Waking up to the continuous, yet soft sound of rain, dripping onto the window-sill, I realised a strange dilemma: Three days of brilliant sunshine had managed to spoil me. The possibility of ten cold and rainy days, likely reenactments of boggy dirt roads, damp nights in a tent at wherever nature decided to have me stuck, seemed to have lost the aspect of challenge. Still lying in a cozy bed, l began dreaming of the comfort of the first three days. My breakfast company, as well as the staff (of Bentley’s Hotel), must have sensed my halfheartedness and, in a combined effort, praised the town of Clare and its surroundings – if visited by car and in summer! Against such logic I would have been fighting a lost battle at the best of times – but now even I felt that they had a strong point. However, announcing my plan of hanging around book shops and coffee-places to read about the Clare-region, as well as the author C.J. Dennis, before cycling on to Gladstone, not only settled the matter, it even “promoted” my status: in everybody’s estimate, I had climbed the ladder from ‘insane’ to ‘just odd’.
Nearly as old as the state of South-Australia, Clare was founded shortly after explorer E.J. Eyre “visited” the district as the first white person in 1839. Following his tracks in 1841 were John Maynard and Edward Burton Gleeson. Although Edward Burton “Paddy” Gleeson had been born in Ireland his arrival in Australia bore by no means the characteristics of the sad arrival of an Irish convict. And subsequently, his life in the new colony of South Australia did turn out very different to the enormous hardship a convict had to endure. Gleeson arrived as a rich person and even a severe financial crisis, a few years after his arrival, merely caused a setback but did not manage to throw him off course in any way.
Having been born near Neenagh in County Tipperary, he grew up near Inchiquin Castle in County Clare which he left in 1824 to become an official in the Indian civic service. While in India he married and he also allegedly won £ 30.000 in a Calcutta Sweepstake. In 1838, when he arrived in South Australia he certainly did not step off the boat as a poor man for he brought with him Indian coolies as servants, an Arab stallion called Abdullah, as well as a complete wooden house. Not long after his arrival, his family (two sons had been born in India) and his brother set up residence at the foot of the Adelaide hills where a section of land had been allotted to him. One year later, in the first race meeting ever held in South Australia, Gleeson’s
“… mare Kitty beat Mr. Oscar Line’s Black Bess over a distance of two miles for a purse of 20 guineas.”
(Schmaal, J. “The Gleeson Story”, p.1).
Only two years after his arrival, the first agricultural show, called “Harvest Home”, was held at his property. Alas, the line of success came to a grinding halt when a financial crisis in the new colony happened exactly at the same time as failure hit an Indian bank where Gleeson was a major shareholder. While the days of functions and dinners were now over, Gleeson was not the one to give up. Thrilled by explorer Eyre’s reports, and with some financial aid he bought 500 acres of land near today’s Clare where he kept a few flocks of sheep. And soon afterwards the initial humble beginnings of a small thatched and whitewashed cottage were over. A more substantial home was built and E.B.”Paddy”Gleeson began to imprint his presence onto the Clare Valley. The site of his home he called ‘Inchiquin’, the slowly developing township nearby ‘Clare’ and two other places were named ‘Donnybrook’ and ‘Armagh’. However, the tall and powerful man did not stop at just naming places. His family home became known as “Government House” and any important visitor to the area was entertained there. Mail could be left and collected at lnchiquin, thereby making Gleeson Clare’s first postmaster. Initially being seen by everyone as the first Squire of Clare, he was made Justice of the Peace in 1849, later Magistrate and in 1853 he became the first chairman of the newly established District Council of Clare. Fifteen years later he was elected as the first mayor of the new Clare Corporation. After reelection in 1869, Gleeson died in office in 1870, his importance for the area being well recognised and acknowledged.
“The remains of the father of Clare, Mr. E.B. Gleeson, were conveyed to their last resting place in St. Barnabas churchyard on Thursday evening… preceding the hearse they marched 100 strong to the churchyard. After the hearse followed 80 vehicles of various descriptions attended by 100 horsemen bringing up the rear… The shops and hotels were entirely closed and the shutters of all the stores were partially put up as soon as the death of Mr. Gleeson became known … His peculiar knack of peace-making will be missed; his absence at public meetings for the promotion of religion, science or charity will be realised; his work as a Special Magistrate dispensing even-handed justice and his readiness to attend to duty will be well known…”
(ibid, p. 4)
Unfortunately the Gleeson family have not survived in the Clare district. One son had died not long after they had arrived in the Clare area, the surviving son, J.W. Gleeson, died, like his brother, in a riding accident, in 1896. His only son died at the age of 23 from pulmonary tuberculosis.
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