History Services Blog

Lord Sydney and The Convict Arrow

2012-01-26T14:06:00.012+11:00

What is the origin of the convict broad arrow that is such a familiar symbol in our convict history?

Andrew Tink in his recent book, Lord Sydney [the life and times of Tommy Townshend] (Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd 2011), explains that broad arrows (pheons) were used by Lord Sydney's ancestors, Algernon and Henry Sidney in their family coats of arms. Henry Sidney, 1st Earl of Romney, was Master-General of Ordinance (1693-1702) in charge of government supplies. He introduced the use of the broad arrow heads to mark all government property in the United Kingdom.

And so with the decision to transport convicts to New South Wales, the broad arrow was exported on convict property providing a significant, if incidental, link to Lord Sydney's family.

Congratulations to Andrew Tink for his book on Lord Sydney, providing us with a fascinating biography of the person for whom our great city of Sydney was named.

Lord Sydney was Home Secretary in the British Government at the time of the passage of the Transportation Act of 1784. He was responsible for overseeing the logistics of the venture to send convicts to Botany Bay.

Had it was not for his wise choice of Captain Arthur Phillip to command the First Fleet and for his diligent planning of the outfitting of the Fleet, our destiny may have been very different.

If you are interested in Australian history or are researching a convict ancestor, go to our web site at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Meadowbank and the Ryde Riverwalk

2012-01-17T15:56:00.025+11:00

Today we explored Meadowbank, New South Wales on foot. Being the site of both river, road and railway crossings of the Parramatta River, this area is rich in colonial history.

Starting from the Meadowbank Wharf, we did part of the Ryde Riverwalk south along Shepherds Bay.

Immediately we came across an historical photo of the area (at left below), of a ferry leaving Ryde Wharf, circa 1910-1915. This is contrasted with the modern view of Shepherds Bay today (photo at right below) looking back towards the railway bridge.

Shepherds Bay was named after James Shepherd, a convict who arrived in the Colony in August 1791 (per the Matilda). In 1795, he married Ann Thorn who had arrived in October 1794 (per the Surprise). Both had received land grants in the vicinity of modern day Meadowbank. [See below for details of the records held by History Services NSW on James Shepherd and Ann Thorn].*

The first rowing boat service across the river was established as early as 1794 as the Shepherds Bay Row Boat ferry service from Schooners Wharf (Belmore Road, near Helene Park) to the Concord shore. The three wind vane "boats" at the Ryde Wharf Reserve theme this early maritime history

A wharf at the site of the present day Ryde Wharf was completed in 1863, although it was not used by passenger ferries until 1866. This was the hub of transport services to Ryde until the coming of the railway in 1886. **

We then continued on over the present day Concord Road bridge (on the northbound traffic side - photo at right). This was the original road bridge opened on 7 December 1935 by the New South Wales Premier, Sir Bertram Stevens.*** Before this was constructed, a vehicular punt crossed the river just downstream from the railway bridge. An adjacent bridge to the east was completed in 1988 to carry southbound traffic.

The return journey from the southern side of the river at Rhodes is via the original railway bridge which is now a pedestrian and cycle way (opened in April 2000). It is fascinating to be up close and personal to the old steel truss bridge supported by cast iron pylons (photo at left).

This bridge was the work of the great NSW railway engineer, John Witton and was opened in 1886 as part of the main northern railway line. It was replaced in 1980 by a steel beam and concrete bridge which was called the John Witton Railway Bridge.****

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Points to note:

*History Services NSW has records for James Shepherd of his conditional pardon, land grants, marriage and death, in the Convict Database at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

and details of certain colonial petitions that he signed in the Local Government Petitioners Database at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/local_govt.htm

For Ann Thorn, History Services NSW has records of her land grant, marriage and death, in the Convict Database at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

** History Services NSW has a record of a government contract granted to a J Nightingale in connection with the construction of a,public wharf in Ryde in 1879, in the Government Contract and Contractors Database at

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

*** Refer to the History Services Blog, Conscript Pass and Lorna Brand of 25 April 2011.

**** Refer to the History Services Blog, John Witton and the Lapstone Viaduct of 24 September 2011.

Cape Three Points

2012-01-10T21:43:00.026+11:00

Cape Three Points! What an interesting name. We have a friend who lived in Cape Three Points Road at Avoca on the Central Coast of New South Wales. But what is the origin of the name?

On 7 May 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along this part of the NSW Coastline, past Broken Bay. Looking back southwards, he described in his journal "some pretty high land which projected out in three bluff points and occasioned my calling it 'Cape Three Points' ".

The three points sighted by Captain Cook were Bulbararing Point with Tudibaring Head (First Point) overlooking the present day Copacabana Beach [Photo top left]; Mourawaring Point at the southern end of MacMasters Beach (Second Point) [Photo top right]; and Bombi Point in the south in the Bouddi National Park.

We visited Copacabana Beach today and climbed to the top of the Captain Cook Lookout which gives a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean.

It is certainly interesting to explore the history of a place.

The first land land grant of 600 acres in the area was made in 1824 to Robert Campbell, a free settler in the Colony. In 1834 this was followed by a grant to John Tooth. Early farmers lived by small scale farming, timber getting and fishing, often with Aboriginal assistance.

Early residents knew Copacabana as Tudiwaring or Judi (often Judi Barn). Other names for this area have been Allagai, Kincumber and Macs.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Pets in Our History

2011-11-08T16:21:00.020+11:00

On our visit to Edinburgh last year, we came upon the statue of the legendary Greyfriars Bobby at the corner of Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge. Bobby, a Skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his master John Grey has been dubbed "the Most Faithful Dog in the World" [Jan Bondeson 2011].

A tourist was rubbing the nose of the statue for good luck!

Back home, apart from the bronzed statue of the Boar at the entrance to Sydney Hospital who since 1968 has been enticing us to rub his nose, we seemingly don't have many statues of pet animals in out city. Or do we?

In our search of Sydney monuments we have found some beautiful little statues of our canine and feline friends who have a place in Sydney's history.

Donna, at Central Railway (at left).

Friend and constant companion to John Hogan of Pyrmont, Sydney.

14/2/1975 - 6/5/1995

Recognised in the Guinnes Book of Records as the World's Longest Living Hearing Guide Dog.

Unveiled by the Hon Brian Langton MP, Minister for Tourism on 10 May 1996, to recognise the love and companionship that all Guide Dogs for the Visually Impaired give their owners.

Biggles at The Rocks (at right)

" Loved Friend of the Rocks"

17/8/1980 - 25/4/1994.

A community project, unveiled by the

Hon Robert Walker MLC, Minister for PLanning and Housing on 16 March 1995.

Islay opposite the statue of Queen Victoria at Town Hall, Sydney (at left).

Favourite pet of Queen Victoria.

Died 26/4/1844

The bronze sculpture by Justin Robson (1987) was modelled from a sketch drawn by Queen Victoria in 1842. Now over a century later, Islay is begging hopefully for a coin to help deaf and blind children of New South Wales.

But my favorite of course would have to be the statue of Trim, outside the Mitchell Library on the Macquarie Street side. (at left)

Trim was "Matthew Flinders Intrepid Cat

who circumnavigated Australia with his Master 1801-1803 and thereafter shared his exile on the Island of Mauritius where he met his untimely death".

Flinders in his book, A Biographical Tribute to the Memory of Trim described Trim's features ..."Trim's robe was a clear jet black, with the exception of his four feet , which seemed to have been dipped in snow, and his underlip, which rivalled than in whiteness..."

On the day that we saw photographed Trim the sun was shining on his paws and mouth as if to emulate that image.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop - The Rocks

2011-10-14T21:29:00.020+11:00

Our historical excursions around Sydney would not be complete without following the footsteps of Saint Mary MacKillop in The Rocks area of Sydney.

Guided by the book, A Pilgrimage Through The Rocks, Sydney by Sister Jeanette Foxe rsj 2010, we took a walking tour and came upon parts of Sydney that we had not seen before. The Sisters of Saint Joseph had a presence in The Rocks from 1880 to 1901 where they set up Houses of Providence to minister to the poor and homeless. The Jospehites, as the Sisters were known, also taught at several schools in the area.

Like many of the early historical buildings in The Rocks, several of the Houses of Providence and the buildings housing Josephite schools have been demolished and the sites redeveloped.

However two significant "Mary" sites are still standing in Kent Street.

The first is St Brigid's Church (photo of outside at left and interior at right above).

It was completed in 1835 under the auspices of Governor Sir Richard Bourke "as a Roman Catholic School House to be occasionally used as a Chapel". The building originally housed a school for boys started by the Christian Brothers in 1843. The Josephites taught there from 1884 to 1898.

Today it is a beautiful little Church - a rare find.

The second site is Winsbury 75-79 Kent Street (photo at right ). It was the third House of Providence rented by the Sisters of Saint Joseph from 30 July 1880. Mary MacKillop resided there from February -March 1881.

No longer standing is Cheshunt, the fourth and largest House of Providence, at 3 Cumberland Street, now the site of the Harbour View Hotel. Mary stayed here from December 1882-March 1883 and again from November 1883-March 1884. Next door to Cheshunt was the parish Church of St Michael's built in 1882. It was from here that Mary's Mother, Flora MacKillop was buried following her drowning in the shipwreck of the Ly-ee-Moon off Eden, NSW on 30 May 1886.

Another is St Bridget's Hall School, 89-113 Kent Street, now the site of the Observatory Hotel. The Josephites ran this school for girls from August 1880 until it closed in 1886.

For a History of the Roman Catholic Church in the Colony of New South Wales 1800-1836, go to the Resources link in the website of History Services NSW at

http://www.historyservices.com.au/resource_material.htm

Thornleigh Zig-Zag Railway - A Discovery

2011-10-05T20:26:00.012+11:00

Route of Thornleigh Zig-Zag Railway -1883

An interesting afternoon as we traversed the route of the Thornleigh Zig-Zag Railway. This was the third and last zig-zag railway built in NSW (after Lapstone and Lithgow).

It was constructed in 1883 by railway contractors, Amos & Co, as a branch line coming off the main Northern Railway Line just north of what is now Thornleigh Station and descending to a quarry some 35 metres below. The quarry supplied "stone ballast (white metal - metamorphised sandstone) for a southern section of the Homebush (Sydney ) to Waratah (Newcastle) railway line" [Historic Engineering Marker 2006, Thornleigh Quarry].

The zig-zag facilitated the steep descent/ascent to/from the Quarry for the railway trucks carrying the stone to the top for use along the route of the railway line.

While much of the route of the Zig-Zag Railway has today been taken over by residential development, we followed the descent from the top point across Pritchard and Wells Streets to the bottom point neat Janet Street. Then entering the bush from a track off Morgan Street, we came to Zig-Zag Creek (photo at left above) and then up a little further up to the Quarry (photo at right above). It is a huge excavation site. We climbed to the top just below to what is now Oakleigh Park.

On our way back we were attempting to ascertain the actual route for the Zig-Zag, when we discovered an old railway sleeper embedded near the creek (photo above and at left below). Its position would suggest that it is probably part of the original line.

Also nearby was a piece of narrow gauge rail line. (photo at right).

So at least we were close to the original route which appears to have run close to the Creek.

History Services NSW in its Government Contracts and Contractors database has many entries for railway contracts awarded by the NSW Government for the period 1832-1900.

Go the website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

St Thomas' Church Mulgoa - Two Coincidences

2011-10-02T20:47:00.013+11:00

On Tuesday, 13 September 2011, we visited the Mulgoa area and came upon St Thomas' Anglican Church atop the hill. This beautiful sandstone Church was conscrecrated by Bishop Broughton in 1838.

The Cox family, sons of William Cox builder of the first road over the Bue Mountains, had a strong association with St Thomas'. Edward Cox donated the five acres of elevated land on which the church was built. The sandstone used in the construction was cut from Edward's nearby property, Fernhill and from that of his brother, Henry Cox's property, Glenmore (now the Glenmore Country Club).

