THE HOLT FAMILY FELLOWSHIP
Est.11th January 2000
"Who wishes to serve his fellow creature will meet with the merit of his own action in time to come."
Joseph Holt 1756 - 1826, A Rum Story, Peter O'Shaughnessy editor, 1988, p.53.
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About Us
Our Holt Family Fellowship was established on the 11th January 2000, the bicentennial of the arrival of Joseph and his family in Sydney. In 2006, Gary Holt, published his book, Descendants of Joseph Holt with contributions from a number of other descendants. He found that Joseph's and Hester's descendants had risen to over 3,000 by the seventh generation. 1,600 were Fowler descendants through the grandaughter of Joseph and Hester, Elizabeth Fowler, nee Holt, who married the convict, Thomas Fowler's son, John, at St Thomas's C.of E. Church at Mulgoa on the 7th April 1858. They subsequently succeeded each other as postmaster and postmistress of the Cox-family-established Mulgoa Post Office following his accidental death in a droving accident on the bridge at the bottom of the church hill on Mulgoa Road, now St Thomas' Road.Why were they there? Elizabeth Fowler was the Sydney born daughter of Joseph Harrison Holt, General Joseph Holt's younger son. It is thought that he left George Wentworth's employ at his Greendale Estate as one of their mechanics, to help build the second storey for George Cox's 'Winbourne'. He was appointed pound keeper and remained living on this Mulgoa Estate until his death on July 13 1884. He was buried in the nearby St Thomas' Church of England cemetery where his wife, Elizabeth, and many of their descendants are also buried; as are the local William Cox family descendants who donated the land and endowed the church..
After Captain William Cox and his convict team had completed Cox's Road over The Blue Mountains, he and three sons George, Henry and Edward were granted land in the Mulgoa Valley by a jubilant Governor Lachlan Macquarie as the barrier to western expansion in New South Wales had been removed. They built, Winbourne (c.1824), Glenmore (c.1825), and Fernhill (c.1842) respectively. William, remained at Clarendon, Richmond, and built The Cottage (c.1811) to allow George and Henry to live in the Mulgoa Valley to manage the family's affairs. It was built on the grant to Edward Cox who was only 4 1/2 years old. William named his own grant, Littlefields. In all, the Cox family was granted 4,030 acres. Over the years, they established their private Mulgoa village to include a post office, public school, blacksmith, timbermill, dairy, butter factory, vineyard, winery, deer park and Municipal Council building (1893), later to become the School of Arts when the Mulgoa Municipal Council was absorbed into Penrith Municipal Council on July 9, 1913. (www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/index.asp?hd-1869).
Before this occurred, the Holt family's third generation, John Fowler Jnr had been a municipal councillor on and off since 1904, under the mentoring of Edward King Cox who had employed him as coachman at Fernhilll following the accidental death of his father, John, the stock manager at George Cox's Winbourne. Prior to the passing of The Heritage Act, the building's historic importance to the Mulgoa/Wallacia Valley with its links to the Cox's and other founding families, was ignored by the Penrith City Council councillors who voted for this historic building to be removed. A new, purpose-built building was erected to house the Mulgoa Bushfire Brigade and its equipment. The original slab post office and residence where John Snr. and Elizabeth Fowler had lived with their family, was consumed in the Christmas 2001 bushfire along with Reg. Blattman Snr.'s adjacent family residence.
The Blattman and Eisenhuth families had been employed to install and manage the Cox vineyards following the religious persecution in Germany. The brick buildings of the headmaster's original cottage and Mulgoa Public School, built next door to the original Mulgoa Post Office, are still extant.
All families present at the Holt bicentenary reunion held in the Parramatta Reserve on the 11th January 2000, became inaugural members of The Holt Family Fellowship as they had proven descent from the United Irish General Joseph Holt of Mullinaveigue, Co. Wicklow, and his wife, Hester Holt, through their two sons, Joshua & Joseph Harrison Holt. By 2006, Dr Ruan O'Donnell had proven the involvement of Joseph's siblings in the United Irish movement. Free membership was then extended in 2007 to Joseph's siblings' descendants on proof of descent; namely, John, Thomas, William, Joshua, Johnathon and Mary, the children of John Holt Snr of Ballydonnell (Ballydaniel).
