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admitted to the Hetti Perkins Nursing Home on 18 July 1992 where she died on 2 November, predeceasing Bryan
by three months. They had been together for 47 years. Over Bryan’s 63 years of Central Australian residence he
was to assist many small businesses and private enterprises. For a short time he owned the Ti Tree Roadhouse,
which he took over when the owner ran into trouble. When Ted McCormack died in 1964, Bryan took over the
responsibility of his large family. Ted had come to Central Australia at the time of the Granites gold rush of 1932
and had married Molly’s sister Eileen.
In later years Bryan moved the basis of his operations into Alice Springs where he bought part of Taffy Pick’s
farm block adjacent to the now Casino site. From here he ran an office in Brown Street. When the block was sold
to the Casino, he bought a house in Chewings Street and maintained a home there for himself, Molly and the large
McCormack clan. The house had been originally built for the late Bill Harney. Eileen McCormack disappeared in
about 1988 and was found dead about 1990 on the outer Undoolya road.
Bryan did not accept retirement easily but his interests turned to writing and up to his death at age 90 years
on 4 January 1993 he had published four books of great historical importance to Central Australia, the last being
released only a few weeks before his passing.
E Warburton, Martindale Hall, nd; B Bowman, The Glen Helen Story, 1985, History of Central Australia 1930–1980, 1989; personal
information.
MAX CARTWRIGHT, Vol 3.
BOWMAN, SARAH: see HANG GONG, SARAH
BRADSHAW, FREDERICK MAXWELL (1852–1905), pastoralist, son of Joseph Bradshaw, was born in
Victoria. His parents were well-known pastoralists in the Avoca and Bacchus Marsh districts and owned several
properties, including Bolwarrah and Glen Mona. Bolwarrah was later to become the name of one of the Bradshaws’
vessels. Little is known about the early life of Frederick and his brother Joseph except that they shared a love of
exploration and a mutual interest in remote areas.
Frederick came to Victoria River Station in company with his brother in 1895 and became part owner of the
property. He also developed an interest in the charting of the waterways in the vicinity of the Victoria River and
is reputed to have been on good terms with the Aborigines. The only record of his departure from the Northern
Territory is a visit he made to Melbourne in 1901.
Much of the documentation focuses upon the mystery surrounding his death. Mounted Constable Kelly from
Darwin found Frederick’s body along with those of three other Europeans near Cape Scott on Christmas Day 1905.
Two natives found on board their vessel Bolwarrah were captured by the attackers. It is believed that Frederick and
the others were murdered by the Aborigines on about 24 November on their return from a boring camp in Darwin
when the party landed from the Bolwarrah to search for fresh water. Frederick’s body bore a spear wound.
In an interview in Melbourne in January 1906, Frederick’s brother Joseph expressed his surprise at the attack,
despite the reputed ferocity of the Aborigines in that area. He pointed out that he and his brother had frequently
landed in the same area over the past 15 years. It is said that Joseph buried the remains of the murdered men on the
summit of a flat-topped mountain near the mouth of the Victoria River.
Frederick had never married and his untimely death meant that he was outlived by his mother, who was 87 and
living at Mount Albert in Victoria when Frederick died.
M Durack, Sons in the Saddle, 1983; J Makin, The Big Run, 1970; Australasian, 6 January 1906.
ROBYN MAYNARD, Vol 1.
BRADSHAW, JOSEPH (1854–1916), pastoralist, who took the name of his father, was born and educated in
Melbourne. Joseph’s parents owned stations at Bacchus Marsh and Avoca in Victoria. Little is known of his early
childhood and youth but it would seem that he possessed an adventurous spirit from a very early age.
At the age of 22, he sailed his own vessel from Melbourne up the northwestern coast of Australia to Darwin
and took up land on the Liverpool River. His sailing master on the voyage was Aeneas Gunn, later to become the
Manager of Elsey Station. Ten years later, in 1886, Joseph and his brother Frederick became owners of land at
Victoria River Station, with Aeneas Gunn acting as their manager. The now well-known Bradshaw’s Run, which
lies between the northern bank of the Victoria River and the mangrove swamps of the Fitzmaurice River is said to
have been carved out of a wilderness.
Joseph Bradshaw was known as an intrepid explorer. He navigated and charted a number of rivers in the
Victoria River region, notably the Prince Regent River. He owned several vessels that he used in his explorations
and settlement and development schemes. He had frequent contact with the Aborigines of the area and it is said that
the majority of encounters were not hostile. He also made several journeys to the interior of Australia.
Descriptions depict Joseph Bradshaw as a fearless pioneer and some of his ideas as half a century ahead of their
time. He envisaged a transcontinental railway going north to Darwin. Some of his plans, such as Victoria River
Downs becoming a horse-breeding station, did not ever come to fruition and attempts at sheep breeding on the
Fitzmaurice Run proved to be unsuccessful. The success of Bradshaw’s Run is still something of an enigma.
Little is known of his family life except for the working relationship he had with his brother Frederick. He died
in Darwin Hospital on 23 July 1916 from injuries sustained during a journey to the interior. Joseph Bradshaw left
a wife and son.