Tuesday 31 October 2017

1837/1838 ... CONVICT SERVANTS, STOCK HOLDINGS IN COLONY, EMIGRANT ARRIVALS- VARIOUS SHIPS, TROVE TUESDAY, 31ST OCT, 2017









Pumpkin Cottage, Illawarra, the first family residence of Henry Osborn in New South Wales / drawn by Robert Hoddle, Surveyor, 1830 

Hoddle, Robert, 1794-1881
Hoddle, Robert, 1794-1881 Courtesy of State Library, NSW






Among the many items discussed in this edition of 

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Thursday 17 August 1837, page 4 

National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2212483 

is a very detailed list of the holdings  of the land and stock owners in the colony...it makes quite interesting reading.


As always, please click to enlarge..



Several stock owners were called to give details of their holdings


The next lot of articles details the voyages of emigrant ships... the first being the 'Adam Lodge' with emigrants from Ireland... Not only does this give a breakdown of the numbers of men, women and children, but also what was required for the voyage...It states what was to be used for each day of the voyage, how long certain food items lasted, the health of those on board and a whole lot of miscellaneous details.



Then we move on to the 'John Barry', with emigrants from Scotland... written on 27th July, 1837.


A discussion of what skills were needed in the new colony was to follow.. along with what they should be paid, some even earning the princely sum of up to£30 a year!




Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 15 July 1837, page 2

National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2211930 

The Sydney Gazette (as above) brought news about a report of a violent and raging fever thought to be on board the 'John Barry' which was newly arrived from Scotland.







Shipping lists for 'John Barry' arrriving 8th September, 1837



'John Barry'… immigration from State Records, NSW

Image: An emigrant ship bound for Australia, c. 1840. (Illustrated London News




In the following year, 1838, an edition of the Colonist published an anonymous letter re the Management of Convict Servants... I think it is safe to assume it was written by a man. The first paragraph talks about the need to "to restrain and control the vicious propensities of the assigned (especially females) is not only rendered abortive..."

 The Female Factory is mentioned yet again..


Colonist (Sydney, NSW : 1835 - 1840), Wednesday 24 January 1838, page 2 
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31720336 



'Digging and bagging potatoes', the Warrnambool potato harvest 1881 from the 'Illustrated. '


Until 1810 the government issued convicts ordinary civilian clothing or 'slops'. However, with the increasing number of free settlers, it became necessary to set the convicts apart. The new uniform included winter clothing which consisted of a coarse woollen jacket, a waistcoat of yellow or grey cloth, a pair of trousers, a pair of woollen stockings (long socks), a pair of shoes, two cotton or linen shirts, a neckerchief and hat.







Tuesday 24 October 2017

QUARTER SESSIONS, INQUESTS, FEMALE FACTORY AND MORE 1838..NSW TROVE TUESDAY OCT.24, 2017








Parramatta Court House
Dated: No date



Sometimes when you start out to research something in TROVE, you tend to get sidetracked..Ok, MOST times when I start out to research something, I get sidetracked!

How could I pass on on some of the funniest, most intriguing and yes, sometimes, horrifying, items that appeared in the press back in 1838.


CORONER'S INQUESTS


An interesting byline.. (From the Australian of yesterday.)

Here we have inquests being held in public houses.. the Bunch of Grapes, then another, an extremely sad case, at the Royal Oak. When reading these cases, we must remember that times and attitudes were so different than, and there was little help for many. 




Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Saturday 13 January 1838, page 2 

National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2549494

 As always, you can click to enlarge..




I came across this while looking for more information on the public house, "Bunch Of Grapes", in Sydney, not to be confused with a current pub at Ballarat .

This was written in RootswebArchives by the late Lesley Euebel, whose passion was the study of convicts and early colonial history.. I thought it too good to ignore..




Hi all,
I have an interesting book called "Inns of Australia" by Paul McGuire - my
edition was published in 1912.

There is an index in the back of many of the names of Inns (hotels) and also the
names of many of the owners in NSW, Vic., Tasmania, WA and S.A..

Taken from pages 33,34 and 35


When Macquarie arrived to end the Military Junta’s reign, there were
seventy-five licences in Sydney alone.

Macquarie order that they be reduced to twenty. One was to be given on the road
to Parramatta; three in Parramatta; one on the road beyond it to the Hawkesbury;
and six at Windsor and thereabouts.