The graves of Edward Cox of Fernhill, died 18 May 1868 aged 63 years (photo at left) and George Cox of Wimbourne, died 20 August 1868 aged 74 years (photo at right) are found in the cemetery in the Church grounds.

In the following week, on a visit to St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, we came across a stained glass window which was "the Gift of George Cox of Wimborne and Edward Cox of Fernhill, Mulgoa, in memory of their father William Cox of Clarendon Richmond NSW.."

Also coincident with our visit to St Thomas', we received a request through History Services NSW for information on two convicts who it turned out were married there in 1845.

If you are researching a convict ancestor area, you should go the History Services NSW website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Lapstone Zig-Zag Railway

2011-09-29T21:04:00.012+10:00

The route of Lapstone Zig-Zag railway is now a popular walking trail. It can be accessed from Knapsack Street near the RAAF Base at Glenbrook.

As part of the construction of the first railway over the Blue

Mountains, the Zig-Zag Railway was built between 1863 and 1865 to overcome the step gradients (ranging from 1 in 30 to 1 in 33) of the Lapstone Hill.

John Whitton, Chief Engineer, originally wanted to tunnel through the hill. But due to budget constraints way back then, he designed a zig-zag (or switchback). This necessitated reversing the train, up or down, one of the three legs of the zig-zag route.

The photos, above, of the track today give a clear impression of the old zig-zag route.

Along the top points of the zig-zag are the remains of a platform. This was the Lucasville Station which was built in 1878 to service the holiday home of one, Mr John Lucas MLA, Minister for Mines. You can see the steps leading to the property but its exact location is not known.

With the completion of the Lapstone Zig-Zag and the Knapsack Viaduct, the railway line over the Blue Mountains was opened to Weatherboard (now Wentworth Falls) on 13 July 1867.

While this section of the Lapstone line was not to remain the permanent route as time passed, its construction was a significant achievement for John Whitton and his team.

Both Mary and myself have enjoyed the work of putting together the blogs on John Whitton and the Lapstone Hill. It s has taken much research, a few car journeys and lots of walking to piece the story together.

History Services NSW in its Government Contracts and Contractors database has many entries for railway contracts awarded by the NSW Government for the period 1832-1900.

Go the website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

The Knapsack Viaduct

2011-09-27T14:13:00.015+10:00

Continuing on from the from the carpark at the end of the Great Western Highway, a walkway along the old railway and highway route brings you to the spectacular Knapsack Viaduct.

The sandstone viaduct was designed by John Whitton and built over the period 1863-1864 to bridge the Knapsack Gully on the first railway route over the Blue Mountains. It was the largest viaduct in Australia being 388 feet long, 120 feet high with five spans of 70 feet and two of 20 feet. It was hailed and a engineering feat by our colonial forebears. It was a landmark for nineteenth century travellers to the Blue Mountains and beyond.

It is a massively impressive structure especially from the gully below. Taking the path from the northern side of the viaduct, we descended below to the creek bed where we

could stand next to the sandstone arches. Then taking the stairs up on the southern flank gives further interesting angular views of the viaduct. Further along is the Knapsack Quarry from where the sandstone was obtained for the construction of the viaduct. From here you can ascend to the Elizabeth Lookout and Zig-Zag Railway.

When the railway was re-routed through the Glenbrook Gorge in 1912, the lower section of the older track including

the Knapsack Viaduct was converted into a road, the Great Western Highway. This was the main road up the Lapstone until the M4 Motorway replaced it in 1993. The viaduct was widened in 1938 by moving the stone parapets outwards and placing them on concrete cantilevered slabs.

History Services NSW in its Government Contracts and Contractors database has many entries for railway contracts awarded by the NSW Government for the period 1832-1900.

Go the website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

HMAS Parramatta I - the Third Part of the Jigsaw

2011-09-25T21:14:00.013+10:00

Today we went on on the Hawkesbury River Heritage Cruise, oraganised by Hornsby Shire Council and compered by historian, Tom Richmond.

Despite the teeming rain today, this wonderful river has so many stories to divulge. As Tom put it, the Hawkesbury is a "passing parade of Australian history".

One piece of history which stood out so spectacularly today between two gushing waterfalls was the wreck of the HMAS Parramatta I opposite Milson Island, where it ran aground in 1934.

We have visited this story in a previous Blog, Bow and Stern Miles Apart - HMAS Parramatta I (15 April 2011) when we located the stern at Queens Wharf Reserve on the Parramatta River, and the bow at the Garden Island Naval Base .

From the view today then, we can envisage the bow and the stern fitting neatly back into the jigsaw of the wreck in the photo above.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

John Whitton and the Lapstone Hill

2011-09-24T22:07:00.018+10:00

In very long grass, just off the carpark at what is now the the end of the Great Western Highway at Emu Plains, is an obelisk of blue-grey stone dedicated to the memory of John Whitton (photos above) .

John Whitton was the "Father of the New South Wales Railways" being the Engineer-in-Chief from 1857-1890.

We had previously visited this monument in

August 1985 when the Great Western Highway

was the main road route up the Lapstone Hill. There is also the remains of a Gatehouse

Cottage (photo at right) nearby. It was burnt out in the fires of 1968.

Although today the monument is in a state of disrepair, it stands as a testament to engineering skills of John Whitton, and "In Memory of the Men who worked with Whitton" and to the "Women who Cared". The latter inscription is no longer extant on the monument and comes from notes that I took in 1985.

The monument was fittingly situated at the foot of the Lapstone Hill.

John Whitton oversaw the construction of the first railway over the Blue Mountains in the 1860's and it was the Lapstone incline that proved to be the first major obstacle. To overcome this Whitton designed the Knapsack Viaduct and the Lapstone Zig_Zag Railway. [See separate Blogs].

There is a statue of John Whitton at Central Railway in Sydney (Photo at right).

History Services NSW in its Government Contracts and Contractors database has many entries for railway contracts awarded by the NSW Government for the period 1832-1900.

Go the website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

Convict Bricks

2011-08-16T15:34:00.017+10:00

Yesterday, as part of our current project on early Sydney monuments, we visited the Kings Cross area. We discovered an interesting sandstone wall (in photo above) in a little park just near the El Alamein fountain.

It included a carved stone which was recovered in 1969 from the landscaped gardens of Elizabeth Bay House (built by the Hon Alexander Macleay, Second Colonial Secretary, on a 54 acre land grant given to him in 1828 at Elizabeth Bay).

The wall was also made up of some sandstone bricks from the early days of the Colony. Several of them contained interesting imprints, such as hearts, diamonds and animal footprints (as in the photo at right)

This put us in mind of a similar wall in the Sydney Fernery in the Royal Botanic Gardens (photo at left below). The sandstone used used in this wall is believed to have been quarried locally around 1826 when it was used for the construction of the Governor's Bath House at Farm Cove. Many of the stone blocks have "banker's marks" (photo at right below). These marks identify the convict mason's work for payment. The marks were usually made in the visible face, rather that in the bedding face, in convict brick work prior to 1850's.

If you are interested in Australian history or are researching a convict ancestor, go to our web site at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Captain Phillip's Farm

2011-06-14T16:53:00.009+10:00

We had seen and photographed the majestic statue of Captain Arthur Phillip, first Governor of the Colony of New South Wales and Commander of the First Fleet, many times. It is located just inside the Macquarie Street entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens.

But on a recent visit we came upon another very interesting memorial to Captain Phillip just nearby. Unveiled in January 1988, it a wall (as pictured above) made up of bricks from the 17th century house at Vernals Farm in Lyndhurst, Hampshire UK, where Phillip lived from 1763 to 1774. The bricks were dismantled from the remains of the house and reconstructed here in English Bond, bedded in lime mortar. It was a Bicentennial gift from Mr Geoffrey L Cottee to the people of Sydney.

Also planted nearby is an oak tree grown from an acorn from an ancient tree in the original garden of Vernals Farm. This is a living link with Arthur Phillip set now against the backdrop of the Sydney skyline.

Is is such discoveries such as these that bring the heroes of early Australian history to life.

It was while he was retired on half-pay from the Roayl Navy in 1763, after active service in the Seven Years Wars, that Phillip acquired the properties of Veranls Farm and Glasshayes at Lyndhurst. It was here that he married his first wife, Margaret Denison, on 19 July 1763 and settled.

So along with his naval and administrative experience that he brought to the Colony of New South Wales, Captain Phillip was also a farmer. This undoubtedly assisted his efforts in securing a food supply for new Colony under what were very difficult conditions.

Phillip went on may expeditions around the Sydney area looking for suitable land to farm. The area around Parramatta, which Phillip had named Rose Hill, was very favourable with its good soil, ready accessibility and proximity to water.

By the time , Governor Phillip left the Colony in December 1792, some 1017 acres were under crop on the public domain and important advances had been made towards attaining self-sufficiency in grain.

If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Sydney Harbour War Time Boom Net

2011-05-31T15:21:00.022+10:00

Sixty-nine years ago on this night of 31 May- 1 June in 1942, the Second World War came to Sydney.

At the time, there was an unfinished anti-submarine boom and net stretched that across Sydney Harbour from George's Head to Green Point at Camp Cove. The photo above shows the foundations of the winch house for the net at Green Point.

On the night of 31 May- 1 June, three Japanese midget submarines enterd Sydney Harbour with intention of sinking Allied warships.

The first, designated M27, became trapped in the boom net and was spotted at 8.15 pm by two Maritime Services Board watchman, James Cargill and William Nagle in a boom boat (as pictured at left, and displayed in the Garden Island Naval Museum). The authorities were then alerted.

The crew of the submarine, Lieutenant Kenshi Chuman and Petty Officer Taeshi Omori, apparently having spent two hours attempting to free their vessel, exploded demolition charges scuttling the submarine and ending their lives.

The second submarine, M22, first attempted to to enter the Harbour at the southern end of the Boom at 10.54pm but was sighted and depth charged by the patrol boat HMAS Yandra. It surfaced at 3.50am at Neutral Bay where it was fired on by HMS Kaminbla. At 5am it was spotted in Taylors Bay and again heavily depth charged the three patrol boats, HMAS Steady Hour, Sea Mist and Yarroma. At some point the crew, Lieutenant Keiu Matsuo and Petty Officer Masao Tsuzuku, too had committed suicide.

The third submarine, M24, fired at torpedo at the USS Chicago at around 12.05 am, but it missed striking the HMAS Kuttabul, a converted harbour ferry being used as an accommodation ship. Nineteen Australian and two British sailors were killed.

Two of the submarines , M22 and M27 were subsequently salvaged and a composite was constructed using the bow section of one and the stern of the other. This is now famously on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

What is less well known perhaps is that the conning tower of M22 is on display at the Garden Island Naval Museum in Sydney (photos below). This made the stories of the War coming to Sydney real for me as I conjectured as to what would have gone on that night.

The bodies of the Japanese submariners were recovered too and their ashes repatriated back home to Japan.

Divers discovered the wreck of M24 off Sydney's northern beaches in November 2006 thus completing the story of a fateful night many years ago.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

The Choragic Monuments

2011-05-24T10:36:00.019+10:00

On a recent visit to the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, a piece of a jig-saw puzzle fell into place for me. We had previously seen the Replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in the Gardens and were keen to research its origins.

This Sydney Monument was commissioned by Sir James Martin, Premier of New South Wales and was erected in the grounds of his residence at Macleay Street, Potts Point in 1870. When this site was acquired by the Commonwealth Government , the monument was moved to the Botanic Gardens at the request of the Minister for Education, The Hon Clive R Evatt, K.C. MLA. The re-commemoration ceremony for the monument on its present site was performed by The Hon W.J. McKell, MLA, Premier and Treasurer on 16 November 1943.

The original Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by Lysicrates , a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theatre of Dionysus to commemorate the award of first prize in 335/334 BC to one of the performances he had sponsored.

