Individual Details
John Arthur "Arthur" Templer
(29 Jul 1817 - 8 Oct 1885)
Emigrated to Australia and took up land near Orange, NSW and called the place Narrambla. Sold the property in 1869 and went to New Zealand settling with his family in Christchurch in a very pretty house on the Avon riverside He called the place Kauoulla(?) and lived there until his death.
Letter from Marjorie Ritchie (nee Templer) 3.12.1929
The name Templers Mill is quite unique to the Orange District. Famous Australian Poet, Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson was born at the homestead adjoining Templers Mill in 1864. John Arthur Templer owned the Mill and he was the great Uncle of "Banjo" Paterson. The mill opened in 1848 on a property called "Narrambla", 4 kilometres north east of Orange on the Ophir Road. The mill operated until the late 1880's when John Templer left the district. Because of the state of the Mill the local shire Council decided to demolish the Mill in 1972.
In 1828, the land between Orange and Suma Park was granted to emancipist Simeon Lord as part compensation for the land he had surrendered to Governor Macquarie in 1811 in Sydney. It was probably Lord's son, Thomas, who built and supervised the district's first flour mill on the property, which retained the Aboriginal name Narrambla.
It is possible that the grinding stone was first operated by convicts but in 1840, when the mill was acquired by John Arthur Templer, these were replaced by horse works. In 1848, Templer installed a 12 horsepower steam engine and boiler, and the mill's chimney probably dated from this time. Farmers brought grain for grinding at one shilling a bushel.
It was in Templer's homestead among the trees by the creek that his great nephew, Andrew Barton Paterson, was born on the 17th of February 1864. Banjo Paterson as he became known, is one of Australia's best known and most popular poets.
Templer's Mill operated until about 1870. The boiler was later used for many years at Heap's Brewery in Moulder Street, Orange. The remains of the mill, considered dangerous and beyond repair, were demolished in 1971.
John Arthur Templer moved from "Nanima", Wellington to "Narambla", near Orange (1847).
On Arthur Templer appears this story from his nephew Robert Darvall Barton:
“I should like to relate a story in which Arthur Templer did a feat in taking two bush rangers, but I shall have to lead up to it by informing you that at that time there were no banks in the country, and people owning stations a long way out had to take up their money to pay their labour and expenses in cash. The very fact of this was one reason why bush ranging was a profitable employment. After the banks got out and cheques were used, we were too poor to be worth robbing. Mr. Templer at that time owned Nanama Station, close to what is now the town of Wellington,and in taking a trip up from Sydney he had a large parcel of money wrapped in a water-proof cover, which he strapped on to his carpet-bag. He got safely to within about ten miles beyond Bathurst from Sydney; the coach was slowly dragging up a steep hill when two men, carrying flint-lock guns, stepped into the road and bailed them up. The coach stopped, of course; but Mr. Templer was on the box-seat; one man stood a short distance from the coach covering it with his gun; the other one put his gun down and started to search the passengers for any money they might have about them; and, as there was always a danger of being robbed in those days, you had to secrete your cash in your clothes where you considered it least likely to be found. Of course, the robbers were up to this trick, and each passenger had to undress, or nearly so. While the bushranger was examining the passengers on the coach, Mr. Templer sat on the box-seat, and when his turn came, the man came round and said: "Now you get off and let me have a look at you." Mr. Templer was a fine athlete, of splendid physique, and, on the impulse of the moment, he jumped off the box-seat on to the robber, and caught him by the shoulders, and kept the robber's back to the man with the gun, at the same time calling out to the other passengers to come to his assistance; but their trousers not being quite on, impeded their progress, and the bushranger with the gun, seeing that he would have to do something, attempted to fire, but, fortunately- it was a wet morning- missed fire. He then threw the gun down and made off. Mr. Templer then threw the other man on his back, called out to the other passengers to secure him, and followed the man who ran away, whom he succeeded in catching and dragging back to the coach. They secured both men with straps and ropes, and amused themselves by kicking them into the first police station, which was at that time near Guyong. The thanks that Mr. Templer got for this action was a paragraph in the Sydney Gazette..."
Letter from Marjorie Ritchie (nee Templer) 3.12.1929
The name Templers Mill is quite unique to the Orange District. Famous Australian Poet, Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson was born at the homestead adjoining Templers Mill in 1864. John Arthur Templer owned the Mill and he was the great Uncle of "Banjo" Paterson. The mill opened in 1848 on a property called "Narrambla", 4 kilometres north east of Orange on the Ophir Road. The mill operated until the late 1880's when John Templer left the district. Because of the state of the Mill the local shire Council decided to demolish the Mill in 1972.
