Tuesday, 7 May 2019

FEMALE CONVICTS ASSIGNED MAY 1832 TROVE TUESDAY 7 MAY 2019










LIST OF FEMALE CONVICTS assigned during the month of May 1832

Just one more option to explore when looking for convicts.


New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Wednesday 24 October 1832 (No.34),       National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230389216







The lists above give a lot of details, including the ships that these female convicts arrived on.  You will see that many arrived on the BURRELL... so we will take this as an example of how much more you can discover.
Jen Willet's great site..

can tell you about the voyage and about the arrival, how many convicts were on board, where the ship originated...etc.




Are any of your ancestors on these lists above? If so, have you claimed them... you can do so at 

You might even find some cousins to claim as well in the guise of fellow researchers.

is another site which you should bookmark if your interest is with convicts... click though and see where the convicts where incarcerated .. 

has the medical journal of the Burrell and it tells you where you can access this.

 You might be fortunate enough to find that someone has written about 'your convict' on the site
Of course, you can add your own story there...
Search by ship or name of convict.

You can also see the occupation of the convicts, which were quite surprising at times.. though I suspect those required for 'all work' certainly wouldn't have had an easy time. You may also be able to trace these women through those they were assigned to.

TROVE is great to track where the women were sent to, then hopefully you could be able to find when/if  they were granted tickets of leave, conditional pardons or full pardons and if they married...
The Government Gazettes, available through TROVE, are great for all of the above, even marriage, as if not free, they would have to get permission to marry.

While we won't always find out all we want to know, look through as many sources as you can, and return now and then. You just never know when that missing link will appear.








Tuesday, 30 April 2019

CASUALTY LISTS WORLD WAR I - TROVE TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2019





StateLibQld 2 179687 Military parade of the 1st Contingent, marching in Queen Street, Brisbane, 1914.jpg

CASUALTY LISTS WORLD WAR I 


The image above portrays crowds in Queen Street, Brisbane, gathering to farewell and cheer on soldiers heading to war. Though we can't see their faces, we can imagine the mixed feelings that encompassed the crowd.

Mothers, fathers, siblings, wives, children.. engulfed with pride and sadness, happiness and fear... but no doubt, along with so many other emotions, the one thing they would be trying to push to the back of their mind... would this be the last time they would see their loved ones?

Then, not least of all, the emotions of those young, and not so young men, heading off to the unknown. Many looked on it as an adventure.. going overseas, for most, the only chance they would get. They dreamed of far off lands, not really allowing themselves to think of the reality of war. My maternal grandfather was just 17, full of bravado and excitement and wanting above all, to get to Paris... *see end of post

The results of war, this and so many other conflicts, can be read in numerous places. Reality hit home well and truly when the Casualty Lists were published...I can't imagine the fear of finding a loved one's name in these, hoping if it did appear, that it would 'only' be in the injured list, preferably with a comment 'returned home'. 

The following is just a small selection of these lists, courtesy of TROVE. There are casualty lists for various states as well as Australia in general. 
Please click to enlarge... N.B. the names aren't in any particular order, so you need to search through. You can always use the URL listed above the page to find the actual article.



Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Friday 8 October 1915, page 4
National Library of Australia   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176923574


Image: An Australian soldier in the trenches near Bois Grenier 5 June 1916. 
Source: Australian War Memorial EZ0052.
Australian First World War troops were issued identical khaki woollen greatcoats (which weighed about 3kg) and often doubled as bedding.
Further reading: Australian War Memorial and SBS

Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), Friday 16 November 1917, page 31
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188093040



Artillery in action at Heilly, France, during World War I (4040757837)

Source: Australian troops wearing gas masks. Image coloured by The Diggers View
The use of poisonous gases caught the allied forces off guard in the First World War. To protect themselves, soldiers were instructed to use a urine-soaked cloth over their face. It wasn’t until about 1917 that gas masks with filters were provided to the troops to protect them from about 30 different noxious gases being used.  Further reading: History Learning Site

My grandfather suffered all his life from the effects of mustard gas.


Image: Behind the enemy lines a British solider removes a note from a German messenger dog.
Over 20,000 dogs served with allied forces in the First World War, both as messengers and to help lay telegraph wires. Dogs serving with Australian troops were supplied by the British and tended to be medium sized breeds such as Airedales, collies and German shepherds. Smaller dogs like terriers were often adopted as companions or battalion mascots, and could be put to work hunting rats.

The casualty lists included all who fought with Australian troops... Though many indigenous soldiers were included and have been recognised for bravery, their history may not be as well known. 
You can read some of their stories in the following...

Qld Indigenous Soldiers WW1
http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/ww1/2017/05/26/queensland-indigenous-soldiers/

HISTORY PIN
http://tinyurl.com/y256lfxw


These are just three of them ... 
James McBride, Harry Baker, Frank Fisher
Short summation of their enlistment... more to be found on PIN HISTORY link above.

