The youngest son of Robert and Mary EATHER was Abraham, born in Windsor on 5 October 1828. In later life he settled in the Sydney suburb of Belmore and he died there on 12 May 1906.
His early years were spent as a jackaroo on his father's north-western properties and at the age of 19 he almost perished in a desperate adventure on the Narran River after setting out with a brother and two friends from Barwon with cattle and horses. It was then less than three years since discovery of the Narran and knowlege of local conditions was scanty. The waterholes had all dried up, so after travelling thirty miles Abe EATHER and James WARD left the other two in order to hurry to the Narran for water, but they lost their way and their companions, fearing disaster, tried to push on without the cattle. Young Abe was found by an aboriginal, almost dead after two days and nights without water.
With his brothers Tom and Jim, Abe spent some years on the Narran at his father's station at Angledool and on other family holdings nearby until they were driven out by drought.
In old age Abe used to talk about how in those remote parts he lit his pipe with one foot in Queensland and another in New South Wales.
On occasions Abe drove his father's stock from Angledool to Homebush, near Sydney, around 480 miles.
In the 1850's Abe settled in Sydney as a produce merchant in Sussex St. where he met and married his first wife, Margaret McELLIGOTT, who died at Ultimo in 1856 leaving one daughter, Mary.
During this period, he was the winner of two pedestrian races which have gone down in the records of Australian sport. The former of these contests was held over 150yards on the Cook's River sporting paddock on Easter monday, 28 March 1853, with each contestant backed for 50 pounds. Eather was billed as the "pet' of Windsor while his competitor, HATFIELD, was backed by his hometown, Liverpool. Abe won easily and Liverpool rode home disconsolate; Windsor high up in the stirrups.
With his Easter success to support him, EATHER matched FARNELL of Parramatta at Cook's river on 25 April 1853, backed by his brother James, and Michel Despointes ( brother-in-law married to Cecilia) for a 100pounds each over 150yards. Excitement over the approaching contest gave circulation to some imaginative doggerel:
Parramatta says "Farnell
is a real Nonpareil" -
Windsor answers from afar,
"Look at Ether, see a star"

And indeed he was a star for he won easily.

"Abe used to race a horse fifty yards there and back for a wager.One day some shrewdies turned up with a stock pony instead of a racehorse; it turned the peg as fast as Abe did and Abe lost all his money".
Abe finished up running an hotel, but was a teetotaller all his life.
Abraham Eather's second wife, by whom he had eleven children was Ellen FARRELL of Yarramundi, near Richmond. She survived him by many years and died at Belmore on 8 September 1928.


(these recollections were taken from members of
The Society of Australian Genealogists in 1973)
janilye