating an alteration in Mr Elworthy's plans. It was intended to start in Kiandra and part of the plant was removed hence with that object, but wiser counsel prevailed and a halt was called at Tumut, where the Wynyard Times, published by J.B. Elworthy, made its appearance on November 20, 1860. The paper was conducted under this style until December 29, 1864, when it changed its title to the Tumut and Adelong Times and held sway under that name until 1868 when, upon the bridge being opened over the Murrumbidgee at Gundagai, Mr Elworthy decided to remove his plant to Gundagai, the title of The Gundagai Times being adopted and maintained ever since. The present proprietor, Mr Arthur Elworthy, was born at Tumut during the period that his father conducted the paper there. He has been connected with the paper for 26 years, being a junior partner for three years prior to assuming the sole proprietorship in 1889. Of the present staff Mr G.A.Grey (editor) and Mr J. Vaughan (of the mechanical branch) have been connected with the paper for seventeen years. South of Sydney the only papers senior to this journal in length of publication are the Goulburn Herald and the Yass Courier. The latter is in its 51st year. A singular feature in connection with those papers as with ours, is that they have throughout remained in their original hands, Mr W.R. Riley having had an uninterrupted control of the Goulburn Herald whilst Mr A.C. Wood has grown from boyhood to the "hoary side" in controlling the destinies of the Yass Courier. For some time the proprietor of the Times had given consideration to various schemes by which the unique occasion of the paper's jubilee might be signalised, and several old and esteemed journalists expressed a desire to come to Gundagai to felicitate us and co-operate in some appropriate function. Mr Elworthy, however, finally resolved that nothing in the nature of a demonstration was possible, for the reason that the wide support received by the paper over so many years has issued from so many sources that it would be impossible to carry out any programme without running the risk of inadvertently overlooking some of his best friends and many of the paper's most generous and consistent supporters. If such were possible, nothing would give him greater pleasure than to meet all the paper's old and tried friends on such an occasion, but under the circumstances he is content to simply extend his deepest thanks to old constituents who have been such potent factors in enabling us to take our part in upholding the rights of the people and the district, and in cultivating a sound, tolerant and progressive public opinion. We have throughout closely followed the policy of endeavouring to conduct our paper upon honest and clean lines. The public alone are the judges as to whether we have maintained that ideal, and whether we have kept pace with contemporary provincial journalism. Our one promise for the future is to do our utmost for our district and the State." Like his father and his older brother Billy, Arthur was a civic-minded man, deeply involved with all the district doings. He spent almost all his adult life working for the good of the community and there were few public movements with which he was not connected. He was always quick to lend support to a worthy cause and one of his favourite associations was the Gundagai Pastoral and Agricultural Society, where he was secretary for twenty years - and later became its patron. Arthur was a keen trout fisherman and whenever possible, with groups of friends and son Fred (perhaps even keener than his father), travelled by horse and sulky to Adjungbilly to camp and to fish. No casual attire for these gentlemen. Some pictures of 1911 show the men dressed in collars and ties, long trousers, waistcoats and each wearing a business style hat! When war came in 1914, Arthur really threw himself into the war effort. His eldest son, 23-year-old Fred who had been a lieutenant in the Cadet Corps, was one of the first men in the district to enlist. On board the Star of Victoria, during the hellish time on Gallipoli and later in hospital in Egypt, Fred wrote long descriptive letters to family members. Arthur published most of them in the Times and unashamedly used them as recruiting aids. He was on the Recruiting Committee, continually exhorting the young men of the district to enlist and 'do their bit'. Rifle Clubs throughout the country urged members to enlist. As Captain of the Gundagai Rifle Club, Arthur was well-placed to promote this. He served on the committee which, in April 1916, decided to commemorate Anzac Day by planting trees from Leary's Bridge to Gundagai Park, with an ornamental gate at the common fence. A public subscription was taken up and many people planted trees in memory of the fallen. In June 1916 Arthur became a Trustee of the Local Wounded Soldiers Fund and like most of the townspeople, contributed to the Soldiers Cigarette Fund! The following month the Executive Council confirmed his appointment as the Deputy Licensing Magistrate for Gundagai - a position he held for many many years. Army enlistments were slowing down. A referendum on conscription was held in October 1916 with Arthur appointed to the Bench of the Referendum Court. Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria voted in favour of conscription but a resounding NO from South Australia, NSW and Queensland defeated the motion by a narrow majority. In May 1917 'Red Triangle Day' was celebrated and the town turned out in force to raise money for the YMCA. Dressed as John Bull, Arthur headed the parade up Sheridan Street along with Uncle Sam, Bo Peep, Napoleon, Charlie Chaplin, Admiral Jellicoe, Sir Douglas Haig, Marie Antoinette, Lord Kitchener, Lord Roberts and a variety of jesters, babies, fishermen and cowboys. School children dressed up as well-known townsmen (including Arthur). Apart from having a fantastic time, the town raised more than one thousand pounds! The Times staff must have been very reliable and supportive of Arthur who was forever busy carrying out his many civic and patriotic duties. After he had been ill for some time with influenza and bronchitis, one prominent South Gundagai man said to him as he struggled to the office with difficulty to fulfil his duty as an honorary justice: "If you die Elworthy, we are done". By December 1917 the people were war-weary and voluntary enlistments had declined sharply. Another referendum was held with a greater majority against conscription. As a consequence, Australia's was the only army on either side throughout the war to consist solely of volunteers! Arthur had interests other than good works. With George Rice, J.M. Dodds and D. Kenny, he was a partner in the Long Tunnel Gold