Our guests on the 11th January 2000 were the historians, Dr Anne-Maree Whitaker, a Cox family descendant, and Brendan Whiting. Over 200 Holt members of the descendant families were present and voted unanimously for Lionel Fowler to establish The Holt Family Fellowship. They had been invited to Lake Parramatta by Gay Wilson, Pamela Goesch and Lionel Fowler to celebrate the bicentenary of the arrival in Sydney of Captain Salkeld's Minerva carrying the United Irish general, Joseph Holt, his wife, Hester, and their two sons Joshua and Joseph Harrison. Gay, the wife of a Joshua descendant, Rob Wilson, was able to contact that branch of the family: Pamela and Lionel, as direct descendants of Elizabeth Fowler nee Holt, contacted the Joseph Harrison branch. It was believed to be the first time that such a gathering had been attempted in 200 years.
Based on their years of experience with the Turnbull family reunions, Dr Ken & Gwen Knox, nee Cork, looked after the directional signage with their son, Roger. The families cooked their own barbecues. The Dixon, Cork and Bishop families are descended from Elizabeth and John Fowler's eldest daughter, Emma Malvina. She married the Mulgoa headmaster, Cyrus Turnbull, who lived next door to the Mulgoa Post Office. They are buried in St Thomas's Anglican Cemetery at Mulgoa.
Those present enjoyed the historical displays mounted by Gay, Pamela and Lionel with additions by others. Pamela Goesch, nee Bishop, with her sister Shirley Paneretto, is another Emma Malvina descendant. She provided additional tables and her research experience. Most brought their own research for comparison. Several discovered that they had been duplicating each others work in isolation. Others discovered that they had been doing business with each other in country towns and villages without realising that they were related.
Passing of Sonny Holt
Sean "Sonny" Holt, who fought so assiduously for decades to have the United Irish General Joseph Holt's exploits recognised throughout Ireland and the world, went to join the love of his life, Annie Holt, nee Doyle, at 12:10am on the 15th January surrounded by his family. A wake is currently being held before the 11:00am Mass at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church at Aughrim on Friday 16th. He is to be buried beside Annie at the gravesite where our fellowship's tourists paid their respects in 2006 and admired the remarkable headstone which he carved for Annie.
Condolences to the family may be sent to Gerry and Sally Holt, at Arklow Road, Aughrim, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Floral tributes can be sent through Interflora to Helena's Florist, Bridgewater, Arklow, Co Wicklow. To avoid spam we will not print the email addresses as we do not want to add this extra stress to the grieving family.
We are most grateful to Sonny and Jacquie for having Thomas and Lionel Fowler stay with them in 2006 for Sonny and Thomas to play their golfing version of The Holt Family Fellowship Ryder Cup, Ireland versus Australia which Ireland won through Sonny. Our Fellowship's establishment, growth and the friendships that have grown out of it has only come since my successful search for Sonny and Annie in 1998 and their subsequent generosity of spirit.
VALE SONNY & ANNIE, FAREWELL TWO OF OUR ORIGINAL PATRONS. MAY GOD BLESS YOUR SOULS.
Lionel R. Fowler.
