Francis Henry JULIUS J P [740]

   Cause of his death was by suicide at his home in Cudgen.

  General Notes:

Soon after his birth Frank and his mother sailed north from Sydney, were rowed ashore at Wommin Bay, travelling overland 3 or 4 miles to Cudgen.

Frank served in the Boer War, Private number 272, he was a member of the Fifth Contingent (Mounted Infantry) 1901 - 1902.
After training at Karrakatta he left from Freemantle on the 6th March 1901 on the transport ship "Devon" and arrived at Durban on the 28th of March. There were 14 officers 207 other ranks and 239 horses under the command of J. S. Royston DSO. The fifth contingent left Durban on the 7th of April 1902 arriving in Freemantle on the 29th April, they were disbanded on the 17th of May.
Frank may have been in the 6th Contingent leaving on the Ulstermore arriving 29 th April ?

Early History of Cudgen Sugar Plantation and Mill.
By Frank H. Julius.
When the C.S.R. Company decided to erect a sugar mill on the Macleay about 1870, my father William Warner Julius, purchased three of the best farms on that river to grow sugarcane.
When the C.S.R. transferred the mill to Harwood Island on the Clarence, my father sold the Macleay Farms, and decided to purchase Harry Clark's selection at Cudgen. This was about 1875. My father paid Clark L12 10 0. per acre for his farm which at that time was practically all virgin scrub.
My father decided to build his own sugar mill, and work commenced immediately on both projects. The clearing of the land and the building of the mill as well as the planting of the cane in preparation for the first crushing, which took place in 1880, two years earlier than at Condong (mill).
At the time, Cudgen was the busiest place on this river. About 500 men were employed in the mill and on the plantation. Abbotsford Mill, at Tumbulgum, owned by three men, Messrs Pringle, Shankey and Byrne, was also operating, but proved a failure, and growers in that area, and on the river flats above Murwillumbah transferred their cane to the Condong Mill. Frost at that time took a heavy toll on cane crops, which were mostly non-resistant.
Mr Issacs, the first manager at Condong, approached my father at this stage with an offer to purchase the whole of his cane crops grown on the Cudgen plantation at 10/-per ton, including inverse of was the harvesting and the milling of it at Condong. My father turned down this offer and accepted an offer from two Victorians, Messes John Robb and J. J. Casey. John Robb was at that time a wealthy Victorian, accredited a millionaire. He was a railway contractor and connected with building and banking companies. It included in his projects was the construction of a railway line from Cairns to Atherton, in north Queensland, and Robbs Jetty at Fremantle, prior to the construction of the breakwater there. Casey was a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Guilfoyle House.
The plantation had been extended at that time to include the lands held by the Guilfoyle family, who held between them approximately 1280 ac., some of the richest part of Cudgen.
The home of the Guilfoyle's was situated in the most beautiful part of Cudgen, it was a home in bungalow style, with a shingle roof, with a view of the ocean from Byron Bay to Fingal and Cook Island. The timber used in the construction of this home was grown on the plantation, and comprised cedar, beech, teak, rosewood, etc. Its orchard and gardens were some of the finest in Australia, and contained some of the rarest fruits and plants to be found anywhere. These gardens and orchard were established by two of the greatest botanists the world has ever known, Baron Von Mueller, who has by talking machine K.C.M.G. and William Guilfoyle.
As a result of the depression in the 90's my father was compelled to sell his interest in the mill and plantation at Cudgen, and later the property was sold to the C.S.R. after the last crushing went through in 1911, 31 years after the first crushing.
This was the only mill in New South Wales with its own cane the supply, and the only one to carry on through the depression in NSW except the three Mills owned by C.S.R. Coy., at Harwood, Broadwater, and Condong.
When the C.S.R. purchased the Cudgen plantation in 1911, I wrote to the general manager about our old Homestead block. In response to my letter, Mr Dowling, the C.S.R. Coy. first cane inspector at Condong (father of Admiral Dowling, who was born and received his first education at Condong) came to see me and told me I could have this part of the plantation.
This is where I have raised my own family, and where the Julius is a reached the fourth generation, thanks to the wonderful assistance given at all times to us by the management and staff of that great company C.S.R.
Ref: News Paper article.

EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER BY HIS SISTER ELEANOR :
Francis fought in the Boer War, 1899 to 1902 when he returned he commenced dairy farming on the Tweed River. N. S. W.
In 1904, he commenced growing paspalum seed for export ; paspalum was the new variety of perennial grass discovered in Australia by accident. Believed to have been sent from South America with samples of other seeds it was thrown into the yard of the Municipal Council Chambers at Lismore on the Richmond River where it made such luxurious growth there that it was feared it would become a pest.
From there it spread rapidly throughout the North Coast, not only on the hills but particularly in the reclamation of the vast areas of swamplands which up to that time were considered useless land.
The ease with which these lands were subjugated contributed in great measure to the success of the newly established North Coast Factory at Byron Bay which was very soon the largest Butter Factory in the world.
Practical experience with paspalum grass proved to Francis its value as a commercial proposition, this was a time of economic boom not only in Australia, but to other cattle countries throughout the world.
With this in view, he sent samples of the seed to firms in Transvaal, Orange Free State, Cape Province and Natal ; the capital towns of New Zealand and also to San Francisco and South America from whence it originated. From this beginning a trade was built throughout the world to supply Paspalum Seed.
This trade was considered, at the time by the Manager of the Bank of New South Wales in Murwillumbah to be the most remarkable business of his many years' banking experience. Orders amounting to many thousand pounds for this seed were collected by the Bank from firms all over the world, and in no instance did any of these orders miscarry.
The trade was of great benefit to the countries concerned, particularly to New Zealand, which is now known as the "worlds' dairy farm", and to which most of the paspalum seed grown on the North Coast of New South Wales was exported.
Two years prior to the Great War [1914] Francis purchased the old Julius family homestead at the Cudgen Sugar Plantation from the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. They had purchased the plantation from the executors of the estate of his father, William.
Francis also purchased a large adjoining swamp for the purpose of running a Jersey Stud herd in conjunction with the growing of sugar. Both these ventures proved successful. Stock bred in the Cudgen Jersey Stud found their way all over New South Wales, and were numerous winners of butter-fat prizes, and Championships for breed and Best Cow.
Grassland farming has been extensively practiced on this property and much of the success in the butter production on the farm in due to the annual renovation of the pastures, and to stall feeding of the dairy herd during the three winter months. Cudgen Jersey Stud has influenced the leading herds of the Tweed River particularly through the supply of herd sires.
Francis sold the Stud in 1941 as his son had enlisted and he was unable to manage the property by himself.

Cudgen
9 July 1954
A C Julius
53 Granville St
Inverell NSW
Dear Mr Julius,
I've been away from Cudgen for a month or so, hence the delay in replying to your letter. However, I'm afraid I can't help you regarding the J. A. Julius you mention, only to say he would not be one of this branch of the Julius family of which I am now the Head, my two older brothers having passed on, leaving a younger brother and me. My oldest brother Edward only had one son, Charles, who was educated at St Peter's Adelaide and Sydney Uni. The next brother, Charles had a son and daughter. The son Warner, was educated at Grafton High and Duntroon Military College, he was killed while serving as Battery Commander in Malaya with the . . . . . 8th Division, he was a wonderful soldier. My two sons also served in the last war, and are now managing this property. I am glad to have heard from you and may look you up on my next trip that way, when my daughter lived near Glen Innes on a sheep property, we frequently made trips out there, but not during the winter.
With kind regards
Yours sincerely
F H Julius.

The Varied Career Of Frank Julius.
The names of Julius and Cudgen have been linked together for more than 80 years and the death of Mr F. H. Julius on February 25 closed a chapter in the history and development of the district.
Though not actually born in Cudgen, Frank was brought at a very tender age by boat from Sydney to Wommin be where mother and child were taken ashore in a rowing boat.
He was one of the 13 children of Mr and Mrs W. W. Julius, pioneers of Cudgen. His father a cane grower owned one of the first sugar mills in the district. Frank's first schooling was that Chinderah in a shingle roofed slab building; then he went to Sydney, and Fort Street School.
The family left Cudgen during this period and went to the goldfields in Western Australia and Frank went to school in Perth. He joined the family in their search for gold and from Coolgardie, though under age, enlisted to go to the Boer war.
In 1902 he went to Coffs Harbour and took up land at Bucca Creek for a short period, going in 1903 two Byangum where he worked at scrub felling and planting paspalum. While at Byangum he met Miss Irene Clarke, daughter of, Mr Thomas Clark, farmer and road contractor of the Tweed district, and later married her.
He bought a farm at Tumbuigam and still being interested in the paspalum seed, pioneered the seed harvesting industry. At that time harvesting was done by hand by reaping and sweating on the seed of the seed heads. Mr Julius discovered that a better quality product could be harvested by what came to be known as the handshaking method. This comprised vigorously shaking the bundles of ripe seed heads as they stood in the paddock and catching the seed which fell off, in a wide shallow dish put on the ground under the seed heads.
Moving into Murwillumbah, he concentrated on the paspalum seed industry and retired from this when New Zealand which was then the principal export market, placed an embargo on grass seed from tick quarantine areas in N.S.W. In 1914 Mr Julius brought back the old family home at Cudgen and went in for dairying. He built up the Cudgen Jersey Stud, and was known up and down the coast for his fine stock. He gave up dairying later and took up cane growing in which industry his sons are still engaged.
Mr Julius was a member of the Land Board where his knowledge was greatly valued and a Justice of the Peace for many years. He was greatly interested in his fellow man, and of a most generous disposition. He donated the recreation reserve to Cudgen and started the lower Tweed Pony Club being always a lover of horses. Patron of the Kingcliffe R.S.L. for 12(?) years and member of Tweed Historical Society represent some of his varied interests.
Of the original family the only survivors are a sister, Mrs Jeanette Hatton of Nedlands, W.A. and a brother Jack at Coffs Harbour. Mr Julius's wife died 10 years ago and he is survived by his family of five children. Sons are Roy and Jack, both of Cudgen, and the daughters, Mrs Paterson of Sydney, Mrs Paddon of Condong, and Mrs Burnley of Lismore.
Mr Julius who was in his 82nd year had as his housekeeper after his wife's death, her sister Miss Clarke, who had lived with them for many years. His old nurse who cared for him as a child is in her 101st year. She is Mrs Ritchie of Southport.
Ref: Unidentified newspaper, (.?.News) dated Friday, March 6, 1964.

