A Land Fit for Heroes?

Edward Bramley’s block of 304 acres was at Gangara near Dorrigo. Bramley’s land was in the County of Fitzroy, Parish of Bostobrick, Bellingen Land District.  The Conditional Purchase Inspector reported that Bramley was a ‘steady, industrious man’.[1]  He doubted however, that because Bramley’s land ‘was steep and broken’ he would have trouble succeeding as a dairy farmer.[2]

This appears to have been the case, as by April 1925, even though his wife Ruth and two children were living on the block, Bramley had returned to his first occupation, that of a butcher.  He was fortunate to find work butchering at Megan, 18 miles from his soldier settlement block.  Many improvements had been made on the block however, including the building of a dairy, fowl-house and run and a piggery.[3]  It appears that some of these had been put in place by another farmer under a shared arrangement. 

 Forfeiture was recommended and it appears that this did occur sometime in 1926.[4]

 Footnotes

 [1] SRNSW:  Lands Department; NRS 8058, Returned Soldiers loan files, [12/7303, No. 8397], E.C. McPherson CP Inspector 3 September 1923. 

State Records NSW:  Lands Department;  NRS 8058, Returned Soldiers Loan files; [12/7303 No. 8397] Edward Bramley

National Archives of Australia: B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, Edward Bramley http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=3112147