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George Kite and Family
George Kite, born on 31 January 1808 at Tilshead in England married Mary Baker, at the age of 22, on 26 May 1830. After the birth of their fifth child the family decided to immigrate to South Australia. They qualified for an assisted passage on the Rajasthan and arrived on 9 February 1840. Mary, George and their four children, set up house in Hindmarsh. One daughter, Ann born in 1834, had died in England before they left. Once settled George started work as a teamster and Mary had three more children. Their first child born in South Australia was a girl named Mary on 7 March 1842. Life was often difficult for the Kite family and they suffered many setbacks and hardships. A son, Charles, was born a year later and after the birth of her eight child, a son named William, Mary died at a relatively young age of forty-one on 11 March 1849. With George being away very often, and for extended times, his seven year old daughter was made a Ward of the State and taken to Mintaro. At the age of twenty Mary married one of the local Mintaro boys, John Tickle on 15 October 1862. Mary's sister, Sarah, born 31 December 1833 at Tilshead also went to Mintaro and married William Willmott, a local farmer. They had four children but Sarah died after the birth of the last one on 19 February 1861, barely twenty-seven years old.
George took his sons with him and most of them later worked for him or established themselves in the north. His eldest son Joseph, born in 1831, later married Louisa Johnson, became a teamster and worked for a time from William Creek on the Oodnadatta Track. His other son George, born in 1836, also became a teamster and operated from Stirling North. Here he married Emily Cossins on 10 June 1870 and later settled with his own family in Farina. George died at Stirling North on 22 August 1894. Stephen, born in 1838 also moved to the north, married Matilda McFarlane and lived at Saltia and Blinman where their first three children were born. From there it was back to Stirling North and eventually Farina. Stephen's only daughter, Annie, married James W. White of Farina on 24 April 1893. Stephen died at Farina on 30 December 1914.
Charles, born in 1843, also took to the transporting business and called Port Augusta home for some time. He married Georgiana Smith and operated a hotel at Saltia. From 1870-1873 he was a Poundkeeper at Hookina. George's youngest son William operated a team from Stirling North. Here he married Louisa Humphreys on 5 June 1871, and built and operated a hotel at Stirling North. In 1891 his wife opened her own General Store on Stirling Road.
Eight years after the death of his wife Mary, George, who was now forty-nine married twenty-four year old Ellen Goulding, a widow, at Burra on 15 June 1857. At first George worked around the Burra area where there was plenty of carting and other work to be done for the mine, the local pastoralists and farmers. The first three children from this marriage were all born at Gum Creek, near Burra. John in 1858, James in 1860 and Ellen in 1862. John became a drover and first lived in the Northern Territory and finally in Farina where he had his own camel team. On 31 May 1877, John was in Blinman giving evidence at an inquest held by J.P. Buttfield on the body of Edward Hughes who had died from wounds inflicted by himself, at Beltana Station, while in an unsound state of mind. James went droving with his father at an early age and never attended school. After the birth of Ellen the whole family went north once again. This time to the Northern Flinders Ranges where George had found a job as shepherd at Illiawortina. It was here that their son Thomas was born on 30 November 1864. From here they moved to Willowie Station where a girl Katherina was born in 1867 and twins on 11 December 1870. Complications at this birth resulted in the death of Ellen on 14 January 1871, aged thirty-seven. Sadly George was on the road again with his son James and only found out about the tragedy when they came home. The twins died a few months later. After the death of his second wife and a large number of small children, George moved south to Hookina where he became a Pound keeper with his son Charles for several years. Several of George's children and grand children remained in the north. They lived for years at Farina and Blinman. It was at Blinman, while visiting his family that George died on 12 October 1874, aged sixty-six. His death certificate was signed by Doctor A. Vonnida. *** If you would like to find out more,
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