Above. Four Dale siblingsemigrated from Ireland to Australia. John, Elizabeth, Margaret and James Dale.

For all of us that live in the district, the name Dale is not far from our thoughts when we have to get hardware, timber or Jo Jo Juice. Here, in part, is a brief history of the Dale family taken from a book compiled by Suzanne Dunglison.
The surname Dale originated in Yorkshire and was of Anglo Saxon origin. It is thought that the Dale family came to Ireland by way of a land grant for services rendered to the English crown during the battle of Boyne 1690. A victorious King William rewarded his supporters, the Dale forbearers being among them, with land grants in Ireland

Irish Heritage. Forebear Samuel Dale was a farmer who married around 1780. His 4 known children were Thomas, William, John and James, all born in Ballymulderg, Ireland.

John Dale, born 1790, farmer, married around 1813 and father of five, was the grandfather of the four Dale children who came to Australia. (Unfortunately the baptismal records of children do not list his wife’s name.) Alexander Dale, their 3rd son and 5th child was baptized on the 5th September 1820 in Ballymulderg.

Alexander(32) and Sarah Anne Crossett(16) were married on the 10th June 1853. They had 5 children.

The potato famine from 1846-1850 changed forever the face of Ireland. The population decreased by one third from starvation alone and large numbers of people made the decision to emigrate.

All 5 of Alexander and Sarah’s children eventually emigrated: John, James, Margaret and Elizabeth to Australia and Sarah to the United States.

Bound for Maryborough. In 1880, James Dale (20), John Dale (25), Sarah (25) and Alexander Dale (1) travel to Plymouth England to board the Silver Eagle for its Journey to Australia disembarking in Maryborough.

At that time, Freemantle and Maryborough were the only destinations available for immigrants. The Australian authorities of the day were directing immigrants to the less populated of Australia.

James Dale settled in Gympie not long after arrival. John and his family stayed in Maryborough for a short time and then they traveled to Tiaro in a Mr. Barrskill’s wagon.

The township of Tiaro was first surveyed in 1864; among the first settlers was James Nash, the man who discovered Gold in Gympie.
The Town grew rapidly, a post office opened in 1868 and the first school began in 1870 in a slab hut. In 1875 the population was between 300 and 400 hundred and this further increased when the railway opened in 1881.

A Divisional Board initially administered local affairs but in 1884 the Tiaro Shire Council was gazette one of the early council members was John Dale.
Between 1881 and 1900 Tiaro was a busy town with 4 Hotels, 3 Blacksmiths, a saw mill, 2 butchers, a bakery, 2 general stores, a saddler, an auctioneer a wheelwright and carpenter and 2 bookmakers (one of whom was John Dale).

There was a Presbyterian Church, Church of England, Catholic Church and a Protestant Hall. More to follow on the Dale Tale in a future Gazette.

If you would like your family history to be documented and to be part of our upcoming Gundiah District Pioneer’s book then please contact Trevor Keightley on 41292504