John Pilmore Collitis

  General Notes:

NOTES FROM "OUR FAMILY ROOTS" by Lorna Hawkins & Gai Rimmer

John Pilmore spent his early years in the Castlereagh area where Pierce and Mary lived at Birds Eye Corner. In 1824 he was still at Castlereagh working his father's farm, whilst his mother and father had moved to the Hartley District.
In 1839 John was granted 150 acres at the Vale of Clwydd (Hartley). John and Hannah later moved further afield to the Canowindra area.
Hannah is said to be the first white woman at Canowindra. They were the first to hold Bangaroo Station, however, they were driven off Bangaroo by natives, and the following was made up about them -

"With spears and womeras, and boomerangs too,
They hunted poor Johnny from Bangaroo,
And Hannah and Bridget and children, too,
Were forced to flee from Bangaroo"

It would appear that John and his family returned to Hartley, no doubt due to their trouble on Bangaroo and also his mother Mary, passed away in 1841 followed by Pierce in 1848.
Pierce, in his will dated 1st August 1841, left to John "two farms of 150 acres, each situated in the County of Cook...these farms adjoin and are bounded on the North by Mt. York Farm on the East and South by Mountain range and on the West by James Morris' farm and are now in the occupation of my son John Collits". Mt. York farm was left to his brother James.
They eventually settled at Back Creek near Cowra and John died at Myall Park near Forbes in 1886 at the age of 83 years from Senile Decay 10 days. In his will he left everything to his daughter Esther Young, who was a widow at the time.

Notes for JOHN PILMORE COLLITS:
John was the first Collits child to be born in the Colony and was aged 18 when he married 17 year old Hannah Lees at Christ Church, Castlereagh. (Taken from notes by Lorna Hawkins).

More About JOHN PILMORE COLLITS:
Baptism: 11 August 1805, Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia.
Burial: 5 June 1886, Forbes, New South Wales, Australia.
Cause of Death: Senile Decay
Death Registration: Transcription18
Medical Information: Duration: 10 Days

More About JOHN COLLITS and HANNA LEES:
Marriage: 28 January 1822, Christ Church, Castlereagh, New South Wales, Australia.

John married Hannah Lees, daughter of John Lees and Mary Stevens, on 28 Jan 1822 in Christ Church, Castlereagh, New South Wales, Australia.¹⁴¹ (Hannah Lees was born on 24 Jun 1804 in Castlereagh, Nsw, Australia,¹⁴¹ died on 26 Dec 1874 in Back Creek, near Cowra, NSW, Australia ³⁶⁷ and was buried on 27 Dec 1874 in Cowra Cemetery, Cowra, New South Wales, Australia ³⁶⁸.)