Cephas Quested (1788-1821)

Numerous accounts of the Aldington Gang’s activities suggest that Cephas Quested was its leader until he was arrested and hung following the Battle of Brookland in 1821.

While Commander Shore contest this view, suggesting that Quested was rather stupid, often drunk, and probably not the gang’s leader,[i]Charles Igglesden, in his Saunter through Kent, credits him with consideration for local country folk and a deep love for his family.[ii]

Cephas Quested was christened at St Margaret’s in Canterbury on 28 December 1789.[iii]  His parents were Samuel and Elizabeth (nee Millen).  He was the second of thirteen children.

Family

He married Martha Gardiner on 12 May 1809 at St Mary the Virgin in Dover.  His older brother, James, married Martha’s sister, Harriet, in the same church the following year.

Martha was already carrying Cephas’ child at the time of their wedding.  Their daughter, Martha, was baptized at Aldington the day before Christmas that year. Sadly, their second child, a son named James, died soon after birth. I’m not entirely sure when he died as there are two burial registrations recorded in the transcripts available on line, both for a James, son of Cephas and Martha.  The first, which coincides with his baptism, is for Christmas Day 1811 and the second for 2 February 1812.

Two more sons followed reasonably quickly, Robert was baptised on 11 April 1813 and Stephen on 14 August 1814. Daughters, Harriet and Mary, were baptised on 4 November 1815 and 30 March 1817 respectively.

Sadly, Cephas and Martha lost two more children in infancy. Cephas Junior was baptised on 15 March 1818 and buried the following May.  His burial followed that of his infant sister, Elizabeth, who was baptised on 7 March 1819 and buried on 3 April.

The last child known to have been born to the couple, Edward, was baptised on 28 May 1820.  Sadly he would not get to know his father, who was arrested when Edward was only a little more than eight months old.  What a difficult time this must have been for Martha, still coping with grief and left to bring up six very young children on her own.  No doubt eleven year old Martha was required to help.

Character

Many rumours and traditions have grown up around Cephas Quested. After much sifting of material and numerous conversations with Aldington’s older residents in the early 20^thCentury, Commander Shore concluded that:

Cephas Quested was a native of Aldington, and earned his living as a laboring man; and in common with most of his class, in those days, he sought to increase his earnings by throwing in his lot with the smugglers. Ignorant and utterly uneducated, he had a turn for adventure which drew him on to his own destruction.  For, being a man of resolution and daring, he became one of the ‘fighting party’. In this capacity he had the misfortune to mistake a foe for a friend, and to find himself, in due course, committed for trial on the capital charge of murder.[iv]

One of his contemporaries commented that:

Quested was a rough-like drinking-sort-of-man.  I’ve often seen him come home drunk at six o’clock in the morning. Indeed, he was a regular drinking fellow.  One time I was out working in a wood where tubs had been laid, near Aldington, along with some other chaps, when Quested and a man called Gardiner tapped one of the tubs and drank till they laid down.  They lay out all night; it was a cold and frosty night too; and when my uncle went to work next morning he found them still lying there. Gardiner, being a weakly sort of chap, was dead; but Quested, who was a strong, hearty fellow, seemed none the worse; he was just like iron, or he wouldn’t have stood it! When my uncle lifted up Gardiner’s head, and said he was dead, Quested called out, ‘Well, he died of what he loved.’[v]

Another is reported to have said:

I remember Cephas Quested quite well: he was a great, strong, blustering chap — rather a ‘rough ‘un,’ as we call it. He was never at any place of worship, unless it was for a christening; and then it took a lot of trouble to get him there. I’ve seen him lying about drunk, many a time; but he wasn’t bad company when he was in drink, he didn’t get quarrelling, like some on ‘em — the drink seemed to make him helpless-like.’

Downfall

Some reports say there was the smell of liquor on his breath on the night of his downfall, at the so-called Battle of Brooklandon 11 February 1821. This was a big operation, involving some 200 smugglers illegally running, landing and carrying away 1000 gallons of foreign geneva (Dutch or Belgian gin) and another 1000 of foreign brandy, thereby avoiding substantial customs. The coastguard must have had some knowledge of the operation as at least one of the customs officers was dressed in the smocks commonly worn by the smugglers. According to Newton’s testimony, Quested thrust a musket into his hand and yelled “Shoot the ***”.

Quested was apprehended and committed for trial at the Old Bailey session of 17 April 1821.  He was thirty years old when he was indicted for assembling with several other persons armed with firearms, at Lydd, in the county of Kent, and carrying away goods liable to pay duty. Unfortunately for Cephas, when asked for any defence, all he could say was ‘I’m not guilty of the job!’ He was immediately found guilty, although fellow prisoner, Richard Wraight, was acquitted.[vi]

A very detailed account of the trial and numerous witness statements is available on the Old Bailey website.[vii]

Quested was held in goal for a number of weeks after sentence of death was passed, providing him with plenty of opportunity to turn King’s Evidence.  However, he remained loyal to his gang and was executed on 4 July 1821.

In the period between sentence and execution, Martha visited him each week. She reported that he was offered a pardon if he would ‘split’ on the others, to which he replied, ‘I’ve done wrong, and I’m ready to suffer for it, but I won’t bring harm on others.’[viii]

Having received no formal education, Cephas is said to have learnt to say the Lord’s Prayer while in prison, commenting to his wife that he’d never have learnt it if he hadn’t been there.  The last time he saw Martha, he is said to have seemed quite prepared to meet his fate, saying ‘We eat and drink today, Pat, and tomorrow we die.’[ix]

While imprisoned, Cephas carved small wooden snuff boxes in the shape of a bible and a wooden shoe, both of which are in possession of the family today.

Shortly before his execution Cephas wrote to his wife:

Newgate Cell

20 June 1821

Dear Loving Wife,

I am sorry to inform you that the report came down on Saturday night, and I was ordered for execution on Wednesday.  I sent for Mr Hughes on Sunday and he and the Sheriff came in the afternoon, and Dear Wife they told me that it was best for you not to come up.  Dear loving wife, I am sorry that I cannot make you amends for the kindness you have done for me, and I hope that God will be a Father and a Husband to you and your children for ever; and Dear Wife, I hope that we shall be happy in the next world, and there we shall be happy. And, Dear Loving Wife, I hope that you will not fret, or as little as you can help.  And Father and Mother, I send my kind love to you, and to all my kind Brothers and Sisters; and dear Brothers I hope this will be a warning to you, and to all others about there.  Dear Father and Mother, and Brothers and Sisters, I hope that you will not frown on my dear loving children.  Dear Wife, I am happy in mind thank God for it, and I hope you will keep up your spirits as well as you can.  [Here followed a long poetry quotation.] So no more, from your unfortunate husband.

 

After his execution, the body was ordered to be hung in chains near Brookland, the site of his capture.  However, the local magistrate, Sir Edward Knatchbull, intervened and Martha was able to make the two day journey to retrieve his body and take it back to Aldington where it was viewed by gang members and other neighbours before burial in the Aldington churchyard on 8 July 1821.  There is no stone to mark the spot and others have been buried in the same spot since then.

The Kentish Gazetteof 6 July 1821 reported:

Mon July 2^nd1821 Execution — Wednesday morning, Joseph BLAKENEY, Mathias George DRISOLL, Cephas QUESTED, Robert HOLDING, Charles WADE and John SNAPE, were executed pursuant to their sentences at the usual place in the Old Bailey.  This awful exhibition drew together an immense concourse of persons of both sexes and all ages, and we do not recollect to have seen on any former occasion of this kind so great a number of women.

… The third offender, Cephas QUESTED, was convicted for assembling with others, with firearms, to assist in the running of smuggled goods near Lydd on the coast of Kent.  It will be remembered that a midshipman named McKENZIE, was killed in the affray in which this man was concerned.  He was a laboring man of Sellinge in Kent, extremely ignorant and appeared intensely to feel all the terrors which his situation was calculated to inspire in the mind of such a man.  He expressed himself resigned and said that he felt confident of mercy hereafter.

Left with a family of young children to care for, it is not surprising that Martha was soon to accept an offer of marriage. On 1 December 1823, Martha married William Mears. The couple moved to Bonnington where William worked as an agricultural labourer … maybe with a little smuggling on the side?

Martha died, aged 62, and was buried at Aldington on 9 September 1852.

Quested’s cottage is still standing.  Shore described it as characteristic of 19^thCentury Kentish homes, with rich red bricks, toned and mellowed with age, and a lichen covered roof. Recent real estate listings suggest that the two storey cottage has 16^thcentury origins and was altered in 1778.

Notes

[i]Henry Noel. Shore, R.N (Lord Teignmouth) and Charles G Harper, The smugglers; picturesque chapters in the history of contraband, London, C. Palmer [1923], pp79-87.  This is available online.

[ii]Geoffrey Hutton and Elaine Baird, Scarecrows Legion: Smuggling in Kent and Essex, Rochester Press, 1983, p74

[iii]Kent Archdeaconry Baptisms, Findmypast.co.uk, downloaded 21 July 2018

[iv]Henry Noel Shore, R.N.

[v]Henry Noel Shore, R.N.

[vi]Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 20 July 2018), April 1821, trial of RICHARD WRAIGHT CEPHAS QUESTED (t18210411-64).

[vii]https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18210411-64-defend728&div=t18210411-64#highlight

[viii]Helen White, ‘Cephas Quested – the loyal smuggler’, Family Tree Magazine, April 1999, p62

[ix]Henry Noel Shore, R.N.

Online resources

Cephas Quested on my Ancestry site

Cephas Quested at the Old Bailey

 

The Second Fleet

Continuing Our Tasmanian Story – from Botany Bay and Port Jackson

The first of the ships that sailed with the Second Fleet, the notorious Lady Juliana, carried Hannah Pealing, second wife of Stephen Martin (and probably my 5 x Great Grandmother); Mary Butler (5 x Great Grandmother who was to marry William Saltmarsh and then James Jordan); and Ann Howard (wife of Thomas Lucas, mother of Richard and grandmother of Ann Lucas who married William James Coventry).

Convicts of the Second Fleet

Those in the new colony greeted the arrival of the Lady Juliana at Port Jackson, on 3 June 1790, with considerable enthusiasm. Many had begun to think they had been abandoned by Britain. The ship’s arrival brought letters and news from home and of the fleet that was to follow. However, while the ship’s stores enabled a slight increase in the provision of rations, the arrival of so many more mouths to feed was of concern to those in charge. David Collins, Captain of the Marines and Judge Advocate, wrote with some bitterness:

… in the distressed situation of the colony, it was not a little mortifying to find on board the first ship that arrived, a cargo so unnecessary and unprofitable as two hundred and twenty-two females, instead of a cargo of provisions; the supply of provisions on board her was so inconsiderable as to permit only an addition of one pound and a half of flour being made to the weekly ration.[i]

Following the women’s disembarkation on 11 June, Collins wrote that:

… many of them appeared to be loaded with infirmities incident to old age, and to be very improper subjects for any of the purposes of an infant colony. Instead of being capable of labour, they seemed to require attendance themselves and were never likely to be any other than a burden to the settlement…[ii]

Before the end of June, the rest of the Second Fleet arrived. It was not to be the panacea that many had hoped for. A quarter of the prisoners had died en route and two thirds of those who landed were sick. To provide room for profitable cargo, the prisoners had been overcrowded; to save money they had been underfed; and for their misbehaviour they had been too closely confined.

Robert Dodd, Lady Juliana, 1783 (courtesy British Museum)

With an influx of more than a thousand convicts and soldiers into the colony, Governor Phillip decided to send a large group to Norfolk Island. On 1 August 1790, 157 female and 37 male convicts were sent to the island. Three quarters of the women had arrived aboard the Lady Juliana. Among them were Hannah Pealing and Mary Butler. Ann Howard was to follow some years later.

Hannah Pealing

Hannah Pealing was born about 1771, probably in London.  Little is known about her early life.  On 1 September 1785, when she was about fourteen, her name was listed amongst those who received charity from the parish of St Clement Danes in London.  The record shows she was provided with shoes and aprons.

