George & Agnes Joyce

Story

George was born on 28th October 1845 in Benfleet, Essex, England. He was inspired to go to sea as a young boy probably because his father John, who had been born in East Tilbury was a wharfinger on the Thames docks. C1860 papers of apprenticeship were signed by John for his son to serve five years in wheat clippers. After this George emigrated to New Zealand arriving on the ‘Dauntless\’ in Auckland on 15th May 1865. This trip was plagued by such problems as a mutinous crew and the rescue of survivors from another ship, the ‘Fiery Star\’ which was burning at sea.

Gold had been discovered on the south island. George thought mining was too unreliable, so began a carrying business from Dunedin to the Otago Goldfields with a team of Clydesdales and wagons which lasted for nearly a decade. When gold was discovered on the Palmer River in Queensland in 1873 George decided to emigrate again and arrived in Cooktown C1874 with his horses and wagons and continued his carrying business in the years of the famous rush.

Here he met his future young wife, Agnes Beatrice Peirce Butcher, a little lady, blond with blue eyes, who was born on 7th February 1862 in The Workhouse, Chelsea, Middlesex, England. Her mother had died soon after the birth and her father did not take a role in her life. She was brought up in her grandparents house in Chelsea with lots of aunts and uncles several of whom emigrated to Cooktown in the 1880/90s who lived in the Bloomfield River district. Agnes was sponsored to Cooktown arriving about December 1880 to live with her Uncle Tom in his hotel at ‘six mile\’ on the Palmer River Road.

George (35) & Agnes (19) married on 16th June 1881 in the District Registrar’s Office, Cooktown by the original gold commissioner Mr. Howard St.George. Their first home was an isolated Cobb & Co. coach stopover 60kms inland on the Palmer River Road where George was groom in charge of the mail horses. This was an era of bloody territorial battles between the incoming Europeans and the resident aborigines, with no satisfactory solution to the fighting for either side. It was no safe place for a young white wife who learned very quickly to shoot a rifle just like the men. Nevertheless Agnes had the first three of her eleven surviving babies out there in the bush.

After the goldrush was over in 1888 George built and operated the ‘Trevethan Creek Hotel\’, a pub on the principal track linking Cooktown to the Annan River tin fields. By 1892 George had taken over the Cooktown Brick Kiln at the ‘Two Mile\’, Charlotte Street and Agnes had borne three more children. In 1893 George was mining tin at ‘Finnigans\’ workings on Mt. Romeo and another daughter was born.

The next year George and his eldest son George Thomas, now 12 years old, took horse teams to Horn Island in the Torres Strait to cart machinery for the goldfield which had sprung up there. Horn Island was a busy place with no less than forty stampers crushing ore. The Joyces were on the move again. Their last four children were born on Thursday Island.

In 1908 George Joyce, now 63 years old, was the first white man to take up land on Prince of Wales Island. Together with his sons George Thomas and Francis Gilbert (Frank) they bred ponies for export to the East Indies as well as producing beef for the local market. The ponies were well bred, low set, creamy ponies with long manes and tails that the Javanese chiefs loved. About 15-20 ponies were exported each year for an average price of thirty guineas. In the days of sailing ships through the Torres Strait transporting these animals was a dangerous enterprise but the trading went on until the outbreak of WW1.

On 4th January 1914 Agnes died aged 51 years. She had borne eleven children from age 20-42, all in the wildest outreaches of white civilization at the time.

On 6th June 1916 George died aged 70 years. He had been a true pioneer in several ‘new world\’ regions. They are buried together right on top of the hill in the Thursday Island Cemetery.

George & Agnes have many descendants living in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.

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