With a revival of this style of Greek Architecture in the 18th and 19 th centuries, the Lysicrates monument became the inspiration for similar monuments around the world.

On a visit to Edinburgh (often referred to as the "Athens of the North") last year, we came upon two Choragic monuments on Caton Hill, viz the Robert Burns Monument (photo at left below) and the Dugald Stewart Monument to the Scottish philosopher (photo at right below). Actually we climbed Caton Hill on a beautiful Edinburgh evening at sunset to visit and photograph these this monuments.

Herein lies the genesis of our own Sydney monument. And now with most recent visit to the Gardens, the story has come full circle.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Castle Hill Heritage Park

2011-05-21T17:29:00.013+10:00

We recently visited the Castle Hill Heritage Park for the second time and made two interesting discoveries.

The location of the Park on 17 hectares of land in Sydney's north-west tells us the story of one of Australia's most important historical sites. It has been dedicated as a "National Heritage Site" by the Commonwealth Government.

In 1801, Governor King established a Government Farm on the site to provide grain for the Colony. It was manned by convict labour.

Many of the earliest convicts were political prisoners from the Irish Uprising of 1798 having been transported for "life" to the colony of New South Wales. It was from the Castle Hill Farm that some 200 of these convicts rose up in rebellion against the authorities on 4 March 1804 and marched to met the Redcoats ( the government forces of the NSW Corps lead by Major George Johnston) at nearby Rouse Hill, in what became known as Australia's "Battle of Vinegar Hill".

The Government Farm remained operational until 1810 when the old barracks buildings were converted into a lunatic asylum by Governor Macquarie in 1811. Subsequently, the buildings were used as a school and later a church.

The photo below is of a painting of the Castle Hill Government Farm circa 1806 near what is now the intersection of Old Castle Hill and Tuckwell Roads. It is attributed to JW Lewin, courtesy of the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW.

The first discovery that we made this time round was the remains of what was an old well on the site (photo at left ).

This adds to the reality of the site as there is very little remaining of any buildings, save for some evidence of archaeological digs that uncovered some stone work

The second discovery was the stone from Vinegar Hill in County Wexford, Ireland (photo at right).

This stone erected as a monument in 2004 explains the significance of the naming of the "Battle of Vinegar Hill". Because the ringleaders of the Castle Hill uprising were Irish, the ensuing battle was named after the uprising at Vinegar Hill, in County Wexford in Ireland in 1798.

History Services NSW has the records for the two main leaders of the Castle Hill uprising, viz Phillip Cunningham and William Johnston. Both Cunningham and Johnston who hailed from County Cork in Ireland, were hanged for their parts in the uprising and so died for their cause a long way from their homeland.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who may have worked in the Castle Hill area, you should go the History Services NSW website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

The Big Dig

2011-05-17T14:39:00.008+10:00

In his program, Tony Robinson Explores Australia which is currently screening on the History Channel on Tuesday nights at 7.30pm, Tony Robinson last week visited the site of The Big Dig located in The Rocks between Cumberland and Gloucester Streets in Sydney.

Incorporated now into the Sydney Harbour YHA and The Big Dig Archaeological Education Centre, it is the largest archaeological urban development in Australia.

We had not previously been there, but it is a truly fascinating place rich in Convict history.

Excavations which began in 1994 have uncovered the foundations of over forty homes and shops and some one million artifacts, giving a priceless insight into the early life of the Colony of New South Wales.

One such artifact that featured on Robinson's program was the small jar with scenes from the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaklava (photo at left).

The Rocks became home to many of the convicts who arrived in Sydney from 1788.

Tony Robinson told us the story of one colourful character George Cribb, convict, butcher, entrepreneur and bigamist. Having arrived in Port Jackson on 20 December 1808 on the ship, Admiral Gambier, Cribb lived on the site of the Dig from 1809 to 1828. Items excavated from his property included a butcher's filtering knife, bones and horns from slaughtered animals, fine hand-painted Chinese porcelain and a small alcoholic still.

Another resident whose house was excavated (as shown in the main photo at top) was the Irish Rebel, Richard Byrne. He arrived from County Cork (a Wicklow rebel of the 1798 Irish Uprising) on board the Minerva on 11 January 1800, with a life sentence in the Colony. He lived in the house from about 1807 with his wife, Margaret and their seven children. Two significant features identified from the house excavations were the well and the hearth.

Being a stonemason by trade, Richard Bryne would have worked on many of the early Sydney buildings of the Macquarie period.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who lived in The Rocks area, you should go the History Services NSW website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

William Bede Dalley

2011-05-02T15:54:00.007+10:00

In Hyde Park North in Sydney NSW, we came upon a monument to William Bede Dalley (as pictured above). His name intrigued me as Mary's uncle was "William Bede". But who was "The Right Honourable William Bede Dalley P C , Scholar, Patriot and Statesman?"

Described in an eulogy as a "Pioneer Statesman", William Bede Dalley, who was born in Sydney on 5 July 1831, made a significant contribution to the state of New South Wales in the second half of 19th Century across the fields of law, politics and literature.

He set trends in colonial dress with his colourful cravats and buttonholes which reflected a unique flair and style.

The statue in Hyde Park was erected by public subscription at the instigation of Sir John Robertson (Premier). It was placed where it is today, looking down Macquarie Street to the Law Courts and Parliament House. There is also a stained glass window and commenorative plaque to Dalley in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, and a plaque in St Paul's Cathedral, London. Dalley is buried in Waverley Cemetery in Sydney.

But it is his family history that it most interesting to me as both his parents were convicts.

History Services NSW records that his father was John Dalley who arrived in the colony on 31 December 1818 on the ship General Stewart. He was aged 19 years, from Dorsetshire and a wool comber and dyer by trade. He was sentenced to life on 12 March 1818.

His mother was Catherine Spillane who arrived at Port Jackson on 10 July 1825 on the ship Mariner. She was aged 27 years and was a housemaid from County Cork who had been sentenced to seven years transportation.

Catherine was recorded as being at the Female Factory in Parramatta in 1825, and in 1829 applied to marry John Dalley. But as was the case with many transported convicts she had already been married back home and permission was refused.

It you would like any more information on either John Dalley or Catherine Spillane, or are researching your convict ancestor, you can go to the website at :

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Conscript Pass and Lorna Brand

2011-04-25T17:23:00.016+10:00

It is a long trek down to Conscript Pass from Thornleigh Oval (NSW) but there is an interesting history behind it.

In the Great Depression of the 1930's, a Thornleigh local, Lorna Brand raised money for the construction of a walking track near the Lane Cove River as a way of providing relief work for the unemployed. The track is known as Lorna Pass and is now part of the Great North Walk. It begins just behind Thornleigh Oval at the the rock (pictured at left) with the left pointing arrow. It then goes parallel to the river for a short distance before looping back to the Comenarra Parkway.

An extension goes down to the river through a spot called Conscript Pass. Here there are rock carvings done by the men who worked on the track. Firstly their initials (in the main photo above) and then the caricature of Sir Bertram Stevens, the Premier of New South Wales from 1932 to 1939 (pictured at right) .

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Cobb & Co at the Royal Easter Show

2011-04-25T14:58:00.006+10:00

The display of Cobb & Co coaches at the this year's Royal Easter Show was an interesting find, giving us a new perspective on the information contained in the Mail Delivery Contracts and Contractors Database of History Services NSW

The colonial government of New South Wales required the services of thousands of contractors to deliver the mail throughout the State. History Services NSW has details of 12000 contracts awarded to persons to provide specific mail services over the period 1835 to 1901.

Cobb And Co, founded by Freeman Cobb and partners in 1854, is listed in the Database as having 253 mail routes.

Mr James Malone, a pioneer of the Braidwood district of NSW, drove the coach, as pictured above, to deliver mail from 1841. He was at first an employed driver for various contractors when the service ran once a week to Bungonia and then later twice weekly to Goulburn. Then in the days of the goldrushes in the Goulburn district, Malone in partnership with Mr J J Roberts took over the contract himself. He sold his rights to Cobb & Co in 1878.

History Services NSW records that James Malone was awarded 11 mail contracts from 1854 to 1877.

His sons were also mail contractors in the Braidwood district - Owen having 20 contracts, Luke 11, Hugh 5, and Patrick 2.

If you would like to research the details of the mail contracts awarded to the Malone family, or indeed any persons who had mail contracts for the period 1835 to 1901, go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/mail.htm

Bow and Stern Miles Apart - HMAS Parramatta I

2011-04-15T13:33:00.015+10:00

With the scuttling of HMAS Adelaide off North Avoca on Wednesday 13 April 2011, it is interesting to contemplate what happens to Navy ships when they have served their time.

Take the HMAS Parramatta I for example. This was the first ship (a torpedo boat destroyer and the last class of British warship designed with an outboard rudder) to be built for the Commonwealth Naval Forces which later became the Royal Australian Navy. She was commissioned on 1 September 1910. A After seeing service in the First World War in the Pacific, South-east Asia and then the Mediterranean, the Parramatta returned to Australia before being fully decommissioned on 20 April 1928.

The ship was then stripped of parts and sold, along with the HMAS Swan, to the NSW Penal Department and both were towed to Cowan Creek. Here the hulks were used as accommodation for prison labourers working on the roads along the Hawkesbury River. Later they were used to transport blue metal to Milson and Peat Islands.

On 2 Februaty 1934, the two ships were being towed down the Hawkesbury River for final breaking up in Sydney, when gale force winds struck. The Swan sank while the Parramatta ran aground in mangrove swamps opposite Milson Island and was abandoned.

In 1973, the bow and stern sections of HMAS Parramatta were salvaged by the Naval Historical Society of Australia and converted into memorials.

Today the stern stands proudly at Queens Wharf Reserve on the south bank of the Parramatta River at Parramatta (photo at left above), as a memorial to commemorate the service of all ships to bear the name Parramatta in the Royal Australian Navy.

The bow is situated at the Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney Harbour (photo at right above).

Fascinating to bring them "together" again!

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Of Boundary Stones and Markers

2011-04-10T18:03:00.020+10:00

On a visit to the Museum of Sydney, I came upon a boundary stone which was one of at least nine that were set around Sydney in 1833 to mark its boundaries.

The inscription on these boundary stones reads:

SYDNEY

Majr Genl Rd Bourke C B

GOVERNOR

1833

This find led me into some research on the boundary stones in the early Colony of New South Wales and a trip out to Parramatta. While the Sydney stones have mainly been removed, there are five still existing in Parramatta in their original locations. Mary and I located four of these , after much footwork at :

1) Alfred Street between Alice and Weston Streets, Harris Park;

2) Domain Creek in Parramatta Park;

3) Corner Of Boundary Road and Balfour Street, Northmead, off Kleins Road; and

4) under the bridge over the Parramatta River along James Ruse Drive, off Thomas Street. This is the best preserved as shown in the photo above. The inscriptions on the Parramatta stones read:

PARRAMATTA

Sir Geo Gipps Knight

GOVERNOR

1839

These town boundary stones were erected by David Lennox, master mason of Lennox Bridge (Parramatta) fame in 1839 using convict labour.

In the vein of marking out boundaries, we also came across a cast iron council boundary ward marker in Sydney Square near St Andrew's Cathedral.

Dating back to the time that the Sydney Municipal Council was formed in 1842, this boundary marker has been relocated, but was one of a series supplied to the Council in 1843 by P.N. Russell's Sydney Foundry, to mark the boundaries of the Council's wards. The markers read "Hosking Mayor 1842" with the appropriate ward name. The marker's name was stamped at the bottom: "P.N. Russell, Sydney Foundry".

History Services NSW has over 200 records of Government contracts awarded to the engineering works of P.N. Russell & Co. up to 1900, one being the supply of a pair of iron gates for the Toll House on the Glebe Island Bridge.