AGCI lists Francis Henry Julius 23 Mar 1964 Murwillumbah Cudgen Will/Administration Newspaper Society of Genealogists of NSW Ref NC SER 3/3/367

  Other Records

1. Frank Henry Julius.
Early History of Cudgen Sugar Plantation and Mill.
By Frank H Julius.
When the CSR company decided to correct a sugar mill at the Macleay about 1870, my father William Warner Julius, purchased three of the best farms on that river to grow sugarcane.
When the C.S.R. transferred the mill to Harwood Island, on the Clarence, my father sold the Macleay farms, and decided to purchase Harry Clarke's selection at Cudgen. This was about 1875.
My father paid Clarke £12/10/ per acre for his farm, which at that time was practically all virgin scrub. My father decided to build his own sugar mill, and work commenced immediately on both projects: The clearing of the land and the building of the mill, as well as the planting of the cane in preparation for the first crushing, which took place in 1880, two years earlier than at Condong.
At that time, Cudgen was the busiest place on this river. About 500 men were employed In the mill and on the plantation, Abbotsford Mill, at Tumbulgum, owned by three men, Messrs Pringle. Shankey and Byrne. was also operating, but proved a failure, and growers In that area, and on the river flats above Murwillumbah transferred their cane to the Condone mill. Frost at that time took a heavy toll of cane crops. which were mostly nonresistant. Mr lssacs, the first manager at Condone, approached my father at this stage with an offer to purchase the whole of his cane crops grown on the Cudgen plantation at 10/- per ton. Included in this offer was the harvesting and the milling of it of Condone. My father turned down this offer, and accepted an offer from two Victorians. Messrs John Robb and J. J. Casey. John Robb was at that time a wealthy Victorian accredited a millionaire. He was a railway contractor and connected with building and banking companies. Included in his projects was the construction of the railway line from Cairns to Atherton, in North Queensland. also Robbs Jetty at Fremantle, prior to the construction of the breakwater there. Casey was a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Guilfoyle Home
The plantation had been extended at that time to include the lands held by the Guilfoyle family who held between them approximately 1200ac., some of the richest part of Cudgen, The home of the Guilfoyles was situated in the most beautiful part of Cudgen. It was a lovely home, in bungalow style, with a shingle roof, with a lovely view of the ocean from Byron Bay to Fingal and Cook Island. The timber used in the construction of this home was grown on the plantation, and comprised cedar, beech, teak. rosewood, etc. Its orchard and gardens were some of the finest in Australia, and contained some of the rarest fruits and plants to be found anywhere. These gardens and orchard were established by two of the greatest botanists the world has ever known. Baron von Mueller, K.C.M.G., and William Guilfoyle. As a result of the depression of the 90's my father was compelled td sell his interest in the mill and plantation at Cudgen, and later the property was sold to the C.S.R. after the last crushing went through In 1911, 31 years after the first crushing. This was the only mill in N.S.W. with its own cane supply, and the only one to carry on through the depression in N.S.W. except the three mills owned by the C.S.R. Coy, at Harwood. Broadwater and Condone. When the CSR purchased the Cudgen plantation in 1911, I wrote to the general manager about our old homestead block. In response to my letter, Mr Dowling, the C.S.R. Coy's first cane inspector at Condone (father of Admiral Dowling, who was born and received his first education at Condone), came to see me and told me I could have his part of the plantation. This is where I have raised my own family, and where the Julius's have reached the fourth generation, thanks to the wonderful assistance given at all times to us by the management and staff of that great company the C.S.R.

