One of my fondest memories from my childhood was working on the family tree for a school project with my Nan, Myrtle Mudford. It certainly involved a family visit to see my Nan’s uncle Uncle Bob – both of them always loved to catch up and chat about family when my Nan came to Sydney. Much to my delight, it was one of many discovered treasures when cleaning out my mum’s unit.
Here’s the transcription of the story with a few facts. Interestingly, “My Family” is a few branches of the maternal side only!
My Family
My family goes back six generations, and possibly more. We mostly originate from Scotland in the British Isles. The oldest person in my family alive is my great grandmother’s brother Robert, born in December in 1897. He is now 85 years old.
Most of our family settled in the Hunter Valley and Manning Valley Districts. Our family now stretches from Townsville in North Queensland to Melbourne in Victoria, and to Narrabri in western New South Wales.
Many of the occupations in our family include farmers, timberworkers, bus drivers, ?leaners, miners, gangers, roadworkers, ? and jack of all trades. My grandmother’s brother Mervyn was a soldier in World War II. Also my great grandmother’s brother Alex was a soldier in World War I. Both of them survived.
My great grandfather’s brother Arthur owned a horse called Bonvale who was in the Olympics in the 1960s. Johnny Fahey who was a household name in Taree rode it. After some years after the Olympics, the horse returned to Australia after having been lost. Bonvale is believed to be dead, has even a song written about him. Johnny Fahey is still alive and rides in the showjumping events at the Royal Easter Show.
Then and now…
The origins of the family tree are much broader for these maternal branches, still Scotland and adding England, particularly the Kent, Sussex and Somerset counties. The earliest family members settled from Newcastle and the many valleys found along the Barrington and Mid North Coast. Family now stretches across the globe.
John Fahey competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics riding Bonvale coming fourth, a record that stood for 50 years, and again in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. I do remember watching him compete on our “Arena” day at the Royal Easter Show. John received the Order of Australia Medal for Australian sporting achievement in 2000, and he was inducted in the Equestrian Australia Hall of Fame sixteen years later.
Bonvale was actually lost by the EFA’s transport on the way home from the Mexico Games, returning injured and in poor condition. In his recent biography, John recalls, Bonvale being a natural jumper who terrorised the neighbourhood jumping out of paddocks at will. The Faheys purchased the four year old horse in 1956 for five hundred and fifty pounds. Unsure about the song, research so far has not uncovered the song or lyrics.
Thank you to Doris for keeping the project for so long, a heart warming childhood memory.
References
John Fahey. “[https://www.equestrian.org.au/john-fahey].” Equestrian Australia. Accessed 29 Mar 2025.
Johny Fahey Aussie Original. “[https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2017/04/john-fahey-aussie-original/].” Horse Magazine. Accessed 29 Mar 2025
Kin Across the Seas 