Two years later, at the age of sixteen, on 12 December 1787, Hannah was sentenced to seven years’ transportation for stealing a silver watch valued at three pounds, a steel chain worth a shilling and a silver seal valued at five shillings. Each item belonged to Duncan Ross who told the jury at the Old Bailey that he had been pickpocketed by a prostitute. He said he had been walking down Drury Lane a month earlier when Hannah approached him and asked for a penny. She allegedly asked him to ‘go with her’ and when he refused she snatched the watch and chain from his pocket and ran to a nearby house. Duncan chased her but was beaten and thrown out of the house by five women and a man who came to Hannah’s assistance.[iii]

Hannah was held at Newgate gaol for another fifteen months before embarking on the Lady Juliana on 12 March 1789. The women’s section usually contained about 300 women and children. At embarkation, Hannah’s age was given as eighteen.

Eight weeks after arriving at Sydney Cove, Hannah was sent to Norfolk Island, arriving there on 7 August.

Mary Butler

A couple of years younger than Hannah, Mary Butler appears to have lost her family when young and also to have supported herself through prostitution, working in and around East London’s Cable Street. Her story is not dissimilar to Hannah’s. Cable Street had a reputation for cheap lodgings, brothels, drinking inns and opium dens, just a short distance from the docks through which the bounty of Empire passed.   She was reportedly just fifteen when she appeared at the Old Bailey, on the same day as Hannah. Along with Mary (Pol) Randall, Ann Clark, Ann Wilson and Mary Reading, she was

… indicted for feloniously assaulting Joseph Clark, in the dwelling house of Joseph Rider, on the 10th day of November 1787, and putting him in fear and danger of his life, and feloniously taking from his person, and against his will, a silver watch, value 4l., a silk handkerchief, value 2s, a guinea, a half guinea and eleven shillings, one bank note of 20l. and one bank note of 15l, his property.[iv]

In his evidence to the court, Joseph swore that he had been robbed between eight and nine in the evening at 45 Cable Street, a ‘house of bad repute’. He had withdrawn money from the bank to cover the cost of stock for his new chandler’s shop at the corner of Angel Gardens and Back Lane, Shadwell. He said that he had drunk a pot of beer with his two brothers earlier in the day but nothing further. He was carrying half a cheese upon his head as he looked into the window at no 45 on his way home. Ann Clark and Mary Reading came to the door and allegedly forced him into the house by grabbing the hand with which he held the cheese. Ann took the cheese and pushed it into a chest by the bedside, declaring that Joseph would stay the night. With that she pushed him towards Mary Butler, who was sitting by the fire, and said he should send for something to drink. At which point Joseph gave them a shilling and was given half a pint of gin in return. They then played cards and brought another half pint of gin, after which Joseph felt very sick. Joseph insisted that he wanted to leave but that if they wouldn’t let him without buying more he would send for more gin and something for supper, as they asked. He handed over a guinea and was brought change. Incredulously, Joseph claims he was then forced, before having eaten any of the supper, to go upstairs with Mary Butler, with Mary Randall shoving him from behind! There, Mary Randall forced his clothes off and pushed him into bed. Mary Reading arrived with some beef on a plate and then returned with more gin. Supposedly fearing for his life, Joseph drank the gin and when Mary Randall offered to take care of the money protruding from his pocket, Joseph declared he was fit enough to look after it. However, Mary Butler was accused of having taken his hands and pulled them behind him. Apparently too afraid to resist, Joseph watched on as Mary Reading took the money and a watch from his breeches and fob and passed it to Randall who ran off down the stairs. At this point Joseph apparently grabbed his coat and ran after her, pursuing her to the sign of the Green Man. Joseph went into the house but the landlord called him a dog and shoved him into the kennel! It happened that, a few days later, Joseph was at the King’s Arms, opposite the Guildhall, when Mary Butler and Ann Clark were arrested and identified his handkerchief.

I dare say that it is hard to imagine a conviction on the basis of this story. However, it seems that a lodger in the house, Benjamin Allen, saw much of went on, apparently through a crack in the door, and gave evidence corroborating Joseph’s story. Questioned, he said he’d have been knocked in the head if he had tried to help Joseph.

The women said little in their own defence and witnesses called on their behalf did not appear. Mary Randall and Mary Butler were found guilty of stealing, but not of the capital offence of taking money violently, and they were sentenced to seven years transportation. Anne Clarke, Ann Wilson and Mary Reading were found not guilty.[v]

Following her conviction, Mary was moved from Clerkenwell, where she had been held since her arrest on the 14^th of November and, like Hannah, she served the first fourteen months of her sentence at Newgate, before setting sail on the Lady Juliana in March 1789. Again like Hannah, she was among those quickly moved to Norfolk Island after the ships’ arrival at Sydney Cove.

Ann Howard

Ann Howard also faced the Old Bailey jury on the 12^th of December 1787.[vi]  Again, little is known about her early life, although she was said to be 28 at the time of her conviction.   The crime that brought her seven year’s transportation was the theft of clothing belonging to a Mr John Reader. The record of her trial is brief but suggests that she has been employed as a nurse to Mrs Reader, only to abscond later the same day with a corded dimity petticoat, valued at three shillings, two muslin aprons, valued at four shillings, and a child’s laced cap, worth ten pence. Like Hannah and Mary, Ann was also held at Newgate Prison until she was transferred to the Lady Juliana on 12 March 1789. However, unlike the younger girls, Ann was to spend four years in Port Jackson before she was transferred to the settlement on Norfolk Island.

Notes

[i] David Collins, An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Kindle edition

[ii] David Collins, An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Kindle edition

[iii] Proceedings of the Old Bailey Online, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17871212-27-defend334&div=t17871212-27#highlight

[iv] Proceedings of the Old Bailey Online, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17871212-17-defend214&div=t17871212-17#highlight

[v] Proceedings of the Old Bailey Online, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17871212-17-defend214&div=t17871212-17#highlight

[vi] Proceedings of the Old Bailey Online, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t17871212-46

Online resources

Hannah Pealing on my Ancestry Tree

Mary Butler on my Ancestry Tree

Ann Howard on my Ancestry Tree

 

 

Norfolk Plains

Continuing Our Tasmanian Story – from Norfolk Island

With the closure of the settlement, James Davey found himself sailing again for Van Diemen’s Land, one of the last to be removed from the British settlement on Norfolk Island. James, along with the last hundred or so to leave the island, settled at Norfolk Plains. On 20 January 1813, James Davey sailed aboard the Lady Nelson for Port Dalrymple, arriving there on the 1^st of February. Travelling with James were nineteen free men, one male convict, six wives and sixteen children.[i] Six of the men and three of the women had arrived with the First Fleet. It is hardly surprising that some of them would have moved only reluctantly from their home of some 25 years to have to re-establish themselves in a new environment.

Three days after the Lady Nelson’s departure from Norfolk Island, the Minstrel set sail with 42 passengers, among them James’ future bride, Catherine Jordan. The Minstrel carried three men and a woman who had arrived with the First Fleet. The evacuation of Norfolk Island that had begun in 1805, gathering pace around 1808 was essentially completed with the passage of these two vessels. About thirty ‘best behaved’ convicts remained on Norfolk Island to kill and salt the remaining livestock and to destroy the last of the buildings to deter unauthorised resettlement. The brig Kangaroo finally completed the evacuation in March 1814.[ii]

Having spent many years clearing and cultivating the fertile land of Norfolk Island, many felt themselves to be ‘too old and too tired to start pioneering’ again.[iii] As inducement they were offered apparently generous grants of land in Van Diemen’s Land, as well as access to convict labour for the construction of homes and outbuildings and provision of food and clothing from twelve months to two years depending on the ‘class’ of setter. In practice some of the settlers received more than they appeared to be entitled to and others received far less.

James Davey received a grant of 40 acres at Norfolk Plains. Government records show that within a few years he was supplying meat and wheat to the Government stores. By 1816 he was living with sixteen year old Catherine Jordan, daughter of James Jordan (who had arrived at Sydney Cove aboard the notorious Queen in September 1791) and Second Fleet convict, Mary Butler. Sadly, Mary died on Norfolk Island when Catherine was only twelve or thirteen and just a few months before the family’s evacuation.

Longford and part of Norfolk Plains V.D.L by John Skinner Prout

Early settlement at Norfolk Plains

The first explorers in the Norfolk Plains district were Dr Jacob Mountgarrett and Captain Hugh Piper, who had arrived in the colony with Lieutenant-Governor Patterson to establish the first settlement at York Town (later removed to Launceston). On 11 December 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie inspected the land between Launceston and the South Esk River, looking for an:

… eligible and good part of the country, not too far from this settlement, for giving farms to the Norfolk Island settlers whatever time they may happen to be removed from that Island on my orders to evacuate it. We rode … till we came to very fine extensive rich Plains, hitherto without any name and which I have now christened Norfolk Plains; conceiving this fine rich Tract of Country to be a most eligible and convenient Situation for accommodating the Norfolk Island Settlers with Farms, on that Settlement being entirely withdrawn.

The fine rich Tract of Country extends five or six miles along the Bank on the River South Esk; the Eastern extremity of them commencing about half a mile below where the Macquarie River (formerly known by the name of the Lake River) falls into the South Esk, and extending for about two miles to the foot of the Hills in the Center part of them; the Hills themselves having excellent Pasturage, and the River flowing along these fine Plains, render them highly advantageous for small Settlers, as the distance from Launceston – by which a good Cart Road might be made – does not exceed Nine miles. The Plains facing them, on the Left Bank of the South Esk, appear equally good and fit Tillage and Grazing.[iv]

Six months later Macquarie instructed the Surveyor to measure fifty farms at Norfolk Plains for free men still on Norfolk Island. There were to be four of eighty acres; eight of sixty acres; sixteen of fifty and twenty-two forty. The plan signed by Macquarie in April 1814 contained over 80 parcels of land, with more than fifty having river frontages on the South Esk or Lake Rivers.[v]

Arriving from Norfolk Island

The Norfolk Islanders who arrived on the Lady Nelson and Minstrel travelled from January to April, calling at Sydney on the way. Once they landed at George Town, the journey to Launceston probably took another week. There they encountered a camp ‘full of miserable hovels’, largely abandoned as Macquarie had ordered the settlement back to George Town. The new arrivals camped for a day or two and were given their rations and Government-supplied equipment, including axes, shovels, nails and hoes. Their goods were then loaded onto oxen pulled carts for the final nine mile journey, through bush, to their new home.[vi] Camping beside the campfire on their first night, they had much to reflect upon – all they had left behind, much hard work ahead and no doubt many stories about the dangers of bushrangers, the Aboriginals, wild animals and a strange land.

Their early shelters were no doubt rudimentary. Isabella Mead records that:

Reeds tied in bundles laced to the rafters were used to thatch the roof. The floor was pressed earth. The furniture was possibly a rough bench or table, blocks of wood for seats; perhaps, but doubtful, a bed, but always some kind of chest or box in which they packed their possessions. Near the door, outside on a rough hewn bench, was always a tub of water. Some of the cooking was done over the open fire but most of it was done outside where there was more light. They probably helped one another to build their shelters, all living together for a time.[vii]

The men were quickly occupied in clearing the land and making a living. They hunted kangaroo and emu and wild duck and sowed seeds in newly dug earth. Wheat crops did well in the early years but by the 1820s the land was suffering and yields were down.

In her research, exploring whether the Norfolk Island settlers were such poor characters as had frequently been portrayed, Isabella Mead notes that those who settled along the west bank of the River were ‘not much good’ and in fact had largely disappeared by the 1830s. They were, apparently, notorious for stealing sheep. Amongst them was Thomas Livermore, the first husband of Elizabeth Dewsnap, who was eventually to become James Davey’s third wife:

By Livermore’s Ford were two small holdings of forty and thirty acres to George Marshall and Thomas Livermore. Soon the seventy acres belonged to Thomas Livermore. The ford was most conveniently situated for the sheep stealing activities which he evidently carried on, for it gave easy access to all the settled land to the east. He was aided and abetted by his convict servants; his shepherd Thomas Pawley, was said to have joined Brady and McCabe and £10 was offered for his apprehension. In September 1827, Thomas Livermore was drowned when crossing the river. He had married four days previously.’[viii]

In 1833, Elizabeth Livermore was transported for fourteen years for receiving four sheep that Thomas Merritt had stolen from their neighbor Henry Clayton.[ix] Merritt was hanged.[x]

Mead goes on to say that those who settled along the eastern bank of the river fared better, particularly those settlers who were married with children. Families here included the Jordans, Saltmarshes, Stevens, Coxes, Whites and Claytons.

