This is the latest article in a series written by Nicole Jenkins, on behalf of the Deniliquin Historical Society. Each will cover stories from our town’s history, and those born in our town who have interesting stories of their own. This article is on Patrick Jennings, who went on to be premier of NSW.

In 1862, Patrick Jennings entered into a partnership to purchase Warbreccan Station.

Patrick and his new wife moved to Warbreccan in 1863.

Patrick became one of NSW's premiers and was the first non-Labor Catholic premier.

Sir Patrick Alfred Jennings was born on March 20, 1831, in Newry, County Down, Ireland, son of Francis Jennings, a linen merchant, and Mary O'Neill.

They were descendants of a Flemish (Dutch) family who had gone to England in the 1400s.

He was a direct descendant of John Jennings of Ballymurphy, who in 1633 forfeited his Irish estates rather than change his Roman Catholic religion.

He was one of 13 children and his father died in 1847.

Patrick received his education, which included training in engineering and surveying, in his native town of Newry and in Exeter, England.

He lacked the money to study for the Bar and trained for a business career with a firm in Exeter by becoming a clerk.

In December 1852, aged only 21, he emigrated to Victoria, arriving as an unassisted immigrant on the ‘Chaseley’.

Patrick joined the 1855 rush to New Bendigo (St Arnaud), but his keen commercial sense led him into storekeeping.

His ventures extended into quartz mining and crushing in Bendigo and obtaining grazing land.

He quickly became very wealthy through quartz and land investments.

He only remained in St Arnaud for eight years, but his name is said to have “stood out from all others” in that time.

The prosperous store was also assisted by Patrick’s mother, Mary Jennings, and his sisters.

Mary and her daughter Margaret arrived on the British Trident, which departed Liverpool on September 12, 1857, and arrived in Melbourne on December 4.

Patrick’s other sister, Elizabeth, had married John Quigley Esq, who was a merchant from Castleblayney, Ireland.

He died and Elizabeth came out to Australia and married Thomas Gormley Esq on May 6, 1867, at St Francis Xavier Church in Carisbrook, Victoria.

Thomas and Elizabeth were running the St Arnaud store when Patrick left St Arnaud.

In 1857, Patrick became a Justice of the Peace and magistrate.

The Jennings family were Catholics and the first Mass at St Arnaud was celebrated at their residence.

For almost eight years, Patrick lived and played an active part in the growth and development of St Arnaud. There is still a Jennings St in St Arnaud.

Patrick was chairman of the local council.

In 1862, with the proceeds of his ventures, he went into partnership with another Irishman, Martin Shanahan - his future father-in-law - and bought Warbreccan Station near Deniliquin.

Martin arrived in Australia as a free settler and purchased land on the Richardson River on the Marnoo Plains in Victoria in 1845.

There he and his wife raised seven children.

Mr Shanahan was a self-made man and attained great wealth, but retained his simple and unostentatious habits, and was shrewd, straightforward and economical in his dealings, though often lavishly generous in both public and private affairs.

In 1863, Patrick married Mary Shanahan at the Shanahan's Marnoo homestead and they moved to Warbreccan Station. They had three children - two boys and a girl.

Patrick was said to be a fine athlete and he soon became involved in public life in Deniliquin.

He joined the Riverine Association, founded in 1863, but did not support separation, although he would have benefited from close Victorian markets.

In 1865, he refused to take the district's grievances to the Imperial Government in London as he believed they should be settled locally.

When the Premier of NSW, James Martin, visited the Riverina in 1867 and offered Legislative Council nominations to increase the Riverina's meagre representation, Patrick was the only member of the association to accept.

In 1867-70 he served in the council and in 1870-72 represented the Murray in the Legislative Assembly.

In July 1868, Patrick and Mary gave a party in honour of their guests, the Earl of Belmore, Governor of NSW, and his wife, and the Premier of NSW, James Martin.

There were 200 guests at the picnic, held at a spot three miles below the homestead on the banks of Wakool Creek.

A party of Aboriginal people were invited to take part in the archery contests and they managed to riddle the target with arrows, despite the fact that none of them had seen or used a bow and arrow before.

This caused some embarrassment and misgivings among the other guests, who were not able to do nearly as well.

Jemmy Dick, the Aboriginal ‘king’ of Warbreccan, was present on this occasion.

The king was a big man and his English vocabulary was said to be limited to “mine want it tickpence”.

When Martin Shanahan died in 1882, his son carried on the partnership with Patrick.

They expanded rapidly and had extensive holdings throughout Australia.

They held Garawilla near Gunnedah and Denobillie and Ulimambri near Coonabarabran and, in 1874, they acquired Westbrook - 80,000 acres on the Darling Downs, which was Patrick’s final home after Warbreccan was sold in 1885.

When the Shanahan-Jennings partnership took up another sheep station in New England, he continued his political pursuits.

Defeated at Mudgee in 1874, he represented the Bogan Shire in 1880-87.

Patrick's sister Margaret married Hugh Hubert Daley Kelly on October 30, 1871, at Warbreccan Station.

Hugh was the eldest son of the late John Kelly, of Deniliquin.

