(Patrick Logan)...... wanted to circumscribe Brisbane's central role by diversifying settlement. So, in 1828, he suggested that, because of the inferior quality of land around Brisbane Town, a separate agricultural establishment be made about nine miles (14 kilometres) upstream at Oxley Creek...... (Johnson, 1988)

"...A small guard, usually one corporal and a private, was placed at each station to look after the few convicts and government property. It was the duty of the corporal to muster, morning and evening, the sheep, while the cattle were herded at less regular intervals. Cotton was pleased with how well the livestock was doing, but he did lament the shortage of convict hands to look after the growing numbers of stock. The lack of horses was also a problem, because it meant communication from Brisbane was slow and control was weakened..." Although the potential of Cowper's Plains (Rocklea, Oxley Creek) had been recognised in Logan's time, the cattle outstation there was set up in Commandant Cotton's time: (Johnson, 1988) Cattle near Ipswich in 1905 (John Oxley Library)

"...Ferrying the river from Indooroopilly to Sherwood per means of the old punt was a new experience only in the fact that we were all there, including the live stock. Thence through Sherwood to Cooper's Plains. The only settlers in those days were a few farmers, but memory fails to recall evidence of agriculture. The landmark that became a regular stopping place in subsequent years was the Rose and Crown hotel kept in high repute by its original owner and occupier, the late Samuel Manning, with his wife and (if memory is correct) three sons and one daughter...." E.W. Hill writing in the Beaudesert Times about sixty years ago, about his family's trek from Indooroopilly to the Beaudesert district in the early 1870s. Fishing party at a Corinda house, Oxley Creek, 1874 (Mrs H.G. Wells)

From 'A Tranquil Scene' Oxley Creek 1925 (Royal Historical Society)		"...John Donaldson, as a young man, came from Erin, North Ireland, to this locality, in 1862 and at first worked for Mr John Payne, the Surveyor General. Later he took up land in the Corinda area where he built his first home and named it Erinvale, this being considered the first home to be erected in the (Sherwood) district. The names of two streets, Donaldson and Erinvale Streets, preserves the memory of this early pioneer." (Sherwood Centenary)
John Donaldson talks about his family: "...The patriarch of the Donaldson family came from Northern Ireland and settled in Rocklea near to Oxley Creek. John Donaldson's home was a large two storied house which commanded the view over his property and down to the creek. It is not surprising that most of the children attended the Oxley State School but it appears that in 1896 a number of John Donaldson's children attended Rocklea School. In earlier times the local area was the site of many hunts that were conducted when wallabies instead of foxes were the usual quarry.		The oldest son, Robert John, purchased just over 100 acres from his father and he too conducted a dairy in the same area. ...... Many have referred to the private racetrack on Donaldson's property .... The race track was no doubt an excellent training ground for the boys such as Bob's son Reg, who was a keen trotting driver in his time and a competitor at the Rocklea Show. Bob's brother, Arthur, followed a career as a jockey but died tragically in a racecourse accident......" (Rocklea School Centenary) Typical transport scene in the early 1900s (Main Roads photographic collection)

"...Amos Radcliffe's land was situated on what would now be described as the Rocklea side of Oxley Creek. As a young man of 26 he came from England to try his luck on the Victorian goldfields. Moderately successful, he moved to Adelaide where he married 16 year old Sarah Peach. A year later their first child, Oliver, was born. In 1861 they travelled to Queensland with three children and settled at Oxley. He was the first farmer to grow sugar cane in the district and built a mill on Oxley Creek in 1869.		The old West Oxley School teacher's residence, on the site of Sherwood State School
The mill was powered by horses harnessed to a revolving wooden pole attached to a gear with the crushing rollers made from ironbark trees. The first farmers relied heavily on river transport. Oxley Creek at that time was a considerable waterway and remained so for many years. The sugar growers often took advantage of the floating mill the Walrus. After the failure of the sugar industry due to heavy frosts and plant disease, he concentrated on the cultivation of maize, potatoes, arrowroot and fodder crops for cattle. The site of the large home Radcliffe built for his family might best be described as being on the rise where the house on the Department of Primary Industries farm exists today. No doubt the prevalence of floods influenced the choice of that site.		When the West Oxley (Sherwood) School opened in 1867, Oliver Radcliffe was the first pupil registered. He and his five brothers and seven sisters attended the school. Among these children and their descendants were a number of extremely talented people, especially in the fields of education, medicine and music...... Part of Amos Radcliffe's home was removed to Chelmer after the 1893 flood. He died in 1909 and the farm eventually became the property of Mr Walter Mumford, who built a new house on high stumps in the 1920s."		There is an unusual shaped memorial stone on the Nosworthy grave at Sherwood Cemetery. "...Mr Nosworthy with his wife and three children arrived in Queensland in January 1864 and settled on Oxley Creek, Corinda. Mr Nosworthy led a vigorous and useful life in the district and with the spirit of their fellow settlers, assisted in laying the foundation of this prosperous district. Today, Nosworthy Park on which is built the Corinda Bowling Club, commemorates their name....." (Sherwood Centenary)
(Rocklea School Centenary, narrated by Amos Ratcliffe's great-grand-daughter, Miss Mary Radcliffe who was nominated in 1985 as Queenslander of the Year for her services to education.)

References: J.G. Steele, 1972, The Explorers of the Moreton Bay District 1770-1830, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland. W. Ross Johnston (1988), Brisbane: first thirty years. Sherwood State School Centenary booklet Gordon Greenwood (1959) in Brisbane 1859-1959: a History of Local Government, p.42 Rocklea School Centenary booklet Main Roads photographic collection ph: 07 3224 7611

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