RABIG, Englebert George

Name – RABIG, Englebert George
Born – 18/10/1873
Died – 9/05/1941
Location – No 25 Catholic Section
Mother – Margaret Millar
Father – Herman James Rabig

Notes – Englebert George Rabig is one of my favourite sucesses. The council records had no information on him only Rabig NHS and no date. But I found him. He had lived a very active life.

He started life at Gatton and his family moved to Windorah as General store owners. The General store in Windorah is still in use in 2025 and has nearly anything you could possibly need. He had siblings of Janet, Margaret, Herman, Walter, John James and Bertha. Margaret and Walter both died as toddlers.

Englebert managed stations around the area until he had enough money to buy Cuddapan Station. He also drove a coach for Cobb and Co from Charleville to Adavale. Englebert obtained probate from his mother in 1905, as the administrator, but the benificary Bertha Rabig had to wait until she was 21 years of age to get it.

He married Mary Hammond from Hammond Downs, Windorah on the 25th of March 1911 and they had three girls and one boy, Jack, Mary, Janet and Mrs J.B.Green. He was held in high esteme  in the Windorah area, where he was always helping people and events out.

In 1915 Englebert is the next of kin for his brother James when he enlistsin the AIF. James already has a bullet wound to his shoulder before going to war.

After his wife died in 1927, he moved to Oakey to be closer to his girls, two of who were training to be nurses at Ipswich when he died. He and his son Jack bought Wonford 18 months before he died.

He was regarded with great esteem in the Tara district. In 1940 he helped Jim O’Connell when he broke his arm and cut his face while working and took him into Tara for treatment. He was a man of great compassion and liked by most of the population where ever he lived. He supported many race clubs and sporting events.

Some of his electoral roll records show him as: 1905, Englebert was at Galway Downs, Windorahand is a stockman , 1913 to 1930 at Cuddapan Station and is a grazier and 1936 at Helidon as a grazier. There are many other stories about Englebert, some should be left for the family to see. Very Interesting man.

Englebert was lost to his family somehow. Even though two of his daughters hired a taxi to come from Brisbane when they were told of his impending death, and the taxi rolled over at the T intersection at Kogan (as that’s how we used to get to Dalby and beyond). They then had to ring their brother at Wonford and get him to send a car to pick them up! This is not a story that you would have thought the family would have forgotten, however no one knew where he was buried.

So for this one man, I’m glad I started this big project. He had such a good story to tell and now the family know where he is buried. If only I could get a photo of him.

Newspaper Article – Read here.

War Service File  –

Learn more about the Tara Cemetery here.