We are pleased to announce that the Shoalhaven Council unanimously voted to name the lane Carpenter Lane at its meeting 22/1/24.
This was an initiative of the Huskisson Woollamia Community Voice.
The unnamed lane has a sightline that connects the village centre with the burial resting place of Mary Carpenter.
Queen Mary Carpenter was a famous Huskisson resident. Her funeral in 1928 was widely reported as a scene which will live long in the memory of those who were privileged to witness it. [Nowra Leader 2nd March 1928]
She was buried in February, 1928 on the northern side of the Currambene Creek at Bilong. Later the name Bilong, used by traditional custodians and early settlers, was changed to Myola.
We are told Bilong is regarded by local knowledge keepers as a womans place. Mary’s husband, King Budd Billy AKA James Golding) is buried in the churchyard at the top of the laneway. It is said that she was instrumental in having him buried there because she anticipated she would be buried within site of his grave.
Naming the unnamed laneway with its view across the creek Mary Carpenter Lane would be a respectful acknowledgement of her important role in Huskisson history. Mary Carpenter has hundreds of descendants in the Shoalhaven and throughout NSW.
While her regard as “Queen” by the local settler community has colonial overtones, there is no doubt that she was a highly regarded, influential and much loved member of both the settler and Aboriginal community.
The evocative postcard of King Budd Billy 11 and Queen Mary, captioned Royalty at Ease, [see below Fig. 3] was sent all over the world by visitors to Huskissson. It is present in postcard collections in many countries, not just Australia. It is arguably one of the most distributed photos of South Coast NSW.
Naming the lane after her acknowledges Huskisson is, was and always will be, an Aboriginal place.
News of her death included not only in The Nowra Leader and the Shoalhaven Telegraph, but also in:
The Daily Telegraph, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Land, The Grenfell Record and Lachlan District Advertiser, The Worker (Brisbane), The Maitland Daily Mercury, The North Western Courier, The Maitland Weekly Mercury, The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal, The Braidwood Review and District Advocate, Barrier Miner, The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser, The Canberra Times, The Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate , Western Argus (Kalgoorlie), Mullumbimby Star.
