William Ridgway of Thornborough Park

William Ridgway, son of Matthew and Martha King, settled on 2000 acres of land, named Thornborough Farm (later Virginia Park).

William married Susannah “Anne” Timms, born in the same town as William.  Married 24 January 1853 at Barford St Michael, Oxfordshire, England. William and Anne, with two young daughters (Elizabeth and Anne), sailed to Melbourne on the mail ship “Schomburg” in 1856. Also, on board was the wife and children of William’s brother, Charles. The ship was wrecked at Moon Light Head, near to Cape Otway, Victoria, at the end of their journey.  The passengers were told to collect most precious possessions before fleeing the sinking ship.  Fate saw that their luggage trunks were washed up on shore after the ship had broken up.  They travelled to Adelaide, which was their original destination and settled in the Gawler River district.

In 1860 William started a butchering business at Virginia, which he built up to be a very successful business. He was remembered as the butcher with a basket of meat on his arm making deliveries around the Virginia district.

He was able to purchase 2000 acres of land on the Gawler River, where it is crossed by the main north road. He named his property, Thornborough after his home town.

William and Anne had five children, Elizabeth (1854) and Anne Emma (1855) were both born in Thornborough, and Fanny (1857), Thomas (1859) and Edward (1862) were all born in South Australia. The two youngest children were educated at the Virginia school.

A progressive and hardworking farmer, he was one, of the pioneers of the system of mixed farming which has since been widely adopted. He was a keen judge of stock, and the Thornborough sheep won many prizes at the R.A.H. Society's shows and other exhibitions.  He was for years a judge of livestock at the Adelaide shows and country displays, and he had an enviable reputation among stock salesmen and others in the trade for uprightness and fair dealing.

He was a pillar of the Virginia Methodist Church, of which he was during many years one of the trustees, and which owes much to his practical support.  He was treasurer and circuit steward until his retirement at the close of 1917, when the church workers presented him with a framed address expressing gratitude and admiration for his work. William was also superintendent of the Sunday school, and he exercised a powerful and beneficial influence among young folk. He was often appealed to for advice and assistance and there are numbers of people scattered throughout the State who have occasion to remember with thankfulness his kindly aid. He was an ostentatious in his giving, and rarely turned a deaf ear to an appeal.   He was generous to offer his picturesque farm as a setting for the annual picnic.

William was twice asked to become a candidate for Barossa, but, although he took a keen and intelligent interest in public affairs, he abstained from political life. A man of unaffected and practical piety, strong character and sound and charitable judgment, he was beloved by all who knew him.

William Ridgway died at his residence, “Kelvin Lodge”, Prospect Road, Prospect, on Sunday 4 May 1919, the age of 87.  He was buried with his wife, who died two years earlier, at the Angle Vale “Carclew” Primitive Methodist Cemetery, Penfield Gardens. Although he figured little in public life, he was a man of strong personality and unswerving integrity, known far beyond, the Virginia district in which he lived for nearly 60 years.

Children:

Elizabeth, remained unmarried, supporting and caring for her parents. She died at the age of 80, on 1 January 1934 at Ikley Rest Home in Grange, S.A and is buried at the Angle Vale “Carclew” Primitive Methodist Cemetery, Penfield Gardens.

Anne Emma also never married. She died from pneumonia at the age of 49, on the 30 September 1904 in Virginia, S.A. She was buried at the Angle Vale “Carclew” Primitive Methodist Cemetery, Penfield Gardens.

Fanny married Thomas Yelland Morcombe (Bible Christian Minister) on 3 August 1882, in Virginia, S.A. She supported her husband in his ministries around the Prospect area. Fanny eventually died at the age of 60, on 10 October 1917, from heart failure. She was buried at the North Road Church of England Cemetery in Nailsworth, along with her husband who proceeded her by eleven years.

Thomas followed his father into farming and for many years engaged in grazing and farming pursuits at "Thornbrough".  He was an authority on stud sheep breeding, and almost up to the time of his death was a regular and successful exhibitor at the Royal Show, winning the Centenary medal for crossbred lambs in 1936.  In November 1895, fifty lambs were transported to Port Adelaide for the journey to England.  He was one of the first to export lamb from South Australia.

The second son of William, Edward was well known in the Penfield district.  He lived at Thornborough until his marriage to Caroline Elizabeth Foster, daughter of the Rev Joshua Foster, on 9 June 1887.  Edward became superintendent of the Zoar Methodist Church and had a passion for working with the youth. He died on 11 October 1936 at “Thornborough” and was buried with his wife, who proceeded him by four years, at the Zoar Cemetery, Penfield.