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• ◇Davis/Davies▲aboriginal contextline 9

  It was also notable for the reason that here the runaway / convict, James Davis, who lived with the blacks for seventeen / years was reclaimed from savagery by the members of the said

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Tiaro.
This place was rendered somewhat historical by the
fact that it was the limit of the Andrew Petrie, H. S. Russell,
Jolliffe and Wrottesley expedition to the Wide Bay (Mary)
River in 1842 and near the limit of navigation of the river
for the boat in which they made the expedition.
It was also notable for the reason that here the runaway
convict, James Davis, who lived with the blacks for seventeen
years was reclaimed from savagery by the members of the said
expedition. In the year following the expedition,Joliffe,
aforesaid brought live stock to this place for a Mr Eales of the
Hunter River, N.S.W., and a sheep and cattle station was
established. But owing to the depredations of the blacks
Eales abandoned the station. The blacks murdered some
hut keepers and chased the sheep up into Bopple Mountain.
One employee who was besieged by the blacks afterwards
selected land on the Mary river below Tiaro. His name was
Habler and was well known to the writer when an old man.
Several attempts were made to settle on the pastures at this
place but all were unsuccessful until the station fell into the
hands of John Eaton who made a success of it until it was cut up by
surveyors and a township was formed. Eaton's success was, no
doubt,due to the fact that a Police Station was established
nearby at Owanyilla, mentioned elsewhere. The town ship,
for a time, came into some prominence after the break out of
the Gympie goldfield owing to it being on the route to that place
from Maryborough. After the advent of the railway it relapsed
into an unimportant little township.
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