Blomfield
DESCRIPTION
NameBlomfieldDescriptionArthur Stewart Blomfield was born at Kurragong in 1887, to the Rev. Valentine John Stuart Blomfield, and Mary Amelia Anne Stewart.
His father, Valentine John Stuart Blomfield worked as an engineer/surveyor for the Department of Roads and Bridges (Public Works), in NSW. He visited Shellharbour on several occasions, inspecting roads and jetties.
Arthur's great grandfather was Thomas Valentine Blomfield, born at Suffolk on Valentines Day in 1793. Thomas was a British soldier, pastoralist, magistrate and early settler of NSW. He served with the 48th Regiment in Australia, arriving in 1817.
Arthur had three full siblings, John Harold Stewart b.1884, Mary Rachel Stewart (Winchcombe) b.1885, and Edith b.1892.
His mother Mary, was widowed when she married father Valentine. Mary had three children, Elizabeth Stewart b.1873 (Died 1873), John Stewart b.1874, and Sydney Stewart b.1876 to her first husband, George Scarvell.
In 1915, Arthur enlisted and was assigned to the 9th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion. At the time, the family lived at Bowral, NSW. Arthur embarked per 'Argyllshire' in September 1915. He served in France and was wounded in action several times
In May 1917, at Bullecourt, France, Arthur received a gun shot wound to the chest. In November the same year he returned to Australia, and was discharged 29 December.
In 1921, Arthur married Beatrice (Trix) Bruce Smith at Bowral. Trix was born at Woollahra in 1889, the daughter of Arthur Smith and Sarah Jane Creswell.
At the time of their marriage, his father Valentine's occupation was 'Clergyman'.
Arthur and Trix had three sons, Robert b.1923 and Arthur b.1926, and Allan b.1928.
In 1937 Arthur commissioned Pendrill & Blackett to design and build a holiday house at Wentworth Street, Shellharbour. The bricks were all made by hand at Shellharbour.
The Blomfield family owned the property and a block on each side of the house, until about 1960, when the three lots were sold to Hedley Johnson, who named the property 'Green Gables'.
Arthur and family regularly holidayed at Shellharbour.
The following Blomfield family history contribution is with thanks to descendent, Susi Graham (nee Blomfield)
Arthur Stewart Blomfield was the third of four children of Valentine John Stuart Blomfield and Mary Amelia Anne Stewart. He was born on August 22, 1887 in Kurrajong NSW.
When he was very young, the family of 8 which included 2 sons, (John and Sydney Scarvell from Mary’s first marriage) moved to the Southern Highlands, living first in Moss Vale.
His father (Valentine) was for many years the resident engineer in the Moss Vale district, involved in road and bridge building.
In the late 1890’s Valentine and Mary separated, with Valentine moving to Exeter and Mary with the children, going to live in Bowral.
Arthur was educated in Bowral and completed his schooling in 1905. On leaving school he studied farming, however I cannot find out where. He has left a diary with meticulous notes on diseases and treatments for cows, horses and sheep, the only clue being an inscription inside the front cover which reads 'Arthur Blomfield Bowral 09'.
In 1911 he purchased a farm close to the village of Bendick Murrell which is between Cowra and Young.
21/4/15 he enlisted in the AIF
30/9/15 Embarked for active service abroad.
22/7/16 Wounded in Action Pozieres
25/7/16 Transferred to England
15/3/17 Proceeded to France
11/4/17 Rejoined unit
7/5/17 Wounded in Action Bullecourt
20/5/17 Invalided to England
26/9/17 Embarked for return to Australia
Gunshot wound chest.
25/11/17 Disembarked Sydney
29/12/17 Discharged from AIF medically unfit.
After a period of recuperation in Bowral, he returned to his farm in Bendick Murrell and built a house from mud bricks with mud from a dam on the
property.
In August 1921 he married Beatrix Bruce Smith in St Jude’s Church Bowral and she left her family in Bowral and started a new life as a farmer’s wife.
Their families were long time friends and it is probable that they had seen each other in England or France as Beatrix had gone to England in October 1916 as part of a Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment, sent to relieve staff shortages in field hospitals.
They produced 3 sons:-
Robert in 1923
Bruce in 1926
Allan in 1928
The 3 boys attended primary school in Bendick Murrell, riding their horses to and from school each day.
In 1935 the boys went away to boarding school. Robert went to Shore in North Sydney and the younger two attended the prep school Tudor House in Moss Vale which was close to family members in Bowral.
About this time Arthur purchased the land at 54 Wentworth St Shellharbour and built the house in 1937.
In 1938 with all 3 boys at school in Sydney, my grandmother leased a house in Mosman to be close to them.
The family spent school holidays at Shellharbour and the farm at Bendick Murrell.
