Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record (Renmark, SA : 1913 - 1942), Friday 6 June 1924, page 20


SOME RENMARK IDENTITIES.

MR. GEORGE AGARS.

Mr. George Agars has had varied experience in the bush of Australia. Mr. Agars was born at Bowen in Queensland, and in company with Mr. James Cudmore he explored the table-lands back of Connor's range.

Mr. Agars' father went to Queens-land in the very early days along with Mr. John Maslin of Bundaleer. From the Darling Downs country they trav-elled 40,000 sheep on to the Burdekin river, where land had been taken up by them. It was not good sheep coun-try however and the ftocks were dis-posed of. Mr. Agars then turned his attention to cattle, but eventual-ly returned to South Australia and settled on the West Coast. He had as partner Mr. Morgan, afterwards Sir William Morgan, Chief Sceretary and principal of the firm of Morgan, Con nor and Glyde of Adelaide.

Mr. Agars' father considered that a great number of the Queensland blacks were murdered, shot down at sight, by the Queensland native pol-ice, who apparently, like nearly all other native police where armed by white authority, got out of hand and did as they liked. The present writ-er has caught native soldiers shoot ing niggers just for the fun of it, tak-ing long pot shots at harmless boys. The best thing to do with these armed murderers is to murder them, just as quickly as possible. It generally ends up by the white men being spear-ed, or getting their throats cut, whilst having a sleep. There are better ways of going West than this.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Agars tried his hand at gold digging on the Teetulpa field. In ten weeks he found ten ounces and then chucked the game. In 1887 he was employed by his un-cle, Mr. Dan Cudmore, on Avoca and Popiltah stations. In 1889 he and his brother Fred took up land in Mil-dura. Fred was unfortunately drowned In the Murray. In 1907 Mr. Agars came to Renmark and took up

the horticultural property he now owns.