John was a police magistrate overseeing Deniliquin, Moama and Moulamein.

Hugh was also a brother of Bowes Kelly, the well-known mining magnate, of Melbourne.

Hugh commenced his pastoral career with the late James Tyson, at Juanbung.

After a wide experience on the extensive properties owned by Mr Tyson, he entered the service of Shanahan and Jennings, and took over the management of Warbreccan Station in 1866.

After some years there he went, for a short period, to Messrs Wolseley, Gibbs and Co's Cobran Station.

In 1872, he took over the management of Billilla Station, on the Darling - also a property of Shanahan and Jennings.

In April 1873, he took delivery of Garrawilla, Goorianawa, Ulimambri and Belar stations, which had been purchased by Shanahan and Jennings, and managed all these properties for about 25 years.

They were subsequently sold, and Hugh Kelly purchased Garrawilla for himself.

In 1876, Patrick was featured in the gallery of ‘Men of Mark’ at the American Centennial Exhibition.

There were more than 100 photographs on display and Patrick came third. His photo was next to Mark Twain's.

In 1874 he was honoured with the Knight of St Gregory the Great, and in 1876 was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Pius IX and St Gregory the Great.

In 1876 he represented NSW and other states at the Philadelphia Exhibition.

He was created Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1879, and in the following year a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).

In 1885 he received the Grand Cross of this order, which conferred on him the title of marquis.

In 1878-97, Patrick made the largest individual contributions to Catholic building appeals.

He was a fellow of St John's College within the University of Sydney in 1868-72 and 1874-91.

His “princely liberality” enabled his friend, Archbishop Vaughan, to open a library there.

In January 1883, Patrick was vice president of the executive council in Alexander Stuart's ministry, but on July 31 resigned explaining that "his own people" were discontented with his position in cabinet.

As Sir Patrick Jennings, in 1885 he was briefly colonial secretary in George Dibbs' government and then led the Opposition.

When Robertson fell, Patrick failed to coalesce with him and reluctantly accepted the invitation to form his own ministry on February 26, 1886 and become premier of NSW.

He was the first practising Catholic premier and the only non-Labor one.

His comment that he was not “a prominent politician” undervalued his importance, as he had been offered ministerial office early in 1870 and twice later.

On January 19, 1887, Patrick resigned.

During his premiership he lived in Colebrook, a house noteworthy for its impressive ballroom and cast-iron decorative work.

Banjo Paterson wrote an unflattering poem about him called The Deficit Demon, in which he describes how:

...the people put forward a champion known as Sir Patrick the Portly.

As in the midnight the tomcat who seeketh his love on the housetop,

Lifteth his voice up and is struck by the fast-whizzing brickbat,

Drops to the ground in a swoon and glides to the silent hereafter,

So fell Sir Patrick the Portly at the stroke of the Deficit Demon.

In 1887, Patrick revisited Ireland and received an honorary LLD (Doctor of Laws) from Dublin University.

Two years later, on March 1, 1889, his wife died, aged only 42.

In the Lady Chapel of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, there is a stained glass window dedicated to Dame Mary Anne Jennings by Patrick Jennings.

He was called back to the Legislative Council in 1890, was a member of the Senate of Sydney University, a fellow of St John's (Catholic) College, and a trustee of the Sydney Art Gallery.

By the 1890s, Warbreccan had been sold and he continued to live in Colebrook until 1892.

Through drought, financial crisis and his own failing health, one-by-one he lost control of his NSW properties.

By 1893 he held only Westbrook, and succeeded in selling part of it for closer settlement.

There he led a quiet retired life, but took a keen interest in benevolent and social movements.

Patrick died in Brisbane on July 11, 1897, after having travelled there to attend a wedding.

His body was returned by rail to Sydney for burial in the family vault in Waverley Cemetery.

Surmounted by a tall cross, it bears the words: “A good name is better than great riches and good favour is above silver and gold”.

His estate in NSW was sworn for probate at £4,400.

A stained glass window erected at St John's College with his family crest commemorates Sir Patrick Alfred Jennings.

His obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald on July 12, 1897 stated that “as a politician it may truly be said that he made no enemies”.

“Those who were privileged to know him personally can bear not less generous testimony to his private qualities,” it continued.

“He acknowledged the influence of culture and represented in our public life a high standard of personal character.

“Jennings was also described as 'a clear-headed, cultured Irishman' who 'turned every honest opponent who came into contact with him into an admiring friend'.”

Patrick’s son John Francis Jennings was born in Deniliquin on November 22, 1868 and is the only Australian Jennings descendant to keep the line continuing.

John left Deniliquin and went to his father’s Toowoomba property, Westbrook.

He married Agnes Beirne in Toowoomba on May 9, 1900 at St Patrick’s Church.

They had two sons - Francis Patrick born 1901 and John Bernard on 27 Jul 1903.

John Jennings is recorded as residing at Westbrook in 1904 and died in Brisbane on the January 8, 1927, aged 58.

• For more detail on Sir Patrick’s life after Warbreccan, access Nicole Jenkins’ podcast ‘Family History Mysteries’. Patrick’s story is episode 27.

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