April 24, 2014
The South Burnett Regional Council has unanimously voted to name a park on the corner of Tessmanns Road and Doonkuna Street after the Carew brothers who moved to the region in 1898.
“It’s nice to be able to recognise families with a historical connection to the area rather than giving the park a generic name,” Cr Damien Tessmann said.
“There is a bit of story to go with the naming of this park after the Carew brothers.
“The first two Carew brothers, William and Thomas, arrived in 1898 and selected 640 acres on the eastern side of Tessmanns Road and the north side of Kingaroy Barkers Creek Road.
“These brothers worked on the Kingaroy railway line and railway dam.
“They were later joined by their brother Michael who was a member of the Kingaroy Shire Council as well as a director at the Kingaroy Butter Factory.
“One of William’s five children, Kath Burns, 92, still lives in Kingaroy.”
Her sister, Betty, is aged 100 and lives in a nursing home in Brisbane.
Council sought submissions about the naming of the park in December 2013 and again this month. No submissions were received.
“This block of land is the perfect place to have a park named after the Carew family. It is located just across the road from where the Carew brothers had their first block of a land,” Deputy Mayor Keith Campbell said.
“The naming of this park will mean a lot to the Carew family, who still have links to the South Burnett.”
Council will look at scheduling a small unveiling of the sign to occur in the future.
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[UPDATED with correction]
Thank you to all involved in making Carew Park a reality. Special thanks to my cousin Patrick McCormack who approached Council regarding the naming of some infrastructure in honour of our grandfather and great uncles.
From all accounts, my grandfather William Carew was a very quiet, hardworking gentleman who sadly died before I was old enough to really know him personally. Bill was very ably supported by his wife Ellen, who like many pioneering women also worked alongside their farmer husbands whilst raising their families.
William & Ellen’s other children were Father Michael (Jim) Carew (first catholic priest from this area), Mrs May McCormack (who with her husband Les raised 10 children in Kingaroy) and Mr Jack Carew (he and his wife Mary farmed in the Gordonbrook area all of their married life).
A big thank you to the South Burnett Regional Council, my brother Patrick McCormack and my cousin Kay Dove for making this project a reality.
John. Grandson of William and Ellen Carew.