THE 184th anniversary of her great great grandfather’s birth, on 19 October, had North Bank Road resident Jenni McLennan (nee Tyson) poring over her Tyson family history.

“We have four generations of Tyson males, all born and still living in the valley.

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“While my great great grandfather William Parsonage Tyson the first, his son William Parsonage Tyson the second and my grandfather William Parsonage Tyson the third have passed, my dad, Wal Tyson, aged 88, is the next generation down and is alive and well with three generations of boys below him continuing the family name,” Jenni told News Of The Area.

There’s Wal’s son Peter (60, his grandson Nick (35) and great grandson Jack (5).

While William Parsonage Tyson the first was born in Newtown, Sydney, the six generations following were all born in the Bellinger Valley.

William Tyson and his brother George Tyson were pioneers of the area.

George settled at Fernmount and William purchased land on the North Bank of the Bellinger River opposite.

“Part of this land is still owned by my father and part by myself, so this land has continuously and very proudly been in the Tyson name since 1863,” Jenni said.

William Tyson was born 19 October 1839 in Newtown, Sydney.

He went to work for a Maj. Crawford at Walcha near Armidale in NSW where he learnt farming practices.

It was here he met Mary Ellen Lally, a red-headed Irishwoman, who was to become his wife.

William came to the Bellinger River with his brother George as cedar cutters in 1861.

They then decided to take up land at Fernmount.

Deeds to the properties were issued in July 1863.

On 2 July 1863 William made a Conditional Purchase of 100 acres situated on the North Side of the Bellinger River opposite the 80 acres selected by his brother George at Fernmount.

The paperwork records this as Portion 11 on North Arm, Bellinger River, Parish North Bellingen, County of Raleigh, Land District of Bellingen.

The area was subsequently reduced to 97 acres, one rood, 20 perches due to road exclusion.

That road being Boat Harbour (named Bellingen in 1890) to Bellinger Heads (named Urunga in 1909) and now known as North Bank Road.

The purchase price was 97 pounds, 7 shillings and sixpence, or one pound or $2.00 per acre.

William later purchased the adjacent portions 29 and 54 of 40 acres and 87 acres respectively.

These had been originally taken up by Owen Redmond.

In the late 1800s a huge flood took the home William had built on the riverbank so the family built a new house on the hill on land which by then had been cleared.

This house is around 125 years old, and is still standing and occupied.

Fernmount, originally called Weekes, was the main centre of commerce and trade on the Bellinger River in the mid to late 1800s.

There were two newspapers, a general store, a blacksmith, two hairdressers, two billiard saloons, an auctioneer, solicitor, two tailoring shops, a fruit shop, chemist, cordial factory, baker and a photographic studio, two saddlery shops, butchery and bacon factory combined, a watchmaker and jewellery business, boot shop, cheese factory, livery stables, Cooperative Butter factory (later taken over by George Tyson), Masonic Hall, a boarding house, a school (built in 1880, having been sited earlier on other premises), a Presbyterian and a Methodist church and Salvation Army Barracks.

In 1842 the Northumberland, a sailing ship, became the first ship to enter the Bellinger River.

Later many vessels entered the river to bring goods and to take away the abundant cedar and other produce from the valley.

Ships tied up at the wharf at Fernmount or, indeed, went further up as far as Nobles Farm at East Bellingen, now the Old Butter Factory.

In the same year, 1842, Mr Don Burge brought a flock of sheep over from the Macleay River region and thus became the first settler on the Bellinger River.

The second settler was Mr Paul who opened up a cattle station in 1844.

The Free Selection Act was passed in 1861 and quite a few took advantage of acquiring land including William and George Tyson.

And the rest, Jenni says, is modern history.

By Andrea FERRARI