John BAX
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John Bax c 1870
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Jane Bax c 1890
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Born in 1823, John Bax was the youngest son of Mary Tutty and STEPHEN BAX. Childhood wasn't an invention at that time and John received no schooling and, along with older sister, helped his parents in their various businesses. John's obituary in the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative ( Thursday 23 September 1909) tells about his early life. At thirteen years old he was apprenticed to a miller, Francois Girard, who had established a mill and warehouses at Darling Harbour. John's father would have arranged this, knowing Mr Girard through business. Mr Girard was a tyrant who treated his employee 'harsh and unjustly. Even in his closing years he never forgot the tyrant master of that mill which flourished back in the thirties. However the firm but kindly, government of his father kept him strictly in the path of duty, irksome as it was to the spirited boy.' Approaching his 14th birthday John received a firm but kind letter from his father.
As well as farming John drove the mail route from Mudgee to Coonabarabran via Mendooran. During this time bushrangers roamed the lonely bush and many mail coaches on other routes were apprehended and robbed. John said that he 'was never molested by any of them' but he often referred to a meeting with Ben Hall.'
Cobb and Co photo 1909
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There was a second letter from Stephen, perhaps sensing or knowing that John was planning to leave the mill.
Although John kept both letters for the rest of his life, he left the mill in 1839 and began droving and breaking horses at age 16 . ' John's fame as a horseman is well known to all residents and as a whip, few men were his equal.' 'Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW), Thursday 23 September 1909, page 21There were only three buildings in Mudgee at the time he first laid eyes on Mudgee; two cottages and the Belmore Hotel but it was in Mudgee that John would remain and build his life. In August 1847 he married Jane Robinson of Gulgong at St John the Baptist Church in Mudgee and then took up a farm at Burrundulla , just South of Mudgee. In John's obituary it said that there were five daughters and four sons of which three boys and two girls survive. The children were Mary Jane Kelman (1853-1882), William Thomas (1856-1919) (see EDITH EMILY BAX for more information on William), Emily (1861-1919), John Frederick (1863-1939), Ernest Stephen (1866-1947), Jemima (1868 -1911), Arthur George (1869 - 1873-). There were two other daughters, Miriam Bridges and Matilda, both of whom I can't clarify the dates. In any case Arthur, Miriam and Matilda died in infancy and early childhood. After the Royal Mail, John went onto work for Cobb and Co delivering mail, freight and passengers to locations between Mudgee and Coonabarabran. It was while enroute to Coonabarabran that John had a serious accident. 
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An interesting aside; Hotels around the country named Royal Mail, Exchange and other variations were actual historical locations on transport routes, associated with stagecoaches or mail services. These routes often included stops for travelers and horses to rest, making the pub a central meeting point for those moving goods and people etc. John left Cobb and Co in the 1860s to commence his own courier business from Sydney bringing heavy loads to Mudgee for building and farming. In 1863 he brought the first steam thresher to Mudgee for his own use. This was a huge and heavy piece of equipment but John was used to such loads. He planted Lucerne at the farm which paid for his rent and living expenses. In 1870 the family moved into a house on Lewis St Mudgee where John and Jane remained until they passed away.
Eventually the discomforts of the Cobb and Co driving life drove him to find work closer to home. From 1887 he worked for Mudgee Council as the 'Inspector of Nuisances, ' essentially impounding wayward stock - mostly horses and cows. Apparently he was so spirited that he impounded the Magistrate's straying cow many times. He was also 'Caretaker of the Town Hall, Rate Collector, Bailiff and Messenger.' New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW), Tuesday 5 April 1887 (No.203), page 2432 At the same time John worked for the Gas Company lighting the town's street lamps. 'When the wind blew out his torche he had been known to climb the post and hang on like any schoolboy, until the righting was accomplished.' Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative , Thursday 23 September 1909,
He was also an active member of the Freemasons for many years, being one of it's oldest members at 45 years. He was also Tyler for many years of the Masonic Lodge.
In 1897 John and Jane celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary as the oldest surviving couple in Mudgee at that time. Sadly it was the following year November 3rd that John's beloved Jane passed away.
John kept on with his two jobs for a couple more years but in 1900 he retired from Council although he kept on with lighting the lamps for the Gas Company for a number of years.
There was a notice in the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative acknowledging his 85th birthday on September 17th, 1808. He didn't quite make his 86th birthday dying the day before, following a brief illness. He certainly had many, many birthdays as his father Stephen had wished for him in his letter to thirteen year old John.
