My great grandfather, the publican

Today we visited Hill End on the way from Mudgee to Bathurst. Hill End exploded in 1872 when German immigrant Bernhardt Holtermann discovered the world’s largest hunk of reef gold, the ‘Star of Hope’, turning Hill End into one of the state’s biggest inland towns.

At its peak Hill End had a population estimated at 8,000 served by two newspapers, five banks, eight churches and 28 pubs. One of those 28 pubs was called ‘The Star of Hope Hotel’ named after the nugget. My great grandfather, Benjamin Hale, was its owner and licensee. Benjamin had emigrated from Kent in England. He married Martha McGann, an immigrant from Rosscommon in Ireland. They met and married in Bathurst in 1861. By 1872 they had had six children. The last three all died before the age of two. While in Hill End they had another son.

The top photo shows their hotel in Hill End in its heyday. This photo is one of the photos belonging to the Holtermann Collection. Benjamin and Martha can be seen in front of the door of the hotel. On Benjamin’s left is my Great Aunt Millie (Amelia). In between Benjamin and Martha is my Great Aunt Polly (Mary Ann).

The site today of the pub can be seen on the left hand side of the road in the second photo. The lower photos show my great grandparents, Benjamin and Martha.

After the town's decline, when the gold gave out, they returned to Bathurst and Benjamin became the licensee of a series of pubs. They had four more children, the first two of whom died before their second birtday. Their 11th and last child was my grandmother, Martha. She lived to be 96.

The population of Hill End, as recorded in the 2021 census, was 111.