In September 1883, Alex Cumming, Secretary of the New South Wales Commission, Calcutta International Exhibition, 1883-1884 wrote to the Burrangong Pastoral and Agricultural Association asking them to send exhibits from the district ‘for display at the New South Wales Court, at the Calcutta International Exhibition.
‘We shall be glad to have good exhibits of cereals, wood, colonial made saddlery, harness, and ploughs.’
The Exhibition was held in what is now Kolkata, India, from the 4th December 1883 to 10th March 1884.
George Summerhayes was one of the exhibitors from the Burrangong P&A Association.
He sent a sample of his White Lammas wheat for which he was awarded a Certificate of Merit of the 3rd Class.
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The Young Historical Museum now preserves this certificate.
White Lammas wheat was one of the first types of wheat to become popular with Australian farmers.
Summerhayes was one of the earliest settlers in the Young district.
He was born in Curry Rivell, Somerset, England to Joseph and his wife Elizabeth (née Murly).
He married Isabella Saywell at Young in 1865.
When George arrived on the Burrangong goldfield he engaged in mining and was amongst the first at the Fourteen Mile Rush (now Monteagle) where he had some success.
He later settled on a large portion of land in that area which he called ‘Pioneer Farm’.
The land also contained a ‘rich alluvial mine, which he discovered on the property and worked it to advantage.’
His wheat and barley won prizes at the Burrangong Agricultural Show during the 1880s and 90s.
For example, his wheat gained second honours in 1883 and his Potato oats, Cape and English barley won first prizes in 1884.
The NSW Department of Agriculture awarded Summerhayes the state prize for the Best Cultivated Farm in 1898.
During the 1880s he was also elected to the committee of the Monteagle Progress Association and was the delegate to the Young Progress Association.
By 1890 he was the proprietor of the Mechanic’s Home on Main Street where ‘Country visitors will find every Accommodation’.
In later years, he moved into the town of Young and ‘saw that there was a need for houses, and the town was progressing by leaps and bounds.
He at once set about building, and as a result completely altered the southern end of Main Street, where he erected about a dozen cottages.’
He also built cottages in other parts of the town, investing at a time when the housing shortage was particularly acute.
Summerhayes suffered from rheumatism for a considerable time before his death, aged 80, at his Main Street home on Tuesday 4 December 1917.
He left a widow, three sons and four daughters.
Karen Schamberger – Young Historical Society
