|
|---|
E.T. Braddock
|
Born in 1835, Edward Thompson Braddock came to South Australia with his family and settled at Wallaroo. From there Edward and some of his brothers left for Auburn where they operated the firm Braddock Brothers and Co. In 1859 Edward decided to branch out on his own and consequently the partnership was dissolved. Soon afterwards we find Mr Braddock in the Flinders Ranges where he and some partners made several mineral applications in 1863. (Many were to follow later) By the end of that year he went into a new partnership with T.W. Hood and ran a store at Hookina, a newly surveyed town to cater for all the traffic between Port Augusta and the northern mines and pastoral properties. At the age of twenty-nine Braddock married Annie Cox, sixth daughter of Robert Cox. While at Hookina, the Braddock family were able to employ two servants, Marshall Braddock and Alfred West. However Braddock was not able to maintain his upward social and economic mobility. As a result of the prolonged drought mining was abandoned almost everywhere in the Northern Flinders Ranges. There was much hardship felt by individuals such as miners, woodcutters, bullock drivers and storekeepers. This in turn caused a downturn in trade and Braddock was declared insolvent on 28 June 1866. He had to assign his estate on 10 January 1868 to George Morgan and Charles Rischbieth, merchants of Adelaide, to settle his debts. His land at Hookina was transferred to Joseph Bertram of Hookina on 13 May 1869. In 1867 Braddock moved north to Blinman where he started a new store all over again. To this he added the job of postmaster in 1868, for which he received $50 per year. It was here at Blinman that he saw his chance to improve his fortunes even further. On 25 January 1870 Braddock, Holding and Hele applied for the mineral lease of section 3,830, which eventually became the Sliding Rock mine. He became one of its promoters, main shareholders, (496 shares in 1874) director, owner of several town lots and a store in Sliding Rock. He even had one of the streets named after him! Obviously he also thought about investment and the possible re-sale value of the land if the mine really became big and prosperous, as had been rumoured for a long time. When the mine engine at Sliding Rock was started on 9 October 1872, it was Braddock's wife who performed that task, watched by nearly two hundred people. Six months after Braddock had acquired all this land he sold the first of it. He also went into partnership with Alexander Wyly, running the store at the Rock. By the mid 1870s the Braddock family left Sliding Rock, after having secured a manager for their Blinman store, at moved to Farina where he was elected Patron of the newly formed Cricket Club in 1879. Today a bridge across the Willochra Creek, on the road between Quorn and Carrieton across the Willochra Plain, is named Braddocks Bridge.
***
For more information on the Braddock Family see If you would like to find out more,
|
|---|
