Mid North Coast Pioneers - Newcastle to Lismore and beyond

"CANNINGALLA"

"Canningalla" is a large property on the Williams River in the Bandon Grove area which was owned in 1828 and still is owned by the Dowling family. There were tenant cottages in the 1800's for many tenant farmers. The Atkins as well as my great great grandparents James and Amelia Garrett lived in one of these tenant cottages. "Canningalla" today is not as large as it was back then as land was sold to other farmers. The tenant cottages are no longer there but Bill Dowling showed me back in 2000 where they were. Dairy farming ceased on Canningalla 15 years before 2000. I took photos of the area but they are not digital photos. Many different families lived in this area and one of the Haggarty's was the last to dairy farm on Canningalla. The Haggarty's come into my Bland family lines. I have Louisa Atkins and her family in my tree as so many Dungog families married into each other. My great grandmother Jane Garrett was born 1859 and married 1878 on "Canningalla" in her parents cottage.

In the National Library Archives in Canberra I found a book with James Dowling's title to Canningalla mentioned. He was a judge who lived in Sydney and his son ran the property.

Bill Dowling has a B&B in the old house which he partly inherited from his mother or rather he purchased it after she died from his other siblings. We stayed there in 2000 and enjoyed talking family research and history as he has a book on the Dowling family history.

The Dungog Chronicle began in 1888 and still publishes today. They put out a book in 1988 for their centenary and it has some interesting articles from their paper for those hundred years. I have a copy and it is available from the Dungog Chronicle Office at Dungog.

Trust this gives you a little history of Canningalla.

Sylvia Anderson 15 April 2008