BURNETT BORN AND BRED Most of James McNamara's twelve children were born in the last half of the nineteenth century on the vast sheep and cattle runs that sprawled across Queensland's Darling Downs and South Burnett Region. Their birth certificates bear the names of some of the Colony's most influential pastoral holdings. Barambah, Burrandowan, Auburn, Mondure and Tarong were at one time home to the family. The children's mother Mary Ann Fuller also has claim to a famous birthplace, Battle in the English County of Sussex, scene of one of the major turning points in English history, the Battle of Hastings, 14th October 1066. PITT STREET SYDNEY 1841 Birth Certificates have been located for every member of the family except James McNamara Senior. When interviewed on his one hundredth birthday, "Old James" clearly recalled being told Mary Anne Barry had given birth to him in Pitt Street, Sydney on the 9th August 1841. While no Baptismal or Birth Certificate has ever been located to confirm the claim, the 100 year old James was said to have possessed an extraordinary memory. It was thought that his parents John MacNamara and Mary Anne Barry might have sought refuge at the New South Wales Benevolent Society Asylum, 454 Pitt Street Sydney around 1840. A search of Mitchell Library records has proved inconclusive. MYSTERIOUS MARY ANNE BARRY Locating records for any members of the McNamara family in New South Wales prior to 1850 would mark a major breakthrough in solving the mystery of Mary Anne Barry. The precise identity of the midwife Mrs McNamara, present at William McNamara's birth at East Swamp Toowoomba in the 1878 has not been discovered. The only witness to his birth may have been the mysterious Mary Anne Barry. William's Baptismal certificate shows Mary Anne McNamara and John Connell as sponsors. It might have been his mother Mary Anne Fuller. Birth certificates have recently been discovered linking McNamara and Barry, but not directly to John MacNamara and Mary Anne Barry.
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Family photographs and information on this web site have been generously provided from "The Kitty Creevey Collection" by Kevin Creevey, Jandowae - Queensland and the McNamara Family's "Strathgyle Archives", Bell - Queensland. Copyright © 2009 John A McNamara. All rights reserved.