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DOLAN FAMILY of DOLANS BAY
PATRICK DOLAN 1809--1871 and BRIDGET DOLAN
Patrick Dolan was
born in 1809 in County Cavan, Ireland. He arrived in Sydney on 29 April 1844 on
the ship “United Kingdom” as an assisted immigrant. On departure the ship
carried 388 Bounty Immigrants but during the voyage the deaths occurred of three
adults and twenty-five children. The passenger list of the “United Kingdom”
records Patrick as a 35-year-old agricultural labourer who could both read and
write. Accompanying Patrick was his wife Bridget aged 30 and daughters Rose 11,
Margaret 9, Bridget 7, Susan Agnes 5 and Catherine 3. Another daughter, Mary, is
recorded in the Nominal List of Deaths as having died during the voyage, on 10
January 1844, the cause of death being chronic hydrocephalus. A son Dominick, 13
was
also listed. The family were Roman Catholic and a bounty was paid for the family
of
£
91.7s.6d being
£18.7s.6d. for each
of the adults and
£9.3s.9d.
for each of the children. On the agents list a note had been made on 20 May 1844
stating that Patrick refused to work with a Mr. Boyd, that his son Dominic was
employed as a butcher and two of his daughters were also employed. Bridget was
employed milking cows and with her employment came a house.
Little is known of
the family’s early days in the Colony. However, a Patrick Dolan was the licensee
in December 1855 of the Captain Cook Hotel, Spring Street Sydney. There is no
confirmation that this is the same Patrick Dolan but later
others in the family were
involved in the hotel industry. Daughter Margaret married into the Barden family
who operated hotels and daughter Susan operated a hotel in Arncliffe. However
the money was acquired, by January 1857 Patrick had sufficient funds to buy two
parcels of land. One purchase, (ref 57/255), was of 152 acres, 1 rood and 4
perches at a cost of
£154.5s.6d.
Another plot, (ref 57/256), of 134 acres, 2 roods was for
£134.5s.6d. There is
no reference to say that the property was encumbered. This land was on the
western side of Burraneer Bay and included the area now known as Dolans Bay.
Daughter Bridget died in 1849. Her burial is recorded as a Roman
Catholic burial, on 28 August 1849, in the Parish of Saint James in the County
of Cumberland (State Records NSW Reel 5044 Volume 117). Although no parents are
named her age is given as 14 years, her place of death as Redfern and the ship
of arrival
United Kingdom,
confirming she would be the daughter of Patrick and Bridget.
An article in the
Sydney Mail of 9 November 1861 noted that a Patrick Dolan residing on Georges
River, discovered a body. At first the body was supposed to be of a man named
Joseph Sutcliffe who had been drowned in Botany Bay about a fortnight
previously. Afterwards it was thought to be the body of a man who fell overboard
from the ketch “Star” about a fortnight before the time referred to.
It
appears that Dolan, upon finding the body, took several men employed as fencers
by Mr. Thomas Holt, to the beach and with their assistance buried the body
there. Dolan then came to Sydney and reported the occurrence to the City Coroner
who declined to hold an inquest as the location where the body was found, in the
Parish of Sutherland, was then in the Police District of Liverpool.
Patrick Dolan’s Burraneer Bay property was
almost surrounded by that of Thomas Holt who began to acquire all the vacant
crown land between Botany Bay and Port Hacking for a huge sheep and cattle
station. Holt also bought out most of the private landowners in the district but
Patrick refused to sell.
Frank Cridland, in his book “The Story of Port
Hacking, Cronulla and Sutherland Shire” (1924) records:
Dolan was
one of the early identities in the district, and the only landowner in the shire
who refused to sell his land to Holt. Rumour has it that Dolan refused very
tempting offers for his property. As generally happens when a “squatters run”
embraces a small holder within its boundaries, a feud sprang up between the
respective owners, especially as one was of Celtic strain, and they were many
disputes between Dolan and Holt’s overseers in regard to straying stock and
rights of ingress. (Page 49)
Patrick had built a
substantial residence on Georges River known as “Ocean View”. It was at this
residence on 11 October 1869 that Patrick and Bridget’s third daughter Susan
Agnes married Michael Joseph Clune.
