Permanent memorial for long forgotten graves

19th Aug 2025

Two long-forgotten graves on a property near Falconer have now been permanently marked, thanks to the dedication of Doug and Rhonda Ferris, with assistance from Dave Richardson.
The graves, located on East Tara — a property owned by Kerry and Bernard Makings — were known to only a few locals until recent efforts brought them into the light. The site was once part of a much larger holding known as Tara.
Doug Ferris, who now lives on West Tara — the site of the former village of Falconer — first learned of the graves when he moved to the area. Long-time residents Harry and Rita Williams pointed out the location and shared its history.
“When I first stood at the site with Harry Williams, we both agreed — if we didn’t do something to mark these graves, they would be lost forever,” said Doug. “They deserved to be remembered, the spot marked, and not forgotten.”
The graves date back to the 1860s and belong to two children of Thomas and Anna Morson Rae: Anna Morson Rae, who died on January 4, 1863, aged just four days, and Emma Marie Rae, who passed away in May 1866 at six weeks old, reportedly from whooping cough.
Information about the children and their family was sourced from the Guyra and District Historical Society Journal ‘A Monumental Achievement’. Further information about the family can be found in the Armidale and District Historical Society Newsletter (October 2022).
Thomas Rae was a Scotsman and he married Anna Morson Buckland in Armidale in 1861. He was the owner/licensee of the Falconer Hotel, 7.8kms north-east of Guyra in the Sandon Goldfields.
In 1874 the Armidale Express, describing the goldfields settlements stated ‘Mr Thomas Rae remains the sole resident of all he surveys from his own windows at Falconer’. Thomas died in February 1882 aged 67.
Guyra and Falconer were proclaimed as villages in 1885, but as the 1884 extension of the railway went through Guyra, the settlement at Falconer lost significance and Guyra grew. At the end of 1882 Mrs Anna Rae sold her household goods and the de-licenced hotel was auctioned as a 14 roomed house.
All that they left behind were two tiny graves which may well have been lost to history. The only reminder of where the children lay were two small indentations, marked only by sticks.
Now, a granite headstone has been installed at the site as a lasting tribute. A marble plaque, engraved with the children’s names and dates has been inset into the stone.
This heartfelt act of remembrance ensures the Rae children are no longer forgotten — their resting place now marked with care and dignity, and their story woven back into the history of Falconer.

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Permanent memorial for long forgotten graves

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