Bega Pioneers' Museum has countless files on people and places. One is the history of Buckajo from 1906 to 1930 by WR Spindler and researched by Stephen Blackley.
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THE Ebsworth Estate was up for sales and John Hukins bought the area he was managing, excluding the portion where the Ebsworth residence stood, and this was purchased by HJ Howard and his family, as an addition to the Howard farm adjoining.
Later the Howard family moved into the Ebsworth home, until H Howard bought a property at Newtown, Bega, and converted the Ebsworth portion to a small dairy.
Augustus Rheinberger bought 600 acres adjoining the Howard area, and Philip Spindler remained on to manage that farm until 1949. On the northern boundary of this farm, James and Thomas Rheinberger purchased three big paddocks to add to the John Rheinberger farm, where James and Thomas Rheinberger were operating as partners.
The eastern area running along below Buckajo Park was purchased by Joe and Jack Rheinberger as a cattle run.
The Buckajo School was opened in the year 1908 and closed in the late thirties.
The family of Philip Spindler, four brothers and two sisters, all attended for the full period of nine years, from ages five to 14, and all were taught by the same teacher, whose maiden name was Marcia May Smith, later to marry HJ Spindler, brother of Philip.
The teachers who followed Mrs Spindler were Mr BT Wick, who taught there for three years; Mr Jack Lynch came then and remained until the school closed.
Buckajo School always had a good attendance. Most of the families were large ones, and in most cases, came and went after a few years, and so kept a fairly even flow of school-age children.
The names of the pupils as the writer knew them were: Spindler: Clive, Bill, May, Reg, Evelyn and Richard; Legge: Wallace, Carl and Mary; Grants: Oswald, Wes and Dick; Cooper: Stanley, Ray and Aubrey; Barrett: Gladys, Frank, Jack and Alice; Fleming: Bill, Herbert and Phyllis; Rheinberger: Doris, Len and Clarice; Howard: Norman, Harold and Phyllis; Jamieson: Godfrey and Dennis; Heffernan: Molly, Kath and Joe; Mitchell: Gwen; Spences: Clyde, Ethel, Ina and James; Hayes: Leo, Mortimer and Jean; Brunton: Jack and Harold; Ubrihien: Perce, Bill, Jack and Elsie; Collins: Alex, Dennis, Nora, Jack, Ron and Mollie; J. Plumb: Wes, Stan and Eddie; J. Lynch’s family; James Howard: George, Marie and Betty; Ross William: Bill, Kit, Dos, Edna, Islet and Geoff; Thomas Rheinberger: Eddie and Noeline; J Greig: George; A Hukins: Jack and Austin. .