 

[i] Broxham, p135

[ii] Broxham, p135

[iii] Morgan, p15

[iv] Lachlan Macquarie, Journal to and from Van Diemen’s Land to Sydney in New South Wales, 4 November 1811 – 6 January 1812.
Original held in the Mitchell Library, Sydney.
ML Ref: A777 pp.34-73. [Microfilm Reel CY302 Frames #380-419], http://www.mq.edu.au/macquarie-archive/lema/1811/1811dec.html

[v] Mead, p61

[vi] Mead, p63

[vii] Mead, pp63-64

[viii] Mead, p65; Thomas Livermore and Elizabeth Dewsnap, Marriage Registration, RGD 36-1-1, via LINC Tasmania, https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD36-1-1p192j2k; Thomas Livermore, Burial Registration, RGD 34-1-1, via LINC Tasmania, https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD34-1-1p068j2k

[ix] 1833 ‘(From the Launceston Independent’, The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 – 1839), 10 May, p. 4. , viewed 12 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4192665; 1833 ‘SUPREME COURT.’, Launceston Advertiser (Tas. : 1829 – 1846), 2 May, p. 3. , viewed 12 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84775720

[x] Mead, p65

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Norfolk Island

Continuing Our Tasmanian Story – from Botany Bay and Port Jackson

Norfolk Island connections

In November 1805 the Sydney arrived at Sullivan’s Cove in Van Diemen’s Land, carrying sheep and cattle and the first of many settlers from Norfolk Island. Over the next eight years, as the first settlement on Norfolk Island was wound down, its population was relocated to Van Diemen’s land. Among these ‘third time exiles’ were some of my ancestors and their close relatives and associates. But first, let’s go back to 1788 and the first settlement there.

George Raper, Principal Settlement on Norfolk Island, 1790 (National Library of Australia)

Establishing the first settlement

The first European settlers sent to Norfolk Island arrived with the First Fleet to Botany Bay. Nathaniel Lucas and Olivia Gascoigne, while not direct ancestors, are of interest because a number of their descendants connect with my family. Having sailed half way around the world, they barely saw Port Jackson or Botany Bay before they were embarked aboard the armed tender, Supply, under the command of Lieutenant Philip King, setting sail, on or about 17 February 1788, for Norfolk Island.[i] Arriving two weeks later, the twenty-four people on board, including eight convict men and six women, had to wait a further five days before the seas were sufficiently calm to land.

On landing they found a thickly forested island. Commandant Philip Gidley King described the island as:

… six miles long and four broad, and estimated it to contain 11 000 acres. The ground was everywhere covered with an almost impervious forest, through which he forced his way with great difficulty. The principal tree was the pine which grew everywhere. These great trees were often 140 to 200 feet high, 30 feet round at the base, and 80 feet to the first branch. The roots sometimes ran two feet above the ground, twisted in all directions. In this forest grew a sort of sapplejack as thick as a man’s leg, hanging in festoons from tree to tree, and forming a network which was well nigh impenetrable. … there was not a yard square of clear ground on the whole island. The soil was deep and rich, but not a blade of grass grew anywhere. Pigeons and parrots were in great numbers; the pigeons so tame that they could be knocked over with a stick … To conquer the virgin forest King had only 12 men, and one of these an old man of 72, another a boy of 15.[ii]

… To add to the Commandant’s troubles, all his people were ill with scurvy, from their salt diet, and his first attention was given to obtaining fresh provisions. At first they got turtle, but these were soon scared away. The fish supply was precarious as fishing was only possible in calm weather. Their chief resource was the pigeons, and the birds which abounded on Mount Pitt gave them many a good meal. [iii]

The population continued to grow as more convicts and free settlers arrived from New South Wales. By January 1790 there were 79 male and 33 female convicts and 32 free settlers on the island. In the months to follow they were joined by my ancestors:

• Stephen Martin (5xG Grandfather; First Fleet convict; arrived NI March 1790)
• Elizabeth Holligan (Child with William Saltmarsh; First Fleet convict; arrived NI March 1790)
• Mary Butler (5xG Grandmother; Second Fleet convict; arrived NI August 1790)
• William Saltmarsh (First spouse of Mary Butler; First Fleet convict; arrived NI August 1790)
• Hannah Pealing (5xG Grandmother; Second Fleet convict; arrived NI August 1790)
• James Jordan (5xG Grandfather; to NSW by Queen 1791; arrived NI August 1792)
• William Coventry (4xG Grandfather; to NSW by Atlas 1802; arrived NI probably 1803)

Wilson Lowry, View of Sydney on the South Side of Norfolk Island, 1798 (National Library of Australia)

At some point James Davey left the fledgling settlement at Hobart Town for the convict settlement on Norfolk Island. This seems rather unusual given that the authorities were already planning for the settlement’s demise. Nevertheless, James appears as resident on Norfolk Island in the 1811 muster. The muster says that he had five acres under cultivation and that he owned six swine.

King’s departure

Lieutenant-Governor King remained on the island for nine years. He had worked hard to make a success of the settlement, but there was a general decline after his departure in 1796. However, the early settlers had, in the main, settled down to a relatively comfortable life. The climate was favourable compared with the fog and cold of England; the land was productive; fresh meat and produce had become plentiful after the early years of near starvation.[iv]

By 1804 the British Government had become convinced that the settlement at Norfolk Island would never be a success. It had decided to establish a settlement at Port Dalrymple in northern Van Diemen’s Land in order to defeat any designs the French may have had on the island and decided to move the Norfolk Islanders there.

In the meantime, before despatches arrived from England, King, then Governor of New South Wales, arranged for Colonel Patterson to establish a settlement at Port Dalrymple. Patterson wrote to Major Foveaux on Norfolk Island, inviting any settlers who wished to go, to remove to Port Dalrymple. Few wanted to go, despite the promise of substantial land grants, free assigned servants and two year’s rations.

Nevertheless, in 1807, the first of the Norfolk Islanders arrived in Van Diemen’s Land, followed by more than six hundred more a year later. To compensate for the land they gave up, the settlers were offered two acres for every acre of cleared land they had owned on Norfolk Island, and one acre for every acre of waste or unimproved land that they had left behind. Buildings were to be established, free of charge and equal to the value of those they left; they were to be clothed and provided with rations for two years and to be given the labour of four convicts for the first nine months in Van Diemen’s Land and two for a further fifteen months.[v] Not surprisingly, the government was unable to fulfill these promises, resulting in much anger and disappointment for those who felt betrayed. Some evacuees received more generous land grants than their holdings on Norfolk Island warranted, while others received far less than was promised.[vi]

 

 

[i] Graeme Broxham, ‘Abandoning the first settlement of Norfolk Island: A maritime perspective’, Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association, Vol. 59, No. 2, Aug 2012, p121

[ii] James Backhouse, ‘Early Tasmania’, Papers Read before the Royal Society of Tasmania During the years 1888 to 1889, Tasmania: John Vail, Government Printer, 1902, p148

[iii] James Backhouse, ‘Early Tasmania’, p148

[iv] Isabella Mead, ‘Settlement of the Norfolk Islanders at Norfolk Plains’, Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association, Vol. 12, No. 2, November 1964, p59

[v] K R Von Stieglitz, Longford Past and Present, with notes on Perth, Pateena and Illawarra, Tasmania, 1947, p6

[vi] Sharon Morgan, Land Settlement in Early Tasmania, Creating an Antipodean England, Cambridge University Press, 1992, p15

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Botany Bay and Port Jackson

Continuing Our Tasmanian Story – from the First Fleet

The First Fleet’s brig Supply was the first to arrive at Botany Bay, on 18 January 1788. The following day the Alexander, Scarborough and Friendship arrived followed by the Sirius and the rest of the First Fleet the day after. On 21 January, Phillip proceeded to Port Jackson to find a better site for settlement. Numerous landings were made in Port Jackson until Sydney Cove was found and assessed to be the best site. The party probably camped there over night, returning to Botany Bay the following morning. On his return, Governor Phillip ordered that the whole fleet sail for Port Jackson the next day, the 24^th of January. However, the wind was foul the next day and only the Supply sailed, setting anchor in Sydney Cove on the evening of the 25^th. Early on the 26^th of January the Marines and convicts were taken ashore in Supply’s boats.

That afternoon a small ceremony was held, involving Phillip, a few key officers and marines and some exhausted convicts who had spent the day clearing a campsite from the sandy bush. The British flag was run up a makeshift flagpole and toasts were made to the King and the success of the new settlement, and the marines fired four volleys.

Algernon Talmage, The Founding of Australia by Capt. Arthur Phillip RN, Sydney Cove, January 26, 1788 (courtesy Trove)

The women had to wait until the 6^th of February before they were brought ashore. Bowes described the occasion in some detail:

At five o’clock this morning, all things were got in order for landing the whole of the women, and 3 of the ships longboats came alongside us to receive them; previous to their quitting the ship, a strict search was made to try if any of the many things which they had stolen on board could be found, but their artifice eluded the most strict search, and at six o’clock p.m. we had the long wished for pleasure of seeing the last of them leave the ship. They were dressed in general very clean, and some few amongst them might be said to be well dressed. The men convicts got to them very soon after they landed, and it is beyond my abilities to give a just description of the scene of debauchery and riot that ensued during the night. They had not been landed more than an hour, before they had all got their tents pitched or anything in order to receive them, but there came on the most violent storm of thunder lightening and rain I ever saw. The lightening was incessant during the whole night and I never heard it rain faster. About 12 o’clock in the night one severe flash of lightning struck a very large tree in the centre of the Camp, under which some places were constructed to keep the sheep and hogs in. It split the tree from top to bottom, killed five sheep belonging to Major Ross, and a pig of one of the Lieutenants. The severity of the lightening this and the two preceding nights leaves no room to doubt but many of the trees which appear burnt up to the tops of them were the effect of lightning. The sailors in our ship requested to have some grog to make merry with upon the women quitting the ship, indeed the Captain himself had no small reason to rejoice upon their being all safely landed and given into the care of the Governor, as he was under the penalty of £40 for every convict that was missing. For which reason he complied with the sailor’s request, and about the time they began to be elevated the tempest came on. The scene which presented itself at this time and during the greater part of the night beggars every description.

Some swearing, others quarrelling, others singing – not in the least regarding the tempest, though so violent that the thunder shook the ship exceeded anything I ever before had a conception of. I never before experienced so uncomfortable a night, expecting every moment the ship would be struck with the lightening. The sailors almost all drunk, and incapable of rendering much assistance had an accident happened and the heat was almost suffocating.[i]

 

William Bradley, Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, March 1788 (Mitchell Library)

First years

A great deal has been written about the challenges faced by the first settlement at Port Jackson. My purpose here is to reflect primarily on what I have been able to discover about my ancestors, and those most closely connected with them. Like the vast bulk of convicts they will have struggled with the strange climate and the restricted diet; they will have wondered about the new plants and animals around them, and probably worried about the intentions of the local inhabitants, the Eora.

There was a great deal of work to do to provide the most basic foundations for the settlement. Settlers and convicts were engaged in clearing the ground, erecting tents and building huts in the marine and convict encampments; constructing public amenities such as the commissary and hospital as well as the slightly grander governor’s house; unloading provisions; clearing ground for the public farm and even erecting an observatory. Work was also required to repair and refit the fleet’s ships.

By July 1788, Lieutenant Henry Waterhouse could write to his father:

The Town now begins to cut a figure a number of Wooden Houses are built & the Governors & Lieut Governors Stone Houses are almost built likewise the Hospital and Store houses. At a little distance from the Town there is a farm for the Cultivation of Seed & Cattle for the Publick, there is a number of private Farms & Gardens about there is likewise a brick field & kiln at which some Thousands of excellent Bricks have been made …[ii]

William Saltmarsh’s brushes with the law

William Saltmarsh was soon working as a cooper in the commissary store and later, at the wharf. As cooper he was probably making barrels to store all manner of goods, including rum. On 11 August 1788 William was accused of stealing spirits belonging to Mr Zachariah Clark and of being found drunk. Collins and Alt sat as a bench of magistrates to hear the charge. William Broughton alleged that on the 9^th of August he had noticed a strong smell of rum in the store and had found Saltmarsh very drunk. In his defense, William Saltmarsh said that he had put water into an empty pipe of Rio Spirits on the 7^th of August and drunk it two days later. He was found guilty and sentenced to seventy lashes![iii] The early floggings at Sydney Cove were described as being ‘at the cart’s tail’, with the recipient probably tied to a cartwheel or the raised back of a cart.[iv] The lash was a cat-o’-nine-tails, with nine knotted leather strands at the end of a short whip. Painful indeed.

