HISTORY can sometimes be a dull and dry topic, consigned to closely typed, musty smelling books.
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Occasionally though, something fabulous comes along which can bring history to life.
This was the case earlier this year when descendants of the Anscombe family gifted the Leeton Family and Local History Society with a series of diaries and photo albums dated from 1914 to 1926 and authored by Cecil Alan Anscombe, one of the original European settlers to this area.
Cecil, 25, and his 19-year-old wife Daisy, left Southampton, England on board the passenger ship Konigin Luise on October 27, 1913 to start a new life in the land of opportunity in Australia.
After spending a bit of time in the Bathurst and Parkes areas, he was lured to the Leeton area with the promise of irrigated land and a new way of life.
On October 24, 1914 Cecil and Daisy arrived at Yanco by train and he noted in his diary "Very hot. 104 degrees, no rain for nearly six months".
Not a great start to their new life.
Still, there was plenty to do to get themselves settled and they eventually took up Farm 238, which today is in the area near Boronia Road and Vance Road in Leeton.
Cecil was a dairy farmer and his 50-acre block would soon become a problem for him.
Like a lot of other new settlers, Cecil attempted to grow a lucerne crop, and, like a lot of new settlers, his crop failed.
A lot of the land had a layer of clay band and the lucerne roots were unable to penetrate it and died.
Cecil was not one to give up and saw the advantages of working with other farmers to try to do something about it.
In early 1916 the dairy section of the Farmers Union was formed and Cecil was one of its first committeemen.
He would later become vice-chairman and he would observe "it is impossible for dairymen to make success under present conditions" and 150 acres of good irrigable land would be requited as a minimum.
The government of the day began to listen to the settlers and that same year Cecil's farm was visited by the Honourable WA Holman, Premier of NSW, who was on a fact-finding mission about the irrigation area.
The government would eventually order a Royal Commission into the area and His Honour Judge Bevan was appointed the Royal Commissioner to inquire into, among a number of things, "the inadequacies of 50-acre blocks as dairy farms".
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Meantime, Cecil was still active and was nominated as board member of the bacon factory at Yanco as the settler's representative.
While he was not successful in this endeavour, he was elected as the honorary secretary of the dairying and pig raising section of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Farmers Union.
It was clear Cecil would not be able to make a real living from his 50-acres.
He, and numerous other early settlers, sought compensation through the Royal Commission.
A waiting game then commenced with Cecil biding his time waiting for some type of financial reimbursement.
Judge Bevan visited his farm and spoke with him personally about his claim, but a lengthy passage of time would pass before any result was achieved.
Cecil and Daisy had their first-born child on January 9, 1918, Dorothy Mary Anscombe.
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According to his diary, on that day Daisy became unsettled and asked for Mrs Shearer, presumably the midwife, about 4.20am in the morning.
Cecil jumped into his sulky and rode to Mrs Shearers, waking her up and they returned to Daisy about 6.30am.
There was work to be done still and as Cecil milked and attended to farm duties, Daisy gave birth to an eight-pound Dorothy.
The first person Cecil told was Gwen Whitcombe, their friends from Farm 30, and he then made his way to the Irrigator office to place the birth announcement in the newspaper.
Another daughter, Pamela, would follow in 1921. Cecil became well known in the area as one of the most severe critics of what he described as "the unproductive capacity of the area", but following the birth of Dorothy, an anonymous wag placed a piece in The Irrigator stating Cecil would never be able to say again that nothing good can come out of the area.
By 1920 Cecil had well and truly had enough and on March 20 a huge clearance sale was held at Whitcombe's property situated at Farm 30, of all the Anscombe's possessions.
Cecil was not one to give up and saw the advantages of working with other farmers to try to do something about it.
It is not clear what compensation, if any, Cecil received as a result of the Royal Commission, but in a farewell letter published in The Irrigator, he stated he wished to thank "the Irrigation Commission for great assistance during my five years residence" and to Judge Bevan for the manner in which "my claim for compensation was treated and the generous interpretation given".
At 2.45pm on March 24, 1920, the Anscombe's left Yanco Railway Station, bound for Bellingen.
Their loyal friend, Gwen Whitcombe rode her horse to the station to see them off and in an overwhelming understatement, Cecil noted in his diary "big crowd on platform".
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Acknowledgements:
- Cecil Anscombe Diaries and Photo Albums 1914 to 1926
- Rogeena Williams, Denbighshire, North Wales, UK. Granddaughter of Daisy and Cecil Anscombe
- Wendy Senti
- The Murrumbidgee Irrigator
- A Brief History of Leeton - A.E. Bowmaker
- Trove
- Disclaimer: The information found in this article has come from a number of sources. The Leeton Family and Historical Society has taken every measure where possible to ensure accuracy and therefore cannot accept any responsibilities for inaccuracy or omissions.
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