Macquarie’s order did not stand. In 1810, the Judge Advocate listed fifty beer
licencees for Sydney (a lesser number perhaps were licensed to sell spirits).
The Bigge Report gives 104 licences for 1811, 117 for 1812, 93 for 1813, 110 for
1814, 85 for 1815, 70 for 1816, 75 for 1817, 94 for 1818, 62 for 1819, 46 for
1820.


Macquarie cut at the shanty trade and illicit stills. He encouraged reputable
publicans to improve their premises. He persuaded the British Government to a
reasonable duty on spirits and an unrestricted import, to discourage
moonshiners. He won leave for a distillery to take up the grain surplus on
occasion.

Through most of the Macquarie reign, rum continued as a powerful element of the
economy.

When John O’Hearne contracted in 1812 to restore the stone bridge over the Tank
Stream near the Cove, he was paid with 660 gallons of rum and a bonus of 15
gallons for good workmanship. Doubtless his profit was sufficient. Australia’s
coal sold in India for Bengal rum. And Sydney’s Hospital (which came to house
the Parliament) was built by Riley, Blaxcell and D’Arcy Wentworth in return for
the necessary labour and a permit to import 45,000 gallons of rum.

Forty nine public houses and their licensees are named in the Sydney Gazette of
April 19, 1817, thirty one in Sydney and eighteen out of town.

The Sydney houses were
The Green Man kept by John Tindall
The Cat and Fiddle, Thomas Collicott
The Feathers, Charles Clarke
The Blacksmith’s Arms, William David
The Dog and Duck, Ambrose McGuigan
The Foul Anchor, Ed. Redmond
The King’s Head, Sam Fowler
The Windmill, Jas. Vandercomb
The Bee Hive, F. Mourant
The Saint Patrick, Stephen Murphy
The Duke of Wellington, William Walsh
The Greyhound, Sarah Hazard
The Punch Bowl, Thomas Wilford
The Bee Hive, Japhet White
The Westmoreland Arms, Esther Bradley
The Pine Apple, Nathaniel Lawrence
The Black Swan, Richard Palmer
The New Zealander, Benjamin Morris
The Golden Fleece, John Laurie
The Green Gate, Thomas Hanson
The Blue Lion, William Board
The Lord Nelson, Joseph Salter
The Saint Pauls, Ann Cooper
The Unicorn, Jas. Byrne
The Grapes, Samuel Terry
The Hope and Anchor, Phoebe Turnstall,
The Lord Nelson’s Victory, Henry Henry
The Pot of Beer, William Kennedy
The Bunch of Grapes, Mary Dwyer.

We have not been able to find a single survivor by site and title in modern
Sydney. Sydney has significantly been less tenacious than Melbourne and Adelaide
of the old names.

Inn names and signs are fascinating themes for the connoisseur of social
history. Most of ours were brought from Britain; though we recall S. B.’s brave
local note of The Three Jolly Settlers.

The antipodean scene suggested The Macquarie Arms, The Governor King, The New
Zealander and probably The Windmill; while out of town appeared The Hawkesbury
Settler, with The First and Last at Castlereagh marking for a time the
frontiers of settlement.

Other signs have echoes of antiquity, The Seven Stars may have derived from
Manchester’s inn licensed under Edward III. The New Inn had one of the oldest of
titles; there were New Inns, no doubt in Thebes and Babylon and Tyre.

The Lord Nelson and Nelson’s Victory recalled recent glories; the Duke of
Wellington had to wait another year or two for his Sydney honours.


Regards
Lesley Uebel
CLAIM A CONVICT



Another place mentioned regularly in the clippings I collected was the Female Factory at Parramatta. 

 






Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), Monday 26 March 1838, page 2 (2) 
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32159514 


NEWS OF THE DAY presented a variety of interesting topics...from the purchase of a lease of a theatre, to 'an information' laid against a Mess-Sergeant for selling spirits without a licence.. a whole glass of rum to a number of people..on to the foundation of a Cathedral, then straight into a convict who absconded...

No headlines, a veritable mish mash of news, enticing the reader to read on to the next exciting story.

Note the mention of another public house named in Lesley Eubel's post above.





















Interior of unknown courthouse..

Interior of unidentified Court House

Interior of unidentified Court House
Dated: No date

Digital ID: 4481_a026_000778



The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England (including Wales) from 1388 until 1707, then in 18th-century Great Britain, in the later United Kingdom, and in other dominions of the British Empire.

