Fuller

DESCRIPTION

NameFullerDescriptionIn 1865, the southern division of the Peterborough Estate at Shellharbour, was advertised for sale. George Laurence Fuller bought 2560 acres on the Minnamurra River, adjoining the Terry’s Meadows Estate, and called his land Dunmore, after his family home in Ireland.

George was born in in 1832. In 1839, his parents William and Ann Fuller, and his six siblings, left Ireland for Australia. His father died of typhus on the voyage. His mother lost a baby boy, born on the voyage, and his sister Charlotte, died in quarantine in Sydney. Ann Fuller opened a store in Corrimal Street, Wollongong, and placed her six sons and daughters in orphanages in Sydney, while establishing the business. The children were later brought to Wollongong, and educated at a Church of England school. On leaving school, George helped his mother with her shop keeping business.

When he was about 22, George left for the goldfields, on a small sailing vessel with a cargo of goods, via Port Fairy Victoria. In 1859, George married Sarah Miller of Renfrew Park, Gerringong, and purchased the Victoria Stores at Kiama: a business his brother Thomas, and brother-in-law George Waldron, had established.

In the 1870’s, the family moved from Kiama to their new home 'Dunmore House', set on a few hundred acres, reserved for the family’s use. The remainder of the land was divided into small tenant farms. J&M Dinning of Kiama built 'Dunmore House' of local blue metal, covered inside and out with lime mortar made from shells. It took them five years to complete. The home was initially four main rooms downstairs, and attics upstairs. Stone walls were built from the basalt rubble found on the estate. A dining room and kitchen were later added, so the building became u-shape. When the servant's quarters were added the home, it formed an open square courtyard in the centre. A large well was built under the courtyard, cedar used inside the home was cut from the estate, and the roof was made of slate tiles.

By 1880, George owned some 9000 acres of the original Peterborough Estate extending from Lake Illawarra to the Minnamurra River, and west to Croom.

George and Sarah had 14 children,
George Warburton b.1861 (married Ada Louise King, died 1940, Darlinghurst)
Robert Miller b.1862 (died rheumatic fever 1880, Shellharbour)
Frederick William b.1864 (married May Engstom - nee Hanna, died 1934, Rose Bay)
Ada Annie b.1867 (married William Baird, died 1939, Dubbo)
Florence Elizabeth b.1868 (married Thomas Palmer, died 195, Dubbo)
Alfred Ernest b.1870 (married Maud Ferguson, died 1963, Wellington, NSW)
Sarah Emily b.1873 (married Thomas Primrose Anderson, died 1935, Nowra)
Edith Maryb.1876 (died 1972, Rose Bay)
Charles Laurence (died just under five months old), Minnie Cunningham b.1879 (married Mark Morton, died 1911, Nowra)
Colin Dunmore b.1882 (married Amy Rea, died 1952, Beverley Hills, NSW)
Archie Douglas b.1884 (died 1950, Dunmore)
Bryan Cecil b.1888 (married Isabel Deane, died 1956, Kiama)
and an unnamed baby, who died in 1889.

George Warburton Fuller, born in 1861, became the Honorable Sir George Warburton Fuller, Premier of New South Wales. Lieutenant Colonel Colin Dunmore Fuller DSO, had a distinguished military career.

George Laurence Fuller is noted for his generosity to Shellharbour’s development. He gave two acres in 1883 for a new school called Minnamurra School, built of local basalt at Swamp Road Dunmore which still stands today as a private residence. He contributed largely to the municipality, providing tenant farmers to work the land. He expanded the blue metal trade in 1885, providing cottages (on Shellharbour Road), and work for the quarrymen. He donated land for a new Shellharbour General Cemetery, to replace the sand cemetery that was washing away at the foreshore, and in 1896, gave land and a cash donation, to build the Shellharbour School of Arts in Mary Street, Shellharbour. He also established a racecourse on cleared land at Albion Park Rail, between the railway line and Macquarie Rivulet.

George donated a pipe organ to the Kiama Presbyterian Church, and helped build a fully equipped, up to date operating theatre at Kiama Hospital. His last appearance in public was to open the Sarah Fuller Memorial Ward in January 1917, a gift fully built, and furnished by him.

George and Sarah celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at 'Dunmore House' in 1909, with their family. On this occasion, their tenants presented them with an Illuminated address, and a number of gifts. George, in return, gave each tenant a quarters rent. The Fuller's also built a new wing to their home, especially for the occasion.

Sarah died in 1913, and George died just four years later. Both are buried in the Presbyterian section of Bombo Cemetery, Kiama. George’s funeral cortege was one of the largest in the district, and extended for a mile and a half.

Today 'Dunmore House' is a private residence.

Information thanks to descendant Bryan Fuller - 'Against All The Odds', 2016.

External LinkPeterborough Estate 1865Peterborough Estate Sale 1865Obituary Mrs Anne Fuller 1868Mr R Fuller 1880Mr GL Fuller's Dunmore Quarries 1898Dunmore Butter Factory Taken Over by GL Fuller 1902Geo L Fuller - Town Clerk. Offer of lease of metal quarry at Shellharbour - City of Sydney Archives -1904Weddings Morton - Fuller 1907To See The Fleet Mr Fuller's Generosity 1908Mr and Mrs Fuller Jubilee 1909Geo L Fuller and others. Offers for consideration of various properties as metal quarries in Shellharbour area.- City of Sydney Archives 1912Deaths Mrs GL Fuller 1913The Late Mrs GL Fuller 1913Death of Mrs GL Fuller 1913Mr AE Fuller 1913Death of Mr GL Fuller 1917Death of Acting Premier's Father 1917Late Mr GL Fuller 1917Hon GW Fuller 1917Mr WF Fuller 1934Ways and Sprays of Kiama 194021st Birthday Miss Hope Fuller 1943The Member for Illawarra Mr GW Fuller 1901Obituary Mr H Sydney Bennett 80 Years 1940Birthday Party at Dunmore 1942Archibald Alexander 93 Years 1943Presentation at Dunmore 1948Wedding Rutledge - Fuller 1945Obituary Colonel Col Fuller 1953Death of District's Most Decorated Soldier 1953

Dunmore House, c.1984.

CONNECTIONS

CollectionFamiliesFamilyRutledgeLocalityDunmoreKiamaPersonFuller, Colin DunmoreFuller, George WarburtonPlaceDunmore HouseDunmore TerracesAllawah Place Dry Stone Wall and Fig TreesResthavenMinnamurra School and Teachers ResidenceAnglesboroGinndawarrabellGlengowrieGlanworthKillarney MayfieldRosemontSeaview - DunmoreRelated ItemFullers Estate Shellharbour Village - 1923The Fuller Family obelisk in the Presbyterian Section, Kiama CemeteryThe Fuller girls at Dunmore House 1909The Fuller boys at Dunmore House 1909Sarah Cunningham Fuller 1841-1913Real Estate brochure advertising the sale of the Fuller Estate in Shellharbour VillagePlan of GL FullerPipe organ donated by G L Fuller to Kiama Presbyterian ChurchKillarney', Archie Fuller's house, DunmoreGold watch presented by George L Fuller to his wife, SarahGeorge Laurence Fuller 1832-1917Fuller, BryanFuller ParkDeed box used by George Laurence Fuller and familyColonel Colin Dunmore Fuller (1882-1956) and his horse 'Illawarra'Bullock team clearing a paddock of George Laurence Fuller's estate at Dunmore

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