McBRIDE James 

SERN 2438

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=1938033&isAv=N


BAKER Harry #Q19600
Private Harry Baker enlisted age 21 at Barambah, during a recruiting drive by the Queensland Recruiting Committee in May 1917. Born in Coen, Harry was employed as a labourer, living on the Aboriginal Settlement at Barambah, now known as Cherbourg.

All 15 recruits enlisted that day were discharged just 30 days later on Wednesday, 13 June 1917, for “having been irregularly enlisted”.

Service Record

Title
Baker Harry : SERN DEPOT 19600 : POB Coen QLD : POE Barambah QLD : NOK S Baker Rosie
Contents range
circa 1914 - circa 1920
Series number
B2455
Control symbol
BAKER H
Access status
Open
Barcode
3009715

display.pngNAA 
crop.jpg


FISHER Frank

Title
Fisher Frank : SERN Depot : POB Sydney NSW : POE Brisbane QLD : NOK B Fisher James
Contents range
1914 - 1920
Series number
B2455
Control symbol
FISHER F
Access status
Open
Barcode
3900397










WE THANK THEM ALL FOR THEIR SERVICE

Tuesday, 23 April 2019

CIRCUMNAVIGATING AUSTRALIA'S COLONIAL HISTORY - TROVE TUESDAY 23RD APRIL 2019 Pt. 20





N.B. very approximate location

Ever wanted to circumnavigate Australia? We still have a way to go...we'll be going on quite a journey, at least virtually, and clockwise. So as to make sure all states and territories are covered, we started in Western Australia and explored a little of the early history of a small part of this massive state via TROVE...from Rottnest Island to Broome..then across to Katherine Gorge, then Tennant Creek, from there to Darwin on the way to the Tiwi Islands, Bathurst and Melville.

We've had to travel back to Darwin, before leaving the Northern Territory, then across to Cairns, in North Queensland... but we didn't stop there, instead headed to the tropical north, to one of the most beautiful areas you can imagine... isolated yes, but perfect for that great getaway... to Cape Tribulation. It seems you loved that area so well, that Cairns was the obvious place to travel to next... not too far south. That was another very popular place...as was our visit to Fraser Island...

We then headed inland, on an approximately 6 hours flight to a place steeped in history.. what a contrast to the sub tropical island of Fraser ...no waterfalls or clear lakes or rainforest, but Longreach has so much to offer.

We then returned to Hervey Bay, by plane, and then took a short drive of approximately 25 minutes to a town founded in 1847... the charming historical town of Maryborough. So many of you loved that place as I do.

What a contrast the next destination was, though it is also very much steeped in history... a beautiful place, but it was a place of horror, of deprivation and loneliness... St. Helena Island. To get there, we left on a ferry from Manly, across to the island. 

Then we returned to Brisbane, to explore the beautiful, sub tropical capital city of the Sunshine State. Brisbane today, is the third largest city in Australia and growing rapidly... 

It has come a long way from it's beginnings as the Moreton Bay convict settlement, with such an interesting history. In an earlier issue, we explored some of the history of Brisbane, then visited Brisbane of a later period. There is so much to see and do in this beautiful city, once known as the biggest country town in Australia...

After a break, we resumed our travels...  heading in to New South Wales... not too far over the border, to a place that literally stands out, begging to be noticed. It was first given a European name by Captain James Cook...  he recorded seeing " a remarkable sharp peaked mountain lying inland". That place was the very imposing Mt. Warning.. you can refresh your memory here

The New Year saw us travelling again, refreshed and ready to go to yet another beautiful place. Many of you will have stopped there, if only to get a photo taken on the border between Queensland and New South Wales..Coolangatta one side, Tweed Heads on the other. Hard to believe that this was only known as Point Danger in times past, as indeed it was... the lighthouse is a clue... 

That place brought back many wonderful memories for so many of you...it was lovely to read your comments and receive your emails..

We moved south again, to a place that means a lot to my family, but also has a very colourful past. It is beautiful, a popular tourist place, the centre of a very busy district, steeped in Australia's colonial history.. it's the bustling town of Port Macquarie. It is around 5 hours drive south of Point Danger.

I concentrated on the convict history of Port Macquarie, perhaps we will return another time to see how the city has changed.

We then headed down the coast a bit, then inland, to another town connected to my family.. the country town of Aberdeen, where my father and five of his brothers were born, him being the youngest. It seems many of you have driven through this town, but never explored it. You would have passed my family's old home .. on the north side of town, just over the bridge on the left hand side heading north.

After backtracking a few hours and heading back to the coast, we explored the bustling city of Newcastle. It was great to hear that a number of you who thought you knew Newcastle reasonably well found a few new places to check out on your next visit.