If you are interested in finding out the details of any of these government contract records, you can go our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

Two First Fleet Monuments

2011-03-31T18:27:00.007+11:00

"Bonds of Friendship" Sculptures

Sydney, Australia (at left)
Portsmouth, U.K. (at right)

On a visit to Portsmouth in the United Kingdom in 2004, I came across a "Bonds of Friendship" sculpture at the gates of Sally Port in Portsmouth Harbour. This commemorated the departure of the First Fleet, from Portsmouth, bound for Sydney Cove on 13 May 1787.

I had seen a twin monument outside the Customs House at Circular Quay in Sydney prior to my UK visit but could not subsequently locate it. The question was where it it now?

On a visit to the City last week, I came upon Sydney "Bonds of Friendship" sculpture in the Jessie Gardens in Reiby Place off Loftus Street. [Apparently the sculpture was removed from Circular Quay in 1997 prior to the upgrading of Alfred Street, and after much deliberations was replaced in this location circa 2008].

The plinth of the Portsmouth monument was unveiled on 13 May 1976 by Sir Davis Hughes, the Agent General for New South Wales. The granite block was quarried in New South Wales and donated by the Citizens of Sydney.

In Sydney, the plinth of the monument was donated by the Fellowship pf First Fleeters. The granite block was quarried in Dartmoor, England and was donated to the City of Sydney by the City of Portsmouth as a return gift. It was set in place at Circular Quay by the Lord Mayor of Sydney on 2 July 1980.

The actual sculpture, "Bonds of Friendship" (1979) was the work of the sculptor, John Robinson. It is a chain with only two links, locked tightly together, representing the gift of trust between friends.

It was thus adopted by the Britain Australia Society as an addition to the original monuments to celebrate the journey of the First Fleet from Portsmouth to Sydney. The rings of the Portsmouth sculpture were made dull in appearance, while the ones in Sydney were shiny, signifying a new beginning.

The Portsmouth Sculpture was unveiled by the Queen on 11 July 1980. The Sydney Sculpture was dedicated by the Governor-General, Sir Zelman Cowan on 17 September 1980 and was donated by the Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac).

If you researching a convict ancestor who came to Australia go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Convict Constables

2011-03-22T16:29:00.019+11:00

Yesterday we visited the Justice and Police Museum at Circular Quay in Sydney.

Two items of interest were a "Convict Constable's Rattle" (above left) and a "Convict Constable's Lamp" (above right) from the early 1800's.

What then was a "Convict Constable"?

Although the Colony of New South Wales was established as a penal settlement under military guard, little was planning was made for its civil policing. A Provost Marshal was appointed and the Governor was empowered to create constables.

In 1789, due to the lack of any available free men, Governor Phillip appointed twelve of the best behaved convicts to serve on the Night Watch which was the colony's first civilian police unit.

History Services NSW has 1190 records of convicts who subsequently became constables at some time in the Colony of New South Wales. One of the more celebrated being William (Billy) Blue, ferryman, of Blues Point.

"Billy Blue" arrived in Sydney on 14 December 1801 in the convict ship Minorca. Our records show that on 17 August 1811 he was appointed a water bailiff - "Watchman of the Heaving Down Place in Sydney Cove".

In 1814, he is recorded as being a "Constable of Sydney, on government stores".

On 17 November 1818, he was "dismissed as constable and Watchman of the Heaving Down Place in Sydney for improper conduct" on suspicion of smuggling.

"Billy Blue" continued to run his ferry services on Port Jackson and wasone of the colourful characters in the early days of the Colony.

If you are researching a convict ancestor, you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Convicts in Singapore

2011-02-16T15:31:00.012+11:00

The Asian Civilizations Museum building in Singapore is strategically located on the waterfront near the mouth of the Singapore River. In its previous life as the Empress Palace Building, it was the home of the Government Offices from the colonial days.

We visited the Museum on a recent trip to Singapore and discovered that it was one of the last buildings in Singapore to be constructed using convict labour in the 1860's.

On researching this, we discovered that the British government transported Indian convicts to Singapore from 1826 to 1867. They were and employed in public works and contributed much towards the early development of Singapore - building roads and bridges and many old colonial buildings some of which are still standing such as the Asian Civilizations Museum building, the Istana and the St Andrew's Cathedral. They were stone cutters for the Horsburgh and Raffles Lighthouses and labourers for construction work in early Singapore's defence works.

So another piece of the jigsaw of the history of British penal system has fallen into place.

If you are interested in researching convicts who were transported to Australia, you can go to the

website:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Initials in History

2011-02-14T16:05:00.019+11:00

It is a time honoured thing that you carve your initials on a rock if you visit a new place, leaving your mark to say "I was here".

When we visited Garden Island in Sydney recently, we found some such initials on a sandstone outcrop that are thought to have been carved in 1788 by some First Fleet colonists from HMS Sirius.

Crew members from the Sirius first planted a vegetable garden in January 1788 on the small island in Sydney Harbour which was thus named Garden Island.

The initials read "F M ", "I R" and "W B" and are all dated 1788. Much research has been done to ascertain to whom the initials belonged.

It is thought that "F M" was Frederick Meredith an able seaman on the Sirius. He was one of three persons on the First Fleet to have the initials "F M" and was the only one on the Sirius .

The Initials "W B" account for 26 known persons on the First Fleet. Four of these - First Lieutenant William Bradley; William Beard, able seaman; Walter Brodie, Master blacksmith; and William Bryant , master's mate) were crew of the Sirius.

The "I R" initials are a bit more of a problem. The only person on the First Fleet with these initials was a convict woman , Isabella Rosson, who was transported for seven years for stealing two shillings worth of clothing. It is not likely that she would have been on Garden Island. [History Services NSW records that Rosson had arrived on the Lady Penrhyn and had delivered a baby girl on the ship].

It is likely that the letter "I" should be read as a "J". This would open up more possibilities. There were two crewman on the Sirius - John Rowley, able seaman; and James Russell, armour's mate/able seaman.

We found this a really exciting piece of history as it establishes a first tangible link to real people of the First Fleet.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Parramatta Female Factory Precinct

2011-01-25T21:46:00.018+11:00

Exterior and Interior of of Building 105

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Female Factory Precinct Action Group.

This is a community group that aims to have the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct returned to the people of Australia.

It was formed in response to the December 2010 proposal by the South West Area Health Service to seek approval for alterations to Building 105 in the Cumberland Hospital complex to install IT equipment, condensers and cooling fans.

This building is the 1823 convict Female Factory 3rd class penitentiary sleeping quarters and is part of the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct.

The aim of the Action Group is to gather at least 5000 petition entries so that there is a least one for each woman who went through the Parramatta Female Factory.

If you would like to sign the petition go to:

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savethefemalefactory

If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Como Pleasure Grounds

2011-01-18T22:16:00.010+11:00

On Saturday we had occasion to visit the Como Pleasure Grounds with an old photo in hand.

Como is a suburb in southern Sydney located some 27 kilometres south of the central business district in the Sutherland Shire.

It was named by one James Murphy in1888 because the scenery reminded him of Lake Como In Italy.

The Como Pleasure Grounds were established in 1895 to celebrate the rail line reaching southern Sydney. They provided entertainment to visitors who came in their droves by steam train.

The old photos is dated to the 1920's and shows my grandparents who obviously enjoyed a day's outing at Como.

I endeavored to match up the original site for the photograph as it now exists almost a century later. The Pleasure Grounds are still a perfect place for a picnic celebration or birthday party overlooking the beautiful Georges River.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Depression Era Housing on Sydney Harbour.

2010-11-23T16:23:00.016+11:00

Today we went on a very pleasant bush walk in the Balls Head Reserve at Waverton. This sandstone headland in Sydney Harbour has panoramic views across to the Sydney CBD and Barangaroo; Goat island, Mort Bay, Birchgrove and Balmain; and on the eastern side to North Sydney and McMahons Point.

There are several walking tracks, including the Middens Walk, and it is easy to forget that this very peaceful place is just some 1.5 kilometres from the heart of the City.

One point of interest is the various caves such as Tom's Cabin that we came across. During the Depression years, people came to live in the caves and shelters on the headland. To provide income, they cut timber to sell for firewood and clothes props. By 1931, most of the trees across the top of Balls Head were gone.

Toms Cabin (above left)

After the Depression, a Beautification Scheme was organised and due to the cooperative efforts of residents, naturalists and forest league groups in conjunction with North Sydney Council, some 2350 trees had been planted in 17 annual tree planing days up to 1948.

Bush regeneration began again in 1979 and Balls Head is now managed as a bushland reserve. It is an important refuge and habitat for wildlife including possums, bats, gheckos, blue-tongued lizards and many species of birds.

I couldn't resist a little history:

Balls Head is originally home of the Cammeraygal people;
It is named after Lieutenant Lidgbird Ball who was the Commander of HMS Supply of the First Fleet.
In 1825, Edward Wollstonecraft received a land grant of 212 hectares from Crows Nest down to the Harbour and including Berry Island and Balls Head.

Edward Wollstonecraft and his brother-in-law and business partner, Alexander Berry were significant landowners in the early days of New South Wales.

History Services NSW has some 447 records of convicts assigned to Wollstonecraft and Berry.

If you are researching a convict ancestor , you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

The Towrang Stockade

2010-10-24T15:39:00.036+11:00

The Towrang Convict Stockade was the chief convict camp in the southern district of the New South Wales Colony from about 1833 to 1843. The Stockade site is located next to the Hume Highway, twelve kilometres north of Goulburn, New South Wales.

The convicts housed here were engaged in the construction of the Great South Road from Sydney to Goulburn under the Surveyor General, Sit Thomas Mitchell.

At all times there were approximatey two hundred and fifty convicts at Towrang. Harsh discipline was imposed. Convicts slept on bare boards with a blanket each and ten men to a cell.

We visited the site of the Stockade on a trip to Canberra earlier this year.

On the southern side of the Highway, near the Rest Area, we found the Towrang Bridge and six stone culverts which have not been affected by modern day roadworks to the main highway.

The keystone of the Towrang Bridge reads 1839. Many consider the bridge was designed by David Lennox, who was responsible for Prospect Bridge and the Lapstone Bridge in the Blue Mountains.

On the northern side of the highway is the actual site of the Stockade. This is truly fascinating to explore although it involved a trek through some very grass.

The remains here include:

1) Powder Magazine situated on the bank of the Wollondilly River. It is thought that the Magazine was used to store the blasting powder used on the road construction.

2) Rubble Heaps of the Stockade Buildings. The soldier’s quarters and convict huts were of wood and stone construction. The Stockade buildings were laid out in the form of a hollow square on a ridge running down to the Powder Magazine. Another row of huts was located closer to the river where there still remain a row of heaps of rubble. Another row of huts was located on the upper side of the main quadrangle.

3) Weir built for the stockade.

4) Cemetery. Only three headstones remain in the cemetery across Towrang Creek from the Stockade, where both soldiers and convicts were buried. The inscription on one headstone reads:

'Sacred to the Memory of John Moxey, Private Soldier 80^th who departed this life 16 November 1838, aged 38 years, 22 years service. Remember me as you pass by as you are now so once was I, as I am now so you must be, prepare for death follow me. This stone was erected by his comrades as a token of respect towards a good and deserving soldier’.

Another headstone is to the memory of Elizabeth Weiticker, died June 9^th, 1841, aged 33 years and the third is to Mary Brown, died 25^th June, 1841, aged 4 years and 1 month.

A sign at the Cemetery site states that the following three persons may be also buried here:

"James Fielder – By the Guildford buried 17 February 1839, and

Monks – By the Lancashire, buried 15 February 1839, who were killed by blast exploding.

John Feagon [Fagan] – By the Minerva, buried 27 August 1840.

Other convicts are recorded as dying at the Convict hospital, Goulburn and by drowning (probably here in the Wollondilly River)."

James Fielder and John Fagan were both convicts.

History Services NSW has records on 32 convicts assigned to the Towrang (Tourang) Stockade.

