Appointed a Trustee of Savings’ Bank, Bathurst. [NSW Govt gazette 1870]

From Inquirer and Commercial News 27 March 1896
Mr. John Newell Gilmour, aged 76 years, one of the pioneer squatters of the colony, died at Bathurst to-day. The deceased was possessed of immense wealth in live stock.

Obituary Bathurst Free Press 25 March 1896
Very many persons, not only in the Bathurst district but in districts surrounding, and indeed throughout the colony, will regret to learn of the death of Mr. John Newell Gilmour, of Bathampton, which took place yesterday, although the news will not come as a surprise to those who know that during the past three years be has been prostrate through illness.

Mr. Gilmour came to the colony in 1832, being then quite a young man. He lived for a time at Kelso, being closely associated in his first business movements with the late Mr. J. Trewren. Here it was that he formed friendly relations with the families then established in the district, friendships which remained unbroken until severed one by one by death. Amongst those who enjoyed companionship with him were the late Messrs. H. Rotton, W. H. Suttor, J. McPhillamy, Ranken, Lee, Kite, J. N. McIntosh and others, and Messrs. T. M. Sloman, J. C. White and others, and the friendships formed were of the truest kind. After remaining for a few years at Kelso Mr. Gilmour determined to push forward into a field which offered wider scope for the exercise of his energies, and he entered into pastoral pursuits in the Bogan district, becoming one of the earlier pioneers, suffering the trials and braving the dangers of the solitary wilds of the West, and eventually becoming one of the most successful breeders of fat stock in the Western District. The inrush of population when gold was discovered in 1851 created a demand for increased food supply, and taking advantage of the new conditions Mr. Gilmour was able to lay the foundation of the fortune which he so deservedly enjoyed during his long life. He took up large tracts of country in the Bogan district, amongst the stations in which he was originally concerned being the Wallaby. He also owned the Geragrie and the Bulgandramine stations, on the latter of which property he lived for many years. It was while here that he married, and here some of his family were born. He subsequently purchased Bathampton, one of the most beautiful estates in the Bathurst district, and here he has since resided with bis family. Mr. Gilmour married Miss Mihell, who proved a faithful helpmeet, and whose death, some sixteen years ago, was a source of great sorrow to him and the children left motherless. Nine children were born of the union, namely, Miss M. T. Gilmour, Messrs R. G. Gilmour, and J. N. Gilmour, Mrs. Rutherford (of Murrumbiggerie), Dr. J. C. Gilmour (South Africa), Mr. R. L. Gilmour (Blackdown), Miss B. S. Gilmour, Mr. H. H. Gilmour (of Mort’s Dock, Sydney), and Miss K. M. Gilmour — all of whom are living.

Four or five years ago when riding alone Mr Gilmour had a fall from his horse, thought to have been caused by apoplectic seizure, and from that date his physical energies began perceptibly to fail, although mentally he was as vigorous as ever, a vigor which continued almost unimpaired to the last. Some two years ago his regular visits to Bathurst ceased, and it then became known that he was quite laid aside. From that time to the time of his death he has not left Bathampton, where the unceasing ministration of loving daughters and devoted sons alleviated suffering and cheered declining days. For the last few weeks it became evident to his medical attendant (Dr. Brooke Moore) and members of his family that his end was approaching, and yesterday afternoon he peacefully passed away. He was in his 77th year.

Only those who had the privilege of knowing the deceased gentleman intimately fully understood his character, for he was somewhat reticent and disliked parade above all things: hence, many of his deeds of kindness to individuals in distress were only known to those who carried out his commissions, in many cases not even the recipients of the timely and unsought aid knowing who their benefactor was. He was a keen business man — one of those shrewd, far-seeing men, who in commercial matters seldom make mistakes — and so successful was be in most of his ventures that his success passed into a proverb. By his own untiring energy, painstaking care and consistent thriftiness he amassed considerable wealth, at one time being one of the largest holders of valuable station property in the west, and at the time of his death the owner of more houses and land in Bathurst and district than any other citizen, while his monetary possessions were very considerable. To use the words of one who knew him intimately To hundreds of persons in the district he was far better than a bank. Hundreds of those who have learned to value the friend in need will miss him. Yet with all his wealth he was a most approachable man, having a kindly nod for the poorest in the community known to him, and making a cheerful response to every appeal on behalf of individuals or institutions requiring assistance. Although never prominently identifying himself with public movements, he yet took the keenest interest therein, and his influence in the circles in which he moved before sickness caused his withdrawal from active life was great.

For the heart that a rough world could not spoil,
That grudged not worth in another’s toil;
For the kindly hand and the courteous mien —
For these shall we keep his memory green,
Whose whole life proved, as a true life can,
‘God’s noblest work in an honest man.’

The funeral is announced to take place to-morrow. It will move from Bathampton at 11 in the morning, arriving in Bathurst about 3 o’clock. The remains will be interred in the family vault in the Church of England cemetery.

From SMH 13 October 1930
QUESTIONS BY EXECUTORS.
Estate of John Newell Gilmour, of Bathurst.

Questions for the decision of the Court were asked in an originating summons by the plaintiffs, Robert Lionel Gilmour, son of the testator, and Robert H. Browning and George A. Fox, executors of the will of John Newell Gilmour, of Bathurst, grazier, who died in 1896. The original estate amounted to £69,136, but the approximate value of the residuary estate is now stated to be about £16,515. The defendants were John Newell Gilmour, son, a bachelor, and Norman Rutherford and Una Hamhne Romano, grandchildren of the testator, who left five sons and four daughters. Those surviving are the testator’s two sons, who are parties to the suit, Kathleen Michel Gilmour, spinster, Hamline Halsall Gilmour, bachelor, and Sarah Beatrice Gilmour (now Arundel), who has no children. The last-mentioned three reside in London, England. Of the remainder of the testator’s children, two died without issue, while a married daughter, Mary Louisa Glasson Rutherford, who died in 1920, left five surviving children, including two daughters, who are now married and have one child each; a son, the defendant Norman Rutherford, who has four children; Roslyn Rutherford, a bachelor; and Thelma Maurice Rutherford, a spinster. There are also other relatives. After the death of Mrs. Rutherford, the Court in answering certain questions made a decree that the capital value of a certain annuity of £600 should be provisionally fixed at the sum of £10,000. Following upon this order, the trustees transferred assets to this value to the children of Mrs. Rutherford, as representing the capital value of a perpetual annuity of £600, and the children concerned executed a release In favour of the trustees. In consequence of the death of Maria Theresa Gilmour, testator’s daughter, who died a spinster in 1929, the children of Mrs. Rutherford have become entitled to receive from the trustees the money or assets representing the capital value of a perpetual annuity of £400. Plaintiffs now asked the Court to decide how such capital value should be ascertained. There were several other questions. The matter is part heard.