At the end of 1940 with his health in decline, Arthur sold “Weathercock Farm” in Bendick Murrell and bought a smaller farm called“ Mullion Hill” near Yass.
At the end of 1942 my grandmother gave up the lease of the Sydney house and the family leased a house in Bowral which they finally purchased in 1945.
Robert left Shore at the end of 1941 and joined the RAAF with Ground Based Radar, serving on Fraser Island, in Townsville, Moratai (Dutch New Guinea) and ultimately Tarakan (Borneo) before the Japanese surrender was declared in 1945.
After the war Robert entered the Sydney University School of Engineering, graduating in Civil Engineering in 1950. Work with the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Commission followed-as did 2 years with
the Citizens’ Military Forces (RAE)- until 1952 when he realised that engineering did not provide enough personal interaction. Maybe he should try teaching?
A practice-teaching session was arranged at the Hutchins School, Hobart. This was what he really did
enjoy: teaching young men and boys his academic love of intellectual sciences and mathematics.
A year away in 1953 at Melbourne University was
necessary, to complete a Dip.Ed. The Headmaster of Shore (LC Robson) consequently offered him a position in the Shore Physics Department in 1954 as well as a place as a house master of Robson House. In 1956, The Headmaster recommended two years away
overseas - teaching at the Sevenoaks School in Kent.
His career at Shore spanned 30 years and involved being active in the Shore Cadet Corps for many years.
In 1958, Robert married Mary Montrose Graham, Headmistress of SCEGGS Moss Vale, and they adopted 3 children.
Robert died in 2007 aged 84.
Bruce left Shore at the beginning of 1944 and enlisted in the AIF on 8/6/44.
In June 1945 he embarked on MV Duntroon from Brisbane, bound for Weewak in New Guinea.
6/7/45 Wounded in Action
2/8/45 Evacuated to Aust’ Hosp’ Ship
7/3/46 Discharged being medically unfit for further military service.
Following convalescence at the family home in Bowral, Bruce, wanting to be a farmer like his father took a job with a Blacksmith in Moss Vale to equip himself with skills he would need on a farm.
In 1947 he purchased a farm with the assistance of a soldier settlement loan in the New England region, 5 miles from the town of Guyra.
In 1950, he married his childhood sweetheart Pamela Elizabeth Bentley. They had met on the beach in Shellharbour when they were around 12. My mothers’ parents had a holiday house in Wollongong St Shellharbour.
They had 2 daughters, myself (Susi) in 1951 and my sister in 1958.
My father stayed on his farm until he died in 2004 aged 77.
Allan left school after the war ended. He went into business in Sydney, never married and spent the last 10 years of his working life 1977 to 1987, on the board of Howard Smith Industries, which was a shipping company started by Cap’t William Howard Smith in Melbourne in 1854.
Arthurs’ wife Beatrix Bruce Smith was a granddaughter of Cap’t Howard Smith, making Allan a great grandson. Allan died in Sydney in 2013 aged 85.
Arthur sold his farm at Yass at the beginning of 1949 and retired to the home in Bowral. He bought a Kombi Van and made many trips to country NSW and beyond to satisfy his love of the bush, and would stop to talk to farmers in their paddocks along the way.
He also spent time at the house in Shellharbour, tending the garden and enjoying the seaside.
He had a wonderful vegetable garden at both his farms and also in Bowral. When I was 9 weeks old, he bought me a pony and introduced us in the garden at Bowral. The pony was my mode of transport to school in New England for 5 years from the age of 5.
Arthur died in his vegetable garden in Bowral in 1958 and left his body to the University for research. He was 71.
Beatrix died in Bowral in 1974 aged 85.
External LinkDeath Thomas Valentine Blomfield 1857Probate John Roe Blomfield 1889Probate John Roe Blomfield 1889Testimonial VJS Blomfield 1893Wombeyan Caves Road 1899Blomfield Inspection of Shellharbour Jetty 1901Early Days of Bowral 1904Old Sydney - Lieutenant Blomfield 1910Valentine JS Blomfield Ordained 1917Heroes at the Front 1917Our Front Heroes 1917Bloomfield Presentation 1920Rev Valentine John Stuart Blomfield 1927Death Rev Valentine John Stuart Blomfield 1929Death Valentine John Stuart Blomfield 1929Blomfield Residence Sutton Forest 1933Health Inspector's Report 1937Poor Man's Orange 1949Probate Arthur Stewart Blomfield 1959Community Heritage Study Wingecarribee Council 'The Hill' Exeter 2023Probate Mary Amelia Blomfield 1931Octogenarian's Death 1931Late Mrs M Blomfield Moss Vale 1931Captain Thomas Valentine Blomfield National Gallery of VictoriaA History of Dagworth - Steven BarnesJazz Tea at Bowral 1922
His father, Valentine John Stuart Blomfield worked as an engineer/surveyor for the Department of Roads and Bridges (Public Works), in NSW. He visited Shellharbour on several occasions, inspecting roads and jetties.
