Hayles Onesiphorus
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1828 |
| Place of birth | Cambridgeshire |
| Date of death | 1909 |
| Place of death | Gawler |
“Onesiphorus Hayles and Family (1602 – 1984)” by Ruth E. Townsend
Onesiphorus was born in Cambridgeshire in 1828 to Onesiphorus Hayles and Mary Loveday. He was named Onesiphorus after his father and uncle. When he was 16 years old, his mother died, and the following year his father re-married in London. Owney spent most of his childhood in Thriplow Cambridgeshire but lived later in London.
On January 31st 1849, as a young man of 21 years, Owney left Plymouth on the 926-ton vessel “Stebonheath”, commanded by John Sergeant, and arrived as an assisted passenger at Port Adelaide on 11th May 1849. Owney’s family believed he was a Geography teacher in Cambridge, but to obtain an assisted passage, he had to state his occupation as a farmer. Perhaps this explains why he was not a good farmer, and, after employing workers, preferred to sit and talk to them, rather than work the farm.
Five years after his arrival in Australia, Owney’s father, step-mother and five siblings also travelled to Australia and possibly lived with Owney in Gawler Plains where he had his farm.
Later that year, at the age of 27, Owney married Joanna Kettle, a widow, at Gawler Town (the early name of Gawler). Their marriage was conducted by John Fallon and witnessed by John and Catherine Simpson.
Joanna was born in Tipperary Ireland in 1829 as Joanna Malony. With her future sister-in-law Julia Mooney, Joanna left Cork Ireland about 1845, most probably because of the severe potato famine which sent many Irish people to Australia. It is possible that the girls were related, as the letter “L” in the name Malony is the only difference in the sound of the names. Joanna’s possessions were brought to Australia in a large wooden trunk, which was used later as a fishing box by her grandson Hedley Roy Hayles. When Joanna was 18 she married Mr Kettle and they had a daughter Mary. While on his way to market in Gawler, Mr Kettle was robbed and killed leaving Joanna a widow. Joanna then married Onesiphorus and sometimes used Kettle as her maiden name, as well as Mulloney and Malony. Joanna’s daughter married Mr O’Connor on May 12th 1872.
Owney and Joanna may have been the original settlers of the Gawler area, as they had settled in their large farm even before the local council formed. Their property was next to a large property called “Yattalunga”. As a young boy, Owney’s youngest brother John worked for him at the farm. The farm is remembered as having a spring near a fig tree, a common sight in those days.
Owney and Joanna had five daughters and four sons. After they retired in Gawler, their son Thomas wanted to buy the property from his father, but Onesiphorus refused to sell. Apparently he didn’t want his son to succeed on the farm where he himself had failed, so it was sold to the owners of “Yattalunga” where Thomas worked. Onesiphorus was 81 when he died of senile decay at Gawler South, and was buried in the Church of England Cemetery. Joanna also died of senility at her home in Union Street Gawler South, and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Willaston Cemetery with her sons Alick and Robert. Robert had worked at the Gawler Water Works until his death.
We thank Colin Lehmann and Ruth Townsend for providing the above information.
According to the 1909 Burial Register of the (now called) St Georges Anglican Cemetery Gawler, Est. 1861, Burial #643, Onesiphorus Hayles was age 80, of Gawler South, and was buried in Plot O14 by the Rector Sydney Best on September 2nd. Curiously, the headstone states that he was age 81 at death.
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