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her mother, who although very deaf relieved some of the pangs of remote existence which beset other women.
Children of course, constantly surrounded her.
Margaret Dodd was injured in Cyclone Tracy. She was evacuated and spent six months away from Darwin.
In 1984 she had a hip replacement operation but never fully recovered and, though she was as active as she could
be, died on 15 September 1987. Tributes poured in. One young man who had grown up at Mainoru commented on
how happy he and other children had been there. Another, who had also spent time on a mission station, remarked
that although the missionaries had fed and clothed him, they ‘didn’t really love us’ as Margaret had. Margaret loved
the children with whom she came in contact and they loved her in return.
H Clarke, The Long Arm, 1974; Northern Territory Archives Service, Dodd Papers, NTRS 291, oral history interview, NTRS 226, TS 192;
family information.
HEATHER DODD, SHENEE McFADYEN and HELEN J WILSON, Vol 2.DOLAN, ANNA ELIZABETH nee McKEOWN (c1857–1903) and DOLAN, THOMAS JOHN (TOMMY)
(c1855–1908), pioneers of Nightcliff, Northern Territory, were married on 23 July 1878 in Brewarrina, New South
Wales, Thomas then describing himself as a station manager. Both were apparently born in Ireland; Thomas John’s
parents being Michael Dolan, a storekeeper and Mary, nee Lawler. Anna’s parents were John McKeown, a miner,
and Margaret, nee Darkin.
In 1881 Mary Florence Norton Dolan was born to Thomas and Anna in New South Wales but she died the same
year. The following year Dudley Norton Dolan was born, also in New South Wales. Sometime after Dudley’s birth
the Dolans arrived in the Northern Territory, presumably having travelled overland through New South Wales and
Queensland via the Queensland Road. In late October 1886 the Dolans were at Borroloola where Thomas was
summonsed to court for being in breach of the Master and Servants Act but the case was dismissed. A few days
later he was charged with threatening language and fined 20 Pounds.
It is not known how long the Dolans stayed at Borroloola but it is known they lived for a while at Anthony’s
Lagoon, then the focal point of the central and coastal stock routes between Queensland, the Overland Telegraph
Line (and points west) and the coast at Borroloola. The Territory’s Sub-Collector of Customs at the time,
Alfred Searcy, encountered the family at Anthony’s Lagoon and described Tommy as a ‘little thin fellow with a
marvellous memory’ who, ‘although a bad ‘un, was full of pluck’ and Anna as being a ‘tall, handsome, well-made
woman and a splendid equestrienne’. Searcy also reported that a squatter had a ‘fire stick put into [the Dolan’s]
shanty... because they would not shift’.
In September 1888 an incident occurred which exhibited Anna’s independent nature and a less than harmonious
situation between the Dolans. On 29 September Anna, who was fair with ‘full features’, was arrested at Matthew
and Margaret Hart’s Royal Hotel by Mounted Constable Mick Donegan for ‘shooting with intent’.
According to Searcy, Anna had demanded that Donegan grant her a divorce as she wanted to join another
man who was prepared to pay Tommy handsomely if the divorce came off. Donegan explained that, although he
held many offices, the divorce business was not within his jurisdiction. Anna proceeded to shoot at her husband
and then lock herself in a room of the hotel before she was finally arrested. On 11 October 1888, at a committal
hearing in Borroloola, Anna was charged with ‘feloniously, unlawfully and maliciously shooting’ at Thomas and
committed for trail at Palmerston (Darwin) Circuit court. On 31 October the Dolans and their child arrived in
Palmerston and by 1 December Thomas was advertising that he was staying in Palmerston and was going into
business to repair saddles and harnesses.
On 22 December Anna’s trial began. Among those giving evidence was Matthew Hart, Borroloola publican,
who said that Anna had been staying at his hotel for about five days. On the night in question Anna had said she
would not go with her husband. He said Anna and her husband had been living on bad terms and that Anna had
said to him (Hart), ‘if I cannot get protection I will protect myself’, and threatened to ‘blow the brains out’ of the
first person who opened the door. Hart reported that she said, ‘If I can get no protection from him I will shoot him
rather than live with him again’. After the judge had heard all the evidence he found there was insufficient evidence
to convict Anna and he then reprimanded Thomas John Dolan for his conduct to his wife and cautioned him that
if he misbehaved in future he would certainly have him punished. He advised him to sign the pledge and find a
new life.
The following week Thomas Dolan wrote to the Northern Territory Times, which had reported the court case
and the reprimand, denying the charge in toto and complaining that he did not have an opportunity of explaining
the matter. He stated that ‘Mrs Dolan herself when she heard of the matter wished to appear in court and tell
His Honour that he had been misinformed. He claimed that he had uniformly treated his wife with kindness and
consideration’. The truth of the case will perhaps never be known but it appears that they remained together,
possibly because Anna was pregnant, as on 14 February 1888 Richard Valentine Norton Dolan was born in
Palmerston, eight months before the Palmerston to Pine Creek railway line was officially opened. According to
information derived from the 1891 census the family was then living at Burrundie where Thomas was employed
as a ganger on the railway construction.
By 1893 the family appears to have returned to Palmerston where Thomas began participating in the Palmerston
Literary and Debating Society and he soon became known for his ability to recite from memory long passages from
publications. On 29 April 1895 Anna enrolled to vote as one of the first women in the Northern Territory entitled
to do so after legislation was passed in the South Australian parliament in December 1894. In December 1895
Anna purchased a block of suburban land, section 363 Hundred of Bagot, and applied for an agricultural lease at
Nightcliff. In July 1896, two months after she was able to vote in her first election, Anna was granted Agricultural