John Bax was enthusiastically eulogised with many obituary's in many country papers. He was loved by his and respected by his community and acknowledged as being strong and resilient. One of the headlines was; 'John Bax; The close of a long and strenuous life.' Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW), Thursday 23 September 1909, page 21
John was described in his obituary as having 'a nature almost bordering on tenderness, and an overwhelming sympathy for suffering, he was sudden and quick in a quarrel though easily guided by a friend, inflexible as steel when opposed by a foe. Often he risked his life in attempts to save the lives of others, fighting fires or swimming floods which provided a field for his intrepidity.' It went on to say, ''there was no husband more faithful, no father as kind, no citizen as conscientious, no worker so tireless, no friend so true.' Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW), Thursday 23 September 1909, page 21
So well known was John Bax that he was immortalised in folklore, with a song about him written by CH Souter, a well known folk song writer from Adelaide . The first couple of verses are
Eventually the discomforts of the Cobb and Co driving life drove him to find work closer to home. From 1887 he worked for Mudgee Council as the 'Inspector of Nuisances, ' essentially impounding wayward stock - mostly horses and cows. Apparently he was so spirited that he impounded the Magistrate's straying cow many times. He was also 'Caretaker of the Town Hall, Rate Collector, Bailiff and Messenger.' New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW), Tuesday 5 April 1887 (No.203), page 2432 At the same time John worked for the Gas Company lighting the town's street lamps. 'When the wind blew out his torche he had been known to climb the post and hang on like any schoolboy, until the righting was accomplished.' Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative , Thursday 23 September 1909,
He was also an active member of the Freemasons for many years, being one of it's oldest members at 45 years. He was also Tyler for many years of the Masonic Lodge.
In 1897 John and Jane celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary as the oldest surviving couple in Mudgee at that time. Sadly it was the following year November 3rd that John's beloved Jane passed away.
John kept on with his two jobs for a couple more years but in 1900 he retired from Council although he kept on with lighting the lamps for the Gas Company for a number of years.
There was a notice in the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative acknowledging his 85th birthday on September 17th, 1808. He didn't quite make his 86th birthday dying the day before, following a brief illness. He certainly had many, many birthdays as his father Stephen had wished for him in his letter to thirteen year old John.
John Bax was enthusiastically eulogised with many obituary's in many country papers. He was loved by his and respected by his community and acknowledged as being strong and resilient. One of the headlines was; 'John Bax; The close of a long and strenuous life.' Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW), Thursday 23 September 1909, page 21
John was described in his obituary as having 'a nature almost bordering on tenderness, and an overwhelming sympathy for suffering, he was sudden and quick in a quarrel though easily guided by a friend, inflexible as steel when opposed by a foe. Often he risked his life in attempts to save the lives of others, fighting fires or swimming floods which provided a field for his intrepidity.' It went on to say, ''there was no husband more faithful, no father as kind, no citizen as conscientious, no worker so tireless, no friend so true.' Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW), Thursday 23 September 1909, page 21
So well known was John Bax that he was immortalised in folklore, with a song about him written by CH Souter, a well known folk song writer from Adelaide . The first couple of verses are
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THE BAX CHILDREN
Mary Jane married John Kelman (1856-1920) in 1871. They had three children that survived; George Gordon Bax (1872 -1913), William John (1875-1958), Mary Agnes (1878-1972), James Campbell Kelman (1880-1951). She remained in Mudgee. In 1892 her 11 year old son James was charged with stealing a cash box from the premises of his grandfather. There were four other boys involved but 'Kelman was the ring leader.' He was sentenced to three months jail. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW), Saturday 5 March 1892, page 552
William Bax is documented in EDITH EMILY BAX page.
John Frederick remained in Mudgee and was a coach builder. He erected a coach 'factory' next to the family premises on Lewis Street. There is this very sweet article below about how successful his factory was.
He married Mary Louise Snelson and had six children; Frank Wilson (1888-1976, Jack (1890-1918), Ilma (1892-1966), Lola (1894-1894) , Archibald (1901-1975) and Frederick Clifford (1903-1978). His son Jack died in WW1 and his son Frank also served. His daughter Lima was a nurse in WW1. He moved to Cobar and then Sydney where he died.
The two sisters Emily and Jemima never married and remained in Mudgee, perhaps still living with their parents.
Ernest Stephen Bax (Ern) remained in Mudgee and was a store keeper. In 1888 he had an accident with a gun while shooting hares and shot his foot causing serious damage. He married Mary Ellen Drew and had four children; Allan Ernest (1894-1971), Irma Mary (1897-1984), Ralph (1899-1899) and Lola (1904-1945).
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Mary Jane married John Kelman (1856-1920) in 1871. They had three children that survived; George Gordon Bax (1872 -1913), William John (1875-1958), Mary Agnes (1878-1972), James Campbell Kelman (1880-1951). She remained in Mudgee. In 1892 her 11 year old son James was charged with stealing a cash box from the premises of his grandfather. There were four other boys involved but 'Kelman was the ring leader.' He was sentenced to three months jail. Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW), Saturday 5 March 1892, page 552
William Bax is documented in EDITH EMILY BAX page.
John Frederick remained in Mudgee and was a coach builder. He erected a coach 'factory' next to the family premises on Lewis Street. There is this very sweet article below about how successful his factory was.
He married Mary Louise Snelson and had six children; Frank Wilson (1888-1976, Jack (1890-1918), Ilma (1892-1966), Lola (1894-1894) , Archibald (1901-1975) and Frederick Clifford (1903-1978). His son Jack died in WW1 and his son Frank also served. His daughter Lima was a nurse in WW1. He moved to Cobar and then Sydney where he died.
The two sisters Emily and Jemima never married and remained in Mudgee, perhaps still living with their parents.
Ernest Stephen Bax (Ern) remained in Mudgee and was a store keeper. In 1888 he had an accident with a gun while shooting hares and shot his foot causing serious damage. He married Mary Ellen Drew and had four children; Allan Ernest (1894-1971), Irma Mary (1897-1984), Ralph (1899-1899) and Lola (1904-1945).
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