Nell , Mary, Kate and Rose Lynch
The Lynch Sisters of Kilkivan
Romance of the Bush,
“Over in Kilkivan district there is a family of girls who are used to hard work in the bush. An Adelaide citizen saw them some time ago and for-warded the following romantic story driving through the forest when I came upon the Lynch girls’ camp. It consisted of a couple of tents and an out-of-door kitchen. Inquiry elicited the fact that there are four sisters: Mary, Kate, Nell, and Rosie. Their father and mother were Irish folk, and the daughters were born at Gympie. When not more than 17 the eldest girl Mary took to the forest and was joined later on by her three sisters. They work exactly as the men do, and are splendid specimens of humanity, upstanding, clear of eye, and strong of arm. No men are allowed about their camp, and the penalty of nonsense is a ducking in the creek or in the nearest mudhole. One could not but help admiring the natural simplicity and honesty of the girls. Their characters are written on their faces. The eldest of the quartet, Mary, will shortly be married, and I would not be surprised to hear of the others following her quickly to the altar. They earn more money than the men, sticking more closely to their work, and never frequenting the hotels. The life must be a very healthy one, and the work is undoubtedly, hard. In the forest, before the clearing is done, the sun is rarely seen, so dense is the jungle, and therefore the complexions of the girls are not injured by the fierce Queensland heat. The Lynch girls go home to Gympie at Christmas. Two of their brothers, Leo and Con, also work in the forest.”
Published in the Western Star and Roma Advertiser 24 July 1912.
Morning tea at the Bush Camp
It is very interesting to readers of today that there is no mention here of the skills these ladies applied to their trade. Rather it points out that there are no men in the camp, they don’t frequent hotels and their complexions are undamaged by the sun. One is soon to be married and the others are sure to be snapped up shortly. It would seen that even though they are strong, working women the important things are that their morals and looks are intact and they have good prospects for marriage.
There were four Lynch sisters involved in timber-getting around Gympie and the South Burnett in the years before and after 1900. Mary born in 1880; Catherine (Kate) born in 1882: Rose born in 1885 and Helen (Nell) born in 1884. These girls were the eldest of fourteen children born to Cornelius and Ellen Lynch and the sisters came along before the first of their seven sons, Michael born in 1886. Their father, Irish immigrant Cornelius Lynch selected land near Gympie in 1872 and married Ellen Flynn in 1879. It seems that their cattle died during an infestation of tick fever and Cornelius returned to timber-getting. Producing five daughters before the first of his seven sons, Cornelius taught the oldest daughters the timber trade, and the girls being tall and strongly built made a success of the trade, competing successfully for contracts against the men in the business. Much credit should be given to Ellen who gave birth to fourteen strong children between 1879 and 1902. Ellen’s life was summarised in the Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette after her death in 1916.
“The death occurred in Brisbane in the Mater Misericordia Hospital on Monday morning of Mrs. Ellen Lynch, wife of Mr. Cornelius Lynch, of Glastonbury. The deceased lady, who was 59 years of age, was born in County Tipperary, Ireland and came to Australia 38 years ago, practically the whole of the time being spent in the Gympie district. In the early days she was known for her Gaelic dancing. Mrs. Lynch was married on the field 30 years ago and leaves a family of seven boys and seven girls.”
In particular, the Lynch sisters are remembered by the State Forest area named Lynche’s Hill. It is just 4.1km west of Gympie on the Glastonbury Road.
The Lynch sisters gained public attention when, becoming well known for their timber cutting skills, they were asked to appear and give demonstrations at local shows and other public events.
Their appearance in the Kingaroy Show was reported in the Cairns Morning Post in 1908. “The big and popular feature of the day at the Kingaroy annual show (says the local “Herald”) was the wood chopping contest by the Misses Kate, Nellie, Mary, and Rose Lynch. The ladies entered the ring in sensible working garb, being officially escorted. Their logs were prepared previously by the men folk competitors, and having taken their places they, chopped with fine swinging blows and keen rivalry, whilst snapshots clicked, and the crowd watched quietly and keenly every cut.
The Lynch sisters competing at the Kingaroy Show
As Miss Mary’s log toppled over, and Miss Nellie’s followed the crowd burst into the ring like a deluge. The girls were overwhelmed with congratulations and. cheers were given right heartily. It was some time before they could reach their dressing-room. The exhibition was a most novel, honest, and attractive event, and would make a fortune for an entrepreneur.”
The timber-cutting partnership of the Lynch Sisters was eventually disbanded when Rose and Mary were married. Mary would marry John Ellis in 1918 and they had three children. In about 1925 they owned and operated the Jundah Hotel in western Queensland and later moved to Longreach where John worked as a saddler. Mary died in Brisbane in 1968 and is buried in the Mt Gravatt Cemetery. Kate and Nell never married. Kate died in Rockhampton in 1973 and is buried there with her brother, Leo. Nell died in Alpha near Barcaldine in 1942. Rose married Oscar Praske and they had three children. According to the Nanango Historical Museum, Rose is reported to have felled Cedar for the construction of her and Oscar’s family home in Burnett Street, Nanango. Cornelius Lynch lived his last years in Nanango and was cared for by Rose and Oscar following the death of Ellen in 1916. Rose died in Nanango in 1954.
As a footnote, it could be added that the Lynch brothers seem to have been fine strapping lads as well. Certainly, James Lynch, who was killed in action in 1916, meets that description in the Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. Two of the other boys served in the AIF during World War 1. Other boys lived in various parts of Queensland as did the remaining girls. All pursued or were involved in all sorts of work on properties or in the bush.
This story was written by Denise Juler and it has appeared previously in The Gympie Today
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