William’s luck improved the following year when, on 6 June 1789 he was credited with capturing the escaped convict known as Black Caesar. Apparently Caesar was raiding the settlement for food when William caught him around midnight. Tried at Deptford, in Kent, on 17 March 1786, for stealing cash valued at 240 shillings, John Caesar had been sentenced to seven years transportation and, like William, had sailed aboard the Alexander. Collins described Caesar as ‘an incorrigibly stubborn black’[v] and recorded:

Caesar, being closely attended to, was at length apprehended and secured. This man was always reputed the hardest-working convict in the country; his frame was muscular and well calculated for hard labour; but in his intellects he did not very widely differ from a brute; his appetite was ravenous, for he could in any one day devour the full ration for two days. To gratify his appetite he was compelled to steal from others, and all his thefts were directed to that purpose. He was such a wretch, and so indifferent about meeting death that he declared, while in confinement, that if he should be hanged he would create a laugh before he was turned off, by playing off some trick upon the executioner.[vi]

Recognised as Australia’s first bushranger, Caesar was to abscond a number of times, finally being caught and fatally shot in 1796.

Four months after capturing Caesar, William was back on the other side of the law. This time he was accused of stealing oars form Lieutenant Ralph Clark’s boat. Was he planning his own escape? Or perhaps he fancied some fresh fish to add to the meagre rations? In any event, he paid dearly, facing the magistrates on 13 October and sentenced to seventy lashes!

Two months later William attended a far happier event – the baptism of his daughter Ann. Born to convict Elizabeth Holligan, Ann was baptised at St Phillips on 20 December 1789. Elizabeth had sailed to the colony on board the Prince of Wales. A few years older than William, Elizabeth was a Londoner and had faced trial at the Old Bailey on 18 April 1787 where she was found guilty of stealing six pairs of worsted stockings valued at eight shillings. For this, she was sentenced to seven years transportation.

Very little is known about William and Elizabeth’s relationship. On 6 March 1790 Elizabeth and Ann sailed to Norfolk Island with some 200 convicts and two companies of marines as part of a strategy to reduce the pressure on supplies at Sydney Cove. Although William was to follow some months later, they seem not to have re-connected as a family.[vii]

A return of male convicts in July 1790 listed only three coopers at Sydney Cove.[viii] Perhaps such a scarcity meant that William had been able to continue performing his trade notwithstanding his transgressions.[ix] However, the following month, William was sent to the fledgling settlement on Norfolk Island. It is not clear from the records why William was sent, whether there was some intention for him to reunite with Elizabeth and Ann, whether his skills were needed there, or perhaps his earlier transgressions now counted against him? Perhaps his transfer was simply part of a broader strategy to move some of the hungry mouths of Sydney Cove to the more sparsely populated island.

Stephen Martin at Sydney Cove

Stephen Martin’s experience of Sydney Cove was not too dissimilar from William’s. He found himself on the wrong side of the lash on two occasions. In February 1789 Captain Collins dealt summarily with Stephen and another convict for neglecting their work and ordered that each receive twenty-five lashes. Nine months later, Stephen was charged, together with John Russell, with stealing a pair of shoes and buckles, a loaf of bread and piece of beef. The pair faced a hearing before the Justice of Peace at Rosehill on 28 November 1789 and was sentenced ‘to repay each two pounds of flour, one pound a week, and Martin to receive fifty lashes’.[x]

Stephen Martin was sent to Norfolk Island, on board the Sirius, at the same time as Elizabeth and Ann Holligan. The Sirius was then to sail on to Canton for provisions. However, the weather was unkind and on 19 March 1790, just a few days after the convicts and marines disembarked, the Sirius was broken up upon the reef, resulting in the loss of many personal goods and provisions.

 

Notes

[i] Bowes Smyth, Arthur, c1790, A Journal of a Voyage from Portsmouth to New South Wales and China in the Lady Penrhyn, transcript published by State Library of New South Wales (edited for punctuation and full words)

[ii] Henry Waterhouse, Letter to William Waterhouse, 11 July 1788, State Library of New South Wales, http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/letters/waterhouse/index.html

[iii] John Cobley, 1962, Sydney Cove, 1788, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, p205

[iv] Egan, 1999, Buried Alive: Sydney 1788-92, Eyewitness accounts of the making of a nation, Allen and Unwin, St Leonard’s, New South Wales, p105

[v] Tim Flannery, 1999, The Birth of Sydney, Text Publishing, Melbourne, p93

[vi] Tim Flannery, p94

[vii] Elizabeth and Ann only remained on the island for three years before returning to Sydney aboard the Chesterfield in 1793.

[viii] Egan, p183

[ix] Frederick Watson & Australia, Parliament Library Committee, 1914, Letter from Arthur Phillip to Grenville, Annexure: General Return of Male Convicts, Sydney, 23 July 1790, Historical Records of Australia, Volume 1

[x] Irene Schaffer, 1985, From Convicts to Settlers, Tasmania, pp48-49

The First Fleet

Continuing Our Tasmanian Story

Fleet connections

Richard Lucas is just one of a number of people associated with the First and Second Fleets to Australia who is linked (or potentially linked) in some way with my ancestry. Like nearly all of them, Richard arrived in Van Diemen’s Land from Norfolk Island. So, stepping back in time a little now, before the first European settlement in Van Diemen’s Land, I am going to introduce some of those remarkable individuals who sailed aboard the First Fleet to the new colony of New South Wales.

E L Bihan, The First Fleet Entering Port Jackson, January 26, 1788 (State Library of New South Wales)

Among those who sailed in the First Fleet were Stephen Martin (probably my 5 x Great Grandfather) on the Alexander and William Saltmarsh.

Journey to New South Wales

The story of the First Fleet has been recounted many times and as I have been able to discover little material specifically relating to the individuals of most interest to me, a brief outline of the journey will suffice for the purposes of this story.

The First Fleet comprised six convict transports — Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales and Scarborough — three storeships, and two men-o-war. The fleet weighed anchor on 13 May 1787. Sailing from Portsmouth in fine weather, it reached Tenerife on 3 June. There the fleet took on fresh water, pumpkins, onions, meat and Canary wine. A convict aboard the Alexander, John Power, attempted escape but was quickly recaptured and the fleet set sail again on 10 June.

From 6 August to 4 September, the fleet rested in the port of Rio de Janeiro, where the officers, marines and crew were allowed trips ashore, and the convicts had the run of the decks under supervision. Here, fresh meat was both excellent and cheap. Local rum, which proved of poor quality, was also purchased, along with other supplies. Clothing for the female convicts had not been forthcoming prior to leaving England so in Rio Phillip purchased 100 sacks of tapioca, the tapioca for eating and the strong burlap from which the sacks were made to be reused for clothing.

By mid-October the fleet reached Cape Town where it spent another month stocking up on plants, seeds and livestock for the new colony of New South Wales. During this period, Phillip also tried to build up the strength of convicts and crew for the last most difficult leg of the voyage. Fresh beef and mutton, soft bread and vegetables were served each day.

The fleet left the Cape on 13 November. It now headed into formidable oceans. Laden with new supplies, including some five hundred live animals, the transports laboured. Convict quarters were more cramped than before, with space having been given over to the construction of improvised pens for livestock and its food. The weather was dark, wet and gloomy but at least the gales remained favourable. Huge waves broke upon the decks and dumped freezing water upon the marines, the convicts and their bedding. Whale sightings and albatross punctuated the monotony.

On 3 January 1788 the coast of Van Diemen’s Land came into view. A week later, sailing northwards, the ships battled a violent thunderstorm that split the Golden Grove’s topsails, carried away the Prince of Wales’ main yard, and terrified the convicts below decks.

Two hundred and fifty days out from Portsmouth, the fleet reached its destination, Botany Bay, early on the 20^th of January 1788. Governor Phillip soon decided against a settlement there and on the 22^nd set off to examine Port Jackson where he chose an area beside the Tank Stream as a suitable site for settlement.

At Port Jackson the marines were employed to provide protection from attack and to assist in exploration and establishment of the new settlement. Thomas Lucas was likely to have participated in much of the early exploration of the area around Port Jackson and in the early engagement with the Eora and other Aboriginal people around the first settlement. Marines who had trades worked at their trades and were paid for their efforts. The marines were also engaged in tedious rounds of duty, mounting guard and the like.

On 1 October 1788 only five officers and four other ranks were prepared to accept the offer of a grant of land and discharge in the colony. Presumably most planned to return home at the end of their three years of service. Thomas Lucas was later to transfer to the New South Wales Corps.

Convicts of the First Fleet

Evidence that would definitively prove my Coventry family line has proven elusive during more than two decades of research. It seems very likely that my Great Great Grandfather, James Henry Coventry, was the grandson of Irish-born William Coventry and Mary Ann Martin, the daughter of Stephen Martin and Hannah Pealing. William and Mary Ann had four children, including two sons William James and John. For many years I thought that James Henry was one of William James’ children but now I think it more likely that his father was the far more elusive John Coventry.

Stephen Martin

Stephen Martin was born about 1748, possibly in Bristol in the south west of England. Around this time Bristol was growing rapidly to become England’s second largest city. Imported goods, products of the slave trade, such as sugar cane, tobacco, rum and cocoa, were imported via Bristol, providing a strong catalyst for growth.

I have yet to discover anything of Stephen’s early life. He was thirty-five when, on 28 April 1783, he was convicted at the Bristol Quarter Sessions of stealing a cann (a small pistol) and a pair of boots and spurs. Stephen was sentenced to seven years transportation.[i] Stephen was transferred to the convict hulk Censor where he lived and worked in harsh, squalid conditions, perhaps dredging the river, driving in posts to prevent erosion of the riverbanks, developing the Woolwich Arsenal or maintaining the hulk. Nearly four years after his conviction, Stephen was delivered to the transport Alexander, which was to carry him to Australia as part of the historic First Fleet.

William Saltmarsh

Also on board was William Saltmarsh, first husband of my 5 x Great Grandmother, Mary Butler. When William was just fourteen years old he faced the Lent Assizes at Surrey on the 28^th of March 1785, with his friend George Freeland, charged with stealing from a shop in Putney and for taking, ‘with force and arms’, three cotton and two silk handkerchiefs. He was sentenced to seven years transportation and was held initially at Southwark gaol before being sent, in mid-1786, to the hulk Ceres and then, in August, to the Justitia. Like Stephen, he laboured hard over that period, and was fortunate to avoid an early grave from the numerous contagious illnesses that ran rife in the prisons and on the hulks. In January 1787 he was delivered to the Alexander. Unfortunately all we know of William’s early life is that he was described as a labourer and had lived in Putney before his arrest.

 

Notes

[i] State Library of New South Wales, Early Convict Index, Alphabetical and Ship Indents, http://goo.gl/qwYoek, http://goo.gl/ub3AAP

Online resources

Stephen Martin on my Ancestry Tree

William Saltmarsh on my Ancestry Tree

Samuel Lamprey

First white birth at Port Sorell

My Great Great Uncle, Samuel Lamprey, is thought to have been the first white person born at Sassafras on Tasmania’s northwest coast.[1] He was born at Northdown in 1843. There appears not to be any formal record of his birth or baptism.[2][3]

Samuel’s parents, John and Martha Lamprey, had migrated to Van Diemen’s Land the previous year, sailing on board the Royal Saxon with their first born son, Albert, and baby Sarah. Sadly, Sarah died during the voyage. Still grieving the loss of her daughter, perhaps Martha was already pregnant when she and John, with three-year-old Albert, made their way from Port Dalrymple to the new frontier settlement of Burgess (now known as Port Sorell).

John worked as a shepherd and farm labourer at Northdown for about ten years before taking up 300 acres of land of his own at the head of Green’s Creek at East Sassafras. No doubt the move to ‘Hill Farm’ was very exciting for Albert and Samuel. They would have been old enough to help with the challenging task of clearing the land and constructing the bush-crafted building that was to become home.

