John Bulmer was is said to have been born on 30 Jun 1833 in County Durham in England [1], although, to date, no birth or baptism record has been located; so this cannot be verified. His death record states that he was 80 when he died in 1913, but does not list his birth details, nor the names of his parents [2] In the 1841 England Census, a boy, estimated to be five years old was listed in Monkwearmouth, Durham as the son of Robert Bulmer. [3]
His father is said to have died during Dec 1841 [4] It is assumed that John's mother has already passed at this stage, as it has been stated that his parents died in infancy [5], although no record of her death has been found. Consistent with this account, John is recorded in the 1851 England Census, as living with his uncle, William Bulmer, aged 17. [6]
"In 1849, Bulmer was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, John Eggers, with whom he emigrated to Australia in 1852." The barque "Emigrant" left Sunderland, England on 10 September 1852 and arrived in Victoria, Australia on 3 January 1853. On board were the Eggars family, John, Caroline, Anne, John, Margareth and Elizabeth[7]. The story has that John Eggars, the father, died on the voyage. So, for "the first three years in the colony Bulmer worked as a carpenter to repay his passage and assist the Eggars family to return to England"[8].
"In 1855, having witnessed the maltreatment of the Aborigines, [while working on the goldfields (ref.4)], Bulmer offered himself for the Church of England Aboriginal mission being planned for Yelta near the Murray River. He was accepted by the Church, despite his Methodist background" (op.cit.). 'My great desire was to try to do something for them, to raise them out of their misery.' (Bulmer Papers, 11/11 in ref.2).
"At the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers, the society was given a square mile lease containing a billabong which the local Maraura people called Yelta. There Thomas Goodwin and the young Bulmer constructed their mission station. They worked hard to demonstrate to the Aboriginal people the supposed advantages of a settled farming life. It was a struggle, as agriculture in that environment was impossible without irrigation. Bulmer rapidly learned Maraura, which greatly enhanced his acceptance by the local people. He translated Bible stories and used culturally-appropriate illustrations" (in ref.2).
1858 was the year of his first marriage, to Marian Stocks, a school teacher, who died in Melbourne, in 1861, aged 38. In the same year of 1858, "with the assistance of the Rev Friedrich Hagenauer-37, who had a very different attitude towards the Aborigines, [he] was invited to open a mission in the South Gippsland region" (ref.4) and chose a site at Lake Tyers with the help of the local, remaining Kurnai Aboriginal people. It was located on a peninsula 8 kms east of the entrance to the Gippsland Lakes, and 32 kms from the nearest town. This was indicated to be in July-August 1861. It seems more likely that they ventured into Gippsland independantly of each other for the different sects, Church of England and Presbyterians, as Hagenauer[9], was not involved with Lake Tyers until much later, only with Ramahyuck. In fact, Tulaba (c.1832-1886), an "able horseman and drover, ... visited Melbourne in 1861 to guide the missionary J. Bulmer to Lake Tyers"[10]. Tulaba, of the Kurnai people, was an Aboriginal leader and an anthropological informant, particularly to Alfred William Howitt-67, but rarely stayed at the mission.
Following John Bulmer's marriage to Caroline Blay, which was registered in Victoria, Australia in 1862, they moved to the new Lake Tyers Mission, with both church and government support. Ref.2 has that they had 10 children, 8 boys and 2 girls, born between 1863 and 1888 at Lake Tyers.
"Bulmer's objective was to create a self-supporting settled community. Reflecting on his Yelta experience, Bulmer felt that the missionaries had emphasised sin and God's judgement to the exclusion of God's love and grace, an imbalance he strove to rectify. 'I will not say we did no good ... we pointed out the terrible end, which awaited (them)... Still, this was not the gospel.' (Bulmer Papers, 11/2 and 3) At Lake Tyers Aboriginal men such as William Hanner, Billy McDougall, and Jeremy Barlow became Christians as early as 1863. By 1868, it had assumed the typical mission compound form with neat rows of huts, schoolhouse, mission house and the church of St John which stands today. 'The blacks should be treated ... kindly but firmly ... This is the course I pursue ... and the blacks know very well that I love them and would do them good.' (Royal Commission on the Aborigines, VPP 18771878, 3, 50)" (ref.2). "Unlike other stations, the practising of culture at Lake Tyers received some official support. The first Mission manager, John Bulmer, encouraged the residents to continue their hunting practices to subsidise their rations. Bulmer even requested that an exclusive area of waters be established for the Mission residents when changes in the law threatened fishing activities. The request was denied and as a result many residents were forced to find an alternative livelihood"[11].
In 1878, a wooden church was “erected by the blacks under the able superintendence of Mr Bulmer”[12]. In the presence of the Rev. Canon Stuart Lloyd Chase, who was the donor of the stained glass windows, the church was formally opened on the 26th October 1878" (ref.4).
