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Anstead,
Barrellan Point,
Bellbowrie,
Brookfield,
Chapel Hill,
Chuwar,
Karana Downs,
Karana Gardens,
Karalee,
Kenmore,
Lake Manchester,
Moggill,
Moores Pocket,
Mt. Crosby,
Pinjarra Hills,
Pullenvale,
Tivoli,
Upper Brookfield
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INTERNET EDITION
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August
13, 2006
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JUNE 2, 2006
PIONEER’S
MEMORIAL RETURNED TO GRAVE
IT was a gathering that was in some ways
reminiscent of earlier times with riders
emerging from the bush on horseback while others
wound their way up the hill on foot.
The four wheel drives that traversed the hill
reminded us however that we were very much in
the present and that this was an event of our
time where local community spirit was clearly
still very much alive and kicking.
It was wonderful to have such a diverse mix of
people. Students from Pullenvale State School
present with their Principal, members from a
number of the original farming families in the
Pullen Vale and Brookfield areas and other
interested residents. It was this broad
representation from the community that generated
a sense of authenticity and historical
importance that lifted this event to another
level of significance.
Councillor Margaret de Wit spoke about the
importance of keeping our history alive and
acknowledged that this place was significant to
Aboriginal and Non- Aboriginal alike. I shared
some thoughts and personal anecdotes about Adam
Walker. As we gathered around the graveyard
fence it was for many the first time that they
had seen and read the inscription on the
gravestone, which reads: “In Loving Memory Of
ADAM J. F. Beloved Husband of AGNES WALKER -
Died at Pullen Vale, 13th May 1879. Aged 41
years Gone but not forgotten. (A.L.Petrie
Toowong).”
This story really begins however almost twenty
years earlier when I was wandering with my close
friend and compatriot Mrs Libby Wager in search
of the cemetery site. What we found was Adam
Walker’s gravestone on the ground in four
pieces, shattered it seemed by a bullet. We took
the gravestone back to the Pullenvale
Environmental Education Centre with the
intention of protecting it from further damage.
My noble thought of repairing the headstone
remained only a thought however until Verne and
Pat Gibson came to the rescue and donated the
money to have it restored. Once again the idea
of returning the gravestone to its rightful
place surfaced but did not eventuate until
Brendan Ryan acted in 2005, and re-awakened
interest in the idea of bringing the gravestone
home, so the wheels began turning and this
wonderful event was organised.
I cannot thank Brendan and the Brookfield
History group enough for their ongoing
persistence, which has now resulted in the
community having access to a very significant
and important heritage site.
Adam James Furley Walker owned portions 231, 245
and 263 on the south slopes of the Mount
Elphinstone Range to the west of the cemetery.
He arrived in Brisbane from Scotland with his
wife Agnes in 1865. Adam was very active in the
community, and was instrumental in the building
of the first Pullenvale School in 1874. Its
first location was in Blaney’s Paddock and he
was the first school committee secretary.
The school building and residence were later
moved by bullock wagon to its present site in
Grandview Road Pullenvale and functioned there
as the local school until 1981 when it became
part of the Pullenvale Environmental Education
Centre.
The Walkers had nine children, seven of whom
survived their father. In March 1873, the
Queensland Board of General Education received a
letter from Adam Walker formally requesting a
State School for the Pullenvale area on behalf
of the local residents. He died in 1879 of
tuberculosis with which he had suffered for four
years. The Pullenvale community had lost a
committed and enthusiastic advocate. These words
from the letter he had sent to the Board of
Education in 1873 give us a sense of the kind of
man that he was.
“We are but a young and struggling community
endeavouring to plant ourselves in the
wilderness which goodness knows is hard uphill
work with not one among us who has had more than
a pair of strong hands and a willing heart to
enter into this arduous task. But our children
are dear to us and we would not have them grow
up in ignorance to be distanced in the race of
life if by any effort on our part we could avert
it”.
Adam Walker’s gravestone is the only surviving
marked grave in the cemetery site. The
Queensland burial index lists another seven
burials at the cemetery. These are: Adam James
Furley Walker (b.1839, d.1879); Adam Walker
(b.1873, d.1876) and William Walker (b.1878,
d.1879), infant sons of Adam James Furley Walker
and Agnes McLauchlan; Margaret Herron (d.1879),
infant daughter of Thomas Herron and Ann Jane
Gray; Robert Irwin (d.1888), son of William
James Irwin and Christina McKay; Samuel Ballard
(d.1885), son of Samuel Ballard and Eliza Lewis;
Mabel (d.1883) and Louisa Ballard (d.1883),
daughters of Thomas Lewis Ballard and Elizabeth
A. Pellatt.
If you have time to spare then wander up to the
old cemetery site and take a look for yourself.
The entrance is off to the right where Haven and
Gem Road intersect. Gem road is unfortunately
unmarked at the moment, which can be a little
confusing. At this point you need to begin
walking up what appears at first glance to be a
driveway. Walk until you reach a rustic steel
bush gate on your left. This is the entrance to
the old Pullen Vale cemetery. Climb to the top
of the hill and there you will find Adam
Walker’s newly located gravestone.
-Ron Tooth
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