The origins of Nichols Point date back to the mid 1800s. The town’s name itself derives from a somewhat remarkable and truly intriguing series of events involving an Englishman named John Nichols, his horse and one seemingly invincible bull. Danielle Wilcock spoke with Robert Nichols, great grandson of the late Mr Nichols, about the facts surrounding this famous tale. Picture: Krystal Torney
THE story begins with a young man from Norwich England who, alongside his family, sets sail for Australia with hopes for a better life.
John Nichols was seven years old when his family left Port of Deal in Kent on September 9, 1836.
After almost five months at sea on the Coromandel ship, they arrived at their destination of Holdfast Bay, Glenelg, SA.
Robert explains what brought his great grandfather John to the region, leaving his original settlement in South Australia.
“At the time, around 1847, there was a gold rush in Coromandel valley in the Adelaide Hills, but he wasn’t interested in that,” he says.
“He came out here to Sunraysia to make a new life for himself, away from his mother, father and siblings, arriving in Sunraysia in 1849.”
Back then Sunraysia was mostly bushland; there was however a station and this is where the acclaimed story truly begins.
“Between 1849 and 1852 he worked for the Mildura station,” Robert says.
“There were a few settlers and livestock but Sunraysia was mostly bush back then.
“There’s no way of finding out the exact time, but John was a 20-year-old when he set off one day from the station in the early hours of the morning on a young horse.”
John was tasked with the job of singling out and removing a troublesome bull, guilty of stirring up the other cows on the station.
“John was sent out to get rid of this particular bull,” Robert says.
“He shot it through the neck with his pistol, and the bull hit the ground. He got off his horse thinking it was dead but it wasn’t.”
The events that soon unfolded almost led to John’s demise, but it was a tree that became his saviour.
“His young horse got scared and fled, running the six miles back to the station,” Robert says.
“After the bull went for him, he scrambled to get away and found this tree to climb. It was located near what was the Nichols Point pumping station.
“He stayed there for more than 10 hours, it was only when his horse arrived back at the station riderless they realised something had happened to him.”
Remarkably, the horse that deserted John in his time of need, in fact saved his life.
A search mission soon ensued and John was later found in the bush, up the tree with the bull circling below.
Upon rescuing John and consequently killing the bull, a member of the search party spoke these immortal words “let’s call here Nichols Point eh mates; the bull has had a win”.
“From that day the name Nichols Point has stuck,” Robert explains.
Robert has poured much time and effort into unearthing the facts around the story and mapping out the timeline of his great grandparents, John and Mary Nichols.
“My great-grandfather was a pioneer for the area and raised his family here,” he says.
“It’s been really important to me to get the history of our family and this town out there for the community to see and understand.
“I have done lots of research into this story and also my family’s history. That’s why I wanted to erect a sign that told the story.”
Robert’s family is extensive. His great-grandparents had 12 children and as a result of his research Robert has uncovered some 4700 relatives, who reside mostly in Australia and New Zealand. It’s his family ties to the tale and an immense desire for recognition of the facts that were the driving force behind establishment of his signs.
“We have one already in the Nichols Point store window, thanks to John the owner,” he says.
“We will have another on display in the scout hall, not far from where the tree stood.”
Sadly, the Nichols tree no longer stands, its fate was unfortunate.
“Soon after the bull incident, John ventured to Lake Victoria where he met his wife Mary Middleton,” Robert says.
“They married in 1853 and moved away to Lake Victoria. It was during this time the tree was cut down and used by the pumping station for fuel.
“John was shocked when he returned to see it had disappeared, a piece of history gone.”
There have been many differing accounts debating the original destination of the tree, but Robert insists he knows the definitive location, thanks to his great grandfather.
“In 1900 John showed Adrian Murray Nichols, who was seven years old at the time, where the Nichols tree stood,” Robert recalls.
“Forty-eight metres south-east from the Nichols Point Scout Hall is where he told him the tree stood,” Robert says.
Sunraysia Daily published Adrian’s account of this story in the 1960s and Robert has kept a copy along with many other findings about his family and this famous tale. In collating these pieces of history and passing it down to succeeding generations, the Nichols family has kept the story alive.
Robert’s immense pride for his ancestral town has initiated a desire to educate others on its origins and he now conducts educational talks about the town’s history.
He is also about to embark on a new journey, holding similar educational talks with the children at Nichols Point Primary School.
As for Robert’s signs, they will always serve as a reminder of the town’s illustrious origins and unique history.
