Hobbs
DESCRIPTION
NameHobbsDescriptionWilliam Hobbs was born in 1811 at Winford in Somerset.
As a young man William Hobbs came to Australia and worked as a farmhand. In 1835 as a farm overseer, he was working on a property at Myall Creek. At 26, he was station manager of Henry Dangar's various stations in the district.
By the mid-1830s, conflict had greatly reduced the population of the Wirrayaraay people, a clan of the Gamilaraay Nation.
Seeking sanctuary, a group of Wirrayaraay people decided to camp on Henry Dangar’s property at Myall Creek station near present-day Bingara, in May 1838.
A mutually beneficial arrangement evolved whereby the Wirrayaraay people had temporary reprieve from violence while their men assisted various stockmen with their work on nearby stations.
While the Wirrayaraay people were camped on Dangar’s property, the station hands, and particularly the assigned convict stockman Charles Kilmeister, enjoyed friendly relations with them.
Just before sunset on 10 June 1838, while the Wirrayaraay people were preparing for their evening meal, a group of convicts, former convicts and one settler arrived at the station fully armed. The group tied up the frightened Wirrayaraay people and led them away from their campsite.
George Anderson, hut keeper at Myall Creek station, later described the terror of the Wirrayaraay people as they were led away and slaughtered. Afterwards, their bodies were piled up and burned. The remains of at least 28 corpses were later observed at the site, but the final death toll has never been confirmed. (National Museum of Australia)
Usually a resident of Myall Creek, he was away when the Wirrayaraay People were murdered and was horrified on his return. The crime was reported by Hobbs, local Police Superintendent Thomas Foster, and settler Frederick Foot. Their depositions provided grounds on which to arrest 11 of the 12 perpetrators were arrested, and after two trials, six were convicted and hanged.
William Hobbs, one of the three men who reported the massacre, lost his position with Dangar and had great difficulty finding subsequent employment. He worked for some time as constable at Cessnock, before finding employment as the Governor or Wollongong Gaol c.1860.
John Hubert Plunkett Hobbs, local chemist, was the son of William and his wife, Mary Anne Hobbs (nee Joyce). John’s middle names Hubert Plunkett, are the name of the NSW Attorney General who prosecuted the men who carried out the Myall Creek Massacre.
John Hobbs became a chemist and was registered 18 April 1884 in Kiama. He conducted his dispensing and family chemist business in Kiama before moving to Albion Park in the early 1890s.
According to Births, Death, Marriages NSW, John married Emily Susan Dyer in 1916, though they had been living together for many years prior to that.
Bert E. Weston wrote in ‘Albion Park Saga’ that Johnny Hobbs was the unofficial medical man for the town and district in times of emergencies, setting broken bones and drawing teeth.
Bert Weston recounted several stories about John Hobbs over the years. 'Reverting to the chemist: this was Johnny Hobbs, bald and with a clipped white beard and therefore no chicken, he had been brought up in the precincts of Wollongong Gaol when it was the country penal establishment and his father was the superintendent. Nothing was too much trouble and an urgent midnight message would see little old Johnny, overcoat pulled on over pyjamas, perched on top of his tall ginger horse and black bag strapped to the saddle'....'Our sole source of medical help was chemist Johnny Hobbs, who had studies medicine for two years, then switched to pharmacy. He was a jack of all trades. In his dispensary he rolled pills and mixed potions, hammered away with pestle and mortar and in a small back room would extract a tooth, stitch up a gash, give an injection or lance a boil. A call for help would see old Johnny setting out day or night on his horse, for perhaps a remote farm, to attend a human, equine or bovine emergency. His competence as a bone-setter was legendary but he never went beyond his capabilities and would send for a doctor if necessary. His fee for a home visit was 12 shillings and sixpence and a job in his surgery was six shillings and eightpence. In times of drought he was sometimes paid with a bag of corn for his horse and poultry or a bag of potatoes for himself. Although an unqualified medico, his presence was always a comfort.'
On 12th July 1920, Mrs. Emily Hobbs, wife of John Hobbs chemist, bought a property ‘Crestview’ at Terry Street Albion Park from James Walker. It was part of the original Terry’s Meadows grant of 1821.
John Hobbs opened his chemist shop in the northern front room of the building that had an entrance by steps from the street apart from the residence entry. John died 3 December 1926 and his wife Emily in 1942.
External LinkMary Ann Hobbs Matron Wollongong Gaol 1865Death of Mr William Hobbs 1871Kiama 1888Kiama Police Court 1888Bitten by a Snake 1889Accident 1910Personal 1916Reminiscences of Illawarra - Wollongong 50 Years Ago 1924Obituary Mr JH Hobbs 1926A Narrow Escape 1932Obituary Emily Susan Hobbs 1942
As a young man William Hobbs came to Australia and worked as a farmhand. In 1835 as a farm overseer, he was working on a property at Myall Creek. At 26, he was station manager of Henry Dangar's various stations in the district.
