page_title: Coolangatta Estate
section_title: The Hay Family
hierarchical_section_title: Coolangatta Estate / The Hay Family
caption_attribution_description: English: Nona and Agnes (Daisy) Hay, step-sisters of Alexander Hay, owner of Coolangatta Estate on the Shoalhaven River
context_page_description: The Coolangatta Estate at Shoalhaven Heads was established in 1822 by Alexander Berry on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Coolangatta Estate is located on the northern bank of the Shoalhaven River, in the foothills of a mountain called Coolangatta. The word 'Coolangatta' is from an aboriginal word which means either splendid view or good lookout. The estate today is in a picturesque setting overlooking the ocean and surrounded by vineyards.
context_section_description: John Hay was born at the Coolangatta Estate in 1840 but unfortunately his mother died soon after his birth. His father David Hay immigrated to New Zealand and settled at a property near Auckland.  David later married Jessie McLeod and the couple had two sons and seven daughters.
  At the age of eight John was sent to Scotland to be educated. After this he returned to New Zealand where he commenced several business ventures. He was at one time a member of Auckland City Council. In 1871 he married Jessie Sinclair who came from Glasgow but the couple had no children.
  At the request of his cousin, David Berry, John came to Coolangatta in the 1880s to assist him with the management of the Estate. In 1889 David Berry died and John inherited the property. In the same year John’s father David Hay also died in Auckland so John invited his step mother and step sisters to live with him at Coolangatta.
  John Hay made many improvements to the Coolangatta Estate and developed land which had previously not been usable. David Berry had left large bequests in his will amounting to almost 250,000 pounds and John had to raise the money to meet these costs.
  When he died in 1909, John left the Estate to his stepbrother Alexander Hay. However he made provisions in his will for his stepmother and stepsisters who had been living with him since 1889. To his stepmother Jessie and four unmarried stepsisters Mabel, Kate, Nona and Agnes (Daisy) he left a life interest in the building called "The Cottage" and also the furniture contained within it. He also left each of them 10,000 pounds which allowed them to become financially independent. Kate married soon after and so the other four women lived together at "The Cottage" until the late 1920s. A photo of Nona and Agnes (Daisy) in 1913 at Coolangatta is shown on the left.
  John’s stepmother Jessie died in 1929 and Agnes (Daisy) died the following year. It seems that after this the two remaining stepsisters Mabel and Nona moved to Sydney and lived in the prestigious Astor apartments in Macquarie Street. The two women lead a very outgoing life and were frequently mentioned in the social pages of the newspapers.
  Alexander Hay who had inherited Coolangatta in 1909 was considered to be a diligent and hard- working owner. He helped with the establishment of the Butter Factory in Berry and introduced pasteurisation to the area. In 1900 he married Florence Burdekin who was the daughter of a very wealthy businessman in Sydney.
  In 1915 he enlisted to fight in World War 1 and went to Egypt as a Major. He was second in command of the NSW and Queensland Remounts. After the war he was elected as the Member for New England in the House of Representatives. He held this position for several years.
  In 1941 Alexander Hay died and his son Alexander Berry Hay inherited the property. However Berry Hay did not maintain the estate and it went rapidly into decline. In 1946 the homestead caught fire and was destroyed. His second wife Elizabeth sold much of the remaining property to Colin Bishop who was a local farmer.
caption: Nona and Agnes (Daisy) Hay, 1913.
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