James Grummitt and Elizabeth Mann had four children who survived into adulthood. William (b.1848) and Mary Ann (b.1852) lived their lives in England. But the other two children both emigrated to Australia. Louise has been in touch with their descendants, who still live in Australia. This is a brief history of their emigration: John Grummitt, born in 1854 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, married Mary Ann Hare in Clophill in 1877. She and John moved to Poplar in London. She died and John married her sister Elizabeth on 2nd October 1881. (The story is that it was Mary Ann's request when she knew she was dying.) John & Elizabeth's first child, Frederick, was born on 9th December 1882.

The only record that's been found of John's arrival in Australia is a John Gremmet, age 29, arrived Cooktown, Far North Queensland on 25th June 1884 on the "Duke of Westminster". Elizabeth, age 24, and Frederick, age 2, arrived in Brisbane, Queensland on 22nd September 1885 on the "Merkara". They were Remittance passengers which means that someone in Australia paid toward their passage- probably John. In 1888 John applied for and received two agricultural blocks (one in his name and one in Elizabeth's. We think they were only allowed one lot each) and a residential block of land at Ninderry. They had four more children, James b.1887, Florence b.1888, Albert b.1890 and John b.1892, almost three months after the death of his father. John Snr. died on 16th May 1892, age 37, from Sarcoma of the Testicle.

But John wasn't the first brother to go to Queensland. The first was Alfred. He was born in Clophill, in 1856, where he was brought up. Alfred and Susannah lived in the Yandina area for many years. (The township of Yandina is inland from the Sunshine Coast, (Maroochydore, Noosa, etc.) which is north of Brisbane.)

Alfred married Susannah Glassby on 14th April 1879 in Doncaster, Yorkshire. They sailed for Australia that day (did they run away?) on the "Arthur Stone". We believe that they sailed from Hull. They settled at Mt. Gravatt (now a suburb on the southern side of Brisbane) and Alfred was probably a farm labourer. There was a Mt. Gravatt Station (a cattle property) owned by a Mr Klump who employed farm labourers and paid them with keep as well as cattle and horses so that if they were able to get a selection they had something to start with. Apparently Alfred wrote to John telling him this and John must have decided to make the move.

We have wondered why Alfred didn't apply for any land of his own when his brother John did. We have been told that he had a limp. Maybe he considered that he wouldn't be able to do the very hard work required or maybe his applications were rejected because of this. He had worked in the railway in England and had been crushed and when he married Susannah he was a butler and she worked in a large manor house.

The two families moved to Ninderry not far from Yandina and worked very hard to clear land , build two slab houses - one on each block and fencing ( part of the terms for getting land was that improvements had to be done or lose it). In 1892, when he became ill, John applied to have one of his portions transferred to Alfred to thank him for all his work (this was written a week before he died). We're not sure if this happened as Elizabeth had a letter written (she couldn't read or write) asking that the deeds be transferred to her. On 20th April the Deeds of Grant were issued to her but she had left Yandina and presumably moved to Brisbane where her youngest child John was born. At some time, date unknown, Portion 25V also passed to Alfred & Susannah", so maybe portion 24V was transferred to Alfred earlier.

George was one of the 14 children of Alfred and Susannah Grummitt. He was born on 20th November 1886 in Queensland. As a young man he owned and worked with a bullock team hauling logs to one of the many timer mills in the Blackbutt Range area. He married Lucinda Morrow from Sheep Station Creek in May 1914. George and his brother, William, owned property in the Moore Town area and had a butcher's shop in Moore. Bill slaughtered the cattle for the shop.

George decided to open a picture theatre in Toogoolawah -a bad business move as there was already an established picture theatre there which had the pick of the movies available. Before the building was ready George was diagnosed with cancer and he died a short time later. Their youngest child, a girl, was born a few months later. The picture theatre became a skating rink but eventually this was sold and Lucy and her six children moved to Kilcoy to be closer to her large and very close family.

Georgea the youngest of the family and the only one with musical talent has the old piano from the picture theatre in her home in Kilcoy.