1853-1926
Father
Mother
Siblings
Joseph, Stephen, Sabina, Ellen, Miriam, William, Frank, Caleb Joseph, Elizabeth, Frederick John, Herbert, Edwin
Married
Children
George, William Thomas, Arthur John, Charles Ernest, Frank Percival
David’s Life
David was the third son of Joseph Doust and Louisa Nash. Joseph arrived in Australia on the Berkshire from Kent in 1841 stating his calling as a farmer and settled in the Camden district. He was accompanied by his cousin Ebeneezer, a gardener. Times were hard in England at the time with much unrest in the agricultural industry due to low wages and the rural economy failing due in some part to the influx of Australian Wool.
Louisa arrived on the Roxbrough Castle at 14 with her parents, five sisters and two brothers also from Kent in 1839. Her father’s calling was that of agriculturalist, her mother as a straw bonnet maker.
David married Harriet Blundell at Cawdor in 1875. Their five sons were born in Cawdor. In the late 1800s they moved to the Toogong/Burdett area where they were to settle into the faming life. Their eldest son, George moving further afield to the Tullamore/Fifield district in the early 1900’s.
David continued to work the land with his sons taking up further country around the district and become prosperous family. There are reports of him applying for rabbit netting to control the plague of the time.
David was a member of the Order of the No 19 Division, Sons of Temperance for about 40 years. (From Wikipedia) – The Order was established in the then colony of New South Wales by a Dr Hobbs, Baptist minister. In 1868, a National Division was established, with Bro George Lucas as first Most Worthy Patriarch (MWP). Over the years they agitated on issues around temperance and set up a Friendly Society. The Friendly Society now appears to have ceased. At present they are concentrating on education and furthering the temperance cause. As a teetotal society they are continuing, and will be enhancing, their social, fraternal and educational activities.
David’s beautiful wife, Harriet passed away in April 1918, his son Percy was killed at the Somme in August 2018, his eldest son George died at Fifield in August 1920. A dreadful time for him. He returned to his family in Camden to be with them in his grief. David died there in January 1926, he was buried there, he never returned to Toogong.
Authored by Leah Burnheim