2.     The late Mrs Naomi Boulos Bahri was the first person of our community to die in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

3.      The late Mr Hanna Tannous Hanna Nehme was the first person to die in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

4.      The late Mr Michael Youssef Saliba was the first person to die in Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America.

5.      The late Mrs Shalbieh Simon, who came to Australia in 1891, died on 19 October, 1970, making her the longest settler overseas during these 100 years of migration.  It is worthwhile to mention that Mrs Simon walked the distance of 450 miles from Sydney to Cobar in Northern New South Wales hawking along the way and carrying heavy bags.

 6.     The late Joseph Basha (also known as Hallak) came to Australia before the year 1900 and he was the first Kfarsghabi to buy a farm near Murwillumbah, New South Wales, and planted it with fruit trees.  It was a very successful orchard and was named “Garden of Eden” by the Premier of the State when he visited the farm.

 7.     The late Massoud Merhi, who migrated before the year 1900, was the first Kfarsghabi to establish a business in Redfern.

8.      The late Mrs Zahra Youssef Assad Rizk was the first person of our community to discover Parramatta through hawking and the late Mrs Wardy Ghaleb Norman was the first person to buy property in it.  The majority of our people in Sydney now live in the Parramatta district.

9.      The late Assad Abraham was the first Kfarsghabi to buy property in Toowoomba, Queensland, where a large number of our people live.

10.     The late Michael Stephen and his sister walked 500 miles on a hawking trip to Queensland.  They left Sydney in Christmas week and arrived in Stanthorp, Queensland on Good Friday.  From there, they travelled by train to reach Toowoomba on Easter Sunday to celebrate Easter with their relatives.  It is known that Mr Stephen was the first Kfarsghabi to grow wheat on his farm at Dalby.

 11.    The late Habib Essey migrated to the United States of America and 1914 and was the first Kfarsghabi editor of Arabic newspapers for 50 years in New York.  He then returned to Lebanon in 1964 until his death in 1976.

 12.    Four Kfarsghabi soldiers died in the battles of the Second World War with the United States Army in Europe and Africa.  Many survived both wars and returned safely after performing heroically on many battlefields.

 13.    During the migration to the United States of America and Australia, five people were born in-transit in planes and ships and they all arrived safely at their destinations.  They were:  Margaret Youssef Moussa; Mary Hanna Abood; Saidie Jabour Coorey; Tony Youssef Barakat; and Arthur Nadim Michael.

 14.    The late Youssef Hanna Saliba was the first Kfarsghabi to establish a dairy farm in Murwillumbah, New South Wales.

 15.    The late Antonios Nakhoul Bahri was the first Kfarsghabi to establish a business in the country; it was in the   town of Tenterfield, New South Wales.

16.     The late Samaan Coorey Francis was the first Kfarsghabi to establish a business in Toowoomba, Queensland.

17.    The late Estephan Abdulla Simon and his uncle were the first Kfarsghabis to grow sugar cane in North Queensland.  Also, his son was the first Kfarsghabi doctor in Australia.

18.     The widow of Milan Azar was on her way to sell goods in New South Wales and she had to take a ferry to cross the river.  Unfortunately, the ferry capsized and Mrs Azar drowned.  After a lengthy search, they found her body floating on top of the water with her hands crossed on her chest in the Sign of the Cross and her rosary in her hands.

 19.    Mr Hanna Youssef Abood and his wife Hesseny immigrated to Australia in 1912.  It is worthwhile to mention that their 165 descendants constitute the largest single Kfarsghab family in Australia.

 20.   The late Habib Coorey Francis was the first Maronite to be baptised in St Maroon’s Church, Redfern, in 1898.  His father, the late Tannous Coorey Francis, was the head of the first Lebanese community to collect donations in aid of the allies during the First World War.  As a result, the French government awarded him the “Legion d’honneur” for services rendered.  This award is still kept by his children as a souvenir of their late father’s activities during the First World War.

 21.   During the Second World War, a committee of Australia Lebanese was formed to raise funds for the war effort.  Included in this committee were a number of Lebanon Australians originally from Kfarsghab.  These gentlemen worked hard within the Committee and spared no effort in joining with others to make the Australian Lebanese contribution to the war effort a substantial one.

         War Committee Members

        Youssef Boulous; Hanna Boulous; Estephan Abdullah Simon; Nicholas Lahood; Youssef Lahood; Moses Hanna; and Mansour Hanna.

 22.    The first conference of the World Lebanese Union was held in Beirut in 1959.  All countries in the World who enjoyed the presence of Lebanese emigrants appointed delegates to attend the inaugural conference of the World Lebanese Union.  In Australia, Maurice S K Moubarak was elected unanimously to represent the Australia Lebanese at the Conference in Beirut.

 23.   One of the great events that emerged from the emigration was the formation of the Australian Kfarsghab Lebanese Association (AKLA) on 19 October, 1952 in Sydney, Australia.  The greatness of this event lies in the fact that AKLA was and has been endeavouring to strengthen the everlasting link which was formed between the emigrants and their home village.