Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Frederick
Frederick Nicolas Tirani (altered from Terani) was born on the 27th of March 1883 at New Merrigal Dubbo N.S.W. This address would have been the property his father was a boundary rider on, Merigal is some 100 kilometers north west of Dubbo , so it can be assumed this is where he was born. Nothing is known of his childhood years, however it is known he was educated as he could read and write, as witnessed by his later communication with government officialdom. He was also a horse and cattle man being employed later in life on cattle stations in the Kimberley’s. This raises the question how did he get to the Kimberly’s from Dubbo. There are no references made in shipping records until 1907 . What is known is the fact that Dubbo was on the stock route from Goulburn through to Queensland then across to Western Australia. It was this route that the Duracks used to move their cattle to the north. The first reference made to Frederick in the Kimberly’s was in 1902 when he was charged with murder of two aborigines. His place of residence being Carlton Station, a former Durack property. He was also visited while in the Wyndham jail up by W.Cole an uncle. Though there is no evidence it could be presumed that he made his way to the Kimberley as a drover possibly in the company of his uncle W. Cole.
From 1902 there is a paper trail which traces Frederick’s life till his death at Halls Creek in 1961.
At the age of nineteen on 28th of February 1902 Frederick Nicholas Teroney was remanded on the charge of “Murder and the shooting with the intent to kill.” The police report states:
Subject Frederick Teroney arrested murder of Ab Nat “Boney” and wounding with intent ab Nats “Dicky” “Friday”. To Comm Police. Frederick Teroney stockman Carlton station near Wyndham arrested for murder of aboriginal native Boney also for wounding with intent two other natives Dicky and Friday about first alt natives went to Teroney’s camp seeking tobacco sat down by fire Teroney on pretense getting tobacco went to tent returned with rifle fired on natives wounding two and killing the third whose body he afterwards burnt. Police Gazette 1902 page 137 committed for trial. Extract from reports and occurrences of the Gaoler Wyndham for week ending 31st May 1902. “Trial Prisoner Teroney F.N. on bail surrendered himself to the gaol, taken to the courthouse and tried on the charge of shooting with intent, was acquitted. George Scott Gaoler.

Then in July 1906 to October 1906 a series of telegrams between Frederick and the Chief Protector of Aborigines, including police reports gives the first indications that he is cohabiting with an aboriginal woman and has had a child by her.
Several bush natives camping at natural water hole close to homestead on our leasehold property these natives are doing no harm are quite inoffensive we are having very dry season and this water hole one of very few that will last plenty of native food in vicinity are police authorized to hunt these natives and chain them threatening them with imprisonment natives are not killing cattle have no complaints whatever against them they get plenty meat etc when we kill would like you instruct Wyndham police especially not to interfere with these natives. F.Teroney.
Transcript of telegram received Aborigines Dept Jul 3 1906

The following is a summary of the police report by J. McCarthy acting Sup inspector.
“I visited Frog Hollow on 17th August, Mr. S Muggelton is the owner and manager F. Teroney has a cattle run some ten or elven miles from Frog Hollow but has no homestead or any place on it, a long with two other men who have runs in the vicinity live at Muggleton’s homestead and each are said to keep a native woman. Besides these women and Mr. Muggelton’s station natives there is a camp of bush natives near the homestead. These bush natives are compelled to camp at this particular place by Teroney and others so as not to frighten the cattle watering at the springs on the runs. The only food they get from the station is the bones of a bullock when one is killed at the station. Other settlers complain that these natives make raids on their runs and kill cattle and plant the beef, the fact that they camp where they do precludes detection. These natives being camped close to the main road are at the mercy of travelers as re those at Bow river and Turkey Creek. The police when patrolling usually move them along and have reason to overhaul their camps. No natives unless suspects are ever chained. On the occasion referred to my F Teroney I am satisfied that the police done no more than their duty. They warned Teroney against keeping a native woman and that appears to me to be the ground of the complaint. I saw the bush natives they numbered 22 in all, besides Muggleton’s natives there were 5 women there, three of them were kept on the station by the white men, the other two were left there by teamsters going to Wyndham, owing to the Aborigines act 1905, and having been warned that it was to be enforced. I also asked the women who are alleged to be living with Teroney and others, in Teroney’s presence, what the policeman said and done. One said” Policeman say white man can’t live alonga black woman now. Teroney was very impudent to me when making this enquiry but afterwards became more civil. I saw Mr. Muggleton before going to Frog Hollow and he informed me that Teroney, McNamara and Newman were only living at his place on sufferance (Teroney admitted this fact to me) they had no right or authority to interfere with anything on the station and that he wishes the police would remove the black women that did not belong to his natives from the station.”
