Licensees
1862-1873 – John McDonald Hogan1New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832-1900), Friday 8 September 1865 (No.192 [SUPPLEMENT]), p 2031.
1875-1878 – Mary Ann Hogan2New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney : 1860-1930), Wednesday 13 September 1876 (No.322 [SUPPLEMENT]), p 3643.
Location
Burketown (also known as ‘Bourketown’)
Historical Maps3NSW Land Registry Service, Parish and Historical Maps. Historical Land Records Viewer https://www.nswlrs.com.au/Parish-and-Historical-Maps Accessed 18 February 2023 indicate the lands purchased by John McDonald Hogan was as set out in the table below.
| Purchased | Por | Plan | Loc | Vol | Fol | |
| John McDonald Hogan | 1867 | 60* | 455 | West | 45 | 42 |
| John McDonald Hogan | 1867 | 61 | 455 | West | 45 | 43 |
| John McDonald Hogan | 1867 | 100 | 425 | West | 58 | 110 |
| John McDonald Hogan | 1868 | 105 | 425 | West | 75 | 72 |
| John McDonald Hogan | 1868 | 107 | 425 | West | 75 | 73 |
In the News
In November 1862 the Braidwood Observer4Braidwood Observer and Miner’s Advocate (NSW : 1859 – 1862), Wednesday 19 November 1862, page 2reported ‘The opening of the Free Selection Inn is announced under the management of Mr. J. M. Hogan, a thorough miner and a five years resident of the Valley, for Monday evening next and we feel, assured that upon this occasion as well as during his occupation of the premises, he may calculate to a certainty upon receiving his full share of what’s going’. Dated November 14th 1862, John Hogan placed an advertisement in the Braidwood Observer 5Braidwood Observer and Miner’s Advocate (NSW: 1859 – 1862), Saturday 15 November 1862, page 3 to inform that ‘as he has completed… the House [Free Selection Inn] will be opened Thursday 20th November…[and that] the housewarming will be held Monday evening the 24th November… Supper will be on the table at eight o’çlock ’. (See above at top)
The Araluen Spring Race meeting was scheduled to be held 6, 7 and 8 October 1863, and advertised in the Araluen Star6Araluen Star and Miners Right (1863-1964), Supplement, Saturday 26 September 1863, p 2. which detailed the ‘The Stewards for the race – Messrs John Hogan [Free Selection Inn], James Armstrong [Peace and Plenty], Frederick Scantlebury [Rose and Crown], Henry Cummins, Dennis Kennedy [Sapling Point], Alexander Waddell, Patrick Egan [Poor Man’s Inn], Mr [James] Munro [Emu Inn] and James Singer [Criterion]’. Bells added when reporting on the Court case in November of that year ‘The whole of the stewards, with two exceptions, are innkeepers at Araluen. Seven out of nine are innkeepers”.7Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle (NSW : 1860-1870), Saturday 28 November 1863, p 4.
In what became known as the Araluen Race Case in 1863, the Echuca and Moama Chronicle8Pastoral Times and Echuca and Moama Chronicle (Deniliquin, NSW : 1863-1866), Saturday 28 November 1863, p 3. summarised that ‘An action was brought last week by Miss Dickson nominally against John Hogan and others, as stewards of the Araluen races, to recover the sum of £30, the amount of the Consolation Stakes, won by her horse Kildare, on the third day of the meeting, but Mr. F. A. Cooper, lately Gold Commissioner at Araluen, and Dr. Wilson’s opponent at the last election, was regarded as virtually the defendant.‘ ‘The jury had retired for a very short time when they came in with a verdict for the plaintiff for the amount claimed.’ reported the Empire, adding 9Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1875), Tuesday 24 November 1863, p 3. upon the verdict being announced, the crowded court ‘required all the exertion’s of the police and the remonstrance’s of his Honor to keep down the manifestations of satisfaction therewith‘.
An advertisement was placed in the Araluen Star dated 4 December 1863 offering a reward for the return of a grey horse known as ‘Hogan’s Grey Tom’, belonging to John Hogan, Free Selection Inn, Upper Araluen.10Araluen Star and Miners’ Right (NSW : 1863-1864), Saturday 12 December 1863, p 1.
In December 1863, an advertisement was placed in the Araluen Star for the Araluen New Year’s Day Races, noting Mr J.M. Hogan as the judge.11Araluen Star and Miners’ Right (NSW : 1863-1864), Saturday 26 December 1863, p 5.