The record for James Fielder (per Guildford 1824), coachman from Sussex England, reads:

on arrival assigned to John Brabyn Esq;
1825 - government servant with Andrew Johnston, Wilberforce;
1828 - at Moreton Bay (3 year sentence);
1832 - absconded from Hyde Park Barracks - apprehended;
1833 - absconded from Parramatta Barracks since 16/6/1833;
1837 - with William Coghill, Berrima , aged 39 years;
1837 - absconded from W Coghill Bong Bong since 20/4/1837;
1837 - absconded from W Coghill, New Wick, Newcastle since 4/9/1837 - apprehended;
1839 - died at Tourang Stockade on 17 /12/1839.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to the Towrang Stockade you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

The Convict Heritage of Oxford Street Epping

2010-10-24T13:30:00.011+11:00

Oxford Street Epping circa early 1900's (a painting by Joyce Armstrong)

Oxford Street today

On Thursday, 21 October 2010, Hornsby Council Mayor Nick Berman officially opened the $3.5 million refurbishment of Oxford Street, Epping, New South Wales.

This new look street adds another layer to the history of Oxford Street, Epping. But its beginnings as the site of a convict sawpit should not be forgotten. I have suggested to Hornsby Council that a plaque be erected to this effect.

Because of a growing demand for timber for export and for an ambitious building program in the Colony, Governor Lachlan Macquarie set up a government sawmill, the Pennant Hills Timbergetting Establishment in 1816. It was originally on the site of the ridge around the present Hull Road at Pennant Hills. In 1819 it was enlarged with addition of a new site along a ridge a little further to the south on the present Oxford Street, Epping.

The sawpit was on the western side of Oxford Street (site today of the Catholic Church and

adjacent shops) as it sloped down to Devlin's Creek. The camp site for the convicts being on the opposite side where the Epping Methodist church was subsequently built in 1905 over the site of the former convict kitchen.

By 1825, the area was called "Barren Ridges" or "Barren Hills" because much of the timber had been cleared leaving an eroding landscape and siltration problems down Devlin's and Terry's Creeks.

History Services NSW has records of 60 convicts who were attached to Barren Hills.

For example, William Organ (per Daphne 1819) who came from Waterford, Ireland and who was a "Wheewright and Sawyer" is recorded in 1825 as being in "Government employment at Barren Hills". He was later assigned to the Rev John Joseph Therry, Roman Catholic Chaplain.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Barren Hills, you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

As part of the Macquarie 2010 Bicentenary Commemorations, the launch of "No Longer Barren" - a history of the Barren Ridges Convict Establishment and the Epping (Oxford Street) Methodist and Uniting Church 1820-2010, will be held on Saturday 27 November 2010 between 3pm-5pm in the worship centre at the rear of the Oxford Street Church. This will be hosted by Dr. Ian Jack, President, Royal Australian Historical Society.

This should be an interesting contribution to the history of Oxford Street, Epping.

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If you are in interested in early Australian History or are researching a convict ancestor go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

Plymouth - The Australian Connection

2010-10-17T17:10:00.034+11:00

On our recent visit to the United Kingdom we were interested in finding any references to Australian history, in particular to the convicts that were transported to our shores.

Although we passed through many places that were familiar to us as to where our convicts ancestors came from, it was not until we got to Plymouth that we found some memorial plaques on the Barbican that celebrated the Australian connection.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs

The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six convicts (James Hammett, James Brine, brothers George and James Loveless and father and son Thomas and John Standfield) from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, who were transported to Australia on the Surrey in 1834.

They were sentenced for unlawfully administering oaths of loyalty to the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. This Society had been established to fight the continuing reduction in wages and was the beginning of trade unionism in England.

History Services NSW holds records on these six convicts.

They were later pardoned and four of the group returned to England embarking at Plymouth in 1838. The above plaque next to the Mayflower Steps at Plymouth commemorates this.

The First Fleet Ships

Another marble plaque commemorates the loading of convicts onto the transport ships,

Friendship and Charlotte at Plymouth in March 1787. These two ships then left to join

the rest of the First Fleet at Portsmouth from where they set sail to Australia on 13 May 1787.

Unveiled on 13 March 1987, it reads as above:

Another memorial on the Barbican is one to:

"Plymouth Men who Helped to found Modern Australia" including John Macarthur and William Bligh.

Convict Ancestors and Newgate Prison

2010-09-21T14:28:00.013+10:00

While on our recent visit to London we walked up to the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court), at the corner of Newgate Street and the Old Bailey, just inside the City of London . There we found a plaque locating the site of Newgate Prison.

In nineteenth century London, the Old Bailey was a small court next to Newgate Prison. Behind the walls, dark prison cells housed prisoners awaiting trial, execution or transportation.

These were the paths trodden by many of the convicts that were transported to New South Wales. It is fascinating to walk in the footsteps of our convict ancestors and take in the sad history of the places from whence they came on their journey to New South Wales.

Newgate was a medieval prison built in 1188 on the site of a gate in the old Roman London Wall (bailie). It was destroyed and rebuilt many times in its history. In particular, the old prison was demolished in 1777 as the above photo attests. A new prison was built and in 1783 the site of London's gallows from moved from Tyburn to Newgate.

In the Museum of London , one of the exhibits was a door from Newgate Prison circa 1780. It was in this atmosphere then that we find our convicts.

If you are researching a convict ancestor, and would like a ready summary of the information that is available, you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Visiting Cockatoo Island

2010-06-21T15:39:00.025+10:00

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour. It will always be part of the story of Sydney. It is mostly known for its maritime heritage being a base for shipbuilding and repairs for both the Royal Australian Navy and other shipping companies. But is also has a rich convict heritage as a penal settlement.

In 2001, the Sydney Harbour Federation assumed control of the island and embarked upon major restoration works and activities to attract the public.

This year Cockatoo Island is one of the major venues for the 17th Biennale of Sydney Festival. Running from 12 May to 1 August 2010, 56 artists are exhibiting 120 works on the island. In 2008, there were 80,000 visitors to Cockatoo Island for the Biennale. This year some 100,000 visitors are expected.

Mary and I visited Cockatoo Island on Sunday 16 May, and of course we were interested in the convict heritage.

(at left - Mess Hall)

[at right - Old Military Guardhouse , site of Serge Spitzer's Biennale Exhibit Molecular (SYDNEY) (2002-10)]

In 1839, Governor Sir George Gipps chose what was then an uninhabited island as the site of a new penal settlement for convicts being transferred from Norfolk Island . They were put to work on building a stone prison barracks, a military guardhouse and official residences.

The convicts also quarried the island's sandstone for building works in Sydney such as Semicircular Quay, and were employed in the construction of the Fitzroy Dock (1847-1857) which was the first of the two dry docks on the Island. They provided all the services to run the island - gatemen, overseers, mechanics, wardsmen, watermen and gardeners.

History Services NSW has some 360 records of convicts who were imprisoned on Cockatoo Island.

One interesting find on the highest part of the island was the remains of the huge grain storage silos that the convicts had carved out of the sandstone.

It had been Governor Gipps plan to conserve supplies of grain in good seasons and minimise price fluctuations during times of drought and shortages.

There were twenty bottle-shaped silos measuring 5.8 metres deep and 6.7 metres in diameter, with a sealed man-hole at the top. They could each hold from 84 to 140 tonnes of grain.

(above left - partially exposed grain storage silo, Cockatoo
Island)

History Services NSW records that two convicts, James Halliwell (per Camden 1831) and Daniel Torpy (Per Eliza 1832) "suffocated in a silo on Cockatoo Island on 4 October 1852".

Conditions in the penal settlement on Cockatoo Island were notoriously overcrowded and it was the subject of regular enquiries into the state of prisoner accommodation and the administration. The settlement was finally closed in 1869 when the convicts were transferred to Darlinghurst Goal.

The prison buildings have been currently nominated for World Heritage listing along with other convict sites around Australia. Archaeological digs are in progress and have revealed important evidence from Cockatoo Island's convict past.

[above right - entrance to two solitary confinement cells and two storerooms, Cockatoo Island)

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Cockatoo Island, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Governor Macquarie Visits Newcastle

2010-03-28T14:02:00.012+11:00

Governor Macquarie made three visitis to Newcastle during his term of office.

On 5 th August 1818, he laid the foundation stone for the construction of a breakwater to be built from the mainland to Nobbys Headland. This was to be known as the Macquarie Pier. It was to be built using convict labour and rock quarried from the Fort Scratchley area (then Signal Hill). The Pier was not completed till 1846 but was very strategic in making the Port of Newcastle what is it today.

On the previous Sunday, 2nd August 1818, Governor Macquarie officially named the newly completed "Christ-Church". He has commissioned this to be built in 1817 and it was designed by the convict artist, Joseph Lycett. Today the present church stands as the magnificent Christchurch Cathedral at the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.

We visited Nobbys recently and did some exploring. Nobbys was previously known as Hackings Point and Coal Island. But from the earliest days of the Colony of New South Wales, it was always known that there was coal at Newcastle.

On the seaward side of Nobbys Headland, I found what appears to be the brickwork of an entrance to an old coal mine. Another interesting discovery was that of part of the old railway line out to the headland.

History Services NSW has extensive records of convicts who were assigned to the Newcastle area, including those who laboured at Nobbys. It is recorded that two convicts, viz, John Reddish (per Earl Grey 1838) and John Atkins (per Dick 1821) "absconded from Nobby's island off Newcastle, in a boat on 12/5/1842" . The latter "was in irons".

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to the Newcastle area, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Red Cow Inn

2010-03-10T16:50:00.011+11:00

We lunched recently at the ever popular Sydney Rowing Club at Abbotsford Point overlooking the Parramatta River.

There is one wall in the Club preserved as containing the only remaining sandstone bricks of the Red Cow Inn (originally named the Red House and later the 'King's Arms") and Cottage built in 1837 on this spot.

The four corner holding nails of the plaque on this wall are hand-made square nails used in the flooring of the original cottage.

Today, the rivercats service the busy Abbotsford Wharf at Abbotsford Point.

In 1832, from this location on the Five Dock Farm, a punt service was established to carry people, horses and carriages across the Parramatta River to Bedlam Point. For many years this was the only river crossing between Sydney Town and points north on the Great North Road to Wisemans Ferry and New England.

The Red Cow Inn was a popular watering hole for travellers crossing the River to Bedlam Point and also for those travelling by water between Sydney Town and Parramatta.

In the Convict Database, History Services NSW has records of convicts assigned to the Fivedock area. For example, John Taylor (per Asia) who is recorded as "having absconded from William Wilson, Parramatta Road, Five Dock since 4/10/1843"

If you are researching a convict in the Five Dock area, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Also in the Hotel and Liqour Licensees Database, History Services NSW has a complete index of over 52,000 persons who were licensed in the New South Wales liqour industry from 1856 to 1900.

For further information go to: http://www.historyservices.com.au/hotels.htm

A Ghost Train to Toronto

2010-03-01T14:54:00.013+11:00

On the weekend, Mary and I travelled to Toronto for a friend's 60 th Birthday celebration.

Toronto is on the west side of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. It is a beautiful spot and we intend to come back with our group of friends later in the year.

With an eye to its history, we could not resist to see what Toronto had to offer.

Firstly we found the old railway station which is no longer operational. It closed in 1990 after 91 years of serving the local passenger community. Oroginally a tramway was constructed in 1891 from Fassifern Railway station to Toronto. A variety of steam engines was used on this line including a horsedrawn carriage. The line was converted to a branch railway in 1911 terminating at Toronto. Many thousands of passengers travelled here for holidays at Lake Maquarie over the years, including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) who visited Toronto in June of 1920.

Next we found a plaque commemorating the site of Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld's second Mission for Aborigines which he established in 1830 on his 1280 acre land grant "Derambambah".

