Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Hugh Connolly was born in Toowoomba in 1894 and spent most of his early years in the Mount Luke district. One of a family of ten children, he had six sisters and three brothers. he first came to the Maidenwell area in 1906, when his brother Matt selected a block on Tanduringie Creek after the quarter resumption, and for some Tim, the two brothers were busy fencing the new holding.
The fencing completed, he took up various jobs in the surrounding districts, pine cutting on the Bunya Mountains, clearing and building roads in the Wengenville and Brooklands areas and undertaking other jobs associated with the land. Hugh also drew a block on Saddletree Creek in 1914, fenced it, and purchased thirty bullocks at 3 pound each to stock it.
After the outbreak of the WW1, he joined the Army and was wounded in action in France, when the wagon used for carting ammunition up the guns ran over a min. Hugh was riding one of the mules in the wagon team when the explosion occurred. Returning from the war, some years were spent working for the Nanango /Council driving a home-drawn grader. Accompanied by Don Barr and Paddy Sullivan, he took 1015 Northern Territory bullocks from Pittsworth to Moree, remaining in that area form some months with the cattle because of the collapse of the market at that time.
When Lars Anderson commenced his timber operations at Wengenville in 1922, he asked Hugh to build his tramway system for him, and after this was completed Hugh remained with the Andersons until they sold the mill in 1928.
Hugh married Fannie Sullivan in 1923 and they had nine children, seven girls and two boys. The family commenced dairy farming and cattle raising, acquiring more land at Wengenville and later Maidenwell. They took a keen interest in the sports meetings held in the area. After his wife passed away, Hugh continued to live on one of his properties until his death.