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John Oakes also rented part of Woodville and Coomberoona on the Crookwell River at
Blackman's Hill from his brother, William Henry Oakes.

Reverend James S. Hassall, who had married John and Elizabeth Oakes, later conducted
services at their house and sometimes had congregations of seventy people there:
''These we had to pack, as best as we could, in the four rooms, the women-folk taking
the bedrooms. My desk was placed in the middle of the house. I cannot say that I was able
to see all the congregation from it, but I can say that all were very attentive, and pleased
to hear the old Church of England service. The music was vocal only, but very hearty''.453

Hassall described another occasion when he was travelling with John and Elizabeth to
Burrawa:
''Mr Oakes drove his wife in a tandem with two good looking horses. These horses
frequently jibbed and this caused great delay so that, instead of accomplishing forty miles,
as we had intended, we found ourselves, just before dusk, no more than halfway and in the
Walla Walla scrub. We consequently had to ask for shelter for the night in an Irishman's
slab hut. The family were very civil - as Irish peoper ever are - but there were already
twenty people in the place, which consisted of but three or four rooms. However they gave
my party and myself one of these. I had a blanket or two, and took a corner. A cold wind
blew across the corner but I put my head under the blanket and went sound asleep until
morning. Then I awoke and looked round for my friends but there was no-one there, so
I got up, and found them by a good fire in the next room. The first news I heard was of the
birth of a baby - our hostess' - during the night. Mrs Oakes had supplied the place of a
nurse, and mother and child were doing nicely''.454

While they were first at Kenilworth at Binda their first two children, Francis William in
1849 and Alice Emily in 1851 were born. Both died when they were infants. The next two
children, Ernest Hassall in 1853 and George Spencer in 1855 were born at Oak Park. John Leigh
Oakes became a magistrate and thus travelled round the southern districts. At Mittagong Lucy
Elizabeth in 1858 and Marion in 1860, were born. Their next son, Clifford Leigh, was born at
Wheeo near Crookwell and their last two sons, William Shelley in 1866 and Alan Francis in 1870,
were born at Berrima.

As a Justice of the Peace and magistrate, John Leigh Oakes made many appearances in
court particularly as there was a high incidence of cattle and horse stealing in the Crookwell and
Goulburn areas. In June 1851 he acted as a witness in the case of a man, John Ford, alias Richard
Ford, being accused of stealing a horse from Rowland Oakes, altering the brand and riding it at the
Binda races. The accused was sentenced to five years road work.455 Eight years later John Oakes
was witness in a case in which a man was accused of stealing cattle owned by Oakes' brother,

453 Hassall, Rev. James S., In Old Australia as cited in Biographical Note to the reprint of Kelso Church
and the Pioneers of the West, by Archdeacon Oakes, published by the Library of Australian History, 1978, p.vi.
454 Hassall, James S., In Old Australia.
455 Goulburn Herald, 21 June 1851.

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