Virtual
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Reginald Dixon Bradley was born in 1874*, the fifth son of Matthew Bradley and Martha Jane Oakes in Tumbarumba.

Reginald spent his childhood among his many siblings. His father had established the family at "Clover Bank", Pound Creek, working as a grazier, and stock and station agent.

During these years the family were steadily building "Clover Bank" into the working property it later became. A 1903 notice described it as a holding about a mile from Tumbarumba, centred on an old slab‑and‑shingle house of about 11 rooms, with a stable of wood, bark and iron containing 2 loose boxes and 3 stalls, and a long skillion running the full length of the back wall. The improvements also included a killing yard and slaughterhouse with their associated yards, bales covered with bark, a cow yard, a calf pen with a bark roof, a shed and a butcher’s shop of slab and bark, along with an orchard of about an acre of mixed fruit. The land had been more or less under cultivation. These later‑recorded features reflect the hard work the Bradley family had put into their home during Reginald's formative years.

The family’s life was also influenced by the establishment of the Tumbarumba township, the wider Bradley network of holdings, and Matthew’s contribution to the community, including events held at the Showgrounds.

As a young man Reginald became known locally for his horsemanship and physical ability. When in his late teens in 1892, he made an application to secure a lease of almost 1000 acres of Crown lands in Buccleuch County. In October of the same year, after a short illness, his father Matthew died.

During the later 1890s Reginald held land under conditional purchase of a 320 acre holding at Buccleuch. Inquiries by the Tumbarumba Local Land Board in 1898 and again in 1899 recorded that the required improvements and conditions of occupation had not been fulfilled. These outcomes were not uncommon for young selectors who were balancing family responsibilities, limited means, and the practical difficulty of improving isolated land while also needing to earn a living elsewhere. Reginald was still in his early 20's and the loss of his father would have placed additional pressure on the family. It is likely that these circumstances contributed to his inability to meet the strict improvement requirements. The lease eventually lapsed without a certificate of compliance being issued.

In 1900 Reginald volunteered for service in the proposed Bushmen’s Contingent for the South African War. He was described at the time as a typical Australian, a fine rider, used to the mountains and thoroughly daring, and it was expected that he would find his way into the ranks of the contingent.

In 1901, the same year his mother Martha died, Reginald married Alice Maud McGrath in Sydney. They settled in Tumut, where he worked as the District Representative for the Singer Sewing Machine Company and Alice assisted with demonstrations.

In the years that followed he moved to Sydney and continued in the employment of Singer as a machinist. His marriage with Alice did not endure, and in 1910 she petitioned for divorce on the ground of desertion. The decree was made absolute later that year, with the case listed among the matrimonial matters published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

In November 1917 he enlisted for service in the First World War at Wagga Wagga, giving his age as 39 years and 4 months. His stated age at enlistment was several years younger than the age consistently attributed to him in earlier family records, a pattern commonly seen among older volunteers who reduced their age in order to be accepted for overseas service in the later years of the war.

Reginald gave his permanent address as the Wagga Post Office and stated that he was working as a motor mechanic. His civilian experience with machinery and engines made him well suited to the engineering units of the Australian Imperial Force, which relied heavily on practical skills and steady, capable workers.

A farewell social was held for him in the Tumbarumba School of Arts, where several speakers offered remarks during a break in the dancing.

Reginald embarked from Sydney on 22 March 1918 on the transport Runic as a sapper and was posted to the Field Company Engineers, a unit responsible for essential construction and maintenance work close to the front. The engineers built and repaired roads, bridges, trenches and shelters, maintained water supply and sanitation, and assisted infantry units with movement and communication under difficult conditions. Their work was physically demanding and often carried out within range of artillery fire. By the time Reginald joined, the war was entering its final and most intense phase, and the engineers were heavily involved in the operations of 1918.

After service overseas he returned to Australia, embarking from Southampton in September 1919. He was discharged in December of that year, having completed his service as sapper with the 7th Field Company Engineers.

After returning from the war, Reginald went back to the Tumbarumba district and worked for a period at "Mannus Station". In the early 1920s he held land in the Manus Settlement Purchase Area for a holding of more than 300 acres. This district had been opened up for returned servicemen after the war, and local memory later recalled that he had secured a block when "Manus Station" was set apart for soldiers. By 1924 notices appeared indicating that the required instalments on the purchase had fallen into arrears.

In 1925 Reginald married Elizabeth May Riley at Tumbarumba. His land holding at Manus was later formally forfeited, with final notices appearing in the Government Gazette in 1928. During this period he was also recorded as suffering a serious attack of pleurisy, for which he was admitted to hospital.

Reginald then took up work on his brother’s property at Merangle Creek before returning to Sydney with Elizabeth. He remained connected with the Tumbarumba district, and his movements between the district and the city were regular.

Sapper Reginald Dixon Bradley died at Redfern on 10 June 1942 at the age of 67. His wife Elizabeth died only 8 days later on 18 June 1942. They were buried together in the Rookwood General Cemetery.

Obituaries published in Wagga Wagga and Tumut recorded that he was a native of the Tumbarumba district, that he had served in both the Boer War^ and the Great War, and that he was engaged in war work at the time of his death.

Reginald was survived by his siblings, John William Anthony, Thomas Cowper and by his sister Mary Agnes.

Although Reginald spent much of his adult life moving between Tumbarumba, the wider district, and Sydney, the pattern suggests that he always carried a strong desire to follow the path set by his father and brothers as graziers in Snowy Mountains country. His attempts to secure and improve land in both the 1890s and the 1920s show that he continued to seek a place of his own in that landscape. The challenges he faced meant that these hopes were never fully realised. Even so, the repeated efforts he made over many years reflect a lasting attachment to the Tumbarumba district and to the life he had known in his youth. In the end, the country that shaped him remained the place he returned to, the place he was known, and the place that held his heart, even if the life he imagined there was never meant to be.

*No birth or baptism record has been located for Reginald Dixon Bradley. His age appears as 18 in his father’s 1892 death registration and 27 in his mother’s 1901 death registration, indicating a birth year of about 1874. Family genealogists give his birth date as 14 June 1874.

^Reginald Dixon Bradley volunteered for the NSW Citizen Bushmen in January 1900 but was not selected. No R. Bradley appears on any Boer War embarkation or service roll in Australia or Britain. His obituary’s claim of Boer War service is not supported by any official record.

This biography has been compiled with reference to Reginald's Wikitree profile (www.wikitree.com), digitised newspaper articles accessed via Trove, and official service and civil records. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy based on the available evidence.