George Bowles Woodley arrived in Sydney with his
wife, who was Helena Ellmore Drew, and one son, from Kilwarth, County Cork, Ireland, in 1837.
Both he and his wife are belived to have been teachers at the Bathurst Church of England
School, between 1837 and 1840, after which they moved around the district, probably in
different farming ventures.
Adam Perry Woodley was born at Kings Plains (1848) and George Bowles Jnr., at Blayney in 1851.
Perhaps there was a move back towards Bathurst, for in 1867, George Woodley was appointed a
member of the Evans Plains School Board, in in 1868, representing Evans Plains, was a member of
the committee elected to establish the Parish of Georges Plains.
After becoming established at Reedy Creek in the early 1870's, 5 members of the Woodley family,
found marriage partners in the district:
George Bowles Woodley Jnr., married
Sarah Jane Lewis at St. Stephen's Church in 1873.
Henry John Woodley married Elizabeth
Foster at St. Stephen's in 1875.
Adam Perry Woodley married Charlotte
Lewis at St. Stephen's also in 1875.
Francis Woodley married Elizabeth Lewis in
1878 at Fitzgerald's Valley.
Dorothea Catherine Woodley married
William Henry Downes in 1880 at Reedy Creek.
According to Church records, Adam Perry and Charlotte appear to have lived briefly in the
Valley
before going on to Reedy Creek.
The entries in the Georges Plains Parish Baptismal Register, show that George and Sarah Woodley
(1),
Adam and Charlotte Woodley (3), William and Dorothy Downes (1), Francis and Elizabeth Woodley
(1)
all had children christened at St. Stephen's Church, between 1877 and 1883.
George Bowles Woodley Snr., and his wife Helena, were both buried at the Valley in 1887 and
1874,
prespecively and the family later left Reedy Creek, some of them settling in the Dubbo
district. The
Woodley family history is being researched by Chris Bedford of Sydney, who is a great
granddaugher
of George Bowles Woodley Jnr. It is interesting to note that most generations since George
Woodley
Snr., have produced a school teacher.
A History of Fitzgerald's Valley Wimbledon, by Geoff Smith
