Too much tragedy for one family

To lose one member of the family in an horrific accident is more than most people can bear. For this reason it is worth sparing a thought for the Boyd family who, in one incident, lost four members of the same family when their boat was wrecked at the mouth of the Tweed River.

The headstone that marked the tragic deaths of members of the Boyd family from the wreck of the Ebenezer in 1859. Courtesy Findagrave.

Brothers, John and Edward Boyd, had moved to the Tweed River in 1849, in anticipation of a substantial career in transporting cedar to the demanding market of Sydney. They bought the 47 tonne schooner, Ebenezer, to carry their precious cargo to Sydney and provide transport to passengers and for provisions on the return journey.

Then in 1859 when on a return journey from Sydney to pick up more cedar, disaster struck. On board were members of the Boyd family on their way to their home in Terranora. Witnesses at the time said the boat had crossed the bar and went ashore on the north spit. There didn't seem to be any danger as she was on the sand , the weather was mild and it was thought the next tide would take her out.

All passengers were aboard when instead, a large storm came and drove the schooner into the rocks, totally destroying it. All the crew escaped but the passengers were not so lucky. On board were Edward Boyd, his wife Mary Anne and their son Edward, who was two years old. John, who was already at the Tweed, was eagerly waiting their arrival, as his wife Hannah and son Thomas, also two-years-old, were in their company.

Although Edward senior was not a swimmer, he managed to save his wife, only to have her die afterwards from exposure and shock. His little boy also fell victim to the perilous sea and his body was never found.

John Boyd, Courtesy The Daily Telegraph

John, in company with an Indigenous employee, had rowed down the river to meet the boat's arrival, when his worker pointed excitedly at something in the water.

It was the body of his little boy, Thomas. John watched in horror as his son's body floated in on the tide. His wife's body was found nine days later. It is said John's hair turned white after that. It had been decided John and Hannah's daughter would stay in Sydney with friends as she had the measles, planning to make the journey later. A small ray of hope in a very dark time.

The stone that marked their burial site is now in the ownership of the Tweed Regional Museum.

References

• 'Edward Joseph Boyd', Findagrave, accessed 31st October, 2024, Edward Joseph Boyd (1829-1863) - Find a Grave Memorial

• 'Old Tweed History', Tweed Daily, Saturday, 5 October, 1918, Page 3

• 'Ben Boyd: His Tragic History', The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate, Saturday, 22 April, 1944, Page 4

• 'Those Lonely Graves', The Brisbane Courier, Thursday, 3 February, 1927, Page 17

• 'Settler family holds reunion', The Daily Telegraph, 29 July, 2009, accessed 25th November, 2024, Settler family holds reunion | Daily Telegraph