The Elder Sons Leave Home

It was during this period of intensive activity in the establishment of new churches that David's elder sons launched out on their own. This process was assisted by political developments associated with the further opening up of agricultural land and the development of the railway network. The amendments to the Waste Lands Act in 1872 and 1874 led to the establishment of new towns in the areas opened to settlement. Several of these new towns were to play important parts in the careers of David's sons.

William and Gibson
William, the eldest son, was first to leave home. After learning the saddlery trade he entered business as a saddler, first at Broughton from 1876 to 1878, moving then to Red Hill in 1879 and Mannanarie in 1880. He was married in Adelaide on 8th March 1876 to Mary Jane Hocart, who had been born at sea while her parents were on their way to Australia from the island of Guernsey. At some stage in the early 1880s William and Mary moved to Victoria and reared their family there. One suggestion as to the reason for this move was that William did not get on well with his stepmother.
Gibson, the second son, became a storekeeper, first at the new town of Terowie (Notes and References 22) and later at other new towns further north. He is recorded in the South Australian Directory as conducting a store at Terowie from 1877 to 1880 and he is described as a storekeeper on his wedding certificate. He was married by his father on 20th June, 1878 at White Hut, near Clare to Annie McDougall, daughter of Rev. John McDougall and Emmeline Euphemia McDougall (nee Maxwell). John McDougall had undertaken theological studies at New College, Edinburgh in the 1840s and was married in September 1854. (Notes and References 23.)
It is reported that John was the first Gaelic preacher in South Australia and that Scottish migrants flocked from
miles around to hear him preach. His wife, Emmeline, was a remarkable woman. She was 20 years younger than her husband and, in John's later years, she took up school- teaching to supplement the family income.(Notes and References 24.)

Gibson and Annie presumably lived at Terowie for the first few years after their marriage. During this period their first child, Annie Gibson, was born at White Hut in April 1879 and the second, John McDougall, at Belalie East in October 1880. In each case the birthplace was where Annie's mother was living at the time. The family's subsequent movements were bound up with the opening of new towns, first at Lancelot and then at Dawson.
The town of Lancelot was dedicated in July 1877 and was located on a surveyed line of railway for the envisaged railway extension from Burra through Terowie to the north east. There were high hopes for the future of the town and a period of rapid building activity began. Within a year the residents had secured government approval for a school. The initial optimism did not last long. There is evidence that Lancelot was already declining in the early 1880s. (Notes and References 25.)
It was apparently around this time that Gibson moved to Lancelot. The South Australian Directory describes him as storekeeper and postmaster at Lancelot from 1881 to 1886 but the available evidence suggests that the latter figure should probably be 1885. During this period the next two children were born, Archie Maxwell in March 1882 and Jessie Emmeline in February 1884. Jessie's birth certificate, reproduced in Appendix B, was made out by her father in his capacity as registrar at Lancelot. Gibson's step-brother, Henry, is recorded as purchasing all allotment in the township of Lancelot and it seems likely that he was associated in some way with Gibson's business interests there. The fate of Lancelot was closely related to Government decisions regarding the railway development.(Notes and References 26.)
In mid-1884, the north-east line was given fresh impetus by the news of a big silver discovery in the Barrier Range.
Despite vigorous argument in favour of other routes, the debate was narrowed down to a choice between Terowie and Petersburg, each town presenting statistics showing the advantages of its route. Terowie argued that its route had already established itself as the natural and proper outlet for the north-east trade. However, the final decision in November 1884 was in favour of Petersburg after a two-vote decision in the Upper House for Terowie was reversed by a narrow margin. The Terowie route ultimately foundered on the question of gauge. It was considered too costly to build a broad gauge line all the way to the NSW border so traffic to Adelaide would encounter an interruption whichever junction was chosen. Petersburg won the day because there a single junction offered access to three ports (Port Augusta, Port Pirie and Port Adelaide). Both routes were used for supplies during the construction phase - sleepers from W.A. were shipped to Port Pirie, railed to Petersburg, and then hauled to the site from there. Bullock teams carted stores from Terowie to the construction workers and returned with wool from the sheep stations. The bullock teams camped overnight at Lancelot so there was still life for the town. It is recorded that in the 1880s it was not unusual for up to thirty teams to be camped there. By June 1887 the railway from Petersburg reached Cockburn on the NSW border. A petition to the Government for a loopline from Terowie through Lancelot to Thyers Corner so that freight could be brought direct from Silverton to Terowie was rejected and Lancelot lost its last hope for a link with the north-east trade. By this time Gibson and Annie had moved further north to another new town, Dawson.
Like Lancelot, Dawson owed its establishment to the opening up of new lands. It was located in the Hundred of Coglin which was opened for sale in the period 1878-1880. The town itself was sold at auction in 1881. The first storekeeper, Mr. F.C. Okeley, is reported to have sold his business early in 1885 and gone to Western Australia. If Gibson Badger was the purchaser that would suggest that his move coincided with his mother-in-law's appointment as first teacher at the Dawson school, which opened in 1885.
Like Lancelot, Dawson too had a very limited life. Its fate is a good illustration of the folly of ignoring Goyder's line in extending cultivation. A newspaper report from Dawson towards the end of 1888 reads:
'Few farmers trying to reap their seed. Some reaping three days for one bag of wheat. All are anxiously waiting for a reply to their petition asking for seed wheat or relief work - while sons of farmers are in a state of destitution.'(Notes and References 27.)

