Frank Johns

Story

Francis Johns was born on the 19th March 1834 in Lelant, Cornwall, to John Johns (b. 9Oct1814 in Lelant, and died there in 1883) and Grace Blight. They were married on 14Dec1833, but sadly for little Frank, she died on the 25Aug1837 when he was only three. He was most likely cared for by his grandparents, Francis and Margaret Johns. His father remarried when Farnk was about twelve.

After leaving school, Frank trained as a carpenter, and in 1856, he decided to emigrate to Australia. He left from Southhampton on the 2ndMar1856 on the Gomelza, 521 tons, under Capt. W.H.Connell, and Ship’s Surgeon H.T.Cornelius. It as the tenth ship for that year to sail for South Australia with Government passengers.

The Gomelzas arrived at Port Adelaide on the 10th June, 1856 with 244 immigrants, two births and one death being recoreded on the voyage. They were “…generally, a well selected class of person”.

Frank made his way to the Hay/Deniliquin area, possibly by riverboat.

He married Jane Kirk at Deniliquin on 23Dec1858. Jane was born around 1840 in Wick on the north-east coast of Scotland, and had arrived in Melborne on the “Shooting Star” as a 19 year old in Feb1858. They settled in Hay and had seven children, six boys and a girl. Francis in 1860, John 1862, Alexander & Grace somewhere in between 1865 & 1875, George 1870 and Alfred in 1874. George was to become our much loved grandfather.

During the 1860’s Frank was very involved in the hotel trade, starting in 1864 at Maude, 6 miles downstream from Hay, where he was licensee of the Maude Hotel & was also operator of the Maude punt. The same year he operated a new punt 200 yds below Hay Hospital. Two years later, in 1866, he was the operator of the pontoon bridge at Hay and in 1867, the operator of another new punt at Hay. In 1869 he is listed as having bought a punt at Hay, as well as being the proprietor of the Pontoon Bridge Hotel. He is lisated on the Municipal Roll on the 29Jan1870, and as the propietor og the Government ferry at Hay in 1872. In this year an impressive array of domestic, commercial, domestic, religious and municipal construction was taking place. Hotels mushroomed, and businesses of all sorts sprang up.

Inevitably discussion led to the push for a municicpality to be formally declared. Eighty-one freeholders & householders signed a petition requesting their locality become the new Municipal Distriuct of Hay. Two opposing groups were formed – the “Black & Tans, and the “True Blues”. Lively meetings, fierce debates, incidents that ranged from the hilariuos to the slanderous followed. eventually the Tru Blues won the day and were voted in, with Frank Johns being elected the first Mayor of Hay from 1872 to 1873.

Frank next turned his interest to securing some grazing properties – a free selection of 40 acres in 1873;several more conditional purchases over the next few years, until by 1876/1877 he either selected 320 acres or else soon after purchased 640 acres. He also was a grazier/shareholder in a mine at Mt Hope.

Frank died on the 11th July 1912, having been a punt keeper, butcher, hotelier, grazier and one of Hay’s first townsmen – he even had an early irrigation farm 6 miles from Hay on the river.

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