2. Francis Henry Julius: His Jersey Stud, 1931.
GROUP OF FOUR CHOICE JERSEY COWS AT MURWILLUMBAH SHOW
right: Champion Jersey Cow and Grand Champion of all Breeds, "DAPHNE OF LA. COLINA"; Reserve Champion Cow, "CUDGEN JENNIE"; "RODA OF JERSEYDALE," 1st prize Dry cow; and "ETHEL, OF JERSEYDALE."
Ref: The Land (Sydney, NSW) Fri 4 Dec 1931

3. Frank Henry Julius, 28 May 1981.
Sugar Pioneers Pride in Cudgen Remembered
Look Back with Peter Winter
In 1875 when most of Cudgen was just virgin scrub, W. W Julius purchased land for which he paid twelve pounds, ten shillings ($25) an acre. A little later when the Government botanist Mr Guilfoyle brought sugar cane specimens to the area, a mill was built and the farmers began planting for crushing which took place in 1880, two years prior to Condong. At that time Cudgen was the busiest place on the river with 500 people employed at the mill and on the farms. After several years Julius sold out to Robb and Co. who operated the mill until 1911, and after Robb's death it was taken over by the CSR. Julius then went to Coolgardie in West Australia and went into the business of condensing water and selling it to the miners. One son, Frank was born in Sydney and had attended school at Chinderah before going with his family to West Australia from where he joined the army to serve in the Boer War.
After the war, Frank came back to the Tweed and managed a property for J. H. McCollum. He went in for land dealing, and then came to Cudgen when the CSR took over and were selling the properties. He was one of the few who could pay cash for his and he had 80 acres under cane. Tramlines ran through-out the farms, and horse and drays were used to cart the cane to the main line, where it was run down to the wharf at Chinderah for transport by barge to the mill at Condong. Frank and his wife had five children, Una, Winnie, Roy, Jean and Jack. Jack was born on the farm in 1917 and went to school at Cudgen and then Murwillumbah High School. On leaving school he went to work on the farm, which had cane, bananas and a Jersey cattle stud. Jack admits now it was long hours from daylight to dark, with not much money. He got half a day off for Christmas. Football was Jack's great love, and he got into the game early starting with Cudgen B grade. He then played with Kangaroos and was with Cudgen for one season in 1935. He went with Old Boys for a season and was with Tumbulgum in their last season. He was with Old Boys until the war when he joined the army and served with the 2/I machine gun battalion in the Middle East, Greece, New Guinea and Borneo. Whenever the occasion arose he played football with army teams. He was discharged in October, 1945 and returned to the farm. His first job was cutting cane and he found the work very tough after his years in the army and often both his hands and his shoulders were bleeding from the hard work. In 1949 Jack married Ailsa Ward at Cudgen in the old Church of England. In 1950 his father gave the farm to the boys and Roy and Jack ran it from then on. Eventually they gave away the cattle and bananas and went all out for cane. Now they have a little cane, avocados, mangoes and small crops. With some of the best soil on the Tweed Jack hopes that Cudgen will always remain a farming area. He can look back to when Cudgen was a thriving community with a police station, two hotels and two large stores. Country dances and balls were held regularly and the locals travelled to dances at Tumbulgum or Cudgen Headlands. Barney Byrne nearly always supplied the music and there were free buses either run by Bill Dinsey or Ray Baker. Ray lived in the house where Jack now lives, before moving into Tweed Heads in the mid 30s. Jack joined the Cudgen Surf Club and gained his bronze medallion in 1933. In the early days he ran from his home to the beach, crossing the great sand hill where the school now stands. He wasn't a champion at any single event but had a go at all team events, boat, ski and swimming. It was hard to get money for the club and he remembers Annie Allan selling raffle tickets and cups of tea to try and make a few shillings. Members who mostly came from Murwillumbah took up collection boxes, but rarely received much in the collections. He received the ultimate club honor of Life Membership in 1960 and was recognised by the association with his 50 year badge in 1983. He resumed football in 1946 playing with Old Boys and they won the comp. for three seasons. He then joined Cudgen when they reformed in 1950, and he played with them until he retired in the late 50's. Jack's three sons, Bill, John and Jeffrey with son-in-law "Matey" Prichard have all had successful careers with the Cudgen club. Jack doesn't enjoy very good health these days but he refuses to be chair bound. He likes to get over to the Cudgen Leagues Club for a get together with his many old mates. He doesn't get to the surf club as often as he would like, mainly on special occasions, and he likes to wander around Kingscliff.

Francis married Irene Elizabeth Love CLARKE [741] [MRIN: 237], daughter of Thomas CLARKE [12021] and Mary GILLESPIE [12022], on 8 Jun 1909. (Irene Elizabeth Love CLARKE [741] was born on 14 Aug 1882, died on 10 Oct 1953 in Cudgen N.S.W. and was buried in Murwillumbah N.S.W..)

  Marriage Notes:

Alternative marriage date 1910