Three historic graves in Oakwood, located in what is now a macadamia plantation, serve as a reminder of life in early Bundaberg.
Known as the Henker Family Graves, or Carnamoyle Farm Burial Site, the site is listed on Bundaberg Regional Council’s Register of Local Heritage Places.
In 1871, William Watson selected over 100 acres bounded by Splitters Creek, making him one of the earliest settlers in the region, as the town of Bundaberg had been surveyed only two years earlier.
The property was called Carnamoyle, after Carnamoyle in County Donegal, Ireland, which was William’s hometown.
William Watson went on to establish a successful agricultural implement manufacturing, blacksmith and wheelwright business in 1880.
Heritage features
The three headstones that make up Henker Family Graves, dating from 1879, 1894 and 1901, are in the form of decorated stelae, or upright stone slabs, arranged in a row.
The site is cordoned off from the surrounding plantation by a rope strung between the corner posts of an earlier wrought iron fence surround.
The graves are located on private property towards the western end of Henkers Road in Oakwood and are not accessible to the public.
Early families remembered
The earliest grave on the site is Mary McLucas (nee Watson), who lived with her nephew William at Carnamoyle Farm, and died there in 1879.
Mary was a widow, as her husband James McLucas had died in 1866, and their son William McLucas was 14 years old at the time of Mary’s passing.
A notice of Mary’s death was placed in the Courier Mail and The Queenslander newspapers, reading:
“McLucas – On the 20th July, at the residence of her nephew, William Watson, Carnamoyle Farm, Bundaberg, Mary McLucas, aged 57 years, widow of the late James McLucas, Churchill, Ipswich, and daughter of the late William Watson, Carnamoyle, County Donegal, Ireland.”
Charles Henker (died 1894) and Wilhelmine Henker (died 1901) are also buried on the property, and it is unclear whether they were related to the Watsons, or if they were subsequent owners of the property.
The Find a Grave entry for Charles, who was also known as Carl Henker, noted that he arrived in Australia on the ‘Cesar Godefroy’ from Hamburg in 1862 and was married to Mina Thiele in 1868.
The inscription on his grave reads “In Loving Memory of Charles Henker who departed this life 14th March 1894. Aged 57 years. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Charles and Mina’s daughter Wilhelmine was also buried at the site following her death at Bundaberg Hospital on 1 February 1901.
The inscription on Wilhelmine’s grave reads “In Loving Memory of Wilhelmine Henker who died February 1st 1901. Aged 23 Years. Dearest Minnie thou hast left us, Thou dost dwell with angels now, Wait a little dearest Sister, And we soon shall follow thee.”
The Henker Family Graves remain an important reminder of the evolution of the region, in particular the development of Bundaberg and the selection of agricultural land in its immediate vicinity from the late 1860s.
The grave site also demonstrates the pattern of the region’s history with private cemeteries still common in the nineteenth century, despite the establishment of public cemeteries in the region.
This story is shared as part of Bundaberg Regional Council’s Australian Heritage Festival celebrations.
Very well written.
Hannah Henker enrolled Bundaberg North school on 25July1881, address Splitters Creek, father a farmer.
Charles Henker is in the 1889 Gooburrum rates book number 438
in my younger years we would go into the paddock. not much there then, some cows maybe, open grass. before you got near the graves, there were a couple of trees that shaded several bora rings. asked Peter Lovell years back if there was any known photos of the trees or the rings. not so it appears. the trees vanished and the rings also vanished, all for macadamia nuts. the graves though remained.
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Mr. William Watson selected Por 13, Parish Otoo, County Cook, 106 acres, and Brotherton and Hood declared Watson was resident from july 1871 to march 1875, in order to meet his conditions. Surveyor Barns survey date was 23rd July 1872, recorded on C37/90. being selection 136 [adjusted, Bundaberg did not have a lands office in 1871] says there were 135 selections underway already. spend some time in the Gazettes and you should find when Henker became the owner of this parcel.Mr. Smith had the land lease on a triangular block not far from this location and in time to come was the farm my second cousin lived on. [reference land selection file Bundaberg William Watson Z4811/136 per my records]