History Services NSW has some 20 records of convicts assigned to the Reverend Threlkeld in the Newcastle area, including one Charles Adams who arrived in the Colony in March 1823. He was assigned to Government House in Parramatta in April 1823. In 1828 at age 22 years, Adams is recorded as being a "servant" and a 'bullock driver' with Rev E Threlkeld, Lake Macquarie.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Reverend Threlkeld , you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Green Hills Burial Ground

2010-02-02T21:29:00.013+11:00

Today Mary and I visited Pitt Town and Windsor, two of the Macquarie towns. Although we had been there many times before, we did a photo shoot of the many historical sites and buildings that remain today as a testiment to the districts's heritage.

These included the site of Governor Bligh's farm on the outskirts of Pitt Town; site of the Government Cottage (c1796-1919) where Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the five "Macquarie Towns" on 6 December 1810; St Matthew's Anglican Church (begun 1817); St Matthew's Rectory (1825); and the Hawkesbury Museum c1820 which was the home of the Hawkesbury's chief constable John Howe.

One of the most rewarding finds was the site of the Green Hills Burial Grounds, located on a patch of undeveloped land at the back of the Jolly Frog Hotel at Windsor. Not easily accessible from the town, we had to park in Court Street and walk down past the Toll House and go under the (Windsor) road bridge and over the bicycle roadway. We then came upon the site which today is a very peaceful green patch among the hustle and bustle of the modern day Windsor.

Green Hills was the earliest burial ground in the Hawkesbury district being used for burials from around 1806-1810.Governor Macquarie designated a new burial ground to be used from 1810 which is now the cemetery in St Matthew's Church of England.

From 1810, Green Hills however continued to used for the burial of convicts with the last convict being buried there in 1834.

The Hawkesbury district is rich in convict history. History Sevices NSW has extensive information on the large number of convicts assigned to the district.

If you are researching a convict ancestor, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Australia Day and your Convict Ancestor

2010-01-26T21:05:00.003+11:00

Happy Australia Day to all our readers.

This day gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we are as Australians. For many of us this will focus us on our ancestors who came to this land as convicts from England.

Our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd spoke fondly of his convict ancestor, one Thomas Rudd, at an Australia Day function at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sunday.

History Services NSW Convict Database has the following information recorded for the said Thomas Rudd:

arrived at Port Jackson from Portsmouth on 28 June 1790 aboard the Neptune (Second Fleet). Sentenced at the Old Bailey on 23 May 1787 for a term of seven years;

arrived at Port Jackson for a second time from England on 12 June 1801 aboard the Earl Cornwallis. Sentenced at the London Gaol Delivery on 19 February 1800 for a term of seven years;

1808 - sought assistance and was granted capital from John Blaxland for payment of wages;

1813 - subscribed to a building fund for a court house at Sydney;

1814 - recorded as a landholder at Liverpool;

1816 - required to prove he was free or be returned to government service. Resided at Liverpool;

1819 - assigned a convict servant, Edward McQuade (per theship Guildford which arrived at Port Jackson on 8 April 1816);

1822 - recorded as a landholder of Liverpool (free by servitude);

1824 - resident at Campbelltown - signed a letter to the Sydney Gazette asking for government investment in capital works at Campbelltown.

If you are researching a convict ancestor, and would like a ready summary of the information that is available, you should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

A German Convict?

2010-01-24T11:59:00.009+11:00

Yesterday, on a very hot Sydney day, I was interviewed by Dennis Gastmann for the German documentary series “With 80,000 Questions Around the World". In this show, the reporter travels to foreign countries to learn about their history, culture and tradition.

Dennis and his camera man, Thomas Hipp, are in Australia for one week and are scheduled to conduct four feature interviews for a program on Australia Day.

I was was questioned on issues such as:

Do Australians regard themselves as a Convict nation? This is apparently a common perception in Germany.

What is the significance of Australia Day, which many Aborigines refer to as Invasion Day.

My own convict ancestry and what it is like for an Australian to discover they have a convict ancestor.

The program will be aired on German Public Television on 1 March 2010.

A search of the History Services NSW Convict Database found that 21 convicts were native of Germany. An interesting German convict was George Bennet alias Isaac Davis, who arrived in Sydney on the convict ship Waterloo on 12 June 1837. George was aged 55 years when he arrived and was a native of Brenham, Germany. He had been previously transported to the Colony on the convict ship Guildford in 1824 and had escaped during June 1835. In 1844 he was before the Hyde Park Barracks Bench of Magistrates for making a false statement. At this time it was discovered that he had not received any additional punishment for previously absconding from the Colony. For punishment, the Bench of Magistrates recommended that he serve two years on Cockatoo Island as punishment. He eventually received his Ticket of Leave for the Parramatta district in November 1847, which was later altered to Sydney district, so long as he remained employed by Mr. Isaac Norris of Pitt Street.

Governor Macquarie has arrived!

2009-12-29T23:12:00.008+11:00

On the rainy Monday morning of 28 December 2009, Mary and I attended the commemoration of the 200th Anninversary of the arrival of Colonel Lachlan Macquarie, Governor Designate of New South Wales at the entrance to Sydney Harbour.

The event was organised by the Woollahra History and Heritage Society and held at the Signal Station at Watson's Bay, Sydney. It was intended to capture the history of Macquarie's voyage to New South Wales. The president of the Society, Peter Poland, read extracts from the Sydney Gazette and journals and letters of some of the ships' passengers. The Society was also seeking to encourage descendants of the 73 rd Regiment, which travelled to the Colony with Macquarie, to form an assocation.

In 1809, Macquarie and his party [including Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie, Captian John Antill and the soldiers of the 73 rd Regiment, John Thomas Campbell who was to become the Governor's Secretary, and Judge Advocate Designate Ellis Bent] were on board the storeship HMS Dromedary which was accompanied by the warship HMS Hindostan.

Governor's Macquarie's journal of 28 December reads: "At 10 o'clock this morning ..... the Hindostan and the Dromedary anchored within the entrance of Port Jackson... The wind being ahead we could not proceed any further up the Harbour than the entrance".

Upon the arrival of the ships on that December day, the Union flag would have been hoisted up the flagstaff close to the site of the present Signal Station.

On this Monday, 200 years later, the Union flag was again hoisted by Sydney vexillographer, John Vaughan, along with the flag of the Scottish Australian Heritage Society, in honour of Macquarie's Scottish roots.

Lachlan Macquarie eventually landed at Sydney Cove on 31 December and took up his official position as Governor of New South Wales on 1 January 1810. So began on one the most significant periods in the development of New South Wales.

History Services NSW has extensive research material available on Governor Macquarie including a listing of the extensive public buildings and works undertaken by him.

Go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/resource_material.htm

The Bicentenary period of Macquarie's Governship (1810-1821) will see many commemorations of his achievements.

For details of upcoming events go to: http://www.macquarie2010.nsw.gov.au/

Tanilba House

2009-11-23T14:18:00.013+11:00

Out on the western end of the Tilligerry Peninsula, (in Port Stephens, NSW) is Tanilba Bay. 'Tanilba' means 'place of white flowers' which is a reference to the flannel flowers which formerly thrived in the area.

The first settler in the area was Lieutenant William Caswell who was granted 50 acres of land at Tanilba in 1831 in recognition of his military service in the Royal Navy.

Using convict labour, William Caswell laid the foundations of Tanilba House in 1837. It was built of quartz porphyry stone which was quarried nearby. The mortar came from the lime produced by burning oysters. Vineyeards, gardens and a dairy were estabishled on the estate. We previously visited the homestead on one of the days when it is open to the public. It is a fantastic place retaining its charm of yesteryear.

Going back to its history, in 1920, Henry F Halloran, surveyor, real estate agent and property developer, purchased Tanilba Estate. He co-ordinated the bulding of a number of intriguing structures in local stone in the streets and parks of Tanilba Bay.

One of these being the stone Centenary Gates, on the Avenue of Allies, which were built in 1931 to commemorate the centenary of Williiam Caswell coming to Tanilba Bay.

History Services NSW has records for 23 convicts who at one time were assigned to William Caswell in the Port Stephens area.

For example, one Ellen Clarke who "in 1843 is recorded as having been apprehended after having absconded from Lieutenant W Caswell R. N." In 1841, Ellen had previously absconded from the Female Factory at Parramatta.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to William Caswell, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Kissing Point

2009-11-18T07:40:00.014+11:00

On Saturday, 21 November 2009, celebtations will be held to mark the completion of the upgrade of works at Kissing Point Park and the adjacent Bennelong Park. These include a new pathway and boardwalk running through both parks.

Kissing Point was the original name of the area that we now know as Ryde. It is believed to have been given that name in the early days of the colony because the area of water around it was the furthest up the Parramatta River that heavily laden vessels could reach before their keels "kissed" the bottom.

On the way up the Parramatta River, the eastern shore flattens out around Kissing Point and so in the early days of the Colony lent itself to farming. The first land grants were made in 1792 to emanicipated convicts in the area which was named "Eastern Farms".

On of the these ex-convicts was James Squires, He was a First Fleeter who came to New South Wales on the Friendship in 1788.

On his emanicaption, he was granted 30 acres of land at Kissing Point on 22 July 1795. James was a very enterprising and community minded person and had many successful ventures in the early New South Wales Colony.

On his farm he grazed sheep, sowed wheat, maize and barley and was the first to successfully grow hops and commercially brew beer.

In 1798 he became the licensee of The Malting Shovel Tavern on the shores of the Parramatta River, a halfway house for travellers between Sydney Town and Parramatta by river.

At one time he had a bakery, suppled the Colony with meat, ran a credit union and was widely known for his fair play as a lender and philanthropist to his poorer neighbours. He was also a resident constable for the "Eastern Farms" district despite his convict background. Bennelong was buried on his farm in 1813.

History Services NSW has records for at least 15 convicts who worked for James Squires at Kissing Point, including those for Thomas Fox who was twice transported to New South Wales, viz:

married Bridget Fogarty in Tipperary in 1813 (she came to New South Wales as a free settler on the Bachelor in 1835);

first transported on the Guildford in 1816;

granted a Conditional Pardon on 31 January 1820;

employed by James Squires, Kissing Point 1822;

transported again on the Roslyn Castle, 1833;

assigned to David Ramsay , Dobroyd 1833 ;

granted Ticket of Leave, Parramatta 11 /2 /1841;

Conditional Pardon 31/7/1847.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to James Squires, you should go to our website at: http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Australian Technology Park

2009-11-12T20:55:00.020+11:00

A very interesting place to visit is the Australian Technology Park, five minutes walk from Redfern Train Station.

It is on the site of the Eveleigh Locomotive Workshop which from 1887 built and maintained the steam locomotives that were the backbone of New South Wales industry. Over 200 locomotives were built and at its peak in the 1930s, the workshop maintianed over 540 locomotives each year and employed over 300 skilled workers.

Today the Australian Technology Park is a multi-functional Exhibition and Event Facilty with many interesting venues incorporating the structures of the old workshops.

There is a heritage display of some of the old locomotives, carriages and machines used in the workshops.

The Government Contracts and Contractors Database of History Services NSW has details of some 1600 government contracts awarded for the New South Wales Railways. Some examples are:

1874 - provision of Turret Clock at Redfern Station.

1878 - cartage of locomotives and boilers from the Governement Wharf at Circular Quay and Campbells' Wharf to Redfern, and

erection of an extension of the carriage shed at Redfern.

If you would like more information on contracts awarded by the New South Wales Government over the period from 1832 to 1900 go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

A Desert Landscape

2009-11-02T21:40:00.006+11:00

On Friday last, we visited Birubi Point (near Anna Bay, Port Stephens NSW) at the entrance to the sand dunes of Stockton Beach.

These are the largest continuous mobile sand dunes in Eastern Australia , stretching a distance of some 32kms and up to 1km wide, covering an area of 2500 hectares. The sands would have been deposited some six thousand years ago and were home to the aboriginal ancestors of the Woromi tribe.

This is an exotic landscape - white sand dunes up to 40m high, clouds casting their shadows over the sands, tourists, camels, horses and concrete pyramids!

