The Boughyards

Several people have commented on the name of my current work in progress. My fourth historical fiction manuscript is inspired by my paternal great-grandmother, Ellen. It is called The Boughyards because Patrick and Ellen used the timber they cleared from their selection to make the sheep yards. It was a post and rail fence, but the amazing thing is that it has stood the test of time. When I visited the old farm in 2018, about 150 years after the fences had been erected, portions of them were still standing, albeit in a bad state of repair. They surely would not have kept the sheep in.

The Boughyards in 2018, with the more modern shearing shed in the background.

Patrick first came to Australia in 1864, leaving his pregnant wife, Ellen and their eldest son in Ireland with the promise to ‘claim’ her when he had sufficient resources. Patrick’s brother John had been the first of the family to immigrate. Once John was settled he sent for his fiancée, Catherine, to join him. Catherine could not travel unaccompanied so Patrick went with her. She was to meet and marry John as soon as she arrived in Melbourne.

It was another two years before Patrick was able to obtain a passage warrant for Ellen and the boys. One can only imagine how Ellen was able to survive in Ireland on her own with two small children for that length of time.

My father took over farming of the Boughyards when I was about 5 years old. So I have many memories of rounding up the sheep and penning them in these yards, ready to be moved into the shed for shearing. I climbed that fence many times.