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John Crofton Jessop (1861 - 1910)

John Crofton Jessop was born in 1861 in Picton, NSW, the second child and eldest son of John Jessop and Sarah Ann Burgess.

Despite being born in Pictron, John moved with his parents to the farm on Cox's River in the Burragorang Valley, NSW - where he grew.

In 1882 he married Hannah Shoobridge at St Johns Church of England, Camden, NSW. Hannah was the second of eleven children born to John H Shoobridge and Sophia Muriel Hinds of Burragorang.

John Crofton and Hannah began their married life in the Burragorang Valley, before moving to Granville where most of their family of seven children (four sons and 3 daughters) were born:

John had known the Shoobridges since he was young, but his relationship with his sister-in-law Ellen Shoobridge developed to such a point that in 1894 John deserted Hannah and his young family and ran off to Goulburn with Ellen. John worked in a number of different roles, and the couple - and Ellens child from another relationship William - moved around until John gained more permanent employment and they settled into a house in Auburn Street, Goulburn, it was while living here that Ellen gave birth to their only child, a son:

Hannah, now left by herself with 6 young children - aged between 13 and 3 - went to work to provide for her family, gaining employment with Dr Bowden in Bowral. Her eldest two sons joined her in employment not long after John left. The rest of the children went to the Pitt Row Public School in Parramatta. Her younger brothers William George and Alf owned a produce store on Woodville Road in Granville, and it is probable that Hannah recieved some level of assistance from them.

It cannot have been easy for Hannah, it is known that she wrote to John Crofton seeking money, but non was forthcoming. However she did not sue for divorce - possibly because the cost of raising the family prevented her from accumulating the money necessary to do so - but family oral history has it that by this time John Crofton had supposedly acquired a position of some important with the Goulburn Municipal Council, and Hannah was reluctant to take any action that might adversly affect his career.

In 1902 her brother William George moved north to Wardell on the Richmond whilst another brother John - known as Jack - Shoobridge, had selected land in 1902 in Numinbah - the area from Chillingham to the top end of North Arm.

In 1904 her eldest son Arthur - then 21 - travelled to the Tweed Valley to join his uncle John, and on 25 February 1904 he too selected land in Numbinbah - Lot 82 of 174 acres - for which he paid £1 per acre. The pair were joined in mid 1904 another of Hannahs' brother Alf and the finally in November 1904, William George moved from the Richmond to Chillingham where he had selected land.

John spent two years clearing the land, until in 1906, the farm became a producing property, complete with sheds, yards and small but rough home - made from slabs with no windows or doors, a dirt floor and an outside cooking galley. So, in 1906, Hannah - with her children Ray Jack, Florrie, Cassie and Alfred - moved to Numinbah. They sailed in the ship "Cavanbah" - the aboriginal name for Byron Bay - from Sydney to Byron Bay, then travelled by train to Murwillumbah. They walked most of the way to Numinbah. Their furniture and goods were delivered to the end of only road in and out of the area - a small side horse track - and then transported by hand up the bullock tracks to the house.

In 1909 John Crofton became ill - he was thought to have had a brain tumour - and to gain treatment, he, Ellen and their son Walter moved to Parramatta where they lived for a while with Dick Roland - a friend of John's with a shop in Church St Parramatta. John was admitted to Sydney Hospital in 1910 and Ellen and Walter moved into a house in Church St, Harris Park. On 18 November 1910, John passed away, leaving yet another partner and child to fend for themselves, and significant hospital and doctors bills to be paid.

Meanwhile Hannah and her children, whilst having to work hard, appeared to prosper on the New South Wales far north coast. Raymond returned to Sydney, where he ran the grocers in Granville and by the begining of 1915 five of her six children had married and started families of their own. At this time, Hannah moved to a small cottage in South Tumbulgum, to be near her youngest daughter Caroline - known as Cas. Then in January 1916 her youngest son - Alfred George - enlised in the AIF and was sent to France to fight as part of 31st Battalion. He was killed on 28 September 1917 in heavy action resulting from the German counter offensive at Polygon Wood, near Ypres in Belgium as part of the Battle of Menin Road.

Hannah at her cottage in 1924 (centre back) with grandchildren Merle Jessop & Oswald Shoobridge (standing)

Despite this tragedy, the family continued to live comfortably in the thriving community, earning money from cedar cutting and banana growing. Hannah continued to reside in Tumbulgum, until her death on 29 January 1928.

Associated Documents