By this time, Samuel had another five siblings. Maria was born in 1845, Mary in 1846, Martha in 1848 and finally another brother, John, in 1850. Then came Sarah, in April1853, the year that the family moved to their own property. Two year’s later, my Great Great Grandfather, William, was born on 8 January 1855. Samuel’s youngest sibling, Arthur, was born in 1858.

Notwithstanding the work required to establish Hill Farm, it seems that John and Martha understood the value of education and Samuel was to continue to go to school for another few years. He left school to join his father on the farm at the age of fourteen.[4] Apparently Samuel remained on the farm for another sixteen years, before deciding to move further southwest, to Nook, where he was to reside at ‘Westwood’, an estate of 110 acres under grass and potatoes.[5]

Marriage and children

Samuel was 31 when he married Mary Ann Carey (eleven years his junior) at Nook on New Years’ Day, 1875.[6] Mary Ann was one of a dozen children born to Charles and Eliza Carey who had migrated to Van Diemen’s Land the same year as Samuel’s parents. Arriving on the Arab in March 1842, Charles and Eliza settled initially at Evandale and then moved to Longford where most of their children were born. In 1856 the family moved to Deloraine and then later to Green’s Creek, where Mary Ann would soon have met her neighbor and future husband. In 1874 the Careys bought a bush block at Nook, perhaps explaining Samuel’s move to the district.

Samuel’s younger brother, John, married Mary Ann’s older sister, Louisa, at Port Sorell in 1871. They also moved to the West Kentish district. Both families practiced as Christian Brethren, very much influenced by the visits of the evangelists Brown and Moyse in 1873. Brown and Moyse preached the Gospel of the Grace of God to early settlers in houses, barns and wherever a suitable place could be found. ‘Many conversions to God through faith in Christ were recorded and believers soon found it necessary to establish a place of worship.’[7] The first Gospel Hall was erected on the West Kentish Road about two miles from Sheffield.

On 18 November 1875, Eliza gave birth to a daughter, Marion Martha. Mr Morris, the Constable at Green’s Creek, registered the birth at Port Sorell.[8] The registration describes Samuel as a farmer but there is no information about where the family is living, although perhaps the fact that the birth was not registered until 21 December suggests that the family was some distance from the town.

A second daughter, Mary Edith, was born on 12 May 1878. This time Samuel registered the birth, indicating that he was a farmer at Sheffield.[9] Almost nine years was to pass before a third and final child, Louisa Alice, was born on 31 March 1887.

Selling the farm

In July 1901, the North West Post reported that Samuel had sold his farm and was auctioning a range of stock and implements. The advertisement provides an interesting list of goods, including: 50 crossbred ewes, 19 well bred pigs, pure Boar and Hog, a grey cart mare, a bay cart horse and yearling cart colt, a pony, four bullocks, five very choice cows; a wagon, truck and bullock dray; a gent’s saddle, various ploughs, harrows and other farming machinery; a copper, tank, grindstone, palings, and ‘lots of useful Furniture and Sundries’.[10]

Mary marries

Samuel moved his family to East Devonport. In September 1902 the family’s new home was to host the wedding of daughter Mary and local Harford man, Henry Martin[11]:

A very pretty wedding took place last week at the residence of the bride’s parents, East Devonport, the contracting parties being Mr H Martin, the fourth son of the late Mr John Martin, of Harford, and Miss Mary Lamprey, the second eldest daughter of Mr S Lamprey. Pastor J Casely, of Sheffield, came down specially to conduct the ceremony, the Misses E Thomas and L Lamprey being bridesmaids, and Messrs J Thomas and A Lamprey were in attendance upon the bridgegroom. … The same evening [Henry and Mary] were escorted to the railway station and left for their future home at Boat Harbour amid showers of rice and flowers, accompanied by good wishes.[12]

Presumably it was Mary’s departure to Boat Harbour that led her parents to move from East Devonport to their next home, on the main road at Detention near Rocky Cape.

Tragedy

Sadly, it was here that tragedy struck a few years later. Shortly after 10:00 on the morning of 18^th of March 1907, thirty-one year old Marion was driving the light pony trap, as she had many times before, when the two cream cans it was carrying began to rattle. The cart was on the road that ran through the farm, close to home. Samuel was walking ahead of the trap when he heard the rattling and turned to see the pony galloping down the track towards him. Marion had time to call “Father” before the wheel of the trap caught a piece of fern beside the track and turned over. Marion was thrown from the trap and her head struck a nearby stump. Samuel could not lift his daughter and ran to the house for help. His second daughter, Mary, came out and by that time Mr John Bingham and Mr Hedley James were also on the scene. Marion was breathing but she could not speak and blood was flowing from above her left temple. The three men carried Marion into the house and Thomas Anderson, the mail coach driver who had also just arrived, was dispatched to fetch Dr Muir. Unfortunately Dr Muir did not arrive until 2:00pm, when he declared that Marion had died. Witnesses at the inquest confirmed Samuel’s testimony that the pony had been thoroughly reliable and was frequently seen being driven by various members of the family. The coroner found that Marion had been accidently killed when her head struck the stump of a tree, fracturing her skull. He further found that there had been no negligence.[13]

Potatoes being carted to the old Rocky Cape jetty (courtesy LINC Tasmania)

Louisa marries

On 25 March 1910, Samuel and Mary Ann’s home was opened to around fifty guests celebrating the marriage of their youngest daughter, Louisa, to Thomas Benjamin Moles:

A very pretty wedding was celebrated by Pastor E. A. Salisbury on Wednesday, May 25, at the residence of the bride’s parents, the contracting parties being Miss Louisa A. Lamprey, youngest daughter of Mr. S. Lamprey, Rocky Cape, and Mr. T. B. Moles, fourth son of Mr. H. Moles, Sisters Creek. The bride was charmingly dressed in cream silk, and wore the usual veil and orange blossom, carrying, a shower bouquet, and was attended, by Miss M. Dobson as brides-maid, who wore a very pretty dress of pale green silk. Mr. L.A. Elphinstone acted as best man. After the ceremony the guests, numbering over 50, sat down to a sumptuous breakfast provided for the occasion. Afterwards the happy couple were driven to Burnie en route for their honeymoon tour, the bride’s travelling dress being a navy blue coat and skirt and silk vest. [14]

The article went on to itemise the presents given by many of the guests. Amongst them were a gold bangle and gold brooch; a set of carvers, teapots, tea sets, cups and saucers; glass dish, jug and shaving mug; vegetable dishes and live poultry; a salad bowl and cheese dish; a lamp; a sliver cruet; a set of furs; bread and butter knives; ruby salts, set in silver; a Victoria table cloth; an oak tray; half -dozen silver teaspoons and mustard spoon; a set of saucepans and Japanese work box; a pickle jar and sauce bottle and sucking pig; a cake dish and cake stand; and numerous other items for a well laid dining table.[15]

Death of an ‘Old Pioneer’

On 25 March 1917, Samuel Lamprey died at the residence of his sister and brother-in-law, Frances (nee Carey) and Edward Smith, in Rooke Street, Devonport. The papers reported that blood poisoning, which had started in one of his hands, had caused his death. Samuel was 73. A number of the local papers referred to him as a North-West Coast pioneer, having been born at Northdown, spent quarter of a century in the West Kentish district and another sixteen years at Sister’s Creek. Samuel was buried at the Mersey Bluff Cemetery in Devonport ‘in the presence of a large and representative gathering’.[16] Mary Ann died a few years later, on 6 January 1921. She was at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Louisa and Thomas Moles, at Sister’s Creek.

 

Endnotes

[1] Charles Ramsay, With the Pioneers, Devonport: Latrobe Group National Trust, 1957, 1995, p58

[2] 1917 ‘Personal’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 4 April, p. 6, viewed 25 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152840969z

[3] The Cyclopedia of Tasmania, Matiland and Krone, Hobart, 1900, p352

[4] The Cyclopedia of Tasmania, Matiland and Krone, Hobart, 1900, p352

[5] The Cyclopedia of Tasmania, Matiland and Krone, Hobart, 1900, p353

[6] RGD 37/34. Marriages, 1875, Australia, Tasmania, Civil Registration, 1803-1893, Archives Office of Tasmania, Family Search, familysearch.org, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-35345-16495-41?cc=2125029&wc=M93C-984:633601471

[7] K R von Stieglitz, A Short history of Sheffield, the Kentish Municipality and its Pioneers, 1951, p 49

[8] RGD 33/53. Births, 1875, Launceston and country districts, B-W, Australia, Tasmania, Civil Registration, 1803-1893, Archives Office of Tasmania, Family Search, familysearch.org, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-35350-12510-92?cc=2125029&wc=M93C-9FJ:n1870766344

[9] RGD 33/56. Births, 1878, Launceston and country districts, B-W, Australia, Tasmania, Civil Registration, 1803-1893, Archives Office of Tasmania, Family Search, familysearch.org, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-35349-23650-41?cc=2125029&wc=M93C-9FR:709556799

[10] 1901 ‘Advertising’, The North West Post (Formby, Tas. : 1887 – 1916), 4 July, p. 3, viewed 26 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200574780

[11] Henry Martin’s sister, Mary, had married Samuel’s brother, Arthur Lamprey, at Green’s Creek in 1883.

[12] 1902 ‘Devonport’, The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (Tas. : 1899 – 1919), 25 September, p. 2, viewed 26 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64900939

[13] 1907 ‘The Inquest’, Circular Head Chronicle (Stanley, Tas: 1906 – 1954), 20 March, p. 3, viewed 25 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160982210

[14] 1910 ‘Wedding Bells’, The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (Tas: 1899 – 1919), 3 June, p. 4, viewed 26 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65180239

[15] 1910 ‘Wedding Bells’, The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (Tas: 1899 – 1919), 3 June, p. 4, viewed 26 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65180239

[16] 1917 ‘Death of an old pioneer’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas: 1900 – 1954), 26 March, p. 3. (DAILY), viewed 27 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50917705

 

Reginald Wigmore Gaby (1876-1971)

Boer War veteran

Reginald Wigmore Gaby is my first cousin, three times removed. Our common ancestors are Robert Whiteway, a convicted thief who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1822, and Ellen Wigmore, the eldest daughter of the Reverend Thomas Wigmore, an Irish born clergyman who served in Bothwell in the 1840s before quarrelling with the first Bishop of Tasmania and returning to England.

Reginald’s story is of particular interest because he is one of the very few members of my extended family who, at least as far as I’ve discovered to date, served in the South African (Boer) War. Fought between the United Kingdom and the South African Transvaal Republic and Orange Free State, the war was fought between 11 October 1899 and 31 May 1902. British efforts were bolstered by troops from across the British Empire, including from South Africa, Canada, British India, New Zealand and the Australian colonies. The war ended with the annexation of both the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State.

Unfortunately records of the Boer War are sparse and I have not discovered a great deal about Reg’s participation but it is clear from his later life that he exhibited energy, resilience and determination. No doubt these characteristics, together with the bush skills practiced in his youth, helped him to survive the rigours of war in a hostile climate.

Early life

Reginald Wigmore Gaby was born on 19 February 1876, at Tea Tree, to Alfred Athelstone Gaby and Adelaide (nee Whiteway). Today Tea Tree is a five-minute drive north west of Richmond and only 20 minutes north of Hobart; although the road from the capital no doubt took considerably longer to travel back in the 1870s. Located in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley wine region, Alfred Gaby’s 620 acres of farm land may well have given way to picturesque vineyards in the last twenty years or so. In any event, some time during Reginald’s youth, the family moved from the Coal River to Launceston for a short time before moving to a new property near Scottsdale in the state’s north-east.

Reg was the eldest of nine children. Over the first eighteen years of his life seven brothers and one sister were to join the household: Ernest, Emily, Louis, Frank, Charles, Thomas, Alfred and Percy. Sadly, Louis was to die in hospital, from Diphtheria, in 1886, just a few months after his fourth birthday. And the boys were to lose their only sister two years later when nine year old Emily died from ‘typhoid fever’.

Joining up

When he was twenty-three years old, Reg volunteered to join the First Tasmanian Contingent to support the Empire in its fight against the Boers in South Africa. Reg was single and worked as a miner at Scottsdale. He would also have worked on the family’s property, clearing bush and tending to the farm.