In response to the police requesting that the 1905 act be enforced. Fred wrote to the Protector of Aborigines seeking exempt from the law and that he be allowed to keep the native woman along with her child as a domestic servant, as he considered it was too harsh for her to live in the bush of the land after being with him for so long. The response from the Protector being he saw no reason for exemption to be granted. The Derby police were also advised of this decision with the note Teroney had been advised and that the Protector considered this request as a subterfuge to allow him to continue his practice of interfering with the marriage laws of the aborigines. As to Fred’s compliance to the law it would seem he continued to cohabitate with the aboriginal woman who is named as one Alice Ngabar and fathered a son Charles around 1909, this information is taken from the an article by the Chief Protector of Aborigines A.O.Neville in June 1916, where Charlies is named as a six year old boy born in the Halls Creek area , father Frederick Teroney, mother Alice Ngabar, stating that Alice has two half caste children living at Beagle Bay, Thomas and Maggie (Thecla ) Murphy. Conjecture as to the name of Murphy has always been in the family as it was thought an Allen Murphy may have fathered Tom ; however family have always considered that Maggie and the boys were brother and sister and in the case of Maggie, Fred was always her father. The family story was always that she first met her brother on the ship on her way to Beagle Bay. In the Goodacre collection Allen Murphy is listed as the father of Charles, however this collection is not considered as a reliable source as no verification is provided of the source of the information. Somehow the surname of Murphy was that which was used when Maggie and Tom arrived at Beagle Bay. Unfortunately no records have been unearthed as to the taking of Maggie in the East Kimberley and being sent to Beagle Bay. She is recorded in the list of Beagle Bay Mission, list of natives 1546/12 aged 6. A possible explanation being that Fred himself arranged to send his children to Beagle Bay so that they could be educated by the missionaries. (it is a known fact that some pastoralists with half caste children sent them to the mission rather than have them hang around on the station.)
The next recorded activity of Fred is travelling between Wyndham and Darwin and return in October 1910 by ship. W.Cole is also listed in the passenger list on this journey. No reason is given for the trip but possibly they were on a holiday.
As a small pastoralist at this time he was in partnership with an ex policeman named James Thompson as well as a George Shoesmith. They were to be the first stockman to take cattle down the Canning Stock route, with them was an aboriginal stockman named “Chinaman”. There drove left Halls Creek in January 1911, with 110 head of cattle. For Fred the trek ended early as he was forced back to Halls Creek with sickness, reported to be scurvy, however this misfortune was to save his life. As reported in The Southern Cross Times Sat 23rd Sept 1911 “Canning Track Murders” Teroney’s three partners on the drove were found massacred at Well 37. Thompson’s last diary entry was 26th of April. Though no further mention is made of Fred it could be imagined that he picked up his life and continued his work as a cattle man.
Following the out break of war in 1914, he travelled south to Perth and took passage on the TSS Katoomba for Sydney arriving there on the 26th of April 1916. Three weeks later he married a Gillies May Fairchild James on 17th May 1916 in North Sydney. Gilles had been born in Hobart. The marriage was to produce a son the following year when Frederick Charles Fairchild Terone was born on the16th of March 1917. In between times Fred on the 15th of October 1916 presented himself at Victoria Barracks to enlist in the Australian Imperial Forces. The enlistment papers give us an idea of his stature, height 5ft 6ins with a chest measurement of 36 inches. He gave his occupation as a drove and his address as Warren. This is the district in which he was born, though it would seem he was living in North Sydney around Crow’s Nest at the time he enlisted. However the army was not to be for Fred as his application for service was rejected on medical grounds. This rejection would no doubt have been a blow for Fred.
As to his next actions we can only rely on the sworn statement of his wife in her application for divorce, she states, “after our marriage we resided at Oxford St, Bondi Junction for about a month. About six weeks (should be six months as he applied to enlist in October 1916) after our marriage my husband went to Turkey Creek Western Australia where he carried on the occupation of a drover while at his request I remained at Sydney. He sent me support regularly and after about eighteen months returned home to me. I was then living in Crow’s Nest. After staying with me for three months my husband left me in January 1918 and went again to Turkey Creek Western Australia. He returned to me again in the month of November 1920 and went again in the month of January 1921 to Oodnadatta South Australia where he still worked as a drover. He then proceeded to Western Australia and I received letters from him from Wyndham Western Australia and other places in Western Australia now unknown to me as all letters received by me have been destroyed by me. I repeatedly wrote to my husband asking him to return to me but he did not do so. He continued however, to send me money until about eighteen months ago and I have not seen or heard from him since. The last letter I received from him was addressed from Wyndham Western Australia. (Dated 8.11.1926)
Historian Dr Cathie Clement in “Historical Notes relevant to impact stories of East Kimberley” records the following information relating to Fred Terone.