By the mid-1830s, conflict had greatly reduced the population of the Wirrayaraay people, a clan of the Gamilaraay Nation.
Seeking sanctuary, a group of Wirrayaraay people decided to camp on Henry Dangar’s property at Myall Creek station near present-day Bingara, in May 1838.
A mutually beneficial arrangement evolved whereby the Wirrayaraay people had temporary reprieve from violence while their men assisted various stockmen with their work on nearby stations.
While the Wirrayaraay people were camped on Dangar’s property, the station hands, and particularly the assigned convict stockman Charles Kilmeister, enjoyed friendly relations with them.
Just before sunset on 10 June 1838, while the Wirrayaraay people were preparing for their evening meal, a group of convicts, former convicts and one settler arrived at the station fully armed. The group tied up the frightened Wirrayaraay people and led them away from their campsite.
George Anderson, hut keeper at Myall Creek station, later described the terror of the Wirrayaraay people as they were led away and slaughtered. Afterwards, their bodies were piled up and burned. The remains of at least 28 corpses were later observed at the site, but the final death toll has never been confirmed. (National Museum of Australia)
Usually a resident of Myall Creek, he was away when the Wirrayaraay People were murdered and was horrified on his return. The crime was reported by Hobbs, local Police Superintendent Thomas Foster, and settler Frederick Foot. Their depositions provided grounds on which to arrest 11 of the 12 perpetrators were arrested, and after two trials, six were convicted and hanged.
William Hobbs, one of the three men who reported the massacre, lost his position with Dangar and had great difficulty finding subsequent employment. He worked for some time as constable at Cessnock, before finding employment as the Governor or Wollongong Gaol c.1860.
John Hubert Plunkett Hobbs, local chemist, was the son of William and his wife, Mary Anne Hobbs (nee Joyce). John’s middle names Hubert Plunkett, are the name of the NSW Attorney General who prosecuted the men who carried out the Myall Creek Massacre.
John Hobbs became a chemist and was registered 18 April 1884 in Kiama. He conducted his dispensing and family chemist business in Kiama before moving to Albion Park in the early 1890s.
According to Births, Death, Marriages NSW, John married Emily Susan Dyer in 1916, though they had been living together for many years prior to that.
Bert E. Weston wrote in ‘Albion Park Saga’ that Johnny Hobbs was the unofficial medical man for the town and district in times of emergencies, setting broken bones and drawing teeth.
Bert Weston recounted several stories about John Hobbs over the years. 'Reverting to the chemist: this was Johnny Hobbs, bald and with a clipped white beard and therefore no chicken, he had been brought up in the precincts of Wollongong Gaol when it was the country penal establishment and his father was the superintendent. Nothing was too much trouble and an urgent midnight message would see little old Johnny, overcoat pulled on over pyjamas, perched on top of his tall ginger horse and black bag strapped to the saddle'....'Our sole source of medical help was chemist Johnny Hobbs, who had studies medicine for two years, then switched to pharmacy. He was a jack of all trades. In his dispensary he rolled pills and mixed potions, hammered away with pestle and mortar and in a small back room would extract a tooth, stitch up a gash, give an injection or lance a boil. A call for help would see old Johnny setting out day or night on his horse, for perhaps a remote farm, to attend a human, equine or bovine emergency. His competence as a bone-setter was legendary but he never went beyond his capabilities and would send for a doctor if necessary. His fee for a home visit was 12 shillings and sixpence and a job in his surgery was six shillings and eightpence. In times of drought he was sometimes paid with a bag of corn for his horse and poultry or a bag of potatoes for himself. Although an unqualified medico, his presence was always a comfort.'
On 12th July 1920, Mrs. Emily Hobbs, wife of John Hobbs chemist, bought a property ‘Crestview’ at Terry Street Albion Park from James Walker. It was part of the original Terry’s Meadows grant of 1821.
John Hobbs opened his chemist shop in the northern front room of the building that had an entrance by steps from the street apart from the residence entry. John died 3 December 1926 and his wife Emily in 1942.
External LinkMary Ann Hobbs Matron Wollongong Gaol 1865Death of Mr William Hobbs 1871Kiama 1888Kiama Police Court 1888Bitten by a Snake 1889Accident 1910Personal 1916Reminiscences of Illawarra - Wollongong 50 Years Ago 1924Obituary Mr JH Hobbs 1926A Narrow Escape 1932Obituary Emily Susan Hobbs 1942
CONNECTIONS
CollectionFamiliesLocalityAlbion ParkKiamaPersonWeston, BertPlaceCrestviewRelated ItemChemist shop and home of John Hobbs at Albion Park
Hobbs. Shellharbour City Council, accessed 22/07/2026, https://discover.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/762