Mary Hockey was born on 03 September 1855 in Albion Park, New South Wales, Australia as the fifth child of Samuel Hockey and Mary Ann Ryan. She had thirteen siblings, namely: Eneas, Charles, Samuel, John, George Daniel, Henry Perceval, Eliza Jane, Lewis Walter Luke, David, Margaret Ellen, Alfred Enos, Albert James, and Sarah Anne.

When she was 20, Mary married New Zealander John Maynard McKane, son of John Ward McKane and Harriet Maynard, on 10 February 1876[1] at ‘Timberlight’ Windellama, New South Wales, Australia. They settled at ‘Jerralong Creek’.

John Maynard McKane and Mary Hockey had the following children:

1. George McKane was born on 29 June 1876 in New South Wales, Australia. He married Ellen Louisa Charlton in 1906 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 18 February 1932 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia.

2. John McKane was born on 28 December 1877 in Windellama, New South Wales, Australia. He married Jane Hannah Charlton in 1899 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 24 May 1944 in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia.

3. James Maynard McKane was born in 1879 in Windellama, New South Wales, Australia. He married Pansy Germain Napier in 1928 in Queensland, Australia. He died in 1953 in Queensland, Australia.

4. Harriet McKane was born in 1881 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. She died in 1893 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia.

5. David McKane was born on 2 June 1882 in Shoalhaven Heads, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 21 December 1931 in Reefton, Buller District, West Coast, New Zealand.

6. Walter George McKane was born in 1884 in Argyle, New South Wales, Australia. He married Amelia Ethel Webb on 28 August 1912 in St.Andrew's Church, Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 21 April 1951 in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

7. Joseph McKane was born on 27 October 1886 in Windellama, New South Wales, Australia. He married Laura May McAndrew on 19 July 1922 in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 25 May 1958 in Gympie, Queensland, Australia.

8. Albert Henry McKane was born on 12 December 1888 in Argyle, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 16 June 1941 in Greymouth, West Coast, New Zealand.

9. Edith May McKane was born in 1890 in Argyle, New South Wales, Australia. She died in 1965 in New South Wales, Australia.

10. Ethel Mary McKane was born on 07 November 1895 in Shoalhaven Heads, New South Wales, Australia. She died on 22 November 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

11. Reuben Charles McKane was born on 16 October 1892 in Shoalhaven Heads, New South Wales, Australia. He died on 30 December 1979 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

John was very successful mining for gold. He once found a gold nugget ”as big as a cricket ball”, but he wouldn’t tell anyone where he found it.

John and Mary had a large holding at Jerralong Creek that included a general store, a blacksmith shop, orchards, gardens and a dairy. As his house was on the road between Russell’s Corner (old Dundarra) and ‘Timberlight’, John and Mary supplied miners with provisions. Because this was a popular short-cut between mines, they did quite well.

John died on 2 October 1931[2] in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, age 84.

Mary died on 26 May 1934[3] in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, age 78.

Citations:

1. NSW Registry Of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 2588/1876

2. NSW Registry Of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 19290/1931

3. NSW Registry Of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 6420/1934 (McKane)

External Links:

Personal - The Shoalhaven News and South Coast Districts Advertiser (NSW : 1891 - 1937) Saturday 3 October 1931 p 2 Article

The death occurred early yesterday morning of Mr. John Maynard McKane, at his residence, Nowra Hill, at the ripe age of 85 .years. The deceased gentleman was practically a life-long resident of Shoalhaven, and had done a lot of prospecting. He was a man held in the highest esteem right throughout the district.

MR. J. M. McKANE - Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW : 1881 - 1940) Tuesday 13 October 1931 p 2 Article

MR. J. M. McKANE - The death occurred at his residence, "Cabbage-tree Creek,"Nowra, on the 2nd instant, of  Mr. .John Maynard McKane. He was 84 years of age and was an old identity of the Windellama

district. He came from New Zealand to that district when quite young and followed mining . Mr. McKane married the eldest daughter of the late Samuel Hockey, of Windellama, and made his home at ,"Jerralong," Windellama, where he resided for over 32 years. He then removed to Nowra, where he spent his remaining years as a dairy farmer. He is survived by a widow, Mary McKane (Nowra), eight sons and two daughters. The sons are:  George (Windellama), John (Nowra), James (Queensland), David (New Zealand), Walter (Greenwell Point), Joseph (Kempsey), Albert Henry (New Zealand), and Ruben Charles (Bomaderry). The daughters are Mrs. C. Moffitt (Burrier), and Miss Ethel Mary McKane, at home. One daughter, Harriett, predeceased him about 35years.

Health Inspector's Report - The Shoalhaven Telegraph (NSW:1879-1937) Wed 30 May 1934 p 1

Two more deaths have occurred in Nowra- Mrs. McKane, a very old resident, on Saturday night, and Miss Gray on Sunday night. Both ladies were well known and highly esteemed throughout the district.

The End of an Era on Spa Road - Windellama Newsletter - October 2006 - Page 18

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