The Bush Family Society are the descendents of two brothers, Arthur and Jeremiah, who arrived in New South Wales from Norfolk over 190 years ago. Their genealogy of the two brothers has now been traced to an astonishing ten generations.
The Bush Family Society Committee was formed in 1984, when Nellie Feeney (nee Bush) of Goulburn, made the comment that the following year (1985), would mark the 150 year anniversary of the Bush family being in Australia and a celebration was warranted. A reunion was subsequently held at Jerrawa NSW and the gathering attracted more than 3000 visitors, mostly descendents of Arthur and Jeremiah Bush, from all corners of the continent as well as from overseas. If nothing else, the success of the venture demonstrated the existence of a strong sense of family and a keen interest amongst descendents to make and maintain contact. As a result, the committee stayed active with the charter of maintaining contact with all known descendents, while continuing to search for previously unknown ones. This is where the concept originated and the Bush Family Society came about.
The original founders of the society were Arthur James Holgate Bush (dec.) of Jerrawa, Noel (dec.) and Pat Bush (dec.) of Jerrawa, Mona Lawton of Yass, Ed Hazell (dec.) of Canberra, Stan Bush (dec.) of Murrumbateman and Ray Bush of Rye Park.
Since the 1985 reunion the Bush Family Society has organised reunions every five years, the eighth reunion held in October 2025. The society continues to receive regular updates to the family genealogy from descendants of Arthur and Jeremiah. In 2025 an updated Bush Family Genealogy was published. The society publishes the Jerrawa Newsletter biannually and we always welcome stories for publication.
The Bush Family Society is the repository of a wealth of information about the descendants of Arthur and Jeremiah, and we are always willing to share this information with others tracing their family histories.
This site can be used to:
- report a family event, (birth, death or marriage),
- contribute family stories or anecdotes, or
- to provide corrections to any information that we have published.
We also have an active Facebook page.
Arthur Bush (1789 - 1876) and his wife Maria (1794 - 1884). Arthur was the eldest of the two Bush brothers. Arthur and his wife arrived in Australia in 1835 with their five children.
Jeremiah Bush (1797 - 1881) arrived in Australia as a convict in 1833. His wife, Mary and eight children, arrived two years later.
