Descendants of German settler Peter Ubrihien gather at Bega golf club for big family reunion

More than 100 members of the pioneering Bega Valley family gathered at the Bega Country Club on September 23 to share plenty of memories and catch up on the latest news.

Zac, at only 10 weeks old was the youngest in the room, while Andrew and his young daughter Taylor had travelled the farthest, from their home in the Philippines.

Everyone in the room was part of the family linked to Peter Ubrihien, who was born in Germany in 1838 and was one of the passengers on board the Caesar, which brought German emigrants to Eden in 1855.

Peter initially was offered a viniculture contract at Kameruka, but gold fever struck and he went off to the Adelong goldfields to seek his fortune.

When the gold dried up, the family went into dairy farming and so began a legacy that continued until very recently.

At 85 years and the oldest in the room, Paul Ubrihien's grandfather - Peter's son but also named Peter - came to Corridgeree in 1921, purchasing it for the "outrageous sum" of £40 an acre.

The property at Tarranganda was the site of the original Bega settlement, and the Ubrihiens farmed it until 2012 when Paul's younger brothers Ray and (another) Peter chose to move on.

Paul said he had a great life on the farm, exploring with his hunting dogs and ferrets for wild ducks and "underground mutton" (rabbits), and catching a bus into Bega for school.

Paul's father Claude and six brothers worked the farm and it was a large family affair.

"When I was on the farm, there were seven of us plus Mum and Dad - ours was the biggest of the families there.

"There were four houses on the farm and others lived in town.

"To give you an indication of the size, the farm was feeding 47 of us.

"We weren't rich, but there was plenty of tucker and plenty of clothes."

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Paul said Coridgeree had "the same number of acres as days in the year, 365" with the Brogo River a great source of irrigation.

"We milked 90 cows in my day which was a big herd in those days."

While Peter and Ray finished up at the farm in 2012, and it had since been sold, many of those attending Saturday's reunion visited the old homestead that played such an important role in the Ubrihien family's life.

They also enjoyed gathering for big family photos thanks to Robert Hayson.

The reunion was catered by the Hillgrove House nursing home auxiliary.

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