With the help of a Uranquinty resident, The Daily Advertiser uncovered the royal history behind a little-known man, who was buried under a tree on the road to Collingullie.

His story follows the Wagga Rewind series, capturing the past and present of beloved places, people, events and icons.

According to long-time resident Jenny Lewington, Frederick arrived in Australia with his brother Edward in 1855. 

Leaving behind wealth and prestige, they voyaged to the colonies and arrived during Victoria’s Gold Rush, where Frederick found his skills as a sawyer were in high demand. 

The young man later met former Scotswoman Mary Nimmo Lamb, who was living in East Gippsland.

After the birth of their son William and a six-month trip to the homeland, the pair returned to the colonies and moved to Ballarat, where they welcomed their second son, Frederick II in 1968.

Two daughters then followed.

The family was living at Echuca in 1873 when Frederick, Mary and their three living children moved to Uranquinty. 

Frederick worked as a boundary rider at Pomingalana Station until his sudden death three years later. He had been riding his horse, when he suffered a heart-attack and died. 

This was only one month after his third son, David Lamb Wise was born. 

Being about 15 miles from the registry office, Mary did not report the death of her husband.

Instead, the widow and mother-of-four buried Frederick, with the help of two landowners. 

It was a bit of a shock when in 1880, a remarried Mary Nimmo Lamb Wise Taylor discovered Frederick had inherited one-third of his father’s estate.

But, in order to receive the money, she had to prove his death. 

Mary had rushed, horse and carriage, to the registry office and within months, became one of the region’s wealthiest women until her death in 1927.

It turned out, Frederick’s great-grandmother, Lady Diana Fielding, was a descendent of Edward III, II, and I of England – the first England-born kings after the Norman invasion in 1066.