A Workman family reunion

Woodford Academy

Judging by the number of passers-by today, it’s hard to imagine the isolation that confounded Josiah Workman’s efforts to operate an inn at Woodford in 1840.

The true history of the area and accurate records of Josiah Workman’s life are now lost. But during the last twenty years, voluntary archivists have been busy piecing together the remaining fragments of the Academy’s history. At the same time, descendents of this early Inn keeper at the Academy have been tracing their genealogy. Last month, both archivists and descendents experienced a rare chance to swap notes on their research, when 60 of Josiah Workman’s descendents held a family reunion at Woodford Academy.

The event was coordinated by Mrs Lola Workman, who staged the first reunion of the family eight years ago. Her husband Ted is a descendent of Josiah Workman. Her own side of the family tree extends back to Germany in the 1600’s. “It was very hard to research my side because I can’t read the records in German,” Mrs Workman says. Yet researching the history of her husband’s family in Australia has proved much more difficult – possibly due to the erratic nature of early colonial society.

Josiah Workman travelled from Britain to Australia 160 years ago as a free passenger. He paid 20 pounds for the Woodman’s Inn liquor licence in 1840, and it was renamed the “King’s Arms”. A survey conducted by Govett in 1831 lists the only residents in the area at that time as a stockade of soldiers at Springwood; the owners of a small Inn at ‘Weatherboard’ – now known as Wentworth Falls; and a squatter, William James, who lived at 20 Mile Hollow – a short way along the road from the Academy in the area now known as Woodford. Govett is now remembered as the namesake of the Blackheath escarpment known as ‘Govett’s Leap’.

The main customers at the King’s Arms in the 1840’s were probably early pioneers and pasturalists, who stopped over on their westward journey to settle towns like Dubbo, Mudgee and Cowra.

Archivists at the Academy say that Josiah Workman moved to the inn after Michael Hogan purchased the property in 1839 from the Pembrokes, who were the original owners. It was advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald, as “one of the best adapted Houses on the Roads, for a ‘Travellers’ Inn,’ and the beauty of the scenery, commanding extensive views of the Eastern and Southern parts of the Colony, Campbelltown, and the Hawkesbury, form as complete a retreat as could be desired. Any young couple, might here ensure themselves a rapid independence, as the House must command an extensive trade.”

Josiah Workman’s attempts to make a living at the inn were thwarted by the financial depression which hit Sydney in 1840. It was not until the gold rush era that traffic over the ranges increased significantly enough to ensure a reasonable income from passing trade. Workman was best remembered by the Dharug tribe and other locals as a saddler and harness maker, and soon moved from the Mountains to Captain’s Flat, Queanbeyan. He briefly returned to England and back again, to Australia, marrying three times during his life which ended in 1881. His sons became Cobb and Co drivers, working in the Queanbeyan, Forbes and Canowindra districts.

Mrs Workman says the reunion played a vital role in extending the known records of the Workmans. “Sophia was the first born child of Josiah and his wife Elizabeth Ogden. Four of her descendants, including Mrs Betty Stewart, attended the reunion. Although Mrs Stewart now needs an oxygen supply for her severe asthma, she provided family tree information from more than 100 of Sophia’s descendants.” So far, she has traced 780 Workman descendents and posts a biannual newsletter to 80 families. The oldest living descendant of Josiah Workman, his great-granddaughter Rene Woods is now aged 87, and travelled from Queanbeyan with her husband Jim to visit her relatives on the day.

The isolated inn which Josiah Workman left behind is situated on what has become the main thoroughfare from Sydney to western New South Wales, the Great Western Highway. Woodford Academy is now a heritage building operated by the Blue Mountains branch of the National Trust, and is open to the public on the third Saturday of each month.