“Hann Spring – Author Muggleton and Fred Terone held interest in Hann Spring Station.
1926 Fred Terone ran Texas Downs Station and then Tickalara; Fred managed Tickalara from 1931 to 1937”.
It is interesting to note that the last correspondence his wife was to receive was while he was at Texas Downs.
To add to the story of Fred, his great niece, the great granddaughter of his brother Christopher writes
“Unfortunately, my knowledge of the Australian Terone's is limited to what is available online. I think I mentioned to you that my connection is through my great grandfather Christopher Terone who was Fred's brother. Unfortunately, he disappeared in 1928 en route to WA to visit Fred, and there the connection was lost.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding Chris's disappearance and when he failed to return, he was not mentioned by great grandmother again. Of course, my grandmother, his eldest daughter, had fond memories of him, but there was the general consensus that he deserted my grandmother and as strict Irish Catholics this was frowned upon and to some extent covered up. Subsequently contact with the Terone side of the family was not encouraged.
Following the divorce there is no evidence of Fred having any further contact with his family in New South Wales. As part of my research I spoke with Edward, Fred’s grandson who informed me that his grandmother, Gillies forbad Fred junior to make any contact with his father, and to his knowledge no attempt was made. His father, Fred jn had enlisted in the army (enlistment papers show he enlisted in Darwin) and it was only in later years that his action in Darwin came to light. According to Edward, his father was a gunner and claimed to have been involved in bringing a Japanese plane down. Nothing is known as to why he was in Darwin when war broke out. Fred jn was a fettler on the railways living in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney and died in 1986.
In the publication “Place Names Australia Dec 2010 edition” Fred gets a mention with regard to the naming of the Bungle Bungle Range, in an article by Dale Lehner. “Research by historian Dr. Cathie Clement showed that a pastoralist, Arthur Muggleton started using the term Bungle Bungle in 1930 as the name of a station to the north of the current park. Muggleton’s mate Fred Terone told Australian author Ion Idries in 1034 that they chose the station name because “no man can find it who has not been there before.””
Dr. Clement in a contribution Hooked on History published in Kimberley Stories relates the following “interviewed Maggie Lillie, a life time Kimberley resident, Bow River station and Turkey Creek but I had not thought to ask her about those men. Then, before saying goodbye, I asked out of curiosity if she had known Fred Terone, she had, and after recalling his unusual laugh, she said the Aboriginal people called him ‘Roney” because they couldn’t pronounce his name. There it was! Everything the archives revealed about Fred Terone’s character fitted ‘Roney ‘perfectly.
This account relates directly to Fred’s involvement in the Violet Valley walkout of 1940. No28 Impact Stories of the East Kimberley edit by Helen Ross, Eileen Bray Translator has the script from an interview with Bob Nyalcas where Bob talks about good Kartiya and bad Kartiya. The good kartiya being an old man named Jimmy Klien helping the local people against the bad; namely an Alf George and Fred Roney. Bob tells the story how Alf and Fred search for an aboriginal man and when captured has a chain put around his neck and taken back to the old station Violet Valley and tied to a tree. “Two fella bin have em supper. After supper two fella go back belt em bat got a pick handle.” Bob relates how the people took off and how the two fella searched for them. Bob says “the people felt frightened of Alf George.”
In 1942 Fred at the age of 62 enlisted in the Australian Army at Halls Creek and was a member of the 11North West Battalion Volunteer Defence Corp, he was discharged on 29th Dec 1944. On his enlistment papers he sighted Frederick Terone as his next of kin.
After this time according to family stories, (Auntie Johanna) Fred moved to Halls Creek where he took a position at the Kimberly Hotel, as part time barman and yard man. When he died in 1961, his place of residence was given at the Kimberley Hotel. He was buried on 15th of April 1961 in plot 11 at the Old grave yard. His memory still lives on in Halls Creek today with Terone St. named after him. There is also Teronis Gorge off the old back road to Tableland Station.