It
was also at “Ocean View” on 6 October 1871 Patrick Dolans’ death occurred.
The cause of Patrick’s death was recorded as being from
organic
stricture of the oesophagus
of which he had been suffering for seven months.
Children of the marriage were
recorded as one boy and four girls living, with one girl deceased. The informant
for the death was the son-in-law Michael Clune.
Patrick
was buried two days later on 8 October at the Catholic Cemetery Petersham, after
a service at St Joseph’s Church Newtown.
In his will Patrick left the house and garden to
his wife and upon her death it was to pass to his daughter Rose as well as 76
acres. Catherine was left the remainder of the 155 acres. On the other farm
Dominic was to receive 34 acres, also 50 acres each to go to daughters Susan and
Margaret. Minor acres were to be sold to cover death expenses.
Daughter Rose and husband Thomas Stanley were
living at Waverley and it was there on 4 October 1891 that Bridget died. Two
days later she was buried at the Catholic Cemetery Petersham. Her funeral left
from the home of Rose and Thomas Stanley at Waverley. Bridget would have been
buried with her husband as Petersham Cemetery had closed to new burials in 1885.
Until 1905 the only burials allowed were by those families adding relatives to
existing graves. Remains of all persons buried, along with all slabs and
tombstones, were removed from Petersham Cemetery to Rookwood Cemetery or
Bunnerong (Botany) Cemetery in 1926/1927.
Dominick Dolan was born in County Cavan Ireland
in 1831. He arrived in New South Wales aged 13, on 29 April 1844 aboard the
“United Kingdom” with his parents and sisters.
A marriage occurred at St Mary’s Cathedral,
Sydney on 11 September 1854 between Dominic Dolan and Charlotte Greenslade.
Neither signed their name but each made their mark. The ceremony was conducted
by John Maher and the witnesses were Patrick Moore and Hanah Carton, both of
Sydney. As this was before the start of official registration no other details
of the bride or groom were recorded. The couple lived in Newtown and went on to
produce a large family. A son Thomas was born in 1856 but died only five years
later. A daughter Margaret Susannah born in 1858 also died young in 1882 at only
23. A son Samuel Thomas born in 1861 lived till 1913, raising a large family.
There followed Charlotte E 1863 --1867, Dominick G 1932, and Frederick John 1869
-1939.
When Charlotte died
at 90 in 1915 her obituary appeared on 9 December in the Sydney Morning Herald
and stated she had lived in the same house in Newtown for 60 years. No mention
was made of her husband Dominic, other than his encounter with the bushranger
Gardiner.
For Gardiner she had a great respect, on
account of his treatment of her husband when he bailed him up. Gardiner met
Dolan and demanded his money. Dolan had none with him, and posed as a poor man.
On finding the man had no money, Gardiner gave him £l, saying. "I love to rob
the rich and give to the poor."
Is this Dominic Dolan the
son of Patrick and Bridget who arrived in NSW in 1844 or a completely different
person?
No confirmation has been
found either way and to date no other Dominick Dolan has been located in this
time frame and area.
We do know that in
1865 Dominick Dolan purchased land adjoining that of his father from Mr Webster
for
£130.
He built a house at 47 Dominic Street, Dolan’s Bay. This house was still
standing over a century later when advertised in a community newspaper, at some
time after 1966, as being for sale for $895,000. The house was described as
follows: History and character abound in this
near century old house formerly owned by Dominic Dolan after whom Dolans Bay was
named. Despite its history the home only shows its age through hand-picked
sandstone bricks at the front and exposed stonework in various rooms. Stonework,
including a quaint duckpond, also features in the established gardens on the
property.
Dominick Dolan died 24 July 1888 at his sister
Susan’s residence, the West Botany Hotel in Arncliffe where he had been living
since the previous May due to ill health. Dominick’s funeral, on 26 July 1888
left from the West Botany Hotel, going first to Newtown Station, then by train
to the Catholic Cemetery at Rookwood.