The Araluen Star12Araluen Star and Miners Right (1863-1964), Saturday 27 February 1864, p 2. reported that a ‘Supper and Ball in honour of St Patricks Day 1864, to be held at Mrs Gilligan’s new public house the Erin-go-Bragh at Redbank, as Mrs Gilligan has every prospect of completing the new house by the time.‘ ‘Mr. Hogan, of the Free Selection inn, like a true Irishman, had intended to keep up the day at his house, however, he has magnanimously waived his intentions, and the movement will have the united co-operation of the whole body of Irishmen in the Valley.’
A birth notice placed in the Araluen Star in February 1864 stated ‘On Saturday last, 13 February 1864, at the residence of her husband, the Free Selection Inn, Upper Araluen,13Araluen Star and Miners Right (1863- 1964), Saturday 20 February 1864, p 2. Mrs J.M. Hogan, of a daughter‘.
Owing to the wet, mining matters have been nearly at a standstill this week, the Araluen Star reported in early March 1864. ‘Our diggers pursue their course with spirit, but have been compelled to retire before the aqueous element. Nevertheless, an advance has been made. … Brooke expects bottoming a new shaft to-day, in the neighbourhood of Hogan’s public house‘.14Araluen Star and Miners Right (1863-1964), Saturday 5 March 1864, p 3.
An advertisement was placed in the Araluen Star in April 1864 for 15 to 20 good hands to work on the Mountain, with a Pick and Shovel, with applications to be made to J.M. Hogan, Free Selection Inn.15Araluen Star and Miners’ Right (NSW : 1863-1864), Saturday 2 April 1864, p 4.
Land permitted for purchase was listed in the New South Wales Government Gazette in 1866 advising ‘persons mentioned in the subjoined list will be permitted to purchase, under the 8th clause of the Crown Lands Alienation Act of 1861, the portions of improved land specified against their respective names.’
- 12 February 1866 – Portions 60 and 61 – J.M Hogan16New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832-1900), Friday 16 February 1866 (No.43), p 497.
- 1 June 1866 – Portion 100 – Jas. M Hogan, Portion 101 – James Hogan, Portion 102 – Sarah Hogan, Portion 103 – Mary Hogan.17New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832-1900), Friday 1 June 1866 (No.112), p 1322.
The New South Wales Government Gazette in July 1867 declared the portions of Crown Lands are to be set apart as a site for Village of Araluen West18New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW: 1832-1900), Friday 5 July 1867 (No.109), p 1558. ‘Commencing at the southern corner of J. M. Hogan’s portion 61, on Oak Creek; and bounded … to the southern corner of J. M. Hogan’s portion 60; … thence again on the north-west by Oak Creek, north-easterly, to the western corner of J. M. Hogan’s portion 61.’
In August 1868, the Freeman’s Journal19Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW: 1850-1932), Saturday 15 August 1868, p 9. reported on ‘A preliminary meeting held at Mr. Hogan’s hotel, Burketown, … by the admirers of the Freeman’s Journal for the purpose of framing, certain resolutions which were unanimously adopted. It has been decided that a public meeting be held at the above hotel on Wednesday evening next, at 7 o’clock. The chair was very ably occupied by Dr. Redhead, Mr. Faulkner consenting to act as secretary.’ It then added20Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW: 1850-1932), Saturday 22 August 1868, p 7. ‘Following “persecution by the Attorney General” … a meeting was convened in accordance with an advertisement published by order of the committee of the “Freeman’s Journal”, at which a large number of the influential residents of the Araluen were present. The spacious and taste fully decorated ball-room of Mr. Hogan’s Hotel was literally crowded long before the appointed time.’
The Empire reported in October 1868,21Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1875), Friday 30 October 1868, p 2. ‘Mr. John Hogan’s hotel at Burketown, Araluen, was entered by thieves on Tuesday morning last, by means of a window which had been somewhat insecurely fastened on the inside, which fastening the depredators managed to remove. The till was found to be taken from the bar with about two or three pounds worth of small change, together with some billiard balls and one or two other little things. Mr Hogan was up till half-past three that morning engaged in assisting a carpenter to fix a new billiard table, and the thieves must have effected an entrance in the short interval between half-past three, the hour at which he retired to bed, and daylight.’
In 1871, The Sydney Mail22Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW: 1871-1912), Saturday 9 December 1871, p 1285. describes the wine manufactured by Mr. Hogan, of the Free Selection Inn, Burketown, stating that ‘Very good judges have declared that, his white wine of 1870, and his red wine of this year, [have] surpassed any they had tasted of the best makers in the colony‘. The Freemans Journal later adds ‘Large vineyards flourished on the slopes of the mountains east and west, where J. H. Blatchford, John Hogan, and a few enterprising Italians [Delponte] produced the best grapes, wines, and fruits‘.23Looking Back over Fifty Years. The Golden Valley of Araluen. (By ex-Senior Superintendent Brennan.) No. 5. Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1932), Thursday 30 September 1909, p 57.
