Relatives turned up from as far afield as Darwin and Cairns and included an 86-year-old from Buckajo and a three-month-old from Wolumla.

 “I’d say there were around 200 people who showed up, we’ve got about 125 who signed the visitor’s book,” organiser Mareta Collins said after her first family reunion since 1981.

 “Everybody was enjoying themselves sitting around telling each other stories.

“It was a lovely feeling of camaraderie and trust," she said.

All in attendance were descended from John and Anne Collins, who arrived in Tathra in 1861 aboard a boat from the Illawarra, and walked out to Candelo where they had secured around 1800 acres (728 hectares) of land via the Robertson Land Acts.

Under the reform acts, unsurveyed land could be selected and bought freehold in 40-to-320-acre lots of Crown land, at £1 per acre, with the selectors then required to live on their land for three years while making improvements worth £1 per acre.

Ms Collins said the family has at least five generations buried in the earth of the Candelo cemetery, and that the meeting of local Candelo nuns with Mary Mackillop, Australia’s first Catholic saint is a favourite family memory.

Ms Collins was still seeing off visiting family members on Monday after a long weekend and much time spent organising.

“Lots of interesting characters came along, and seeing all the different generations together was a real highlight,” she said.

Ms Collins would like to thank Margaret McAuliffe (nee Collins) and Merryl Whitby (nee Collins) among many others who helped out on the day.