The fertility of pioneer Henry Angel was once a talking point in Wagga.
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It wasn’t the only reason a city street was dedicated to the former convict, but after bearing 16 children, it became notable.
Memory Lane this week uncovered the story of arguably one of the greatest pioneers in Australian history.
In 1824, Henry Angel was one of six servants assigned to accompany Hamilton Hume and William Hovell on their exploration across the country.
Some years later, he would become the great-grandfather of Wagga’s first Victoria Cross recipient.
At 26, Angel’s was given a life sentence and sent to Australia. He arrived in Sydney in 1818. Less than six years later he embarked on a journey that would uncover the River Murray.
He then became the first white man to swim across its muddy waters.
According to The Australian Dictionary of Biography, men who knew Angel, described him as “one of the most reliable, honest, industrious men … abstemious, persevering and full of resource”.
The convict’s hard work, energy, logistical ability and skill with working horses and cattle was noted during the expedition and as a result, Angel was awarded a pair of bulls and a “ticket-of-leave” for the Illawarra district.
There he met and married the young widow Mary Ledwidge and began purchasing plots of land.
When Angel was finally granted a conditional pardon in 1840, he joined a growing number of squatters, spreading across the state and moved his family to the Riverina.
He and John Rae eventually took over Uardry station in the lower Murrumbidgee area, where they farmed cattle and began trading cheese.
Despite early difficulties, including conflict with Indigenous locals, Angel remained at Heavenly Plain until the early 1860s before moving to Lake Albert.
Angel’s labours had made him a rich man. At his death in 1881, he was the owner of multiple properties and plots of land. He left behind his wife, who had borne 16 children, following their marriage.
In addition to the two children from her first marriage, Mary Angel’s 13 surviving offspring went on to produce 90 grandchildren and 49 great-grandchildren.
The most notable of these was World War II hero Corporal John Hurst Edmondson VC.
Read more from the Memory Lane series: