The Green Family

John Green was born in Norfolk, England in 1851. He arrived in South Australia on 24 April 1855 aboard the “Mallard” with his parents John & Elizabeth (nee Griggs) & younger sister Susan.

Soon after arrival John Snr & Elizabeth had moved north to the Pekina area where the remainder of their eight children were born.

John Snr was an overseer on the Pekina Station (owned by Price Maurice) until about 1873 when he purchased a selection near Tarcowie.  By 1877 the selection was sold after which he & most of his family moved away to Eyre Peninsular still in association with Price Maurice.

In April 1877 at Tarcowie, John Jnr married Catherine Dempster, the second daughter of Tarcowie landholder William & Elizabeth Dempster (nee Cowie).

Catherine (Dempster) Green (1858-1936)

John remained in Tarcowie working as a boundary rider possibly on the Pekina station or Tarcowie selection and later as a storeman, butcher and hotel keeper of the Tarcowie Hotel from 1896 until 1901 when he & wife Catherine moved to Farina to take a lease of the Exchange Hotel.

 From Book : “Tarcowie A Place of Wash Away Water”

John Green counted butchering among his several occupations.  Some of the family were among the early selectors, but John Jnr held a slaughter licence and went round the district in a butcher’s cart until he switched to hotel keeping in 1896 as lessee of the Tarcowie Hotel until he moved to Farina in 1901 to take up the Exchange hotel until his death in 1907.

John Green was a storeman at Pfeiffer’s Store in Tarcowie his son Sydney also worked there.

The Port Augusta Dispatch, Newcastle and Flinders Chronicle (SA ) Friday 6 December 1901

APPTLCATIONS FOR TRANSFER OF PUBLICAN’S LICENCES.- GRANTED.

Green, John, holder of a special magistrate’s certificate, to Green, John, Exchange Hotel, Farina, and billiards

John Green died from bronchitis after a short illness at the Exchange Hotel on 2 August 1907 (death certificate states bronchitis).    He is buried at the Farina Cemetery, gravesite unknown.

The Adelaide Register Friday 16 August 1907

DEATHS. – GREEN.- On the. 2nd August, at the Exchange Hotel, Farina, John, dearly loved husband of Catherine Green, after a short illness, aged.57 years. Fight the good fight

An article from the Adelaide Register 7 August 1907 states –

FARINA, August 3 – Mr. John. Green, an old resident, died on Friday. He had kept the Exchange Hotel for the past six years. He has left a widow, two daughters, and three sons. Mr. Green has always materially helped any enterprise for the good of the town and his loss is regretted by all who knew him. 

There are also many memorial notices from his family to commemorate his death in the following years through to 1914.

Following John’s death the licence for the Exchange Hotel was transferred to his wife Catherine Green from 1907-1908 from the following notice :

The Advertiser Adelaide Monday 9 December 1907

The following business was transacted:- Transfers of publicans’ licenses-Catherine Green, Exchange Hotel, Farina, from J. Green.  

The licence was again transferred from Catherine to a Miss Ellen Darmody on 20 June 1908.

Catherine later lived in Adelaide where she died at her daughter’s (Eva Murphy), residence on 25 August 1936.   She is buried at the Mitcham Cemetery.

John & Catherine had six children all born at Tarcowie between 1878–1888, Sydney, Percy, Eva, Hurtle, Ethel & Alexander.

Their two daughters, Ethel & Eva presumably lived in Farina with their parents until their marriage, with Ethel moving to Hergott Springs with husband John Robert Wilson.

Eva remained in Farina with teacher husband Michael Murphy until 1909.

Eva & Ethel were both married at Farina “at residence of bride’s parents/mother” in 1906 & 1908, both weddings would possibly have been held in the Exchange Hotel as it is presumed that John & Catherine lived at the hotel.

Eva married Michael Murphy in 1906, the teacher at the Farina School from 1903-1909.    She was appointed as a “Teacher of Sewing” in 1905 & 1906.  Their first son Oswald was registered as born in Farina in 1906, another son Allan registered in Hergott Springs in 1909 and daughter Lorna in 1911 at Tarcowie after Michael had transferred to Tarcowie School from 1910.

Ethel (my maternal grand mother) married John Robert Wilson in 1908 in Hergott Springs & lived there where five of their eight children were born before the family moved to Adelaide in about 1916.

 Hurtle married Matilda May Parsons of Farina (3^rd of 12 children born to James Clarke Parsons & Ruphina Bralla) at St Matthews Church, Quorn in 1907.

They had 5 children, Matty, John, James, Hurtle & William.  John (1910) was born/registered in Farina with the others in Hawker.

Hurtle & Matilda are both buried in the Port Augusta Stirling North Cemetery.

Of John & Catherine’s other three sons, Percy died in Adelaide at age six in 1886 of diphtheria, Sydney & Alexander both married away from Farina, however still lived with their families in northern outback areas of South Australia.

To view a family tree of Leah Joy Melville and her ancestors, including her Great Grandparents John and Catherine Green, click here.

To view a family tree of William Dempster click here.

To view a family tree of John Green click here.

This article has been kindly provided by Leah Bird and has been published with her permission by the Farina Restoration group