But what are these strange structures?

During World War II, the area was heavily fortified. Running across the

beach into farmland for several kilometres was a line of heavy concrete pyramids (about 3000 in total) designed to slow down tank movements.

Many of these 'tank traps' as they were known, are still where they were placed in 1942. On closer inspection, each pyramid has a serial number and the date when it was made, rendered into the concrete.

A wonderful experience! Again bringing together a piece of the geography and history of our land.

Monument to the Canadian Exiles

2009-10-23T08:11:00.007+11:00

Moving on from Cabarita Park, which stands at the entrance to Hen and Chicken Bay, the search was on to find the monument to the fifty-eight French Canadian convicts who were sent to New South Wales for their part in the 1837-1838 uprising against the British administration in the Canadian provence of Quebec.

We did a short walk in the midday sun along Exile Bay to Prince Edward Park and then drove around to Bayview Park at the head of Canada Bay. It was here that we finally located the monument.

It had previously been at Cabarita Park where on 18 May 1970, the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau unveiled the plaque to mark the 130th Anniversary of the landing of the Canadian exiles in Sydney.

Following the reclamation of Bayview Park, Concord Council moved the monument there in February 1984. This is closer to the historical roots of the story of the exiles.

Arriving in Sydney Harbour on 25 February 1840 on the Buffalo, the fifty-eight convicts were transported to the Longbottom Stockade on the site of the present day Concord Oval. Bayview Park is the actual landing spot from where they would have disembarked en route to the Stockade along Wharf Road (Burwood Road).

Circumstances saw these prisoners treated somewhat more humanely than most other convicts. They were industrious and hard working and were generally accepted by the early colonists. Archbishop John Bede Polding lobbied the Administration on their behalf.

In 1841, Governor Gipps gave permission for the convicts to be granted Tickets of Leave and by 1842 many had found employment. Finally between November 1843 and February 1844 free pardons were awarded to all. All eventually returned to Canada except for two who died and one, Joseph Marceau who married a nineteen-year-old Englishwoman and settled in Dapto on the South Coast of NSW.

Although this story is not popularly known, the convicts of the Buffalo have been well researched.

History Services NSW holds records on all the fifty-eight convicts, in a handy summary format giving dates and details in particular of their Tickets of Leave and Absolute Pardons

If you would like to research any of this information go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

The story of the Canadian exiles in the Concord area has been commemorated in the naming of the inlets of Hen and Chicken Bay viz France Bay, Exile Bay and Canada Bay. These areas have been much transformed in recent years with new residential developments.

Our excursion today has been very interesting, greatly enhancing both our historical and geographical knowledge of the Parramatta River.

Federation Pavilion at Cabarita Park

2009-10-22T13:55:00.019+11:00

The Federation Pavilion at Cabarita Park, Sydney 2009.

Transporting history!

On a visit to Cabarita Park on the shores of the Parramatta River yesterday, we located the original Federation Pavilion which was used at Centennial Park in Sydney on the occasion of the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901.

It was in this Pavilion that the Oath of Office was adminstered to the Governor General, Lord Hopetoun by Sir Frederick Darley, the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice of NSW.

Centennial Park, Sydney, 1 January 1901

Source: http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/

In 1903 the Council of Concord bought the Pavilion and moved it to its current location at Cabarita.

And so a piece of Australia's History was transported!

It is believed that the wooden framework of the current pavilion at Cabarita would have formed the wooden superstructure of the Centennial Park model. This supported decorative layers of plaster of Paris which formed the ornate rotunda used for the ceremonies on the day of Federation. The plaster of Paris however quickly disintegrated.

The major events in the History of New South Wales leading up to Federation on 1 January 1901 are featured in an extensive Chronology on the History Services NSW website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/nsw_colonial_chronology.htm

Finding Bennelong

2009-10-08T14:41:00.010+11:00

On Tuesday, while on our way to have lunch by the Parramatta River, our "Nav Lady" took us via the route of Watson Street, Putney where we spotted Cleves Park which is the location of Bennelong's grave. I had tried to find the grave site on a previous occasion in the nearby Bennelong Park.

Cleves Park was originally part of the Kissing Point property of James Squire, the First Fleet convict who established the first commercial brewery in the colony at Kissing Point in 1798. It was here in James Squire's orchard, that Bennelong was buried when he died on 3 January 1813.

It was reported that Bennelong often wandered onto the Squire's property and was befriended by James. He erected a plaque to commenorate his dear friend. The current monument was funded by the Australian Bicentennial Authority.

Interesting name, Cleves Park. My wife had an Uncle Cleve. I have not been able to trace the origin of the name?

Bennelong is the best known of our Aboriginal people at the time of the arrival of the First Fleet. Befriended by Governor Phillip, after his "capture" in November 1789, he straddled two cultures, attempting to build bridges between them. This of course took a terrible toll on him.

The following is an extract from the Historical Records of New South Wales, Volume 2, page 711 [correspondance of Daniel Southwell dated 27/7/1790, on the escape of the Aborigine, named Bennalong, from Sydney Town] which illustrates his dual role.

"We have had little or no intercourse with the natives for a long time past, and Woolaraveray Bennalon [Bennilong], from whom we hoped so much, effected his escape on 3 May 1790, at a time when he was supposed to be well reconciled to his situation.

He laterally slept in the same room with the Governor’s steward, and before it was light he pretended suddenly to be disordered, upon which the other opened the door, not doubting but he would soon return; at last, tired with waiting, he thought proper to go and see how and where Woolaraveray Bennalon was. Not finding him, and after calling repeatedly, soon concluded what had happened, and accordingly went to the Governor’s room with the unwelcome news".

For a portrait of Bennelong go to the History Services NSW website at http://www.historyservices.com.au/nsw_colonial_chronology_1804_1817.htm

Pioneers' Track

2009-09-17T12:15:00.022+10:00

On Tuesday last, Mary and I did a bushwalk along Pioneers' Track which meanders through Epping, Beecroft and Carlingford in Sydney's northwest.

This opened up many surprises about the early history of the area.

We entered the track at Midson Road where Devlin's Creek forms the boundary between Epping and Beecroft. The surrounding area is the site of the original land grants in Epping (then named the Field of Mars Common) made to Captain William Kent (170 acres on 12 May 1796) and his nephew Lieutenant Willam Kent (460 acres on 18 April 1803).

The younger Kent called his property William Farm. It was not a working farm but both Government and private contractors removed timber from the property between 1816-1835.

In 1835, James Devlin purchased the property renaming it The Devlin Estate. Devlin, like Kent did not live on the farm but allowed former convicts to rent and farm the land.

Devlin's Creek is named after James Devlin and Kent Street, Epping of course after the Kents.

We then came upon came upon Ray Park which was the site of the first orchard that grew the Granny Smith Apple on a commercial basis.

At the Orchard Road exit, we came upon the history of the first settlers in what is now the Hornsby Shire. David Kilpack was transported as a convict to New South Wales on the First Fleet aboard the Scarborough. In June 1791, he married Eleanor McDonald who had been also transported as convict aboard the Lady Juliana in 1790. Kilpack received his freedom in 1794 and was granted 30 acres at Mobbs Hill (Field of Mars) where the couple settled. The following year he was granted another 50 acres.

History Services NSW has records for both David Kilpack and Eleanor McDonald . It also has 10 records of convicts assigned to James Devlin. For example:

"James Hillyer, aged 18 years, who arrived in Port Jackson on 18 February 1833 from Sheerness on the convict ship, Camden. It is recorded that he was assigned to James Devlin at Kissing Point in 1833. He was granted his Ticket of Leave in 1843 at Parramatta. In 1844 at Hunters Hill, he applied to marry Mary Ann Jones who was born in the Colony ".

If you are researching your local area history, History Services NSW may hold records of early convict settlers in a summary format that you cannot get from any other source.

You should go to our website at:http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

The First Fleet - Why Sydney Cove?

2009-07-09T14:31:00.020+10:00

Kurnell on Botany Bay

Over the past few weeks, Mary and I have visited the sites where the first European visitors came ashore in our land- Kurnell on Botany Bay where Captain Cook landed in 1770, and Camp Cove just inside the entrance to Sydney Harbour where Captain Phillip came ashore on 21 January 1788.

But our early settlement was not just a question of history but of more importantly of geography. Captain Cook visited Botany Bay in autumn and generally experienced "gentle breezes and pleasant weather". He came ashore on the southern and more sheltered side of the Bay and found a water supply to water his ships.

Captain Phillip however, on bringing the First Fleet to Botany Bay some eitghteen years later, did not find Botany Bay an ideal place for settlement. There was poor sandy soil that was unsuitable for growing crops; there was a lack of sufficient fresh water; parts of the Bay had shallow water and thus the ships could not be moored close to shore; and it was buffeted by strong southerly winds.

What a decision for Captain Phillip in January 1788, in command of the eleven Ships of the First Fleet and some 1350 men, women and children, when he had to venture north to find a more suitable place for settlement.

He intended to explore Broken Bay. But there was another bay which was sighted and marked, but not entered by Captain Cook, which he named Port Jackson, after George Jackson, Judge-Advocate of the Fleet.

On the afternoon of 21 January 1788, Captain Phillip and his party sailed into Port Jackson and went ashore at present day Camp Cove, a sheltered beach just inside the entrance to what is today our beautiful Sydney Harbour.

Captain Phillip explored Port Jackson further and chose Sydney Cove as the place of settlement as it had a "good spring of water".

An entry in the journal of one of the officers of the First Fleet describes the beauty of Port Jackson as:

“having the finest terra’s, lawns and grottos, with distinct plantations of the tallest and most stately trees ever seen in any nobleman’s grounds in England, cannot excel in beauty those which nature now presented to their view. The singing of the various birds amongst the trees, and the fight of numerous parraquets, lorrequets, cockatoos, and macaws, made all round appear like in enchantment; the stupendous rocks from the summit of the hills and down to the very water’s edge hanging over in a most awful manner from above, and forming the most commodious quays by the water. The moulds here are a foot and a half down as rich as any garden in England will afford; there are also many very lofty firs, and here is also the cabbage-tree.“having the finest terra’s, lawns and grottos, with distinct plantations of the tallest and most stately trees ever seen in any nobleman’s grounds in England, cannot excel in beauty those which nature now presented to their view. The singing of the various birds amongst the trees, and the fight of numerous parraquets, lorrequets, cockatoos, and macaws, made all round appear like in enchantment; the stupendous rocks from the summit of the hills and down to the very water’s edge hanging over in a most awful manner from above, and forming the most commodious quays by the water. The moulds here are a foot and a half down as rich as any garden in England will afford; there are also many very lofty firs, and here is also the cabbage-tree.

From extensive research from the Historical Records of New South Wales, Volumes 1 and 2, [Sydney Government Printer, 1892-1901], I have compiled the following chronologies on the History Services NSW website:

A chronology of Captain Cook's discovery and exploration of Botany Bay. Go to
http://www.historyservices.com.au/resource_material_botany_bay.htm

A Chronology of the First Fleet Arrival at Botany Bay and subsequent Settlement at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson. Go to: http://www.historyservices.com.au/resource_material_first_fleet_chronology.htm

Brush Farm House

2009-06-22T08:00:00.012+10:00

On Sunday 14 June 2009, Mary and I visited Brush Farm House at Eastwood, NSW. Ryde Council was holding one of its Open Days there to show off the restoration of the heritage property which was completed in 2007.

Brush Farm House and estate is very much part of of the natural and cultural heritage of NSW. It is one of Australia's oldest remaining houses, being built in 1819-20 by the explorer Gregory Blaxland. It was a two story brick building on sandstone foundations in the Colonial Georgian style.

Ryde Council purchased the property from the NSW State Government in 1990 and set in place a conservation project that has not only restored the building as a legacy of our early heritage but has opened it up for public use.

