Edward Stephen Atkins (1839 - 1927)

Born 23 Mar 1839 in Poplar, London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Susannah (Hubbard) Atkins — married Sep 1860 in England

Descendants

Died 16 Feb 1927 at age 87 in Tyagarah, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Edward Steven Atkins, at the time of his own marriage to Susannah Hubbard GRAVENER was living in Southampton, England and working as a plumber. Two infant girls died in England, the oldest surviving girl, Alice Gravener ATKINS, was born in Capetown on the voyage out, a further 3 children (including two sons) were born in Balmain, Sydney and the final 4 girls, Susannah, Georgianna, Elizabeth and Caroline were born at Palmer’s Island on the Clarence. The later six children all survived to adulthood and marriage.

By 1872 Atkins was living at Palmer's Island near Maclean, New South Wales. His property was just off the Yamba Road, Lots 70 and 71, bounded to the south now by what is now Lollbach’s Road.

He was working as a farmer, sugar manufacturer and sugar mill engineer. He advertised in the Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser of 19th December 1876 as follows:

Sugar Mills and Machinery. E S Atkins, Engineer, Coppersmith, &c. Has much pleasure in informing those intending to erect the above that he is in a position to GIVE ALL INFORMATION, and is prepared to arrange with planters for procuring of mills of the cheapest and most efficient kind, with all the latest improvements. Specifications and Estimates will be given on application for either steam or horse power, including erection, if required, ready for work. To those unacquainted with the process of sugar manufacture, will instruct till parties are competent. First class workmanship guaranteed. PALMER’S ISLAND, Clarence River”.

In 1878 Edward Atkins erected 5 mills and by the end of that year twenty three mills were in operation on the lower Clarence. Atkins was a member of the Loyal Orange Lodge number 4 and a member of the Parochial Council of Lawrence, Lower Clarence and warden of the Church of England congregation at Palmer’s Island. By the late 1879 Atkins was employing South Sea Islander cane cutters, and in 1882 he was a member of the Public School board for District No. 43 and charged with the supervision of Shark Creek, Rocky Mouth, Palmer’s Island, Taloumbi and Yamba schools. However, in 1884 he was fined 5s with 2s 6d costs, for a breach of the Public Instruction Act, in not sending his children to school the requisite number of days, viz at least 70 days in the half year.

His wife died on 29th June 1885, aged forty four. Atkins missed the celebration of the Battle of the Boyne at Ulmarra’s Protestant Hall, which he was due to preside over as Right Worshipful District Master of the Loyal Orange Lodge, “through an affliction in his family”. He relocated his sugar mill in October 1887 to Tyagarah, north of Byron Bay and in 1888 he was forced into bankruptcy after losing his crop of sugar cane in the 1887 Clarence flood.

Edward Stephen Atkins’ second bankruptcy was declared on 25th March 1892 when living at Byron Bay; in his own words:

“On obtaining my Certificate of Discharge in one thousand eight hundred and eighty nine I entered upon sugar cane growing at Byron Bay aforesaid and should have succeeded but for the fact that my crop of sixteen acres which had taken two years hard labour to produce and which at a low estimate would have realized £500 was destroyed by fire.......I attribute my present insolvency to the burning of about 15 acres of sugar cane. It was burnt in January 1892.”

In March 1899 he was again in court called as a witness to the alleged abduction of his daughter Elizabeth, aged 18 years and 4 months, from his custody by James Sullivan. The jury seemed to read this as an elopement; Elizabeth stated she had left of her own accord as her father treated her badly; Sullivan was not found guilty.

His third bankruptcy was entered into on 9th August 1907 (lodged against Edward Stephen Atkins, engineer, of North Sydney). This last one was a consequence of a failed legal action initiated by Atkins. In his own words:

“I am the above named bankrupt. I first became acquainted with Green about the beginning of 1906 after having been working at the Cataract Dam for 3 1/2 years and saving £180. Green informed me that there was no building sand to be had at North Sydney and offered me a 7 years lease of large block of sand stone, he would find the machinery and pay me for erecting for the purposes of crushing stone into sand. I accepted his offer and erected the plant also made several parts, I started crushing and opened out the quarry paying out of pocket labourers’ wages, Green and I had several interviews with his solicitor about terms of lease and when it was ready for signature Green refused to sign saying the property was not freehold I was willing to take it as it was, Green saying it would not be fair to let me have it – two days after Green came to the quarry and said to me he was going to work it himself and he would not recompense for what I had done. I consulted a solicitor Hughes and Hughes and they after writing to Green said I had a good case at the hearing of the case Green denied offering me a lease.”

At his death in 1932 he was described as a very old and respected resident of Palmer's Island, Clarence River and later of Tyagarah, Edward was buried in the Church of England Cemetery, Bangalow, New South Wales.

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