Rutledge

DESCRIPTION

NameRutledgeDescriptionJoseph Rutledge was born in 1839 in County Tyrone, Ireland. He arrived in Sydney in 1856.

Joseph married Catherine Parsons in Wollongong in 1871 and they had nine children. They lived at 'Sea View' farm at Jamberoo.

Their son Frederick Rutledge was born in 1881. He married Florence Emily Smith at Hurstville in 1912.The couple lived at 'Clevehurst' farm, Jamberoo, and had three children, Marjorie, Frederick and Cedric.

'Clevehurst' once known as 'Plough Weary' was once the farm of the John and Ademia Bradney.

Marjorie married Ronald Charles Bragg in 1949, and Frederick married Hope Fuller, daughter of Colonel Colin Dunmore Fuller, of Dunmore House.

Cedric stayed on the farm, and after his father's death in 1959, helped his mother run it.

Cedric Walter Rutledge

Cedric Walter Rutledge, affectionately known as ‘Ced’, or ‘Uncle Ced’ by his family, was a gentleman in every sense of the word.

He never married, and lived his whole life at Jamberoo, on the family farm, Clevehurst, just across the road from Jamberoo Recreation Park.

He was born in 1926, the youngest of three children, at a time when everything on the farm was done by hand.

As a child, he was struck down with scarlet fever, and as a result he never attended school, and was instead educated through Blackfriars correspondence school.

Cedric always had an inquiring mind, and liked to find out how things worked. He developed many interests in science and history particularly, and pursued these interests throughout his life.

Like most farmers, he loved to tinker, adapt, and fix machinery. He was largely self–taught, amassing a vast library of books and magazines on subjects that interested him. He used his trusty typewriter to write up his notes, and put his drawing skills to good use, by illustrating his research.
After his mother’s death in the 1970’s, Cedric chose to lease the farm and concentrate on other pursuits, like bushwalking, conservation, photography, local history, bird watching and star gazing.

He loved gadgets and technology, and had a lifelong interest in photography. He photographed landscapes and all manner of creatures, including reptiles, animals and insects. He had numerous lenses to maximise the potential of shots, and developed the black and white film himself; printing only those photos he thought worthy.

Photography became more accessible to him after he was introduce to his first digital camera, and once he learned to use a computer, he spent much time scanning and printing his old negatives.

Cedric became involved with an archaeology group who were cataloguing Aboriginal rock art in the Illawarra, and explored much of the region through this venture. He developed a keen interest in Aboriginal history: recording masses of information on local sites, artefacts, language and culture. He was a meticulous cataloguer: mapping, photographing, and illustrating the artwork and archaeology, discovered at sites. He worked at local sites with renowned Archaeologist Josephine Flood, who added over 2000 Aboriginal archaeological sites to the Register of the National Estate, during her time as Senior Conservation Officer, with the Australian Heritage Commission in Canberra.

Cedric became good friends with Howard Judd, a Ranger at Minnamurra Falls from 1945 to 1978, and shared his interest in nature conservation and the protection of the reserve. He regularly spent time there, before management of the reserve was taken over by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. He was active in the Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, and was appointed a Voluntary Ranger. During this time, he gave many talks on Aboriginal history and culture as part of an adult education program.

Shellharbour City Museum owes much of its development to Cedric, who was involved from its beginnings, when he enthusiastically volunteered much of his time. He produced and documented several exhibitions, catalogued artefacts, and had a particular interest in researching old maps.

Cedric had a special knack for writing perfectly neat, minuscule numbers on artefacts, when cataloguing them. Today, when staff stumble across his tiny print on objects, we smile, and remember the many stories he shared with us about his life on the farm, expeditions in the bush, and research and articles he had uncovered.

Our understanding of local Aboriginal history and culture, is largely a result of Cedric’s years of dedicated and enthusiastic research. He taught us so much, and was generous with his time and knowledge.

Cedric died 12 August 2012, just two weeks short of his 86th birthday. He is greatly missed, and fondly remembered, by his many friends at Shellharbour City Museum.

Cedrics's story developed with thanks to his nephew, Phil Bragg, 2017.

External LinkDeaths Joseph RutledgeLate Miss RutledgeObituary Louisa Beryl RutledgeMarriage Rutledge-SmithMcBaron-RutledgeBragg-RutledgeRutledge-Fuller

Object

Toy Field Gun

Peg Dolls

Glass Marbles

British Vickers MkII Army Tank

Spinning Top

Light Horse Leggings

Night Dress - Florence Rutledge

Sticky Tape

The Little Webster Dictionary

Photograph

Country Week Cricket Team c.1936-1937

Bill Rutledge

Cedric Rutledge at 'Clevehurst' Farm

Presentation to Cedric Rutledge

Member of the Rutledge Family

'Clevehurst' House and Dairy

Family

Fuller

Cedric Rutledge at 'Clevehurst' farm, with his pet doggo, c.1936.

CONNECTIONS

CollectionFamiliesLocalityJamberooFamilyBradneyFuller

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Rutledge