In the fourth instalment of Our History series, Campbelltown Local Studies Librarian ANDREW ALLEN puts the spotlight on Ingleburn’s first mayor, a most interesting fellow called Barff.
Samuel George Barff was elected the first mayor in 1896 after the Municipal District of Ingleburn was proclaimed in April that year.
The election of the new Council was held in June, and Barff – known by his second name George – was one of six men chosen for Council and then elected as Mayor.
George Barff was born at Huahine, French Polynesia in 1854. He was the son of Reverend John Barff, a missionary of the London Missionary Society who was also born on the island in 1820.
George’s grandfather, Reverend Charles Barff, born in England but married in South Australia, settled on the island as a missionary between 1816 and 1820.
There is a record of John Barff serving as a missionary on the nearby island of Raiatea. Raiatea, often referred to as the “Sacred Island’’ is the second largest of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, following Tahiti.
Located about 210 km northwest of Tahiti, it is considered the cradle of Polynesian culture. This part of the world attracts tourists to its turquoise waters and stunning beaches.
George appears to have sailed for Australia with his family in the 1860s as a young boy. There is a record of a ship named the LaHogue arriving in Sydney in 1865 with a Mrs Barff and four sons accompanying her, including an entry for a Master Samuel Barff.
George had three brothers. His father John died at Papeete, French Polynesia in 1888, indicating that for whatever reason, he chose to remain in the “South Seas”.
George married Louisa Alma Wilshere, known as Alma, in Sydney in 1882. They were living in Croydon in 1883 with George employed as an accountant for the Department of Justice that year.
At some point before 1896, the Barffs moved to Minto to live while George served on Ingleburn Council from 1896 to 1901. They lived on Eagleview Road where they had a vineyard and orchard.
George’s term as Mayor was brief and mostly uneventful. His term did have its challenges though with the first meetings conducted in Alderman Smith’s lounge room as there was no council chambers at the time.
By 1902, the Barffs had moved back to the inner west where Alma died in 1916 and George the following year at Ashfield aged 63. They are both buried at Rookwood Cemetery.
