THE AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION: OXENFORD QUEENSLAND

On the south wall there is a brass plaque bearing the following inscription:

In Memory of William Robert Oxenford
 and Ann Oxenford of Cranwell.
Pioneers of Oxenford, Queensland, Australia 1862.
Dedicated 1962

William Oxenford was born in 1840 and lived in the Cranwell farm now known as "Oxenford Farm." He and his wife Ann left for Australia as "pioneers" on the SS Fusilier in 1862 leaving his much younger brother Richard Pell Oxenford to run the farm in Cranwell. They founded the city of Oxenford and today William's descendants own more than three million hectares in Queensland and the Northern Territory.  William and Ann were truly pioneers. The plaque commemorating their achievements was unveiled by the Australian Ambassador to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Oxenford, Queensland. Oxenford Graves

 

There are no longer Oxenfords living in Cranwell , but there are several family graves in the churchyard and are visited by Australians who have an interest in the origins of the Oxenford Pioneers