Address & Contact
Elsey Cemetry
Elsey NT 0852
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Information
Elsey Station was the third station in the Northern Territory to be taken up. Its first owner was Abraham Wallace in 1880.
Elsey Station was the third station in the Northern Territory to be taken up. Its first owner was Abraham Wallace in 1880.
Aeneas and Jeannie Gunn, daughter of Rev. Thomas Taylor, were married on 31 December 1901 and arrived at Elsey Station, ninety kilometres south of Katherine in 1902. They had taken the train as far as Pine Creek and from there travelled on horseback. Aeneas Gunn had been up north before with his cousin Joe Bradshaw on exploration trips up the Victoria River and been Captain of the Red Gauntlet, a forty ton steamer owned by Bradshaw.
Aeneas, son of Rev. Peter Gunn from Campbellfield, Victoria had been a librarian at Prahran and was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He had helped to establish VRD station and owned a quarter share in Elsey station. He only was at Elsey for about twelve months when he died on 16 March 1903 from Blackwater Fever. Only a month before Aeneas had buried Lee Ken, a Chinese cook on his way to Daly Waters. He became ill while staying at Elsey and died on 18 February 1903.
The homestead was established on the Roper River. During that time Jack McLennan, John McCarthy, J. McLeod, Tom Pearce, H.H. Bryant, Henry V. Peckham, Teddy Morgan, Cheon the cook, and Frank Kruger were associated with the station. Henry Peckham, better known as the Fisser, had once managed Auvergne Station, after the previous manager, Tom Hardy had been speared to death by Aborigines. He was well known by J.A. Martin, manager of Victoria River Downs Station who later said that Peckham was well named, smart, lively, fussy and a clean little chap. According to Martin, Cheon was a wonderful old servant and just as good as Mrs Gunn painted him.