In 1828, the land between Orange and Suma Park was granted to emancipist Simeon Lord as part compensation for the land he had surrendered to Governor Macquarie in 1811 in Sydney. It was probably Lord's son, Thomas, who built and supervised the district's first flour mill on the property, which retained the Aboriginal name Narrambla.
It is possible that the grinding stone was first operated by convicts but in 1840, when the mill was acquired by John Arthur Templer, these were replaced by horse works. In 1848, Templer installed a 12 horsepower steam engine and boiler, and the mill's chimney probably dated from this time. Farmers brought grain for grinding at one shilling a bushel.
It was in Templer's homestead among the trees by the creek that his great nephew, Andrew Barton Paterson, was born on the 17th of February 1864. Banjo Paterson as he became known, is one of Australia's best known and most popular poets.
Templer's Mill operated until about 1870. The boiler was later used for many years at Heap's Brewery in Moulder Street, Orange. The remains of the mill, considered dangerous and beyond repair, were demolished in 1971.
John Arthur Templer moved from "Nanima", Wellington to "Narambla", near Orange (1847).
On Arthur Templer appears this story from his nephew Robert Darvall Barton:
“I should like to relate a story in which Arthur Templer did a feat in taking two bush rangers, but I shall have to lead up to it by informing you that at that time there were no banks in the country, and people owning stations a long way out had to take up their money to pay their labour and expenses in cash. The very fact of this was one reason why bush ranging was a profitable employment. After the banks got out and cheques were used, we were too poor to be worth robbing. Mr. Templer at that time owned Nanama Station, close to what is now the town of Wellington,and in taking a trip up from Sydney he had a large parcel of money wrapped in a water-proof cover, which he strapped on to his carpet-bag. He got safely to within about ten miles beyond Bathurst from Sydney; the coach was slowly dragging up a steep hill when two men, carrying flint-lock guns, stepped into the road and bailed them up. The coach stopped, of course; but Mr. Templer was on the box-seat; one man stood a short distance from the coach covering it with his gun; the other one put his gun down and started to search the passengers for any money they might have about them; and, as there was always a danger of being robbed in those days, you had to secrete your cash in your clothes where you considered it least likely to be found. Of course, the robbers were up to this trick, and each passenger had to undress, or nearly so. While the bushranger was examining the passengers on the coach, Mr. Templer sat on the box-seat, and when his turn came, the man came round and said: "Now you get off and let me have a look at you." Mr. Templer was a fine athlete, of splendid physique, and, on the impulse of the moment, he jumped off the box-seat on to the robber, and caught him by the shoulders, and kept the robber's back to the man with the gun, at the same time calling out to the other passengers to come to his assistance; but their trousers not being quite on, impeded their progress, and the bushranger with the gun, seeing that he would have to do something, attempted to fire, but, fortunately- it was a wet morning- missed fire. He then threw the gun down and made off. Mr. Templer then threw the other man on his back, called out to the other passengers to secure him, and followed the man who ran away, whom he succeeded in catching and dragging back to the coach. They secured both men with straps and ropes, and amused themselves by kicking them into the first police station, which was at that time near Guyong. The thanks that Mr. Templer got for this action was a paragraph in the Sydney Gazette..."
Events
| Birth | 29 Jul 1817 | Cullompton, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Christen | 28 Aug 1817 | Cullompton, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Occupation | 1842 | District Coroner. - East Guyong, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Marriage | 4 Jan 1844 | Hunters Hill Church, Hunters Hill, New South Wales, Australia - Rosamond Mary Darvall |  | ||
| Occupation | Oct 1851 | Justice of the Peace [J.P.] - Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Occupation | Mar 1856 | Justice of the Peace to marry citizens under the New Marriage Act - Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Residence | Apr 1860 | Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Occupation | 1862 | Magistrate of the district - Blackman's Swamp,, Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Residence | 1864 | Narrambla, Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Residence | 1868 | Narrambla, Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| Death | 8 Oct 1885 | Kanoulla, Christchurch, New Zealand |
Families
| Spouse | Rosamond Mary Darvall (1822 - 1909) |
| Child | John Arthur Templer (1844 - 1847) |
| Child | Rosamond Mary Templer (1846 - 1886) |
| Child | Ellen Lucy Templer (1848 - 1935) |
| Child | Edward Horace Templer (1851 - 1916) |
| Child | Florence Laura Templer (1854 - 1926) |
| Father | Rev John Templer (1784 - 1829) |
| Mother | Sarah Skinner (1793 - 1852) |
| Sibling | Rev Henry Skinner Templer (1813 - 1877) |
| Sibling | Ellen Templer (1814 - 1866) |
| Sibling | Edward Merson "Merson" Templer (1819 - 1897) |
| Sibling | Laura Georgiana Templer (1828 - 1905) |