The Cox Line

John Cox

Pioneer farmer · Currency Creek, Lake Alexandrina & Laura, South Australia

Arrived South Australia · 1849
Vessel S.S. Susannah
From England · Cotswolds & Wales connections
Settled Laura, South Australia · 1872
In 1872 John Cox trekked with his family of six children and a reaping machine 150 miles north to the new wheat country around Laura, when Laura, as Fanny later recalled, was not yet on the map.
Fanny Rieck, née Cox · recollections recorded 1929 · Southern Argus, 17 October 1929 ↗

The Story of
John Cox & His Family

A pioneer farming family who arrived in South Australia on the S.S. Susannah in 1849 and spent the next quarter-century moving steadily north and inland - from Yankalilla to Currency Creek to the Lake Alexandrina hills, and finally to Laura. Their youngest daughter Fanny would go on to marry Hermann Rieck and spend nine years cycling through Europe.

The Cox Family
ArrivedSouth Australia, 1849 · S.S. Susannah
First settledYankalilla, SA · cattle station, colonial experience
ThenBurgher’s, SA · cattle breeding; stock escaped into the Tiers Mountains
1851Bought land in the hills overlooking Lake Alexandrina · wheat, orchard, vineyard
1872Trekked 150 miles north to Laura, SA · with six children and a reaping machine
OriginsCotswolds and Wales connections (per family tradition)
The Six Children
Catherine Cox1850-1922 · eldest daughter · married Arthur William Moore, 29 February 1876, Pine Creek · eight children
Carey Annie CoxFirst white child registered at Currency Creek · married R. C. Sunman of Laura
Louisa Lloyd CoxFurther details not yet established
Alice CoxFurther details not yet established
Thomas Arthur CoxFurther details not yet established
Fanny Elizabeth CoxBorn 28 March 1860 · Currency Creek, SA · youngest daughter · married Hermann Rieck, Grafton, 1892 · died Laura, SA, 31 July 1942
Research Status
Vessel confirmedS.S. Susannah, 1849 · confirmed in Fanny’s 1929 interview
Currency CreekFanny born 28 March 1860 at Currency Creek · confirmed birth record
Laura trek1872 confirmed · Fanny’s own recollection
SiblingsSix children total · four named in sources: Catherine, Carey Annie, Louisa Lloyd, Alice, Thomas Arthur, Fanny
Primary sourcesFC-1928-04-06 (Laura Standard) · FC-1929-10-17 (Southern Argus)
Research ongoingJohn Cox’s own birth, marriage, and death records not yet located