Arthur's great grandfather was Thomas Valentine Blomfield, born at Suffolk on Valentines Day in 1793. Thomas was a British soldier, pastoralist, magistrate and early settler of NSW. He served with the 48th Regiment in Australia, arriving in 1817.
Arthur had three full siblings, John Harold Stewart b.1884, Mary Rachel Stewart (Winchcombe) b.1885, and Edith b.1892.
His mother Mary, was widowed when she married father Valentine. Mary had three children, Elizabeth Stewart b.1873 (Died 1873), John Stewart b.1874, and Sydney Stewart b.1876 to her first husband, George Scarvell.
In 1915, Arthur enlisted and was assigned to the 9th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion. At the time, the family lived at Bowral, NSW. Arthur embarked per 'Argyllshire' in September 1915. He served in France and was wounded in action several times
In May 1917, at Bullecourt, France, Arthur received a gun shot wound to the chest. In November the same year he returned to Australia, and was discharged 29 December.
In 1921, Arthur married Beatrice (Trix) Bruce Smith at Bowral. Trix was born at Woollahra in 1889, the daughter of Arthur Smith and Sarah Jane Creswell.
At the time of their marriage, his father Valentine's occupation was 'Clergyman'.
Arthur and Trix had three sons, Robert b.1923 and Arthur b.1926, and Allan b.1928.
In 1937 Arthur commissioned Pendrill & Blackett to design and build a holiday house at Wentworth Street, Shellharbour. The bricks were all made by hand at Shellharbour.
The Blomfield family owned the property and a block on each side of the house, until about 1960, when the three lots were sold to Hedley Johnson, who named the property 'Green Gables'.
Arthur and family regularly holidayed at Shellharbour.
The following Blomfield family history contribution is with thanks to descendent, Susi Graham (nee Blomfield)
Arthur Stewart Blomfield was the third of four children of Valentine John Stuart Blomfield and Mary Amelia Anne Stewart. He was born on August 22, 1887 in Kurrajong NSW.
When he was very young, the family of 8 which included 2 sons, (John and Sydney Scarvell from Mary’s first marriage) moved to the Southern Highlands, living first in Moss Vale.
His father (Valentine) was for many years the resident engineer in the Moss Vale district, involved in road and bridge building.
In the late 1890’s Valentine and Mary separated, with Valentine moving to Exeter and Mary with the children, going to live in Bowral.
Arthur was educated in Bowral and completed his schooling in 1905. On leaving school he studied farming, however I cannot find out where. He has left a diary with meticulous notes on diseases and treatments for cows, horses and sheep, the only clue being an inscription inside the front cover which reads 'Arthur Blomfield Bowral 09'.
In 1911 he purchased a farm close to the village of Bendick Murrell which is between Cowra and Young.
21/4/15 he enlisted in the AIF
30/9/15 Embarked for active service abroad.
22/7/16 Wounded in Action Pozieres
25/7/16 Transferred to England
15/3/17 Proceeded to France
11/4/17 Rejoined unit
7/5/17 Wounded in Action Bullecourt
20/5/17 Invalided to England
26/9/17 Embarked for return to Australia
Gunshot wound chest.
25/11/17 Disembarked Sydney
29/12/17 Discharged from AIF medically unfit.
After a period of recuperation in Bowral, he returned to his farm in Bendick Murrell and built a house from mud bricks with mud from a dam on the
property.
In August 1921 he married Beatrix Bruce Smith in St Jude’s Church Bowral and she left her family in Bowral and started a new life as a farmer’s wife.
Their families were long time friends and it is probable that they had seen each other in England or France as Beatrix had gone to England in October 1916 as part of a Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment, sent to relieve staff shortages in field hospitals.
They produced 3 sons:-
Robert in 1923
Bruce in 1926
Allan in 1928
The 3 boys attended primary school in Bendick Murrell, riding their horses to and from school each day.
In 1935 the boys went away to boarding school. Robert went to Shore in North Sydney and the younger two attended the prep school Tudor House in Moss Vale which was close to family members in Bowral.
About this time Arthur purchased the land at 54 Wentworth St Shellharbour and built the house in 1937.
In 1938 with all 3 boys at school in Sydney, my grandmother leased a house in Mosman to be close to them.
The family spent school holidays at Shellharbour and the farm at Bendick Murrell.
At the end of 1940 with his health in decline, Arthur sold “Weathercock Farm” in Bendick Murrell and bought a smaller farm called“ Mullion Hill” near Yass.