Gibson's stay at Dawson was quite short. The fifth child David Magnus, was born there in April 1886 but within a year or so the family moved again. This move was to Parkside in the city where a daughter, Effie Stewart, was born in November 1887. Gibson's step-brother, Herbert, who had been assisting in the store at Dawson, took over when Gibson left and remained there as a storekeeper and mail contractor for several years. While living at Parkside, Gibson was described as printer and publisher but the venture was apparently unsuccessful as he moved again in 1889. This move was to Renmark on the River Murray, where he became a storekeeper again.
The move to Renmark coincided with the development of irrigation on the Murray. Following the pioneering voyages of Randell and Cadell in 1853 the river had gradually become an important means of transport so that by the mid-seventies some of the river ports were among the busiest in Australia. However it was the coming of irrigation that provided scope for expansion for South Australian river towns like Renmark. The impetus for irrigation came from Victoria. Alfred Deakin had led a delegation of the Victorian Parliament to California in 1885 to study the subject and had met the Chaffey brothers. The following year the Chaffeys were granted perpetual water rights at Mildura, and a year later similar rights were granted at Renmark. The introduction of irrigation opened the way for rapid growth for Renmark, Unfortunately Gibson did not live to benefit from his move to a growing town. He was drowned in tragic circumstances in the River Murray on 13 December, 1889. On receiving news of his son's death, David went to Renmark and described the tragedy in a letter to his wife, which is reproduced in Appendix C.
In its issue for January 1890, Truth and Progress gave a brief account of Gibson's death. It described him as a Baptist in principle but recorded that, on moving to Renmark, he had united with the Congregationalists and, at the time of his death, was both a Deacon and Church Secretary.

Gibson's youngest child, also named Gibson, was born in April 1890 after his father's death but only lived for three days. The family remained at Renmark for some years; Annie carried on the business with the assistance of Gibson's stepbrother, Henry.

Alfred, Henry and Herbert
Alfred, the eldest son of the second family, left home sometime in his teens and went to Adelaide where he joined the Post Office. He presumably started as a messenger boy, but he was very keen on telegraphy and quickly became proficient in Morse Code. He had been named 'Alfred' but his daughter, Leila, records that he hated being ' A. Badger', so later on he legally adopted the second name 'Westcott', a name associated with his mother's people in England. He always referred to himself as A.W.B.
In 1882 at the age of twenty-two, Alfred married Lavinia Selway, daughter of William Henry Selway and Jane Singer Pool, who had arrived from England on 1st September, 1845. Leila records that the young couple came together through their intense love of music. Lavinia played very well and Alfred possessed a strong, clear tenor voice. He loved to sing anywhere at anytime and his wife was able to play his accompaniments. It was a life-long sorrow to him that he never learned music or had his voice trained. He couldn't read a note of music and had everything in Tonic-Sol-Fa, including his church hymn book.
While he was working at the GPO in Adelaide he often slipped into Stow Church when he knew the organist would be practising, just to listen to the music. He struck up a great friendship with the organist, who offered to teach him without charge. He was unable to accept the offer because they had no piano or organ and could not afford to buy music, but he never got over his disappointment.
Their first home was at Kingston Terrace, North Adelaide, where the rent took 10/- per week out of Alfred's salary of 22/6 per week. Later they moved 10 South Terrace and three children were born. The third child, Howard, was a darling baby and his mother adored him. Then tragedy struck. One night in June 1896 they were awakened by the screaming child, who had what was then known as convulsions. Alfred grabbed his bicycle and raced off to the home of Dr. Verco at the corner of North Terrace and Charles Street. He awakened the doctor and his coachman but by the time the doctor was dressed, the horses harnessed and they arrived at South Terrace the baby had died. Prostrate with grief, the mother never recovered and died in hospital the following year.

Henry, the second son of David and Emily, seems to have been associated with his half-brother, Gibson, in some of the latter's storekeeping ventures. As recorded above, he purchased an allotment in the township of Lancelot when Gibson was in business there and later moved to Renmark when Gibson went there. He had been trained as a carpenter and was first employed in that capacity on moving to Renmark. He was one of those with Gibson at the time of the latter's death and subsequently assisted Gibson's widow, Annie, in carrying on the storekeeping business. On leaving Renmark he established himself as a haberdasher and draper at Goodwood and seems to have built up a reasonably successful business. He married Mathilde Charlotte Koehncke but had no children.
The next surviving son, Herbert, was also closely associated with Gibson in his storekeeping ventures. He was his assistant in the store at Dawson, and took over the business when Gibson left. He married Angelina Nichols, daughter of William Nichols and Mary Meany, at Aberdeen, South Australia, on 27th August, 1888. In about 1891 or 1892 he managed to raise enough money to purchase a shop in the main street of Petersburg and a small house in that town and to set up business as a draper.
Further details regarding the second and succeeding generations are provided in Appendix D.

David BADGER b. 1827 d. 1890 m.1 1850
Ann GIBSON b. 1826 d. 1857

For further details see Appendix D

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