It was only a relatively short drive, just a couple of hours away from Newcastle, to our next destination... Wiseman's Ferry. Heard of it, but never been there? It took me many years to actually visit, but I'm glad I did. This is another place that has a family connection for me... this time, on my maternal line...and so many of you enjoyed the visit also, going by your comments and emails. Thank you.

From there, we headed to a place that I'm sure most of have heard of, once a year at least... a reasonably thriving place which has the best New Year's Eve fireworks in the world.

Ok, I could be slightly biased and yes, it is Sydney, capital of New South Wales, site of the oldest settlement in Australia and another place which is linked to my family. We explored a few of the heritage listed places and some of the landmarks, but there is so much more to see. 

We can't cover it all, but one place which is well worth exploring is Botany Bay... the proposed site of the first settlement. Lieutenant James Cook first landed there on April 29, 1770. 

To quote from Wikipedia... 
"Lieutenant James Cook first landed at Kurnell, on the southern banks of Botany Bay, in what is now Silver Beach, on Sunday 29 April 1770, when navigating his way up the east coast of Australia on his ship, HMS Endeavour. Cook's landing marked the beginning of Britain's interest in Australia and in the eventual colonisation of this new "southern continent".[6] Initially the name Stingrays Harbour was used by Cook and other journal keepers on his expedition, for the stingrays they caught.[7] That name was also recorded on an Admiralty chart.[8] Cook's log for 6 May 1770 records "The great quantity of these sort of fish found in this place occasioned my giving it the name of Stingrays Harbour". However, in the journal prepared later from his log, Cook wrote instead: (sic) "The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this place occasioned my giving it the name of Botanist Botany Bay".[8]
Eighteen years later, in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip sailed the armed tender HMS Supply into the bay on 18 January. First contact was made with the local indigenous people, the Eora, who seemed curious but suspicious of the newcomers. Two days later the remaining ships of the First Fleet arrived to found the planned penal colony. However, the land was quickly ruled unsuitable for settlement as there was insufficient fresh water; Phillip also believed the swampy foreshores would render any colony unhealthy as the bay was open and unprotected, the water too shallow to allow the ships to anchor close to the shore, and the soil was poor.[9]"
You can read more here  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_Bay

Somehow Stingray Bay doesn't have the same appeal.


Botany Bay, 1788 watercolour by Charles Gore   Public Domain


Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Sunday 10 March 1805, page 2  National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article626666




From Botany Bay, explorations around the area were made...
















Hobart Town Gazette 15 Apr 1826


The beauty of the area was apparent to all, it was the water supply that was the concern. What a great contrast to the English countryside left behind.

The Sydney Gazette & New South Wales Advertiser 2 Jan 1813

Natives_of_Botany_Bay



Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth, England, mourning their lovers who are soon to be transported to Botany Bay, 1792 Public Domain  NLA

The Sydney Gazette and NSW Advertiser 25 Feb 1815
 Where there are settlements....


  • This engraving titled - A View of Botany Bay - is from The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, by Arthur Phillip, published in London in 1789. A footnote states - "The annexed view of Botany Bay represents the SUPPLY. etc. at anchor, and the SIRIUS with her convoy coming into the bay".
          Robert Cleveley, 1747 - 1809      The Australian National Maritime Museum





Powerhouse Museum Collection   Gift of Elizabeth Bullard, 1967




Kyogle Examiner (NSW : 1912; 1914 - 1915; 1917 - 1954), Friday 18 May 1934, page 3
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article235323356
Please click to enlarge

BOTANY BAY by Harold Denning



This gives an idea of the size of the bay...


Aerial photograph taken on a flight from Newcastle to Melbourne. 
Taken by Tim Starling   CC BY 2.0

Back in 1936...

Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 29 March 1936, page 2
National Library of Australia   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230831913

Without the arrival of the English in the exact time in 1788, which was planned "to get rid of 717 convicts", the country may well have been destined to be under French rule.. an interesting article.






Botany Bay Coastal Walk    CC BY 3.0  Attribution: Maurice van Creij










The following are from a series entitled BOTANY BAY and published in sequence in The Australian Women's Weekly.
Though I won't publish the lot here, I will add the links for you to follow... just click on the url, in bold to read the rest of this first instalment..

Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 9 January 1943, page 3
National Library of Australia  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46447301






The rest of the articles are at

Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 16 January 1943
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46445988

Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 23 January 1943
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46943382

Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 30 January 1943
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46231830

Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), Saturday 6 February 1943
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46447259 



Monument at La Perouse.  J Bar   CC BY-SA 3.0 



Bicentennial Monument at Brighton-Le-Sands  J Bar     CC BY-SA 3.0

The mouth of Botany Bay as it meets the Tasman Sea, as viewed from the air, above Kurnell
Botany Bay entrance, NSW, 26th. Nov. 2010 Phillip Capper

Botany Bay, a beautiful area, with so much history