Quarter session - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_session
SYDNEY QUARTER SESSIONS

The jurisdiction of the court of Quarter Sessions ranged far and wide.

Here we see a woman.Mary Ann Gilbethorne, sent to the Parramatta Female Factory for what was termed petty larceny, yet attracted a 12 month sentence of work, with the first fortnight to be kept in solitary confinement. I wonder what on earth she did to attract such a severe sentence.

 This was followed by a dubious charge of theft against three men... (enlarge the clipping to read of the outcome)

It seems stealing featured heavily in this Quarter Session..how do you think the sentences of that time compare to the sentences we read about today?





Commercial Journal and Advertiser

This is a publication I don't recall coming across previously. I daresay that the editor of this journal fancied himself as somewhat of a humorist.. or maybe he didn't intend to be as lighthearted as he often appears to be.. I'll let you judge for your self.




Commercial Journal and Advertiser (Sydney, NSW : 1835 - 1840), Wednesday 31 January 1838, page 2 


National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226458489 

We wander through a theatre review straight into a burglary.



then street robbery, assault, then a strange comment about a cast being taken of.. well, I'll let you find that.

A weather report happily precedes an item re a man stabbing his wife..


.. and this must surely be one of the most unfortunate conmen around.. he should have chosen his target more carefully.

I do like the description that a servant bestowed on himself...I'm sure he was all that and more. That caused nearly as many smiles as a dancing cow.




Let's finish with a somewhat judgemental Letter to the Editor, signed, it seemed, with a Nom de Plume..


Colonist (Sydney, NSW : 1835 - 1840), Saturday 20 January 1838, page 2 

National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31720316


A sign of the times...








Tuesday 17 October 2017

KARRAKATTA CEMETERY..MAKING HEADLINES OVER TIME..TROVE TUESDAY 17TH OCTOBER, 2017



KARRAKATTA
 making headlines

 Karrakatta Cemetery, Western Australia has been in the headlines since it was first mooted in the late 1800's. Having opened in 1899, it was planned to be large enough to cope with the ever increasing need for burial space as the population of Western Australia and notably, Perth, grew.

TROVE is a splendid repository of articles and you can read all about the planning there.

However, in 1902, there was a very detailed article about the various areas now available...

 You can click image to enlarge

1902










Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 27 September 1902, page 28


THE ENTRANCE GATES AND CARETAKER'S LODGE.


THE ROMAN CATHOLIC SECTION.

THE MORTUARY CHAPEL.
THE KARRAKATTA CEMETERY.
(See Illustrations.)
The general cemetery for Perth and district at Karrakatta was opened for interments on 24th April. 1899. The Board in which the control of the place is vested consists of nominees of the Government and the Perth City Council. The members of the Board are Dr. J. W. Hackett. M.L.C. (Chairman). Mr. J. Talbot Hobbs, and Mr. J. W. Langsford, who are the nominees of the Government, and the Mayors of Perth, Leederville and Subiaco, and Councillor T. G. Molloy who are the nominees of the Perth City Council. The Board have vested in them as trustees a reserve of  564  acres, the site being in a line with the Perth-Fremantle railway, and the entrance gates exactly opposite the Karrakatta railway station. The original intention was that this cemetery should serve for Perth, Fremantle, and intervening districts, but the residents of Fremantle, considering that Karrakatta was too far away for them, have obtained a reserve of their own on the boundary of that town. The work of preparation at Karrakatta has been necessarily extensive and costly. The
whole area has been fenced with a substantial picket fence, and portions of the ground allotted to the various religious bodies have been cleared. The areas allotted are as follows:--Church of England. 40 acres : Roman Catholic.,25 acres; Wesleyan, 17 acres; Congregational, 10 acres ; Presbyterian, 10 acres; Baptists, 1 1/2acres : Jews, 4 acres : Salvation Army, 1 acre ; Church of Christ. 2 acres, Plymouth Brethren, 1 acre - Lutheran’s, 1 acre ; Japanese 1 acre: Chinese, 2 acres: Mahomodans. 2 acres; and a block of 154 acres is for those professing no particular religion.
When tile cemetery was opened a commencement had been male with the construction of roads, and the first section was completed. These have now been extended considerably and the planting as well as other necessary improvements, have been carried out as funds would permit. Up to the present, sums amounting to £6,500 have been granted by the Government to the Board, and the whole has been spent in clearing, fencing, road-making, buildings, and water supply. A sum of  £500 granted by the Government last year is now being spent on road-making. The revenue derived from burial fees, etc since the first interment amounts to  £827. As the construction of roads progresses, avenues are being formed and tree planting is being carried out. Up to the present. 2.034 burials have taken place in tho cemetery. Last year there were 730 interments, and the average of burials is now about two per day. Our illustrations show what improvements have been made in the cemetery. The whole of the work has been carried out under the supervision of the board's secretary and surveyor. Mr. J. H. Hunt.
Great Britain has endorsed the circular Note recently addressed by Mr. Hay,  the United States Secretary of State to the Signatory Powers to the Berlin Convention, urging the necessity for ameliorating the condition of the Roumanian (sic) Jews. The other Powers have not yet replied.