On 20 November 1872, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the24Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954), Wednesday 20 November 1872, p 3. ‘additional members of the Public School Board in connection with the Public School established at Araluen West, viz. : Messrs. Edward Fox Carlisle, John M’Donnell Hogan, David Carment Ross, and Frederick Henry Wise‘.
John M. Hogan – Innkeeper is noted in the 1872 Greville’s Official Post Office Directory25Greville’s Official Post Office Directory, listed Araluen History in Photo’s Facebook page, posted 2 July 2014, and accessed 9 September 2023. in Burketown.
The Empire provides information from a correspondent of the Braidwood Dispatch, writing from Araluen, in November 1873 about the 1873 Flood in Araluen26Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1875), Tuesday 25 November 1873, p 3. stating that ‘the Horse and Jockey Inn at Burketown, Araluen West, has been swept away by the heavy rains of last week. The rain did not cease until late on Tuesday night, the result, of course, was a flood. … Were if not for the help of many willing hands under the direction of Mr. Hogan, all ever ready to rush to the rescue in time of need and of danger, the whole building, with all the household property, would have been destroyed. Fortunately, there was sufficient time to remove all, though in many pieces to the Free Selection Inn, where Mr. Burke and family are, with true hospitality, safely housed, together with their house-hold goods.‘
On 26 May 1874 at his residence, Burketown, Araluen, Mr. John. M. Hogan, son of Thomas Hogan, and Sarah McConnell of Ireland,27NSW Government, https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au 4099/1874. died, aged 43, after seventeen years in the Colony. The Australian Town and County Journal 28Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870-1919), Saturday 6 June 1874, p 36. added ‘leaving a widow [Mary Ann Hogan (nee McGarrighal) (1841–1918)] and five children [(James 1862-1902), (Sarah 1864-1890), (Mary 1866-1934), (Kate 1868-1895), and (Thomas 1870-1938)] to mourn their loss”. The probate notice posted in the NSW Government Gazette advised29New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW: 1832-1900), Tuesday 9 June 1874 (No.135), p 1748. ‘that letters of administration of the estate and effects of the abovenamed John M’Donald Hogan, of Araluen, innkeeper, deceased, may be granted to Mary Anne Hogan, the widow of the said deceased.—Dated this 4th day of June, a.d. 1874‘.
The June 1874 NSW Government Gazette advises30New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832-1900), Friday 19 June 1874 (No.141), p 1815. ‘Mrs. Mary Ann Hogan has this day been appointed keeper of the Public Pound, at Araluen, vice John M. Hogan, deceased. HENRY BURNE, P.M. Police Court, Araluen, 16th June, 1874.’
John M. Hogan – Innkeeper is noted in the 1875–76 Greville’s Official Post Office Directory31Greville’s Official Post Office Directory for 1875–1876 https://www.ihr.com.au/secure/html/greville75.html. Accessed 18 February 2023. (p 20) in Araluen Upper, at Burketown.
The Freemans Journal in October 1878 reported32Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW: 1850-1932), Saturday 19 October 1878, p 8. ‘Improvements – Mr. Icely is executing, under orders from Mrs. Hogan, extensive improvements in her well-known hotel, Burketown. This lady is exceedingly well patronized by the travelling public, for the accommodation both for man and horse are really first-class.’
Mary Ann Hogan (nee McGarrighal), a widower, married Edward Jackson (1842-1889) in October 1878.33NSW Government, https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au 2559/1302. Edward, in 1881 is detailed as the publican for Commercial Hotel, Braidwood, before moving to Ballina and running hotels there. They had two children John Thomas Jackson (1882-1944) and William E Jackson (1884-1948). An obituary published in the Lismore Northern Star in October 1948 states ‘Mr William Edward Jackson, … died suddenly at Ballina, … With his parents, Mr Jackson came to Ballina about 1891. His mother, who predeceased him 37 years ago, conducted the Royal Hotel and the Exchange Hotel. Mr Jackson’s brother, a well-known Ballina storekeeper, predeceased him four years ago‘. 34Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876-1954), Friday 1 October 1948, p 4.
Mrs. Eliza Watson’s reminiscences in the Sydney Mail in 1912 that, ‘the principal houses35Sydney Mail (NSW: 1912-1938), Wednesday 17 July 1912, p 23. were the O’Connell Arms, London Inn, Half way House, Sapling Point Hotel, Criterion Hotel, Rose and Crown, Free Selection Inn, Araluen Arms, Northumberland Arms, Pick and Shovel Inn, Racecourse Hotel, Currency Lad, and Peace and Plenty Inn‘.