John Neale

(1797 - 1875)

Guide to Lachlan Macquarie during his inspection tour of the Cowpastures region in 1815. He became an Overseer at Captain Richard Brooks' farm in the Appin/ Minto district, known as 'Denham Court'.

John Neale was born in Sydney on 19 October 1797; the eldest son of William Neale (c.1764 -1840) who served in the 102nd Regiment 1794 -1810, and Sarah Townsend, (c.1773- ) who was convicted of highway robbery in 1793; both arrived in Sydney on board the Surprize in 1794. John Neale was one of five children - William James (b.1799 -), Sarah Matilda (b.1801 -), George (b.1804 -) and Mary Ann (b.1811 -).

Macquarie does not signify which 'Neale' was his guide in 1815, however it seems unlikely that it would have been William Neale Snr., who would have been 51 years of age at this stage; far more likely, it was his eldest son,John, who was 18 years of age.

On 12 April 1822, John travelled with his younger brother, William, to Brooks' Illawarra property on 12 April 1822. Early in the morning of Sunday, 15 April 1822 he was present when a convict overseer, Seth Hawker, shot at, and set the dogs upon, an Aboriginal woman, supposedly in the acting of stealing corn from Brooks' farm. Hawker returned to the hut, reloaded his gun, and again confronted the woman - when she failed to answer him he shot her in the stomach and allowed the dogs to maul her. In the subsequent legal proceedings John Neale, along with his brother, William, were required to provide evidence before the magistrate, Thomas Reddall, at Macquarie Fields in June 1822 concerning what they saw and heard; the trial of Seth Hawker took place at Sydney Criminal Court, and the defendant was acquitted. [See Sydney Gazette 14 June 1822]

In September1824, John Neale petitioned Governor Brisbane for a grant of land and indicated that he had been "married to a female born in the Colony, for upwards of seven years, by whom he has four children."

He continued working for Richard Brooks, and is listed in the 1828 Census as an overseer at Denham Court, Lower Minto. His brother, William, had by this stage begun working for Cornelius O'Brien in the Illawarra district.

John Neale died at Parkes, NSW, in 1875.

Census of New South Wales, November 1828. (Eds.) Malcolm R. Sainty and Keith A Johnson. Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1980.

A Documentary History of the Illawarra & South Coast Aborigines 1770 - 1850. Compiled by Michael Organ. Wollongong University, Aboriginal Education Unit, 1990 pp.116 -132.

The Sydney Gazette 14 June 1822.