Mark and Bernadette Condon are inviting all descendants and relatives of James and Mary (nee Murphy) Condon to come along to their family reunion in Jamberoo, to mark 200 years in the Illawarra.

James, convicted of insurrection, was transported and arrived in Australia early November in 1822.

It was in the early 1850s when he and his wife, Mary, settled down with a dairy farm on Stoney Creek in Jamberoo, now known as Croom. They had 11 children, who spent much of the 1800s in Jamberoo, Albion Park and Kangaroo Valley.

A direct descendant, Mark owns one acre of that original farm, which was passed on from his father.

There are currently two families, derived from James and Mary, who are still dairy farmers in Gerringong, and Mark says they will be coming to the reunion.

Today, Mark believes there are now thousands of progenies that have derived from James and Mary.

“Because of the prolific birth rate, being Irish Catholics, it has been estimated that there are about 5,000 progenies, but having researched it further, I believe it is more like 10,000,” Mark says.

“As the community in Jamberoo and Albion Park were isolated dairy farmers, most of the families intermarried. Even today, I am still discovering people I am related to, just because of the amount of intermarriage that happened in the family.”

Mark and Bernadette are organising a two day reunion, sponsored by Jamberoo Valley Milk, on 12 and 13 November.

Some of the activities include Mass at St Matthew’s Church, followed by a tour of the graveyard where all early generations were buried. Lunch and dinner are booked with live music, and presentations with awards and raffles are planned.

Mark hopes donations will be made to be put towards the restoration of James and Mary’s headstones.

The event starts with registrations from 12.3 pm at Jamberoo School of Arts on the Saturday.

RSVP to [email protected] by 31 October.