Charles McAlister 3rd

Charles McAlister Campbell Shannon 3^rd 1864-1951

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Charles McAlister Campbell Shannon was born on 17 February 1864 in Nymboida (at that time the name of a station, not a town) to Marieanne Jackson, 28, and Charles McAlister Shannon, 34. Unfortunately his mother had TB and died just after his 4^th birthday.

He was given to his mother’s parents, John Alexander and Marie Ann Jackson for them to bring him up. At 17 years old, his father died. He was living in London with his grandparents and working as a bank clerk.

At 31 he married Ada Haywood, 27 and they had their first son Royce (Charles Royce McAlister Shannon) 4 years later. Another 6 years and Mac (McAlister Campbell Erskine Shannon) was born.

Unfortunately, like his mother Ada also got TB and they came out to Australia so she could get better, but she died in 1918.

He became General Manager of the Australian Bank of Commerce in 1914 and remained there until his retirement in 1932, in the middle of the depression when the bank was acquired by the Bank of NSW (now Westpac).

In February 1929, when he was 65 he married his secretary Eva Annie Keena Goddard (Sharni) and in November of that year Doug was born. (Douglas McAlister Campbell Shannon). They moved around a bit living in Pott’s Point, Gordon and in 1940, Hunter’s Hill.

He died on June 18, 1951 at the age of 87.

The Sydney Morning Herald said that “He occupied many public positions of trust, such as trustee of the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust for 30 years, a councillor of Trinity Grammar School, Summer Hill, treasurer of the City of Sydney Eisteddfod, president of the Hunter’s Hill Musical Society, a life member of the Royal Empire Society, senior lay canon of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, and president of the Mission to Seamen.”

Additional Notes

Recollections from Gay Shannon.

He was a Man about Town.

Ada had TB and came out to Australia so she could get better. The children went to boarding school.

CMC had an enormous moustache with waxed pointy ends and was always very well dressed.

He never owned anything because in London everything belonged to the duke of Westminster and he leased everything on 99 year leases. Charles believed this was the way to go and lived in rented accommodation all his life.

He was warden to Archbishop Mowll and went to the cathedral every Sunday. He organised Archbishop Mowll to marry his son Doug to Gay Palmer, but mum says she was a little embarrassed by this.

Got a very good redundancy payout, which he invested unwisely. He invested in an Australian movie company and a product to make and Australian version of kippers from mackerel but the maceral was too oily. Both companies failed and he lost all his money. Sharni stopped them going bankrupt by working for her Uncle Douglas Shrader, solicitor.

Came to Hunter’s Hill 1940 at the beginning of the war and reactivated the Hunter’s Hill Musical Society. Sharni mostly. Musicale! The dramatic club was also having a tough time because there were no men because they’d gone to war. So CMC stepped in and directed a few plays.  

He was on the board of the Royal Empire Society which later became Royal Commonwealth Society.

Excerpts from The Northern Star, Lismore Thu 28 Jun 1951

Mr. N. C. Hewitt writes: -The death in Sydney on June 18 of Mr. Charles McAlister Campbell Shannon, aged 88, removed the last direct descendant of a much respected pioneering family which came from England over a century ago, and played no small part in opening up the Upper Clarence and Richmond River districts.

Three brothers - John, Charles and Archibald Shannon came with Dr. John Dobie, R.N., and M.L.C., retired naval surgeon, to the Clarence on June 16, 1840. The trip overland from Maitland, with their flocks, of sheep, took 5 months 11 days. They selected first on the Clarence, then at Nunga near Casino. John Campbell Shannon (whose family included the late Mr. Donald Shannon, auctioneer, of Lismore, Mr. Charlie Shannon, grazier, of Casino, Mrs. Seb. Garrard, of Boorie), occupied Glenreagh and Levanstrath, Charles and Archibald Shannon took up Geergarow stations. John Shannon had been a medical student at Guy’s Hospital, London, but carried away by stories of adventure in far-off Australia, abandoned medicine for station life. The other brothers were dispensers with Dr. Dobie, who took up Ramornie and Gordon Brook.

The late Mr. C. M. C. Shannon was the son of Mr. Charles Shannon and was born of Geergarow station on the Upper Clarence in 1863. He entered the service of the Australian Joint Stock Bank, which in 1893 became the Australian Bank of Commerce, at Grafton, when its manager was the late Mr. Barton Lodge (later general manager, and a brother of Mr. T. C. Lodge, for so many years its manager at Murwillumbah and Lismore). He became general manager of the bank in Sydney from 1914 until 1932.

The “S.M. Herald” says “He occupied many public positions of trust, such as trustee of the Walter and Eliza Hall Trust for 30 years, a councillor of Trinity Grammar School, Summer Hill, treasurer of the City of Sydney Eisteddfod, president of the Hunter’s Hill Musical Society, a life member of the Royal Empire Society, senior lay canon of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, and president of the Mission to Seamen.” He is survived by three sons. The late Mrs. Sebastian Garrard, of Boorie Creek, was a first cousin of this fine citizen. Mr. Shannon revisited these districts and looked up many of the old residents some 12 or 14 years ago.