ARTHUR HILTON FARNELL (1871--1943)

Dedicated National Park Ranger

Arthur Hilton Farnell was born in Ryde in 1871, the tenth of 13 children in the family of James Squire Farnell and his wife Margaret (nee O’Donnell).¹ He was educated at Newington College and went on to study Horticulture at Hawkesbury Agricultural College where he gained considerable expertise in the study of Australian flora. He twice served his country in the armed forces, firstly in the Boer War as a Trooper in the New South Wales Bushmen’s Contingent and secondly in World War I where he served, as a gunner, with the 13th Battery, 5th Brigade, Field Artillery² in Egypt and the Western Front.

 When he enlisted in 1915 at the age of 43, he was an agriculturist and gave his next of kin as his sister Edith Marion Farnell of Audley, National Park.³ At the time of his death, Arthur Farnell was recognised as the veteran Park Ranger and was known as the ‘oldest inhabitant’ of the park.⁴ Except for his period of service with the AIF he worked continually with the National Park from 1904 until his retirement in 1942.

 The Farnell family had a long connection with the National Park, having been continuously associated with the reserve since its establishment in 1879. Arthur Farnell’s father, James Squire Farnell had been a member of the first Trust of the National Park, appointed by the government in April 1879. Farnell Avenue had been named in his honour. This was the lower portion of the original ‘National Park Road’ which was put through from the boundary of Thomas Holt’s land (which was virtually all the area between Georges and Hacking Rivers) to Audley when the park was first dedicated in 1879 and renamed Lady Rawson Parade in 1903 in honour of the State Governor’s wife.⁵

 James Squire Farnell was the son of Thomas Charles Farnell a free settler, who had arrived on the Shipley 1822,⁶ and his wife Mary Ann Squire whom he married at Parramatta in 1824. Mary Ann was the daughter of James Squire (1755-1822) a brewer and farmer who arrived on the Friendship in the First Fleet, having been convicted at Kingston, Surrey in 1785 and sentenced to transportation for seven years. James Squire was one of the earliest brewers in the new colony and the first to cultivate the hop plant in Australia successfully.⁷ Born in 1825 at Parramatta, James Squire Farnell, an accomplished drover and bushman, travelled widely and learned much about his own colony of NSW. After travelling to California in the gold rush period of 1848, he returned to live at Kissing Point where he inherited 400 acres from his mother. In May 1860 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for St. Leonards only to lose his seat at the next election. From May 1872–1875 he was secretary for lands in Henry Parkes’ first government and for a brief period was also secretary for mines. On 18 December 1877 he became the first native-born Premier of New South Wales.⁸ He was the representative for the constituency of Redfern at the time of his death on 21 August 1888.⁹

 After the death of James Squire Farnell in 1888, his position on the Trust of the National Park was filled by his son Frank Farnell (brother of Arthur Hilton) who served as chairman of the Trust for 26 years. When Frank died in September 1929 his ashes were scattered over the waters of the Port Hacking River, fronting National Park in accordance with his will.¹⁰

 During the period of his brother’s chairmanship of the National Park Trust, Arthur Hilton Farnell, in 1904, became an employee of the park – a park ranger. It was at this time that the National Park Trust was advertising arrangements for visitors and announcing an improved railway service to Loftus Junction and Waterfall.

 Vehicles will meet visitors at Loftus Junction daily and at Loftus on       Saturdays and Sundays. In order to secure seats communication may be made by letter or otherwise to Daniel Lobb, Loftus Junction, Sutherland Post office; or to Thos. Cook & Son, Hunter Street. ¹¹

Visitors were flocking to the park which had become a very popular tourist destination. The number of visitors increased rapidly in the early years of the new century, probably reaching its peak in 1910,¹² the year before the Sutherland to Cronulla tramway was opened. This attracted many visitors away from the Park to the beachside areas at Cronulla, one of the reasons being its relative ease of access. In the National Park Annual Trust report written in 1908, a Park official wrote

…is more than cruel to see thousands with their hamper baskets returning from their holiday ascending a hill to the railway station which rises about 600 ft. in a mile.