Reginald Wigmore Gaby

He was one of 49 men chosen from the volunteers in the north of the state to join the first contingent. On 19 October 1899 they travelled by express train to Hobart where they joined the southern recruits to form a small contingent totalling 80 men. Met by hundreds of well-wishers at the station, the following day’s news reported that:

Most of them are from outlying parts of the North, and the appearance of the whole body denoted the care that had been exercised in selecting them. Without exception they were a fine, capable looking company …’.[1]

Subsequent articles reported that the men were undergoing more than six hours drilling each day, with a great deal of attention devoted to instructing the men in the use of rifles and bayonet.[2][3] Following a number of enthusiastic farewell receptions, the troops left Hobart en route to South Africa on 27 October, travelling firstly by train to Launceston allowing the northerners further farewells.[4]

Boer War contingent lined up for inspection (Archives Office of Tasmania)(edited)

First Contingent for Boer War, Launceston Wharf (Archives Office of Tasmania)(edited)

Reg became ill and retuned to Australia with 110 invalided Australian soldiers, on board the Karamea, reaching Hobart on 23 July 1900.

Reginald was heartily welcome home by the people of Scottsdale. The Examiner reports his homecoming, on 6 August:

The return of our warrior bold, Trooper R W Gaby, was witnessed last night by upwards of 250 or 300 people. The reception accorded our hero took him quite by surprise, so much so that he retreated to the far end of his carriage when he saw the crowd on the platform; but he soon overcame his timidity and faced the inevitable, and went through his part of the programme like a soldier, with his head up and eyes front. He received a right hearty, warm and cordial reception, and was informed that a public social would be accorded him next Monday night at the Mechanics, for which he was told to be prepared, when we trust the weather will be favourable and the attendance large, befitting the occasion.[5]

Indeed, notwithstanding the inclement weather, more than 110 people attended the social the following week. Mr Ed Button, presented an address, offering:

… sincere and hearty congratulations on the trooper’s safe return home from the seat of war in South Africa. Though deeply regretting that sickness had compelled him to return at this present stage, they were proud to know that while on active service he had nobly done his part in upholding the dignity and honour of this portion of her most gracious Majesty’s dominions.[6]

Once recovered, Reginald joined the 8^th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse for service in South Africa. Signing up on 21 April 1902, Reg’s papers tell us that he was just a quarter of an inch shy of six feet tall, with a fair complexion, light brown hair and hazel eyes. Aged 26 at the time, Reg was single, living at Scottsdale, listed his occupation as miner and had served as a Private in the First Tasmanian Contingent.

While it is not clear when he was promoted, Reg served as a sergeant in his brief second tour of duty, departing on 21 May 1902 aboard the St Andrew and serving until 28 July. The Mercury of 21 May reported:

The Tasmanian troops (C Squadron), of the Commonwealth Contingent, will embark on the troopship Saint Andrew this (Wednesday) morning. At 8:30 am the squadron, consisting of 116 men and 5 officers, will leave the camp at New Town. It is expected that half an hour will be occupied in the march from the camp to the wharf, the squadron arriving at the ship’s side at 9 am. The soldiery and equipment will be at once taken on board, and after being stored, the horses, 121 in number, will be embarked. It is expected that the horses will be baled up in their respective stalls, and by 10:30 am this work should be finished, and the men ready to store their baggage on board, which will be at the ship’s side at that hour.

All work in connection with the embarkation will, probably, be finished by 11 am, at which hour the men of the squadron will be allowed to come on shore and spend three-quarters of an hour in bidding farewell to their friends. … It is expected that the vessel will leave the wharf at noon.

The men of the departing contingent have attained quite as high a state of efficiency as the troops that previously left Tasmania, and despite the continuous drain upon the horses of the State, are as well mounted.[7]

Parade of C Squadron of the 8th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse (Australian War Memorial) (edited)

Interestingly, while there were dozens of articles welcoming Gaby home from his first tour of duty, it is much harder to follow his return journey. Perhaps the press was already growing tired of this war that had gone on for longer than originally anticipated. The Australian troops were integrated with British regiments and took no distinctive part in the major battles. Somewhat embarrassingly, the colonial troops lost slight more men to disease than to enemy action.[8] Of the 16 000 Australians engaged, 282 died in action or from wounds, while 286 died from disease, particularly typhoid or ‘enteric fever’ as it was commonly known.[9]

Indeed, the next reference I can find to Reg is his inclusion in a list of those ‘Sick in hospital in South Africa’ during the last days of his deployment.[10] His service was recognised by the award of the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Cape Colony and Orange Free State.

Reg’s daughter Marie Jean and grandson Neville record that Reg was a man of strong character and pride. His four younger brothers served in World War I and his own four sons served in World War II. They say he was motivated by a desire to serve his country and to earn money towards a farm of his own.

After the Boer War, Reg moved to Tasmania’s north-west, where he selected and cleared bush land at Nabageena, twenty kilometres south of Smithton. He established a dairy farm that was to remain in the family for the next century.

In 1907 Reg married Mary Bald at Jetsonville, near Scottsdale. The couple was to have four boys and five girls.

An article in the Circular Head Chronicle tells us more[11]:

The thought that lead to the pioneering of Nabageena, first settlement among the fertile hills lying south of Irishtown, were born on a Boer War battlefield. It was there that Reg W Gaby, a young Tasmanian from the North-east Coast, first heard of the possibilities of Sunny Hills, as the district was then known, and decided to run an eye over it when he returned to his homeland.

It must have been a determined and energetic eye for, a fortnight after he had returned from South Africa, Mr Gaby was exploring the forest of gum and blackwood which, from his east-coast experience, prejudiced him in favour of the area.   A few days later, having applied for 150 acres, he was in Hobart asking and obtaining permission to begin clearing on 25 acres before the survey was made.

His was not the first axe to ring in the Nabageena hills, for J Laird, a Victorian, who subsequently returned to that State, had selected 320 acres and cleared and grassed much of it several years earlier. This had reverted to second growth before Mr Gaby’s arrival. …

… Mr Gaby’s first building was the inevitable bush hut, but such care was used in axe-dressing the timber that one of the first visitors thought it had been sawn, and asked how it had been conveyed in the absence of a road.

Another old timer who frequently camped at the hut complained bitterly because the timber was so smoothly dressed that he could never find a splinter with which to pick his teeth.

… But enthusiasm can do much and, acting for friends and acquaintances from the east coast, Mr Gaby explored and reported on the country as far back as the Trowutta hills and down into the Duck River valley, with the result that over 1000 acres were selected.

Mr & Mrs R W Gaby’s home at Nabageena, 1909. The home was built using split timber weatherboards and a shingle roof. (Courtesy eHeritage, Circular Head Heritage Centre)

In 1916, in an article on the Potato Industry, the Circular Head Chronicle cites Mr F W Ulbrich, the ‘potato expert of the Agriculture Department’ giving advice to farmers about dealing with ‘Irish blight’ and refers to Reg’s practices with approval[12]:

Mr Ulbrich said he might mention that Mr Reg Gaby of Sunny Hills had sent along to him at Devonport last season for exhibition purposes samples of Red Bismarks, Gem of the South, and ordinary Reds. They were the result of careful culling of seed, using tubers only true to type.

Reg was also active in the local dairy industry. In 1927 a report of the Annual Shareholders meeting at Smithton has Reg Gaby ‘strenuously advocating’ amalgamation of local butter factories; a motion that was carried at the same meeting.[13]:

Mr Reg Gaby strenuously advocated amalgamation. He said that the industry needed some impetus as there was a steady retrograde tendency. Amalgamation was calculated to benefit the suppliers and to relieve them of much of the drudgery which at present fell to their lot. It would also cut down running expenses. It seemed ridiculous that on the North-west Coast there were many butter factory lorries competing against one another on the same roads. That alone showed the urgent need for amalgamation. Obsolete methods should be discarded at the first opportunity. The question affected all branches of agricultural and pastoral life. The speaker had been to coastal factory meetings, and had learned there that the scheme now being considered along the coast was peculiarly suited to the local factory. Suppliers should have a bigger say, and then the feeling of the people could be accurately gauged.

The Advocate published a story on the growth of the Nabageena District in 1932 which reveals a little more of Reg’s pioneering and farming efforts[14]:

Mr R W Gaby’s property of 185 acres has always been regarded as one of the best in this fast-progressing district, being especially good for the growth of grass, while for agriculture the lower lands are equally productive. Mr Gaby, who is a veteran of the Boer War, in which he enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest trooper-sergeant on active service, has been at Nabageena for the past 30 years, at which time the present fine country was all virgin forest, with the exception of a few blocks which had been scrubbed and grassed but then left to grow up again with undergrowth. There was much heavy timber to contend with when this Nabageena pioneer started including eucalypts, sassafras, blackwood, dogwood, musk and man fern, flora always indicative of rich soil well worth bringing into a state fit for cultivation or dairying. I noticed Mr Gaby hard at work on a rich alluvial flat of about 10 acres, which next year should give a good return, being well drained and rich in appearance. In grasses, cocksfoot, English, White Dutch and alskye are preferred, with some good subterraneum on the high ground and a little elsewhere.

Top-dressing is found to pay handsomely when one bag of super per acre is used, about 80 acres per year being treated. In Mr Gaby’s opinion the direct benefit derived from this enriching of the soil admits of no doubt or argument the increased quantity of milk and improved appearance of stock proving this very conclusively. Here some 50 cows are milked, the fine herd consisting of some pure bred Jerseys, but Jersey grade cows predominating. Only heifer calves are reared. For the past ten years only registered Jersey bulls have been used, these coming from the famous herd of Mr B T Saddler, East Devonport. A “New Zealandia” milking machine is installed and for 10 years this plant has given every satisfaction.

I noticed a good concrete floor in the milking shed, which is up-to-date in every way, the cowyard also being well graveled and paved with stones. Water is laid on to the shed, and this and another property of 150 acres are specially well off in the matter of permanent water. Hedges of macrocarpas surround the comfortable homestead, which in the “old days” was regarded as the customary house of call for all and sundry whose business or pleasure called them to the new settlement of Nabageena.

In another article a few month’s later, reporting on the ‘magnificent country’ of Smithton’s hinterland, the Advocate reported:[15]

Mr R W Gaby, of Nabageena, claims to be the pioneer of that area. He took up land there 30 years ago on his return from the South African war. He had bush experience on the North-East, and turned it to good account in the Far North West. He affirms that the Nabageena country is better than any of the old settled lands. He puts it value down at £20 per acre. Another district settler placed a similar value on cleared farms.

… Nabageena is myrtle country, which lends itself to clearing, as the Yolla experience testifies, hence, after the lapse of 30 years, the district has quite a settled appearance, with many good metal roads and others which will call for metalling when the country’s finances improve.

… Dairying is the chief pursuit, and some large herds are being milked. Mr Gaby has 45 cows; others have more. On one farm 75 cows are milked.

In 1952 and 1954, Reg travelled to Boer War reunions in Kalgoorlie and Hobart, remarking that at that time only 100 of the 850 Tasmanians who had served in the Boer Ware were still living.[16]

South African War Veterans 50th Reunion, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 31 May, p. 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27091430

1954 ‘BOER WAR VETERANS.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 13 November, p. 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69867896

Four years later, Reg travelled to London, where he represented his younger brother, Alfred Edward Gaby VC at the Victoria Cross Centenary Review of Holders of the Decoration by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Hyde Park, on 26 June 1956. This occasion warranted a colour spread in the Australian Women’s Weekly, and Reg was photographed with a French artist from a West End hit show at the Lyceum Theatre Party.[17] A far cry from Nabageena!

1956 ‘AUSTRALIAN V.C.s “OFF PARADE”.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 1 August, p. 16, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51775295

When Mary Gaby died in May 1952, the Advocate reported:

Mrs Mary Gaby, a highly esteemed resident of Circular Head, died at her home, after a long illness, on May 12. She went to the district from Jetsonville, near Scottsdale, as a bride just after the turn of the century with her husband Reginald W Gaby. It was her first journey into the far North West to her home “Mary Banks”, Nabageena, previously selected by her husband. Surrounded by bushlands and far removed from neighbours, the late Mrs Gaby, sustained by a virile Christian faith, won the respect of all.[18]

Reginald Wigmore Gaby died on 5 August 1971. He was 95 years old.