Dominick Dolan’s will
was dated the 30th of June 1888. Some weeks after making this will on 23 July
1888, just the day before his death, Dominick added a codicil. In this will and
codicil Dominic made no mention of a wife Charlotte or any children who would
have been living at the time. Had there been a been an estrangement between
these parties, or had this Dominick in fact been a bachelor to his death?
In his will Dominick
left to his nephews Frank Barden and Joseph Barden 36 acres of land at Turriell
Bay, Port Hacking, also
£100 to each. He also
left
£100
pounds to each of his nephews Frederick Barden, John Clunes and Joseph Clunes.
To each of his nieces Clara Barden, Rosa Barden, Mary Clunes and Rosa clunes he
left
£100
pounds. To his mother Bridget he left
£1 per week until her
death and noted that all her death and funeral expenses were to be taken from
his estate.
The codicil to Dominick’s will, dated 23rd of
July, directed that if any surplus was left after all his debts were paid and
bequests made, it was to be equally divided between the Saint Magdalene's
Convent Tempe and Saint Vincent's Hospital Sydney.
Dominick’s estate was
valued at
£5,610.
After his death his will and codicil were contested in court by James and
Catherine Candy, also Bridget Dolan. They requested that the court decide
whether the document dated 30 June 1888 was the last will and testament of
Dominic Dolan, whether the document purporting to be a codicil was such, whether
when Dominic made the will he was of sound mind and whether both or either
document had been obtained by coercion or undue influence.
The case was heard in 1889 in the Supreme Court on Monday 8 April and Tuesday 9 April. Proceedings were reported in the Sydney Morning Herald Law Reports of 9 April and 10 April and also in the Daily Telegraph of 10 April. After the judge’s summing up the jury took only about five minutes to reach a verdict in favour of the plaintiffs on all issues ”answering the first three in the affirmative and the fourth in the negative” ie.The will and codicil were upheld . No undue inflence was found.
All the Dolans land in the area was eventually
sold between 1890 and 1910 but the Dolan name lives on in this bayside suburb in
the Sutherland Shire.
Patrick and Bridget’s first born daughter Rose or Rosanna married Thomas
Stanley on 28 October 1879 at
Ocean View.
The couple made their home at Waverley and it
was here that Rose’s mother Bridget died in 1891. It appears that Rose and
Thomas had no children. No birth registrations have been found and no children
are mentioned in the death or funeral notices for Rose following her death at
her home,
Stoneleigh,
in Wollongong Road Arncliffe on 6th
August 1919. There is no mention made of Thomas in these notices either. Rose
was buried at Woronora in the Roman Catholic Monumental Section. There is no
mention made of Thomas in these notices either.
Patrick and Bridget’s daughter Margaret married Sidney Barden in St
Mary’s Cathedral on 30 April 1856. The couple raised a very large family before
Sidney died in 1870 and was buried at St Peters. The family were involved in the
hotel industry and at one time owned a property at Menai of 111 acres on which
they ran cattle. A large barn on the property was used for New Year dances,
followed by races and sports in Barden’s paddock. Margaret died in 1906, her
funeral on 16th
June was at Rookwood Catholic Cemetery.
Patrick and Bridget’s third daughter Susan Agnes married Michael Joseph
Clune at the Dolan’s
Ocean View
residence on 11 October 1869. The marriage was officiated by the Rev. P J
Fitzpatrick. Susan and Michael had a family of two boys John and Joseph, and two
girls Mary and Rose before, in 1881 Michael died at only 39 years of age. Susan
then took over operation of the West Botany Hotel at Arncliffe. She died 12 May
1910 and was buried with Michael at Woronora.
Catherine, the fourth daughter of Patrick and Bridget Dolan was married in 1882 to James Joseph Candy. By 1888 Catherine had fallen from favour with brother Dominick as she was deliberately left out of his will. Dominick is reputed to have said that she had squandered her own property and she wasn’t going to squander his property. Catherine and James had no children and were living at Harbour Street Wollongong in 1919. Catherine died on 14 March 1919 in Wollongong Hospital and was buried next day in the Roman Catholic Monumental section of Woronora Cemetery. James survived Catherine by many years and was living at Grove Street Earlwood when he died in 1941. He too was buried in Roman Catholic Monumental section of WoronoraCemetery.
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