This was sent to me by the Copeland family.
Notes written by George Copeland about Jesse Gregson, who was
the Superintendent of the AACo from 1875 to 1905.
Jesse Gregson
Jesse Gregson was born in Essex, England. At the age of 18 he was studying
law. He has a liking for the profession but "no enthusiasm for study" and decided with his father's approval to test his fortune in Australia. Six months later, he was working in the Merriwa district on Collaroy Station which extended from south of the Liverpool
Range to West Warrah in the Blackville area. Four years later he was pioneering a sheep station in the Springsure district of Central Queensland for the Busby brothers of Cassilis. After 13 years he returned to Cassilis Station and soon afterwards became associated
with the AACo of Warrah and Gloucester as General Superintendent. He held that position for 30 years until retirement in 1905.
He had briefly returned England in 1875 in connection with his AACo appointment and
in 1904 toured the world with his two daughters. He had two sons, one killed in the 1914 war and the other a Civil Engineer in Canada. He died in Leura in 1919 aged 81.
His name is perpetuated in the district by
Mount Gregson, a 3900 foot mountain in the Liverpool Range and about 8 miles south of Willow Tree and the Parish of Gregson. Both of these places are within the original AACo Estate, at that time an area of 250,000 acres. He was intensely interested in stud
Merino sheep as shown in his records of "Warrah Stud" now in the National Archives in Canberra. He also wrote a book about the first years of the AACo 1824 to 1875.
Jesse Gregson had an affinity for mountains. Long
before his retirement he had built a home at Mt Wilson, and he and his family spent summers there, December to April. It was a sandstone structure - Yengo built in 1880.
I am sure he explored Mt Gregson thoroughly."
Mount Gregson.
"The mountain
is 3900 feet high and about 8 miles south of Willow Tree. The well known Borambil Creek rises about halfway up the Mountain on the Northern side, close to an old landslide, beginning with a waterfall to about 40 feet to a rock pool. In the vicinity are some
fine specimens of stringybark and mahogany trees. On the Eastern side —the Pages River, which flows through Murrurundi, rises high up the summit amongst tall ferns.
The Mountain is fairly steep although timbered
to the top, where there is a tableland of about 40 acres of red loamy soil, timbered with big "scribbly gums." apart from the trees, mainly "bull grass" and herbage. Usually wombats, bushy tailed wallabies and kangaroos are to be found on the tableland. The
Eastern boundary of Warrah crosses the Mountain at its highest point and there is a story told about the erection of the netting fence. The contract to lay the netting on the top of the Mountain was let to a big Swede, who with a horse and sled drew the netting
as far up the Mountain as he could, and from there would hoist the roll of netting, about 100 pounds, on his shoulder and carry it to the top, the best part of half a mile. Remains of the sledge are where he left it, about 90 years ago."