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Thomas Gait 
Moonbar 1850

Descendants Report

Thomas Gait was the son of convict William Gait (Fame 1817) from Somersetshire, England, and Irishwoman Bridget Curley (free passenger per Marquis Wellington 1815).  William Gait and his family had settled in the Illawarra district by 1823 where Thomas apparently remained until he reached adulthood.  By 1850 he had moved to the Monaro district and was working on the "Moonbar" cattle run near "Groses Plain", which had been under the supervision of Maria's brother-in-law Martin Hyland in the mid-late 1840's.

Named after her First Fleet grandmother, Maria Williams was born in 1827 at West Bargo NSW to John Williams and Sarah Nash.   She spent her childhood at her father's farm at West Bargo before moving with her family to grazing land south of Queanbeyan and later to the Monaro district. Maria was "Groses Plain" south-west of Jindabyne at the time of her marriage to Thomas Gait (1821-1896) in 1850.

Thomas and Maria Gait remained in the Monaro district thereafter.  By 1860 they had settled at Glenbog near Nimmitabel where Thomas commenced a programme of land acquisition.  Over the following few decades he laid claim to more than a dozen properties in the Glenbog area, as well as land in the Camden district upon which his parents possibly retired.

This is a brief summary of the chapter relating to these members of the Williams Family in Carol Baxters's 'The First Fleet Nash Family: A Biographical History'. This chapter will comprise many pages of detailed biographical information in the future publication. Go to Carol Baxters page for more information on Maria Williams and Thomas Gait