1904
Flames threaten Karrakatta



Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 16 January 1904, page 34
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41703958 



1919

We face similar problems today..


Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Saturday 31 May 1919, page 8

National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81392098 






1925

Vandalism also..

Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Wednesday 2 September 1925, page 8 
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78445098 




1929

 40,000 burials to date


Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 30 June 1929, page 4 
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58417812 



1936

Question of a new site

West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 4 April 1936, page 17

National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25146514 




1936


It seems that a more positive article was needed, after all, Karrakatta was now 37 years old.

Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 19 April 1936, page 11 
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58814184 

You can enlarge by clicking on image. 



So, what is Karrakatta like today? Remember that this is the resting place of many notable people, including the following...



Notable people interred within Karrakatta Cemetery include:
There are also ten Victoria Cross recipients who are interred in Karrakatta Cemetery:[8]

 Another is John CURTIN..


Reverend Hector Harrison conducting the burial service of John Curtin at Karrakatta cemetery, Perth, July 1945 [2] [picture]
Call Number
PIC/9682 LOC Box PIC/9682

 From TROVE... out of copyright   



Then there are many war graves... again from Wikipedia..

As at December 2016 Karrakatta Cemetery contains the graves of 107 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 141 of World War II, besides a Dutch naval sailor of the latter war, divided between the cemetery's various denominational plots.[9]
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a memorial to 15 Australian service personnel - 2 sailors, 9 soldiers, 4 airmen - who died in World War II and were cremated at Karrakatta Crematorium.[10] In addition, 7 Australian personnel of the same war - 2 sailors, 4 soldiers, 1 airman -who were cremated at Karrakatta Crematorium but whose ashes had been scattered or buried at places where CWGC commemoration was not possible are listed by name on the Western Australia Cremation Memorial at the separate Perth War Cemetery.[11]

Over four years ago now, I wrote the following story... to bring attention to what is happening in Karrakatta now...

2017

I'm sad to say that it is still happening... 99 year leases mean nothing, They are being overturned. The same is happening with 25 and 50 year leases.

Families are supposed to be notified before anything happens, but that's not always the case. Some have moved and there is no contact/owner of the grave listed. Others say that the first they have heard of their loved ones grave being listed for reinterment is when they go to visit and and find there is no longer any sign of a grave. Of course, they are told that all attempts to reach families is always made. It matters not that some of those who were resting there had served their country... they have as much chance of being disturbed as anyone else. 

If a family can afford to renew a lease, for a great deal of money, then the grave will be remain. Very few can afford what they are charging. Most of us would think that we own the headstones that we have paid for and the land that we bought in good faith to give our loved ones a resting place and ourselves a place to grieve and to pray and remember... It seems not.

Despite hundreds of protests, this travesty continues. There is a Facebook Group fighting the cause, and occasionally winning, at 




Please speak up, let your voice be heard for those who can no longer speak for themselves. Do you really want your loved ones reinterred with strangers beside or on top of them (the site is sold again) and no headstone to mark where they rest? We are taught from an early age to respect the dead.. how is this showing respect? 

Will they eventually work their way around the whole cemetery? Now they are saying that this policy only affects graves in disrepair... many can prove that that is not the case. 

You can read a notice from management here...



Do take a few moments to read other articles about what is happening... just Google    Karrakatta destruction of graves

You will find numerous articles such as these..












Speak up.. or this could soon be happening in a cemetery near you. How can this be justified? Is this all we owe our ancestors? 
This is a vast country, are we really that short of space? 

These were in a compound, if not claimed, then they were to be crushed for road base. This is obscene.