Wallacia Post Office John Fowler Centenary
 Elaine Crossman, nee Bewley, and Reg Blattman being handed the knife with which to cut the Centenary cake by current postmaster, Margaret Fowler. Wartime local teenagers from Silverdale and Mulgoa, they were appointed by John Fowler to assist Marjorie Fowler as manager of the Wallacia Post Office when her husband, Bernard, joined the army in 1940 along with elder brother, Keith, and their former local school and golf playing friends. Photos courtesy of Margaret Fowler. |
 (Middleground) Morsecodians Celebratory Telegraph Station on the Wallacia Post Office verandah. Souvenir Telegrams were sent from here to a Receiving Station at Beechworth, Victoria, and posted. (Foreground) Roger Bale and Matthew Fowler, Kangaroo Island, in a group of four, reminiscing about past Wallacia glories. Roger with elder brother, Harold, sold Bales Buses to Bosnjaks. It was founded in Wallacia by their late father, 'Billy' Bale, in the 1920's and was situated on the opposite Park Road corner to Fowler Bros Riding School, store and post office. Their distinctive dark red and dark cream colours were carried until recently. (Background) Hotel Wallacia against the skyline, built on portion of John Fowler's former sorghum paddock by Keith Fowler with Toohey's Brewery Ltd in 1936. Modelled on the Banff Hotel tourist experience, it was envisaged that it would become 'The 19th hole' for his Wallacia Golf Links and Club. |
The Penrith Press published a report on the 4th April 2008 of Wallacia Post Office's John Fowler Centenary Celebration as postmaster. 'Jack' is a third generation Joseph Holt descendant.
Read the report here...
Penrith Press's newspaper report: Wallacia Post Office
Mayor's Centenary Celebration Speech
Download the newspaper article here... 680kb PDF
Download the original invitation here... 360kb PDF
Brush Farm Homestead
The 27th April 2007, marked the opening of the refurbished Brush Farm homestead built by Gregory Blaxland in 1820 for his family. All Holt Family Fellowship members were invited by Courtney Long of Ryde City Council to attend the opening because of General Joseph Holt's earlier association with The Brush as manager for Captain William Cox. It was purchased from Captain John Macarthur soon after their arrival in January 1800. To meet the unexpected calls on his promissory notes, William later sold it to Gregory in 1807 having increased its size substantially by having his manager, Joseph Holt, purchase neighbouring properties on his behalf.Pamela Goesch, (Elizabeth Holt), John Holt (Isaac Holt), Clare Steenhouwer (Isaac Holt), John and Gail Metcalfe (Elizabeth Holt) and Lionel Fowler (Elizabeth Holt) represented The Holt Family Fellowship. They met various dignitaries including the President of The Brush Farm Historical Society Mrs Beverly McClymont, the current Gregory Blaxland and the Parramatta River Historian, Gregory Blaxcell, whose article in the Afloat Magazine had stimulated great interest.
Beverly and Lionel recognised each other from the days of Associate Professor Jack's W.E.A. archeological students 'digs' at John Blaxland's former Flour Mill and Brewery on Lionel's Grove Farm at Wallacia in the 1980s. Our party was disappointed to find that the huge magnificent cast-iron fire-place which was in the middle of the drawing room's floor during Pamela Goesch's Retrace Joseph Holt's Footsteps tour in Y2000 had been stolen during the intervening years. That tour finished at The King's School, where Dr Ruan O'Donnell gave a talk on Joseph's career in Ireland for the benefit of members. It is intended for the Blaxland family and The Brush Farm Historical Society to hold separate get-to-gethers with us at both Brush Farm and Grove Farm in the future with our friends from the local The Weekly Times, John Booth and Ulrike Eichmeyer who have generously donated their newspaper's articles and photos to our website.
The Weekly Times published an article on the restoration of Brush Farm House in it's 2nd May 2007 edition.
Read the article here...
See the members' photos here...
 Back row: John Holt & Gregory Blaxcell Front row: Lionel Fowler & Clare Steenhouwer Pam Bishop, John and Gail Metcalfe absent |
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General Joseph Holt's 250th Birthday Party.
In September 2006, ten members of The Holt Family Fellowship joined in the celebrations for General Joseph Holt's 250th birthday in Ireland. Sonny & Fergus Holt organised the birthday party (complete with birthday cake) at Lawless's pub in Aughrim where Dr Ruan O'Donnell, the Head of the School of History at the University of Limerick, gave a dissertation on Joseph's place in history. The Irish and Australian descendants of Joseph and his siblings were able to dance together to the music of a Criac band and generally enjoy themselves. During the day, the group attended the unveiling of Joseph's image at Tinahely as arranged by Fergus and designed by Pascal Holt. It was the first Ireland/Australia combined family function held in Ireland since Joseph returned with Hester and Joseph Harrison on the 5th April 1814. The party also attended the Church of Ireland Mass at The Monkstown Parish Church, which had become the family's local church upon their return to Dublin, as discovered by Pamela Goesch. They also visited the nearby Carrickbrennan Cemetery, an earlier discovery of Pam's, where Joseph and Hester Holt are buried, together with their daughter, Mary Anne Shaw.
