According to a local newspaper George Gow was the ‘uncrowned king of Barellan’.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
His legacy, coupled with the raft of writings he left behind has always loomed large in the minds of his grandson, John.
To commemorate this larger-than-life character, John decided to put pen to paper.
“I’ve been interested in family history for the last forty-odd years. This is my third family history book,” he said.
A prolific writer, George Gow left behind 18 diaries spanning from 1926 to 1954.
He was a resident of Barellan for roughly forty years.
“He wrote all of these diaries. A lot of it can be pretty banal, but from time to time he comments on local issues. He includes newspaper clippings,” John said.
“He was a very influential man of his era.”
As well as being a family history, the book also serves as a historical record for the Barellan area.
It’s a one John feels is worth passing on.
“He wrote a lot of reminiscences about the stations, how they were split up and how people in the area lived at the time,” he said.
“I just felt the history was important to record. I’ve tried to give it a really good history of the Barellan area.”
George Gow arrived in the district in 1899 and managed for a big stock and station agent before picking up three other stations in the area.
In 1911, he joined a syndicate of men who bought stations and split them up for settling and growing wheat.
After buying his own property, he opened up his own agency called Gow and Gow.
RELATED:
From there, his local influence only grew.
From 1928 – 1930, he was president of Yanco Shire, winning a number of different awards for his wheat crops.
“He was fairly forthright sort of person. He made his attitudes pretty well known,” he said.
“Very few people know of him personally, but
After losing much of his fortune in the Great Depression, Mr Gow retired to Griffith in 1937.
John’s brother David, who is helping him promote the book, says that the book provides a great history of the town.
”I think John’s done an excellent job. You’ve only got to look through the book with all of the photographs and material.”
The book will be launched on Friday night as part of the Barellan Good Old Days Weekend.
The book will be on sale for the whole weekend.
