by Narissa Phelps for the Lennox Wave

The two men recognised as being the driving force behind opening the district to white settlement were Steven King and Joe Maguire. Neither lived in the Lennox area but both had descendants who did.

Steve King, described as brave, reckless and the best all-round timberman, arrived in 1829 aged 17 and under a 7-year sentence. Joe Maguire was born in Campbelltown in 1822, the son of convict Thomas Maguire and his free-born wife, Mary.

Both came together to the Clarence District in 1838 to cut cedar. Both brought their partners and established families, working there until the cedar supplies dwindled. In 1842, Steve and Joe decided to investigate north, having been told by First Peoples of  abundant timber in the Northern Rivers. Steve led the party, but Joe’s bullock dray and team were integral to the party’s success, as it hauled a whaleboat, vital to explore the district via its river highways.

Cedar was found in abundance, and both Joe and Steve worked throughout the district. The team moved gradually northwards, from Codrington to Gundurimba, Wyrallah to Ballina, never staying long in one place. By 1847/8, Steve built a slab home for his wife Sarah and four children at Ballina, although Steve was absent for long periods cutting timber as far north as the Brunswick River. Joe Maguire, meanwhile, built his wife Maria a slab hut at Tintenbar on Emigrant Creek, supposedly the first in that district. The couple went on to have 8 children, most born at Tintenbar.

Steve King died at Ballina aged 49-years in 1859 and Joe Maguire in 1885 aged 62. Both are remembered in the Ballina Pioneer Cemetery and more widely as the earliest pioneers of the district.

Headstone of Joseph Maguire.