"John and Caroline Bulmer became virtually synonymous with Lake Tyers Mission, guiding it through many difficult years. As government controls tightened, and Aboriginal people were sent to Lake Tyers from far afield [ - from Ramahyuck, Lake Condah and Coranderk after these stations were closed - (ref.4)] there were tensions between Bulmer and the government, as well as tensions at the mission itself. Bulmer particularly opposed the Aborigines Protection Act of 1886, under which people of mixed parentage were declared to be white and no longer eligible to remain on missions. This caused traumatic splits in families, and Bulmer refused to implement the act for four years. He also protested against the transfer of people to Lake Tyers against their will, and became unpopular with officialdom" (ref.2).
From his time spent with people from the Murray River, the Wimmera and Gippsland, he “was pleased to discover that Aboriginal people shared his belief in a creator of the world and in the immortality of the soul”[13] (pg. 543). Bulmer wrote: “The question has been asked. 'Have the Aborigines of Australia any idea of a supreme being?…’ They certainly have ideas of beings who existed long ago… and that to them all things as they now exist are due… Thus the Murray people had their Ngalambru or ancient of days… The Gippslanders had their Ngalambru, meaning the first… The Maura people had their Boganbe... meaning big or high… The people of the Wimmera had their Ngramba Natchea, meaning the oldest spirit… The blacks did not think death was the end of existence. They recognised the fact that a man had a spirit, Gnowk.”[14].
"In his seventieth year, he was finally ordained a priest on 6 January 1903" (ref.2).
On the 1903 Electoral Rolls, there appear to be 2 families of Bulmers, on the same ER, one at Lake Tyers and the other at Cunninghame. There are 8 at the former and 3 at the latter. The former are John, a missionary, Caroline doing home duties, another John, a farmer, Henry and Frank Tyers both selectors, Frances Amy, assistant missionary, Ethel Caroline and Mary Louise, both doing home duties.
"Lake Tyers was secularised in 1907, the government reluctantly allowing Bulmer to remain for religious duties only. Bulmer wrote 'everything in God's providence worked to bring me to this work and I have never desired to leave it ... I will end my life here among the poor blacks'. (Bulmer Papers 11/11)" (ref.2).
In 1908, the government took over the Lake Tyers Mission through their Aboriginal Protection Board, significantly reducing the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by the people. Residents were not permitted to leave Lake Tyers, and if they did they risked refusal of permission to return (ref.6). Ramahyuck Mission closed in the same year and the remaining residents were sent to Lake Tyers.
In 1909, the Electoral Rolls show a similar situation to that in 1903 with John, a missionary, Caroline doing home duties, another John, a farmer, Henry and Frank Tyers both graziers, and Ethel Caroline and Mary Louise, both doing home duties.
"In time, ... Bulmer began to realise that Aboriginal people's problems were not intrinsically Aboriginal but common to all humankind. God, he came to believe, would understand and accept these people. He also came to see that there was much merit in traditional Aboriginal law: 'the old blackfellow was the better man'. (Bulmer Papers, 11/12 and 13) (ref.2).
John Bulmer's Find A Grave Index record gives the more specific death date of 13 August 1913, with his burial in the Lakes Entrance Garden Cemetery at Lakes Entrance, East Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia. It also gives his birth date as 30 June 1833 in the County of Durham, England[15]. It refers to him as 'Rev. John Bulmer--missionary at Lake Tyers Aboriginal Station.' His gravestone is inscribed 'Aged 80 Years. A devoted worker among the aborigines of Victoria. For ?8 years, and faithful soldier of Jesus Christ. Also his beloved wife. Her name was Caroline Blay Bulmer (1839-1918). She had married John in 1862. The record gives the names of 2 of their children, William Bulmer (1863-1899) and Frances Amy Bulmer (1872-1940).
When he died in 1913, Bulmer had spent fifty-one of his eighty years at Lake Tyers.
"After John Bulmer’s death in 1913 the Victorian Board for the Protection of Aborigines sought to have his wife Caroline and his daughter Ethel evicted from the Lake Tyers station. With the support of the Aboriginals, she petitioned the board to be allowed to stay on the station but after numerous failed attempts, she and her daughter were forced to leave. Caroline Bulmer died five years later at Cunninghame near Lakes Entrance aged 80" (ref.4).
John Bulmer's Probate was granted on 2 February 1914, with the place of death as Tyers, his occupation Clergyman, and death date 13 August 1913.
. his birth year as about 1833 based on his death being registered in 1913 in Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia, aged 80 years. The specific date of 30 June 1833 is given in the Find A Grave record (see below), which gives the location as County Durham. Ancestry Family Tree[16]
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
John is 26 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 22 degrees from Sting Sumner, 22 degrees from Josh Brolin, 26 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 26 degrees from José Ferrer, 23 degrees from Frank Herbert, 21 degrees from Richard Jordan, 23 degrees from David Lynch, 17 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 27 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 23 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 26 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.