Pictured L-R: Aileen Fowler, Thomas Fowler, Lionel Fowler (holding Joseph Holt's flag), Sharon Bodnar, Ross Fowler, Margaret Fowler, Matthew Fowler, Laurie Hibbard.
Moya & Martin Haley on walking tour. Photo courtesy of Matthew Fowler
The group had photos taken at Joseph's Mullinaveigue memorial beside his former farm and met Tommy Webster and Johnnie Medlycott of the Roundwood and District Historical and Folklore Society. The Fellowship members appreciated the Society's effort in cleaning away the roadside mud covering the lettering and cutting off the branches which had previously obscured the memorial erected to Joseph's memory in 1998. That night Al O'Donnell, with the assistance of his manager, younger son Conor, entertained our group with 1798 songs about Joseph which Ruan had researched. The heavy rain outside did not dampen the enthusiasm. The Wicklow Arms, Delgany, was the scene for the entertainment. It is built on the former La Touche Bellevue Estate where Mary Anne Holt was hidden by Mrs Peter La Touche throughout 1798.
Al O'Donnell at the Wicklow Arms
The group stayed two nights at Glendalough House. On their last morning there they visited the adjacent St Kevin's 6th century monastic city of Seven Churches at Glendalough, the district which Joseph knew well and used for what the British forces regarded as his and his Wicklow army's notorious disappearances.
There were many other non-birthday functions that were enjoyed, particularly the welcome by the villagers of Ballinkillen to see the 1798 Battle of Kilcumney Memorial to Father John Murphy and his Carlow and Wexford troops. The special village welcome which followed was reminiscent of those held over the decades in the Wallacia Progress Association's hall, at the foothills of the Blue Mountains on the Nepean River. It was catered by the Ballinkillen ladies, led by the justifiably famous local cook, Mrs Eileen Farrell, and was deeply appreciated by the ten Fellowship members. Two of the authors of Kilcumney '98 its Origins, Aftermath & Legacy, Mick Kinsella and Edward Moran, presented Lionel with their well researched and comprehensive book which included helpful maps to aid the understanding of this battle's movements and its aftermath. It was written with Conor Murphy under the guidance of Dr Kevin Whelan. It complements the General's Memoirs of Joseph Holt, Volume I, as it explains what happened to that portion of the Wexford/Carlow split force which stayed in Co. Wexford after the Battle of Vinegar Hill. The other portion, under the leadership of Colonel Garrett Byrne, Colonel Miles Byrne, the pitch-capped Captain Anthony Perry, Fr. Mogue Kearns and others, marched into Co. Wicklow to join General Holt and his Wicklow Brigade in the security of Glenmalure under Captain Michael Dwyer's protection.
The evening with The National Pike Association at our Wexford Quality Hotel was both personally and historically pleasing, as the pike was Joseph's favourite attacking weapon. His description is reminiscent of later descriptions of the Australian soldiers' famous bayonet charges in both World Wars.
Joseph Harrison Holt was born aboard the Minerva during the six months anchorage of the 1799 fleet before their departure to New South Wales. Fittingly, the tourists enjoyed a trip around the Cobh of Cork, in the hired prison launch, to gain some empathy with our ancestors. The group then flew back to New South Wales at a faster pace and in more comfort than the Minerva could provide their ancestors in 1799/80.
Descendants retrace the footsteps of General Holt - article from both, The Wicklow People and The Wexford People, Thursday, September 21, 2006.
Australian visitors impressed by Kilcumney visit. - article in, The Nationalist, Wednesday, November 01, 2006
See General Joseph Holt's Noticeboard to learn of our future plans.
1798