At the end of 1942 my grandmother gave up the lease of the Sydney house and the family leased a house in Bowral which they finally purchased in 1945.
Robert left Shore at the end of 1941 and joined the RAAF with Ground Based Radar, serving on Fraser Island, in Townsville, Moratai (Dutch New Guinea) and ultimately Tarakan (Borneo) before the Japanese surrender was declared in 1945.
After the war Robert entered the Sydney University School of Engineering, graduating in Civil Engineering in 1950. Work with the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Commission followed-as did 2 years with
the Citizens’ Military Forces (RAE)- until 1952 when he realised that engineering did not provide enough personal interaction. Maybe he should try teaching?
A practice-teaching session was arranged at the Hutchins School, Hobart. This was what he really did
enjoy: teaching young men and boys his academic love of intellectual sciences and mathematics.
A year away in 1953 at Melbourne University was
necessary, to complete a Dip.Ed. The Headmaster of Shore (LC Robson) consequently offered him a position in the Shore Physics Department in 1954 as well as a place as a house master of Robson House. In 1956, The Headmaster recommended two years away
overseas - teaching at the Sevenoaks School in Kent.
His career at Shore spanned 30 years and involved being active in the Shore Cadet Corps for many years.
In 1958, Robert married Mary Montrose Graham, Headmistress of SCEGGS Moss Vale, and they adopted 3 children.
Robert died in 2007 aged 84.
Bruce left Shore at the beginning of 1944 and enlisted in the AIF on 8/6/44.
In June 1945 he embarked on MV Duntroon from Brisbane, bound for Weewak in New Guinea.
6/7/45 Wounded in Action
2/8/45 Evacuated to Aust’ Hosp’ Ship
7/3/46 Discharged being medically unfit for further military service.
Following convalescence at the family home in Bowral, Bruce, wanting to be a farmer like his father took a job with a Blacksmith in Moss Vale to equip himself with skills he would need on a farm.
In 1947 he purchased a farm with the assistance of a soldier settlement loan in the New England region, 5 miles from the town of Guyra.
In 1950, he married his childhood sweetheart Pamela Elizabeth Bentley. They had met on the beach in Shellharbour when they were around 12. My mothers’ parents had a holiday house in Wollongong St Shellharbour.
They had 2 daughters, myself (Susi) in 1951 and my sister in 1958.
My father stayed on his farm until he died in 2004 aged 77.
Allan left school after the war ended. He went into business in Sydney, never married and spent the last 10 years of his working life 1977 to 1987, on the board of Howard Smith Industries, which was a shipping company started by Cap’t William Howard Smith in Melbourne in 1854.
Arthurs’ wife Beatrix Bruce Smith was a granddaughter of Cap’t Howard Smith, making Allan a great grandson. Allan died in Sydney in 2013 aged 85.
Arthur sold his farm at Yass at the beginning of 1949 and retired to the home in Bowral. He bought a Kombi Van and made many trips to country NSW and beyond to satisfy his love of the bush, and would stop to talk to farmers in their paddocks along the way.
He also spent time at the house in Shellharbour, tending the garden and enjoying the seaside.
He had a wonderful vegetable garden at both his farms and also in Bowral. When I was 9 weeks old, he bought me a pony and introduced us in the garden at Bowral. The pony was my mode of transport to school in New England for 5 years from the age of 5.
Arthur died in his vegetable garden in Bowral in 1958 and left his body to the University for research. He was 71.
Beatrix died in Bowral in 1974 aged 85.
External LinkDeath Thomas Valentine Blomfield 1857Probate John Roe Blomfield 1889Probate John Roe Blomfield 1889Testimonial VJS Blomfield 1893Wombeyan Caves Road 1899Blomfield Inspection of Shellharbour Jetty 1901Early Days of Bowral 1904Old Sydney - Lieutenant Blomfield 1910Valentine JS Blomfield Ordained 1917Heroes at the Front 1917Our Front Heroes 1917Bloomfield Presentation 1920Rev Valentine John Stuart Blomfield 1927Death Rev Valentine John Stuart Blomfield 1929Death Valentine John Stuart Blomfield 1929Blomfield Residence Sutton Forest 1933Health Inspector's Report 1937Poor Man's Orange 1949Probate Arthur Stewart Blomfield 1959Community Heritage Study Wingecarribee Council 'The Hill' Exeter 2023Probate Mary Amelia Blomfield 1931Octogenarian's Death 1931Late Mrs M Blomfield Moss Vale 1931Captain Thomas Valentine Blomfield National Gallery of VictoriaA History of Dagworth - Steven BarnesJazz Tea at Bowral 1922
Photograph
Place
CONNECTIONS
CollectionFamiliesPlaceGreen Gables
Blomfield. Shellharbour City Council, accessed 14/12/2025, https://discover.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/17457