By Emily-Rose Toohey
Stanthorpe’s 150 years of history are rich and filled with stories of those who helped established the town and as a result, the descendants of these people still live locally.
One of these pioneers was John Cussen, who was born in County Cork, 1837, on 28 December.
He travelled to Australia in 1862 and before arriving in Stanthorpe, lived and worked on the Darling Downs.
A bootmaker by trade, he arrived in Stanthorpe in 1872 and passed away on 27 November 1920.
His great-granddaughter Mavis Violet Bott (nee Cussen) celebrated her 90th birthday on 18 August last month.
She said her Grandfather’s name was James and Father’s name was Michael John, and she was an only child.
“I went to school at the Summit and have lived in town for the last 30 years,” Mavis said.
“Growing up, my parents had a farm outside Stanthorpe and they worked very hard on the land.”
When she got older, she met a local Stanthorpe boy and the pair eventually married and from this marriage, Mavis said she had five children – three girls and two boys.
For her 90th birthday, she said it was a reunion of sorts.
“There were families there I hadn’t seen for many years, some friends attended also,” she said.
“We went to the RSL in Stanthorpe and had lunch and had a reunion.”