 Every weekday, no matter what the weather, Arthur Farnell would leave home at 7.30am mounted on ‘Billy’ his faithful horse, accompanied by the family cattle dog ‘Bluey’. He was familiar with every corner of the park’s immense area and one of his duties was to ride out to Bundeena, Garie, and Wattamolla to check on the campers, many of whom were ‘regulars’ and became well known to him. He would make sure everyone was abiding by the park rules in respect to camp fires and not stealing the native wildflowers, especially tempting in the summer time when the Christmas Bush and Boronia were in full bloom.¹³ Local children were also known to pick native flowers illegally in the National Park and in order to earn a little pocket money would sell them along Flora Street (now Adelong Street) to the stream of visitors who walked from Sutherland Railway station to Woronora Cemetery each Sunday.¹⁴

 On weekends, ‘Billy’ was left in the stable and Arthur Farnell was a familiar sight in his khaki uniform and white Panama hat patrolling the Audley area. He was always friendly and never overbearing, regularly stopping for a chat with visitors while making sure they used the proper fireplaces and always put their fires out. He was often in demand to deliver lectures to students on his favourite topic of Australian flora. He loved the National Park and this was reflected in his work ethic.¹⁵

 In 1923, acting as a guide, Arthur led an expedition of three motor cars each with a full complement of passengers, including D.R.Cooper the Mayor of Petersham, through rugged country from Artillery Hill to Bundeena. Despite being bogged, tangled in trees and thick undergrowth, having to clear large boulders and fallen trees and finally making the hazardous descent down to the shore line of Port Hacking they succeeded  in carving out the first track to Bundeena.¹⁶

 During his period as park ranger Arthur lived in ‘Gymea Cottage’ Waterfall then at Audley in a cottage overlooking the river flats just to the left of the present Audley weir and ‘Auvelais’ President Avenue, Sutherland.¹⁷

 Arthur Hilton Farnell married Gladys May Collins at Sutherland in 1915. Their young daughter Dorothy May died 13 March 1920 at the tender age of 13 months.¹⁸ Son Steven (Mervyn Steven) was born 18 September 1923 and served in World War II, as a gunner, with 73 Australian AASL Company.¹⁹ Arthur, late of Belmont Street Sutherland, died 13 June 1943²⁰ while his son Steve was on active service. His wife Gladys, late of Jannali, passed away 26 October 1977, at the age of 83 years²¹ and both were cremated at Woronora Cemetery where a memorial stands in memory of Arthur Hilton, Gladys May and baby Dorothy Farnell.²²

MARILYN HANDLEY

First published in  Sutherland Shire, Some Early Residents, 2006, by Botany Bay Family History Society. Compiled by Maree McKinley and Sue Hewitt.     

Click on the name ARTHUR HILTON FARNELL (1871 – 1943) at the heading of thIs story. You will be taken to the database entry for Arthur Hilton Farnell and his family.

 Endnotes:

1.  NSW BDM Register

2.  AIF Nominal Roll WW1

3.  NAA War Service Dossier, Farnell 7274

4.  Obituary Hurstville Propeller 17 June 1943

5.  M Hutton Neve, Bygone Days of Sutherland Shire 1970

6.  SRNSW Colonial Secretary Index 1788-1825

7. Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 2, 1788-1850.

8^.  Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 4, 1851-1890.

9.  Dictionary of Australian Biography http://gutenberg.net.au /dictbiogF.html

10.  Hurstville Propeller 6 Sep 1929.

11.  St George Call 18 Jun 1904

12.  Maryanne Larkin, Sutherland Shire – A History to 1939, 1998

13.  Information supplied by Mr Steve Farnell

14.  Maryanne Larkin, Sutherland Shire – A History to 1939

15.  Steve Farnell

16.  SSHS Bulletin No 2 Oct 1972, p.12

17.  Commonwealth Electoral Roll 1906-1916

18^.  Woronora Cemetery Database

19.  WW2 Nominal Roll

20.  SMH 15 Jun 1943 Death Notice

21.  SMH 29 October 1977 Death Notice

22.  Woronora Cemetery, Anglican Section 2 grave 303