Mine which struck rich gold bearing ore at 325 feet in May 1918. Aweek later it made headline news in the Times which stated the gold was contained in hornblende and calcite. Apart from being a member of the Masonic Lodge, Arthur also belonged to the "Strangers' Friend Lodge of Oddfellows" whose aims were to provide comfort and consolation for members when in need. The 47th Anniversary of Oddfellowship was held in October 1918. Frank Hansen, the father of Arthur's new daughter-in-law Viola, was Deputy District Grand Master of the Order and also provided the musical items. The war finally came to an end but Arthur was as busy as ever welcoming the boys back from the front and serving on the Repatriation Committee. He was also Guardian of Minors, served as a churchwarden of St John's and as a Justice of the Peace. His appointment as District Magistrate was renewable annually by the Governor. (At the time of his death he was the oldest magistrate in the district). Although Arthur and Leah were very patriotic, it must have been a tremendous strain and worry to have all three sons away fighting. The end of the war brought great relief to them as one by one their sons returned from serving their country. The subsequent arrival of grandchildren was a source of much joy to them both. Leah had been prominent in the town's church and social work in her younger days, but as she grew older she was quite content to spend her time in her beloved garden, and with her grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Towards the end of January 1930 Leah was ill with gastroenteritis and was cared for at home by her daughter Doris. Very suddenly, without any prior warning, Leah collapsed and died of a heart attack on 3 February. During the eulogy, the minister stated: "Of recent years her family, her beautiful flower garden and her home duties demanded all her attention but in the fullness of her heart, her thoughts were always with others who might perchance suffer trouble. "Two of her greatest joys in life were to watch the tiny seedlings, sown by her own diligent hands, spring up, bud and burst into flower, and to have little children around her - her passionate love for both formed a noble characteristic in a charming well-spent life. She had learned to know God by the beauty of flowers and music and in devotion to the home. To know her was to love her." Sixty-seven motor cars followed the hearse when she was laid to rest in Gundagai Cemetery and people came from great distances to pay their respects to the sweet and lovely lady. Some of the joy went out of life for Arthur. Almost every mornings he was outside the Times office, with his pipe in his mouth and his hat on his head, gathering the news and ready for conversation with everyone who came along. The fact that most Gundagai people referred to him as "Dad" showed the fond regard they felt for him. Leah had owned 35 perches of land with frontage to Sheridan Street on which was a cottage of five rooms, kitchen, bath room, as well as a shed - total value 505 pounds and this she left to Arthur. A year later he deeded it without charge to his daughter Doris Frew Brown. His mother Henrietta had retained ownership of the printing premises which Arthur had then rented from her until her death in July 1915 when she bequeathed them to him. (She also left more than two thousand seven hundred pounds each to her sons Arthur, Ernest and Harold). The Gundagai Times had been run successfully by Elworthy father and son since 1868 but although trained as a journalist, Fred declined to carryon the tradition. By the end of 1931 Arthur decided to sell or, as colourfully phrased by the other Gundagai newspaper The Independent in his later obituary, "to say au revoir to the inky way". Arthur sold 'the goodwill, plant, machinery, stock-in-trade and effects of The Times for one thousand pounds to Mary Sullivan, proprietor of The Gundagai Independent into which the The Times was incorporated. This was in the midst of the Great Depression when times were very tough. The purchase price was broken up into payments of 50 pounds on 11 Nov 1931, a further 200 pounds on 25 Nov 1931, 250 pounds on 10 Jan 1932, and the balance by yearly instalments of 100 pounds each, (making the final payment due on 10 Jan 1937). Over the next few years, the world brightened up considerably. Walt Disney made his first colour film, Clark Gable began his movie career, Noel Coward wrote Cavalcade, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened, Sophia Loren was born, Joe Louis won his first fight, the world was amazed at the birth and survival of the Dionne quintuplets and the largest ship in the world, the SS Normandie was launched. Arthur visited various parts of Australia, and in the last twelve months of his life shared his time between his daughters Eileen at Cooma and Doris in Leeton. He suffered a heart attack in mid-May 19835 and although he rallied, a second attack a week later proved fatal. Arthur died at Cooma on 19 May 1935 and in his poignant obituary, the Gundagai Independent stated 'the stout heart beat fainter and fainter until it beat no more'. Arthur appointed his three sons Fred, Jim and Jack as executors and left twenty pounds to each of his grandchildren upon reaching the age of 17 and the munificent sum of one hundred pounds to Fred. Eileen and Doris were each left three hundred pounds and Dobbie was given his car as well. His gold watch and chain went to Jim and the balance of the estate was to be divided equally between Jack and Jim. Arthur's nett estate was comparatively small due to the large mortgages owing on the land purchased for Jim and Jack as well as guarantees given on their behalf to the Union and CBC Banks for Rees' land and a guarantee to his son-in-law Frew Brown. Almost nine thousand pounds had to be paid out, leaving a balance of just over six hundred pounds. Arthur was a Past Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge and following a large and well-attended funeral service at St John's, a graveside service was held with full Masonic honours. Throughout his life Arthur embodied all that Freemasonry stands for. The Independent reported: "Beautiful wreaths, nearly 80 in number were placed on the grave; and beside the hearse which carried a great number, another car was required to accommodate the floral tributes, all bearing mute testimony to the love and esteem in which one of Nature's gentlemen was held by his sorrowing friends." Tears flowed from men and women as the well-loved "Dad" was lowered to his last resting place. |
| Source References: |
| 2. Type: Book, Abbr: Devon to Downunder, Title: Devon to Downunder, Auth: Bettie Elworthy, Publ: Bookbound, Date: 1997 |
| - Reference = 111, 176ff (Name, Notes) |