[1] 1899 ‘AUSTRALIAN CONTINGENT.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 20 October, p. 3, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12760394

[2] 1899 ‘AUSTRALIAN CONTINGENT.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 23 October, p. 3, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12760865

[3] 1899 ‘AUSTRALIAN CONTINGENT.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 24 October, p. 3, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12761120

[4] 1899 ‘AUSTRALIAN CONTINGENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 27 October, p. 3, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12761744

[5] 1900 ‘COUNTRY NEWS.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 – 1954), 9 August, p. 2 Edition: DAILY, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35366464

[6] 1900 ‘RETURN OF TROOPER GABY.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 – 1954), 16 August, p. 6 Edition: DAILY, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35367450

[7] 1902 ‘COMMONWEALTH CONTINGENT.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 21 May, p. 3, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9582689

[8] Jim Davidson, ‘The Boer War’ in Griffith Review 48: Enduring Legacies, Brisbane: 2015, p26

[9] Thomas Keneally, Australians: Eureaka to the Diggers, Melbourne: Allen & Unwin, 2011, pp 221-225

[10] 1902 ‘TASMANIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 4 August, p. 2, viewed 8 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153821394

[11] 1954 ‘Nabageena — first of district’s southern settlements.’, Circular Head Chronicle (Stanley, Tas. : 1906 – 1954), 17 November, p. 11, viewed 8 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163476968

[12] 1916 ‘The Potato Industry.’, Circular Head Chronicle (Stanley, Tas. : 1906 – 1954), 5 January, p. 2, viewed 8 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160995841

[13] 1927 ‘BUTTER FACTORY.’, Circular Head Chronicle (Stanley, Tas. : 1906 – 1954), 14 September, p. 3, viewed 8 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169013132

[14] 1932 ‘With Plough and Cow. Nabageena District.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 30 January, p. 9, viewed 8 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67904909

[15] 1932 ‘FAR NORTH-WEST.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 27 April, p. 9, viewed 8 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67921830

[16] 1954 ‘BOER WAR VETERANS.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 13 November, p. 3, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69867896

[17] 1956 ‘AUSTRALIAN V.C.s “OFF PARADE”.’, The Australian Women’s Weekly (1933 – 1982), 1 August, p. 16, viewed 7 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51775295

[18] 1952 ‘Mrs. Mary Gaby.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 26 May, p. 4, viewed 17 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69461075

Tongataboo

Having published James Deverell’s story earlier this week, I decided to compile some background about Tongataboo, a name I had only heard of in connection with Captain Cook’s landing site in Tonga (spelt Tongatapu) before I began my research.

James’ Tongataboo is a small place in Tasmania, near Deloraine. James was amongst its earliest residents and he died some years before its name was changed to Weetah when a post office was established there in 1912.

Jeremiah Sheehan, my Great Great Grandfather, also settled at Tongataboo following his marriage to James’s daughter Eliza in 1874.

With the exception of contemporary news reports about the state of the road from Deloraine to Tongataboo, there is very little published about the place and what follows is largely gleaned from newspaper reports on Trove.

Maureen Bennett’s book, Shamrock in the Clover, tells us that many of the Irish who arrived in the Deloraine district during the 1860s bought smallholdings, usually of about 50 acres. The only land available for purchase was the more marginal land outside the larger estates held by wealthy free settlers. Many of these people settled at Tongataboo, which Maureens says ‘is now Weetah, East Parkham and the back area of High Plains’. Irish families also bought land in another area known as Reedy Marsh and some bought land at Quamby Brook and Quamby Bluff (now known as Golden Valley).[1]

The families who settled in these areas had a very hard life. Their houses were originally very rough shelters and they had to work hard to make ends meet. The land which they bought was not usually as productive as that which was rented on the big estates but their only satisfaction was that they owned their own place. Life was particularly hard for women as besides doing all the chores in and around the house they bore large families unless they died in childbirth in the process. Most of them had no transport and walked everywhere. Many Catholics walked several miles to Mass on Sundays usually carrying a young baby. If they wished to receive Communion they fasted from midnight until they returned home. When schools were established the children walked to school regardless of the weather.   They usually had many chores to do around the farm such as milking the cows, before and after school.[2]

In 1905 The Examiner published a lengthy article on Deloraine and district, which described Tongataboo and the journey from Deloraine:

A road runs out from Barrack-street, Deloraine, for four miles, passing through what is known as High Plains, where there are some nice farms, and continuing on for four or five miles down a very rough and steep grade, passing through hilly, if not mountainous, country, full of farms till Tongataboo is reached. The people in this district are hard-working and good-natured, as well as hospitable, but do not comprise the wealthy class, the reason of this being that the land on which they live is not the best. As one journey’s through country like Tongataboo, with its rugged, mountainous character, and sees the kind of roads over which these good people have to drag their loads of produce up to market, one is amazed how they do it. It is very steep, though metalled in places, where it is unmetalled it must be fearful in winter.[3]

Landscape

In 1908 a reporter for the Daily Telegraph wrote that, with the exception of the annual sports day, Tongataboo is rarely visited by strangers, ‘yet is one of the most charming of Deloraine suburbs for scenic attractions.’[4]

Certainly the road is somewhat hilly, but when the top is reached the outlook is well worth the trouble. From Everett Hill an excellent view of Bass Straits and the sea-bound coast is to be obtained, while all around one secures a grand panoramic view of highland and lowland scenery, well worth the hour’s journey from Deloraine to see.[5]

Early settlement

According to letters to the newspapers in the early 1890s, Tongataboo had then been established some thirty years, suggesting that the settlement began in the 1860s.[6]

An 1893 article notes:

… Tongataboo is the name of one of the Friendly Island in the Pacific Ocean, the soil of which is remarkable for its fertility, and doubtless it was this fact that induced the late Sergeant Bulger, of Westbury, to bestow the name on the same Tasmanian settlement, as he was, I think, the first to select land there about 35 years ago.[7]

The Road

During the 1890s and early years of the 20^th Century much is written about the need for a better road between Deloraine and Tongataboo. I haven’t followed the story closely but not surprisingly there is a good deal of local politics involved including concerns that money initially set aside for the road was diverted elsewhere. In 1893 ‘An Unfortunate Settler’ wrote to the Daily Telegraph urging that work commence, noting that £800 had been set aside some three years earlier and that labour was now very cheap, enabling the road to be constructed for about half what it would have cost a few years earlier.[8] Road construction would also provide work for the unemployed, relieving ‘some of the distress that is so prevalent at the present’. The impact of the great 1890s Depression was no doubt severely felt in this already impoverished community.

Certainly the stories about the difficulty of carting goods to market indicate that work was needed:

It will give the public an idea what a state the road is in when it requires three good horses to cart seven bags of potatoes along it, and then the driver has great difficulty in getting along without capsizing the load. The mud in some parts of this road is actually up to the horses’ bellies. It is a common occurrence to find a beast bogged on this road, and it is a pitiful sight to see the people wending their way through the mud, which is almost impossible to escape.[9]

On Monday last it took a team of three horses to bring up three bags of wheat a distance of about three miles. …. If the road was made straight through from Deloraine to Parkham via Tongataboo, it would mean a saving of about eight miles to the farmers in getting their produce to market. [10]

As the greater part of the land in this district has been selected for about twenty years, it seems very hard that we should have to put up with this state of things. In fact, one settler, who has resided here for the last twenty-five years, has never been able to get a cart to his farm, and he has to carry even his flour in small parcels part of the road.[11]

Of course, the difficulty of the road presented even greater challenges when a service was required quickly: ‘If a person is taken ill it is no easy matter to get a doctor to come to this part, and more especially at night time’.[12]

I’m not sure when the roadwork was completed. There’s no news of a grand opening! But the complaints about the state of the road re-emerge in news reports of the 1930s suggesting that whatever work was done did not stand up to the traffic and conditions required of it.

Farming

A letter to the Daily Telegraph in October 1893, critical of a report by the Engineer-in-Chief about the vexed issue of the road, says:

The farmers of Tongataboo cannot feel very proud of their little farms if the Engineer-in-Chief’s report is to be taken as true, for on passing through this settlement on 17^th March last he said the land was poor, and there were only two or three starved-looking selections on the road.[13]

The writer prefers Mr Archer’s assessment which values the land at between £3 and £5 an acre. The writer says:

The selectors of Tongataboo are hard-working, honest people and deserve better treatment from the Government, for they pay their debts without troubling the Insolvent Court, which is more than some do who have better land and good roads.[14]

A more extensive article in November 1893 tells us more about the district’s farming and land clearing methods and potential:

There is at Tongataboo about 1200 acres of land that has during the last 20 years been selected in blocks varying from 30 to 150 acres. Many of these small holdings have been considerably improved, and on several of them I saw some as good crops of wheat as I have seen this year, while the grass laid down after last summer’s burn on the newest selections is not to be surpassed by any I have seen. So that the place can hardly be considered the wretched, poor district the Engineer-in-Chief (Mr Fincham) would have one to believe. There are only two miles of really bad road where the metal and formation terminate on the road to Deloraine to where there is fairly good road through the Parkham settlement. But these two miles beggar description as they include huge rocks and deep ruts, so that vehicular traffic is out of the question, and I think the Government should formulate some scheme to enable bona fide settlers to get their produce off the land they have cleared, and abandon their wild fads of settling people on bush land, who would be as much out of place there as a belt of dogwood scrub would be in Macquarie Street, Hobart. To show the fertility of the Tongataboo soil, I may mention that the Messrs Everett have 25 acres of wheat that gives every promise of yielding from 25 to 30 bushels per acre, grown on land that twelve months ago was a thick forest in its virgin state. The scrub on this land was felled about last Christmas, and a good burn obtained, and wheat sown on the ashes in May. This will be — if all goes right — about the quickest return off bush land that I have heard of. Mr Coates has built a comfortable house on his selection and is now engaged felling scrub. Messrs Charlesworth, Hennesy and several others of the settlers have comfortable places, and there is a large State school situated in a central position.[15]

The following year, the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Rambler’ reported:

As I went along I saw that there had been a great deal of improvement made since I was through the district before. I noticed several new cottages have been erected, and what was once a dense forest is now under crop, and grain sown on it looks really well. I heard of one farmer in Tongataboo growing as much as 14 tons of potatoes to the acres this year.[16]

Local newspapers ran short reports under ‘Country News’ or ‘On the Land’ reporting on crops and harvests. Occasionally Tongataboo earns a mention (along with reminders about the state of the road):

[In December 1908] Nice samples of new potatoes are on the market from this locality, Mr T Coates, of Tongataboo, having brought his first digging into Deloraine on Saturday, which he sold at 8lb for 1s. … Mr Coates’s farm comprises 100 acre of fine land. Peas and potatoes are looking strong and healthy, as is also his hay (Algerian) crop. Judging from the general excellence of hay crops throughout this and other districts, the yield should attain a good average, and if the price is “anything like” as farmers put it, sale will be remunerative.[17]

[In September 1909] Farmers in Tongataboo have fully 100 tons of potatoes pitted ready for market. So far no Irish blight has been reported in this vicinity. Many tons of turnips are also ready for market. Residents of Tongataboo are greatly handicapped by the number of steep hills to negotiate between the settlement and Deloraine.[18]

There were also reports hinting at the invasion of the bush by blackberries and other exotics. The ‘Country News’ in the Launceston Examiner of March 1899 reports that the ‘blackberry harvest’ continues ‘to the great delight and profit’ of people of all ages. ‘The rustic belles of the Bluff and Tongataboo and other suburbs of the “agricultural capital of Tasmania” might be seen driving their chaise carts laden with the fruit.’[19]

Schooling

A public school was established in 1885. One ‘Visitor’ from Deloraine echoed the district’s preoccupation with the state of the road in the following letter to the editor, arguing that the money would have been better spent if two-thirds had been diverted towards ensuring access to the new building.[20]

The challenges presented by the state of the road were not the only impediments to gaining an education. The Deloraine ‘Country News’ in July 1895 notes that ‘At Tongataboo there are some children whose parents are not able to pay school fees for them, indeed who have enough to do to get their children something to eat. There is a teacher and a State school, and it is a pity these children should be debarred from attending.’[21] Indeed, and even sadder to read some years earlier of 13 cases before the Deloraine Police Court for non-payment of school fees due to Mr Flannaghan, head teacher at the Tongataboo school.[22]

The 1905 Examiner article reported:

There is a state school at Tongataboo, built almost in the green bush, being an isolated spot. This school was closed temporarily for some weeks before Christmas owing to the teacher, Mr F Williams, falling ill, and lately passing away while in the Homeopathic Hospital in Launceston. The deceased gentleman was much thought of and highly respected both by the parents and children who reside here, and his death, though somewhat expected, was keenly felt by those who knew him.[23]

The school and residence were burnt down, in a suspected act of arson, in February 1934.[24]

Some residents

Below is a little information about some of the early settlers of Tongataboo. I will add more information as it comes to hand, and welcome contributions from readers.

