The cross in the Louth cemetery marks the grave of Mary Mathews, wife of Thomas Andrew Mathews, the founder and 'King' of Louth. T. A. Mathews was born in county Louth, Ireland in 1825, he married Mary Devine in 1850 and together they had five children while Thomas learned the trades of shipwright and wheelwright in England's industrial north.

Lured by the reports of gold and the promise of wealth, Mathews left England for Australia in 1857, never to return, leaving Mary and their children at home in the care of his father

Gold proved hard to find however, and it was Mathews' trade that soon took him to the furthest reaches of colonization, and eventually into the sprawling west Darling properties like Toorale and Dunlop. It must have been a terribly hard time for Mathews, his pockets were not filled with gold as he had expected and he was a long way from a reunion with his family, indeed, he was a long way from anywhere and anything.

 

The Bush of Australia

Will you come visit me Mary Divine
Will you set sail on the Great Eastern Line
In a dry savage land can you make a new life
In the bush of Australia come live as my wife

The troubles of Ireland are so far away
Though the faithful and fearful raise money today
Tell Daniel O'Connell I've given up the game
And I'll drink to his health in the pub with his name.
With beer from Wilcannia not Guinness from Cork
Off a big paddlesteamer that's headed for Bourke
Out at Watagoona there's a pub called John Smith
But in the bush of Australia 'the cause' is a myth

Mary Divine are you soon to set sail
And furnish my home here in west New South Wales
I'll give you a family and wealth and renown
And in the bush of Australia I'll build you a town

The green hills of Ireland, the dry Western Plains
Allow the grey Darling to run through your veins
There's a home in Australia for a woman who's strong
There's an outback that begs for a heart to belong
There's a country out here that a man needs to tame
And a town that I'll build if you give it a name
I'll stand you a statue that captures the sun
Then the bush of Australia and you will be one

The Gum trees here Mary are the grey of your skies
And the moon on the river has the gleam of your eyes
Come live with me Mary, don't leave me alone
The bush of Australia will soon be your home

Mary Divine will you sail here today
Don't pack a thread Mary, leave right away
The thought of the distance is all I can bear
And all that's between us is the price of the fare
Ask Finn to escort you, don't travel alone
There's wealth in Australia for a man who cuts stone
Tell him the journey's a pathway of gold
For the bush of Australia is a story untold

Our children will speak with an Australian tongue
The outback will swoon at the song we have sung
Some men have but one love, but I have found two
The bush of Australia sweet Mary, and you

©2002. Words and Music, Andrew Hull and Tonchi Macintosh

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