Ollera and its people: A social and cultural history of a New England pastoral station, 1838--1914

Abstract

This thesis traces the development of a New England pastoral station from its foundation in 1838-9 until early 1914. It examines the Everett brothers' attempt to transplant paternalist attitudes and management-systems from rural England to the fringes of settlement in colonial New South Wales, their successes during the 'lifetime' of the partnership and the inherent flaw which caused its ultimate failure. The thesis explores the English background of the Everetts' and the rural labourers who formed their core workforce and the various 'push' and 'pull' factors which influenced both 'masters' and 'men' to emigrate. It will be argued that the philosophical tenets upon which the Everetts' attitudes, mind-sets and management-styles were based were central to their success. Equally important were three discrete but inter-connected networks of 'kinship and friendship' which linked the two 'classes' of immigrants from Wiltshire and ran laterally and vertically between peer-groups in England and Australia. The thesis draws on the station records, letters, journals, diaries and account books to reconstruct the daily lives and experiences of the masters and their assisted-immigrant workers. The outcome for the latter of the brothers' paternalist regime and their responses to the new conditions encountered on the frontier are examined. Practical paternalism and its corollary, 'enlightened self-interest' is evident throughout.