Charlesworth

John Charlesworth and his wife Catherine (nee O’Brien) arrived in the 1860s. Unlike many of the settlers, John was not Irish, but was from Yorskhire. Tragically John died in 1871, shortly after the birth of his ninth child and only daughter. Catherine remained on the 50 acre block and, with the help of her six surviving sons, worked the farm and increased its size to 150 acres.[25] The Charlesworth’s son, John James, died at Tongataboo in 1892 and the Daily Telegraph’s report tells us a little more about his circumstances, and those of others under threat of the ‘influenza epidemic’.

The influenza epidemic, which still lingers in this district, has recently removed one who could be ill-spared, and what was a few weeks ago a happy, if humble, home in the bush is now desolate, for the breadwinner has been called away suddenly and a widow with four young children left in the poorest of poor circumstances. Those who knew the late Mr John Charlesworth, of Tongataboo, can testify that he was a most industrious man, who wrought hard to subdue a portion of the unreclaimed forest in order to make a home for himself and his family, and if those he loved are now left destitute the fault was not his.[26]

Those feeling charitably disposed were called upon to attend a benefit concert at the Deloraine Town Hall.

John’s wife was Ellen Broomhall, my GGG Aunt, daughter of Welsh-born James Broomhall and Irish-born Catherine Coan. The Broomhalls lived at nearby Reedy Marsh.

Everett

In September 1906, the Daily Telegraph reported the death of Mrs James Everett of Woodcott, Tongataboo. She was 75 and had lived in the district for 55 years. She left four sons and a daughter to mourn her passing.[27]

Weetah

In October 1912 the Deloraine and Westbury Advertiser notified residents that the locality known as Tongataboo would in future be called Weetah. The decision had been made by the Postal Department in connection with a decision to establish a post office there. [28]

[Added 16 January 2015]

Notes

[1] Maureen Bennett, Shamrock in the Clover, Launceston: Regal Press, 1987, p32

[2] Maureen Bennett, Shamrock in the Clover, Launceston: Regal Press, 1987, p32

[3] 1905 ‘DELORAINE AND DISTRICT.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 – 1954), 4 March, p. 9 Edition: DAILY., viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38772893

[4] 1908 ‘TONGATABOO.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 5 September, p. 9, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151923533

[5] 1908 ‘TONGATABOO.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 5 September, p. 9, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151923533

[6] 1893 ‘TONGATABOO ROAD.’, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 – 1899), 28 August, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39486620

[7] 1893 ‘COUNTRY NEWS.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 24 November, p. 1, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153547645

[8] 1893 ‘SETTLERS’ DIFFICULTIES.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 10 June, p. 8, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153358985

[9] 1893 ‘TONGATABOO ROAD.’, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 – 1899), 28 August, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39486620

[10] 1893 ‘SETTLERS’ DIFFICULTIES.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 10 June, p. 8, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153358985

[11] 1893 ‘SETTLERS’ DIFFICULTIES.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 10 June, p. 8, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153358985

[12] 1893 ‘TONGATABOO ROAD.’, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 – 1899), 28 August, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39486620

[13] 1893 ‘TONGATABOO.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 24 October, p. 1, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153551790

[14] 1893 ‘TONGATABOO.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 24 October, p. 1, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153551790

[15] 1893 ‘COUNTRY NEWS.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 24 November, p. 1, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153547645

[16] 1894 ‘A TRIP THROUGH TONGATABOO.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 30 August, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153455563

[17] 1908 ‘PARKHAM.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 11 December, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151924140

[18] 1909 ‘ON THE LAND.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 1 September, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152035824

[19] 1899 ‘COUNTRY NEWS.’, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 – 1899), 28 March, p. 7, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39799012

[20] 1885 ‘TONGATABOO PUBLIC SCHOOL.’, Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 – 1899), 13 June, p. 1 Supplement: Supplement to the Launceston Examiner., viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38300944

[21] 1895 ‘COUNTRY NEWS.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 16 July, p. 4, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153467696

[22] 1888 ‘DELORAINE POLICE COURT.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 8 March, p. 3, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149497557

[23] 1905 ‘DELORAINE AND DISTRICT.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 – 1954), 4 March, p. 9 Edition: DAILY., viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38772893

[24] 1934 ‘SCHOOL AND RESIDENCE DESTROYED.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 24 February, p. 2, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68151121

[25] Maureen Bennett, Shamrock in the Clover, Launceston: Regal Press, 1987, p34

[26] 1892 ‘MINISTERIAL.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 4 February, p. 2, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153216146

[27] 1906 ‘DELORAINE.’, Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 – 1928), 17 September, p. 8, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151584324

[28] 1912 ‘Local & General News.’, Deloraine and Westbury Advertiser (Tas. : 1910 – 1912), 19 October, p. 1, viewed 15 January, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62134658

Albert William Broomhall (1879-1941)

Albert William Broomhall was born on 23 July 1879, the seventh of twelve children born to my Great Great Grandparents, Michael Broomhall and Mary Wilson.

Albert’s eldest sister, Annie, was just ten years old when Albert arrived. His other siblings were James, born in 1870; Edwin (or E J), born in 1871; Tom, born 1873; Jessie, 1875 and Andrew, born 1877. When Albert was growing up he was joined by Claude, 1881; my Great Grandmother, Mary, in 1883; Richard, 1885; Alfred, 1887 and Herbert Greig (known as Peter) in 1890. Sadly Peter died from croup when he was just five years old. Richard and Alfred also died early, age 25 and 26 respectively.

The family was living at Latrobe when Albert was born. His father Michael worked as a labourer. Albert also gave his occupation as labourer when he enlisted to serve his country during World War 1.

His military records tell us that Albert was single and 33, living at Latrobe, when he enlisted on 10 August 1915 as a Private in the 26^th Battalion’s 6^th Reinforcement. Albert served in Alexandria, in France (at Amiens and Etaples), Belgium and Bologne. Albert’s nephew, Walter, son of his sister Annie, also served in the Battalion.

Amongst the events recorded on his military papers we see that he suffered from Trench Feet in France and got himself into trouble for drunkenness in France and being absent without leave in Belgium. On 23 September 1918 he was wounded in action but returned to the field before finally embarking for England in February 1919 and return to Australia, via the Suffolk, in April.

Australian ambulance men assisting comrades suffering from trench feet, France, 1916

The Examiner of 2 May 1919 reported that ‘Mrs M Broomhall, of Latrobe, has received advice that her son, Pte A W Broomhall, 12^th Battalion, left England on April 12 in the transport Suffolk, and is due to arrive in Melbourne about May 30.’[1] On the 19^th of June the paper reported that two more of Latrobe’s soldiers, Lieut V Ibbott and Private A W Broomhall, returned home to a hearty welcome and a large crowd at the railway station where they were heartily cheered. Mrs J T Lucas, on behalf of the Red Cross, motored them to their homes with their friends.[2]

Albert moved to Lower Barrington where he again worked as a labourer, probably on one of the many farms in the district. He also lived for a time at Latrobe and in the years leading to his early death, he lived and worked at Railton.

Tragically, Albert (known as ‘Lal’) died at Latrobe’s Devon Hospital on 1 December, 1941, following an alleged assault in the Railton Hotel yard on Saturday 29^th November. Percy Sheen was charged with assaulting Albert who fell to the ground and was later found unconscious. He was taken to the Devon Hospital at Latrobe on the Sunday but died shortly after.

A report of the Coronial Inquiry that appeared in the Examiner on 9 December saw the accused’s son, Lawrence Sheen, given evidence that he had given Albert £2 to mind but when he asked for the money after tea Albert said he didn’t have it. Having told his father, Lawrence later saw his father and Albert go into the hotel yard. ‘He took his father by the arm saying “You are not going to touch him.” His father replied that he would not, and witness walked away some distance. Later he saw Broomhall lying on the ground. Another witness, an invalid pensioner named Joseph Best, said that Percy Sheen had approached him in the yard of the hotel and said that Albert had taken £2 and handed it to Best, adding that he had ‘cracked and knocked Broomhall’. Best said that Sheen would have knocked him also if another man had not intervened. He added that he saw Albert lying on his back in a shed at the hotel the next morning.[3]

When the case went to trial in February 1942, the licensee of the Railton Hotel said that Broomhall ‘went to the pack’ after a few drinks and that it was usual to put him in a shed when he was drunk! It was said that ‘Broomhall was a man of rather intemperate habit, so that when he lay where he fell in the yard after that blow it excited no comment. He had every appearance of being drunk, and some other men lifted him into a shed. Next morning he was taken to hospital. He died the following afternoon.’[4]

Giving further Evidence, Joseph Best said that he and Albert had attended the sports gymkhana at Railton and gone to the hotel around 4pm for a ‘spree’. He said that Broomhall was ‘lightly built’ and ‘was accustomed to drinking freely, but he was a quiet man. The more drink he had the quieter he became.’   It was also revealed that ‘Sheen and Broomhall had been to war together and were close friends for many years. On the Sunday morning, Sheen tried to do what he could for Broomhall, and it was Sheen who went for a utility truck to take him to hospital.’ Best also said he was certain that Albert did not have the £2. When another witness was asked whether it was Broomhall’s practice to get drunk very often, he replied that he used to come into Railton every two to three months. Louis Baker, licensee of the Railton Hotel testified that he did not think that anyone was actually drunk in his house that night – a particularly busy night because people were in from the surrounding districts for the sports.

Detective Lewis produced a statement that the accused, Sheen, had given on the Sunday of Broomhall’s death. ‘Accused said he was a returned soldier who had lost his right arm. In the back yard of the hotel on Saturday night … he saw his son and two Shepheards, and it was said that Broomhall had taken money from the son. In further discussion Broomhall admitted this, and accused asked him to return it. Broomhall said he would give him 2/- of it. Witness punched him on the jaw, and Broomhall fell on his back on the gravel yard and did not move.’ Next morning the accused found Broomhall lying in the shed, vomiting, and with the licensee the accused washed him and took him to hospital.[5]

In his evidence Sheen corrected Best’s comments about his friendship with Albert. He said they had been friends for 15 years but that he was not in the same battalion during the war and not correct that they received their wounds in the same battle. He said that he did not know Broomhall until after the war.

On Thursday 5 February, the Mercury reported that the accused was found Not Guilty and discharged.[6]

Albert’s Obituary said that ‘He fought in the Great War, being a member of the 12^th Battalion, and went through the campaign from 1915 till 1918 with an honourable record. He saw action in Gallipoli, France and Belgium and was acknowledged as a capable and intrepid machine-gunner. … A good muster of returned soldiers paid their last respects and my Great Grandfather, Lou Coventry, played the Last Post.’[7]

Albert was 62.   He was buried at Latrobe General Cemetery.

[1] 1919 ‘Returning Soldiers.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 – 1954), 21 May, p. 3 Edition: DAILY, viewed 22 August, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51035951

[2] 1919 ‘LATROBE.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 – 1954), 19 June, p. 3 Edition: DAILY, viewed 22 August, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51040240

[3] 1941 ‘COMMITTED FOR TRIAL.’, Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900-1954), 9 December, p. 8 Edition: 5 A.M. EDITION, viewed 7 January, 2011, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52476395

[4] 1942 ‘SEQUEL TO RAILTON HOTEL FATALITY.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 4 February, p. 3, viewed 24 June, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68752731

[5] 1942 ‘SEQUEL TO RAILTON HOTEL FATALITY.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 4 February, p. 3, viewed 24 June, 2012, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68752731

[6] 1942 ‘DEATH AT RAILTON.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860-1954), 5 February, p. 2, viewed 7 January, 2011, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25890585

[7] 1941 ‘OBITUARY.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 5 December, p. 2, viewed 22 August, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68364038