CHARLES HARVEY STAPLETON (1847--1930) AND FAMILY

Mighty Men of Meat

Charles Harvey Stapleton and his wife Elizabeth nee Thompson were married at Liverpool on 30 May 1871. He was the son of William¹ and Mary Ann² (nee Thimbleby) Stapleton and was born 10 September 1847³ at Deeping St James.Lincoln.⁴ He came to Australia with his parents and four siblings in 1853.⁵

When the Stapleton family arrived in Sutherland many changes were taking place. Two main influences on these changes were the Holt-Sutherland Estate Land Company Ltd making leased land available and the construction of the railway line. Both were to be advantageous to this young family.

Charles was a drover and the transient nature of that profession is reflected in the districts shown on some of their twelve children’s birth registrations such as Penrith, Carcoar and Wellington. The birth of their son, Charles Harvey, was registered at Rylstone in 1882 and it was probably after this date the family settled in Sutherland. They built a house on land in the vicinity of present day Stapleton Avenue and planted fruit trees and grape vines. The orchard became a showcase and was often used to promote the district to prospective settlers taken there by estate agents.

The construction of the railway line created business opportunities and with his experience as a drover Charles began to supply meat to the workers’ campsites. The meat was delivered by cart and he soon required three carts to meet the demand.⁶ He most probably acquired his stock from Lehanes who had a well-known cattle run on Malvern Road (Kingsway) where the hospital now stands. Charles also started his own slaughter yard which was in the vicinity of President Avenue and Manchester, Forest and Sylvania Roads.

The railway work was completed in 1885 and the 1890s depression followed, causing the demise of many businesses. Charles survived and in 1896 opened a shop in Sutherland township on the eastern side of the railway. Later two more shops were established at Hurstville and Waterfall and a bakery was commenced at Cronulla. The bakery was managed by his daughter Emmaline (Margaret Emmaline) and the butcher shops were run by sons Charles and Percy. This was the beginning of a number of shops bearing the name Stapleton that established the Stapleton presence in the Sutherland Shire.⁷

In 1901 two of the girls married – Emmaline (Margaret Emmaline) on 27 March to Percival Evans and her older sister Florence May to Edward Young. Beatrice, who was known to the family as Cissie, married George Avery in 1905 and the following year her brother Charles married Amy Amelia Tabor. Mabel married Geoffrey (Harold Geoffrey) Walker in 1913 and Thomas married Doris Boyle in 1930. Frederick succumbed to the influenza epidemic and died on 20 April 1919 aged 26 years.⁸

When the construction of the Woronora Dam began in 1927 the Stapleton butchers again supplied meat to work gangs on the site as they did during the construction of the railway. Their generosity was evident when families had difficulty paying their bills during the 1930s Depression and the war years. No customer went without meat for their family and the two brothers wrote off two ledgers of unpaid debts.

It was during this period their parents Charles and Elizabeth died. Charles Harvey died at his home in Eton Street Sutherland on Wednesday 11 September 1930 just one day after his 83rd birthday. His son-in-law, Rev. Percival J H Evans, was one of the officiating ministers. Elizabeth died on 6 April 1944. They were buried in the Anglican section of Woronora Cemetery.

After Amy and Charles were married they lived at Hurstville and he managed the butcher shop there. When Percy retired one shop was sold and Charles’ sons, Edward, George, Ernest and John managed the shop opposite the railway station. Their brother Alfred died in 1954 when only 46 years old. The family business was eventually purchased in 1972 by John and his sons Denis and Ron. The Stapleton family are involved in other business ventures but the butcher shops continue to serve the community today as they have done for well over 100 years, the longest serving business in the Shire.

JOYCE DELANEY & MAREE McKINLEY

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 CHARLES HARVEY STAPLETON (1847 – 1930) at the heading of this story. You will be taken to the database entry for Charles Stapleton and his family.

Endnotes:

1.  IGI Source 0421986 father’s name shown as Valentine and known to be William

2.  IGI Source 0421986        

3.  Calculated from his death notice

3.  GI Source 0421986

4.  SSHS Bulletin Vol 2 No 16 Nov 1996

5.  Maryann Larkin, Sutherland Shire: a history to 1939

6.  SSHS Bulletin Vol 2 No 16 Nov 1996

7.  NSW BDM indexes