The Blaxlands were among the first 'settlers of responsibility and Capital' to come to the young colony of New South Wales. The early Administraion encouraged such settlers promising them land, convict servants and free passages. Gregory Blaxland and his brother John were friends of Sir Joseph Banks, and it appears that it was he who strongly enocuraged them to emigrate.

History Services NSW has numerous records of convicts assigned to Brush Farm and Gregory Blaxland. For example:

Edward GING who arrived in Port Jackson on 27 July 1817 from County Cork on the convict ship, Chapman. It is recorded that he served Gregory Blaxland of the Brush Farm for four and a half years until 16 November 1822. He was granted his Certificate of Freedom in 1823 and was granted land at Campbelltown in 1825.

If you are researching a convict ancestor who was assigned to Brush Farm, you should go to our website at:
http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Three Bees

2009-06-09T21:15:00.008+10:00

A convict ship alight in Sydney Harbour in 2009!

On this coming weekend on Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights, the Fire Water spectacular, which is part of the Vivid Sydney program will re-enact such an event from Sydney's colonial past.

Directed by Michael Cohen, Fire Water centres on the story of the convict ship the Three Bees.

The Three Bees arrived in Sydney Cove on 6 May 1814 with a cargo of 210 male convicts. Two weeks later on Friday 20 May, a fire broke out and quickly engulfed the ship. It was cut lose from its moorings and drifted into the Harbour. When flames reached the cannons, cannonballs shot from the ship with one reaching the office of Captain John Piper at the Naval Office in George Street and destroying his writing desk. When the ship's gunpowder stores exploded, the Three Bees sank off Bennelong Point.

Governor Macquarie's report of the incident can be found in the following despatch to Earl Bathurst , dated 24 May 1814 [ Historical Records of Australia , Volume 8]

"The transport ship, Three Bees, commanded by Captain John Wallis, arrived on 6/5/1814, with 210 male convicts; out of the 219 originally embarked, the other 9 having died on the passage; and out of those landed, it has been necessary to send 55 to the Hospital, many of them being much affected with scurvy and others labouring under various complaints.

On enquiring into the cause of this mortality and sickness, it appeared that many of them had been embarked in a bad state of health, and not a few infirm from lameness and old age. I am happy in being enabled to state that the convicts arrived by the Three Bees have, without a single exception, borne grateful testimony to their having been treated with the most unremitting care, attention and kindness, by the Master and Surgeon of the vessel, from the day of their embarkation until they were finally landed here.

A Detachment of four Subaltern Officers and 38 Soldiers of the 46th Regiment arrived by the Three Bees, having acted as a guard over the male convicts on board, and by this vessel, John Palmer, Esq., arrived with the appointment of Assistant Commissary General.

A most unfortunate accident took place in Sydney Cove immediately in front of, and at a very short distance from Government house on Friday evening last. At about 5 o’clock in the evening the fine new ship Three Bees was discovered to be on fire, and so rapid and violent was the burst of flames when the hatches were accidently raised, that all effort at extinguishing them was rendered totally useless, and must have been attended with the utmost risk to those who should have attempted it.

The danger arising from the ordinary effect of fire being increased beyond all calculation by the consideration that a very large quantity of gunpowder was deposited immediately adjoining the place from whence the flames first proceeded. No alternative was left to the Ship’s Company but to immediately abandonment, which fortunately took place without any accident whatever. At this crisis, little short of the total destruction of the Town of Sydney was expected every moment to take place by the explosion of the Magazine.

The alarm was so great that numbers of the inhabitants deserted their houses, and fled into the Country to avoid being buried in ruins, Fourteen guns, some loaded with Ball and some with Grape Shot, exploded, sending their contents in various directions, as the ship drifted through the Town, fortunately, however, without doing any damage further than the breaking a window in the Naval Officer’s House and shattering a writing desk that lay within it. At this time a light breeze blowing off the shore, and the cable being cut, the vessel drifted to the extremity of the Cove where she struck on some projecting rocks called Bennelong’s Point, and here the expected explosion took place.

Owing to some circumstance, which cannot be otherwise accounted for than by supposing that the ship had previously taken in water, and wetted the powder, the explosion did not occur till nearly two hours after it was expected, and was not by any means so tremendous as there was reason to suppose it would have been.

The alarm for the town and the shipping in the Cove was now at an end, but the fire did not cease its ravages until the fine ship was burnt down to the water’s edge, which took place in about six hours from the first discovery.

This unfortunate accident is attributed to some carelessness on the part of a Tailor, who had charge of a lighted candle in the morning in that part of the Hold whence the flames proceeded, and who is supposed to have put it out in a careless manner, dropping some of the snuff of it in an unextinguished state at his feet".

Do you have a convict ancestor who came to Sydney Cove on the Three Bees? Would you like further information?

History Services NSW has records on the entire 210 convicts who were landed ashore. Go to the website at:
http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

The Bay Walk

2009-05-06T21:31:00.008+10:00

View inside Vault

Today Mary and I did the Bay Walk around Iron Cove.

On passing Rodd Park, we noticed a large sandstone cross. This revealed a most interesting story. It is the site of the Historic Rodd Mausoleum which was the family vault of Brent Clements Rodd, a pioneer of the Five Dock area.

Brent Clements Rodd, who emigrated to Australia in 1822, was admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 28 September 1833. In 1838 he bought fifty acres of the Five Dock Estate and in 1845 his home, Barnstaple Manor was completed. He lived there with his wife, Sarah Janet Rodd, and their eight sons and four daughters. Several of the nearby street are named after the family.

The Family Mausoleum (Vault) was carved from a large outcrop of sandstone rock at Rodd Point by convict labour.

Sarah Rodd who died in 1896 and Brent in 1898, were interrred there. In 1903, the remains of ten family members were re-interred to Rookwood Cemetery to allow consevation works to the vault.

The site was thought to be no longer existent but was rediscovered in 1975. The Rotary Club of Fivedock restored it to its original condition, including the return of the stone cross to the to the Family Vault.

A monument on the site was unveiled by the Honourable Paul Landa MLC at a dedication ceremony on 20 March 1977.

History Services NSW has the records of a number of convicts that were assigned to Brent Clements Rodd, including one Thomas Preston, stableman, who arrived at Port Jackson on the convict ship Lloyds on 18 December 1833.

If you would like more information on Thomas Preston or would like to research other NSW convicts ancestors, visit the History Services NSW website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/convicts.htm

Historic Berrima

2009-04-27T11:02:00.019+10:00

Mary and I visited Berrima on the weekend to celebrate the 60th Birthday of our good friend Rob. We dined at the Magpie Cafe. The food was great and the atmosphere relaxed, and a good day was had by all.

Took some interesting photos as shown above:

Lambie's Well - first water supply for the town situated just below the western wall of the Gaol on the banks of the Wingecarribee River.
Bulls Head Fountain on the northern wall of the Gaol. Built to provide water for the horses of those attending the Courthouse opposite.
Our group.

Berrima is a great place to visit. Situated in the NSW Southern Highlands, the town is a living example of Australia's rich colonial heritage. Established in 1831, it was planned in the manner of a typical English village. Today many of the grand old sandstone buildings - Berrima Gaol, Courthouse, Berrima House, Surveyor General Inn, Holy Trinity Church and St Francis Xavier Church - are preserved, providing a unique atmosphere to the town.

History Services NSW has extensive historical information in our databases relating to the Berrima district including:

643 records of convicts who were at Berrima at some time;

180 records of Government contracts awarded for work in and around Berrima- repairs to the Gaol (1860) and additions thereto (1862); repairs to the Telegraph Station (1865); erection of a boundary wall around the Goal (1865); supply of furniture for the Courthouse (1871, 1877); erection of Police Station (1877); erection of Chimney Stack at the Courthouse (1892); installation of electric light at Berrima Gaol (1894);repairs to the Courthouse (1897);

records of all the licensees of the Surveyor General Inn up to 1900

For more information go to our website at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/

The Convict Priests

2009-04-20T17:37:00.011+10:00

The first Catholic priests to arrive in the colony of New South Wales were convicts. These were James Harold in 1800, quickly followed by James Dixon and Peter O'Neil.

They were Irishman, transported to New South Wales for their complicity in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. As they were not officially appointed clergyman, they were not welcomed by the Colonial Administration as it was thought that they would incite rebellion in the large number of Irish convicts.

The first Catholic Masses in the colony were therfore celebrated in secret, as depicted in the stained glass window in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney (first window on the western side of the nave). This is an early the celebration of the Eucharist by Father James Dixon in the kitchen of a cottage in 1803 with a lookout at the door.

Father Dixon celebrated the first official Mass in the colony on 15 May 1803 following a procalmation by Governor Philip Gidley King permitting Catholic worship.

There is an exhibition in the crypt of St Mary's Cathedral, with a set of silk vestments known as the "Convict Vestments" probably used by Father Dixon.

While researching the early days of the Catholic Church in Australia, I was particularly interested in the official correspondance between the main players, including the NSW Colonial Administraion, the British Government and the priests themselves. This is found in various despatches of Series One of the Historical Records of Australia [published by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament ].

Using these primary sources, I have complied a "History of the Roman Catholic Church in the Colony of New South Wales 1800 -1836".

You can find this on the website of History Services NSW at:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/resource_material.htm

The Settlers Arms Inn - Shellharbour

2009-03-19T22:22:00.018+11:00

While visiting Shellharbour on the south coast of NSW, I came across an historic plaque in the town centre marking the site of "The Settlers Arms" Inn built in Shellharbour by Robert Martin in 1856.

The Inn was a meeting place for many local events most notably being the signing of the petition to form the Municipality of Shellharbour dated 14 January 1859.

The Local Government Petitioners Database of History Services NSW has records of over 47,000 persons who signed one of the 315 petitions or counter petitions during the period 1858 to 1883 relating to the formation of local government municipalities in New South Wales.

For the Municipality of Shellharbour, we have the names of 210 persons who signed the petition.

For further information, on local government petitioners go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/local_govt.htm

The Settlers Arms was destroyed by fire on 8 April 1872. The "New Royal Hotel" was built on the site in 1891.

In the Hotel and Liquor Licensees Database, History Services NSW has a complete index of over 52,000 persons who were licensed in the New South Wales liquor industry from 1856 to 1900.

For the Shellharbour area, we have 25 entries.

For further information, on Hotel and Liquor Licensees go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/hotels.htm

Shellharbour Weekend

2009-03-19T15:41:00.015+11:00

I enjoyed a great weekend at Shellharbour recently with the gang from Sydney and Canberra, mixing pleasure with a smidgin of history.

Shellharbour, originally known as Peterborough was named because of the shell-like natural features of the local landscape. It was one of the earliest land grants made to D'Arcy Wentworth. After his death in 1827, the estate was divided between five of his children - Robert, Martha
(Reddall), Sophia (Towns), Mary Ann (Addison) and Catherine(Darley). The streets of Shellharbour were named after these families.

Caroline Chisolm, the Emigrants' Friend settled some families in the district in 1843.

Some of the group walked out to Bass Point to view the memorial to the sinking of the US tanker, Cities Services Boston. The ship ran aground off this point in the early hours of 16 May 1943 during the Second World War after it was caught in a violent 70 knot gale.

Thirty soldiers from the 6 Machine Gun Battalion AIF, together with members of the local Volunteer Defence Corp, the Police and local fishermen undertook a daring rescue to save the 62 American crewman.

However four AIF soldiers died during the rescue. Two memorials to them have been unveiled, one at Bass Point by Captain S D Matchett (R.A.I.) on 8 September 1968. The other by the Mayor of Shellharbour, Alderman R J Harrison on 5 May 1983, located in Caroline Chisolm Park.

Denistone House - History where you find it!

2009-03-04T14:37:00.013+11:00

While visitng a family member in Ryde Hospital, I took time out to explore Denistone House and its history. Denistone House is now an administration block in the grounds of Ryde Hospital in Sydney, New South South Wales.

Denistone House was rebuilt in as an imposing stone residence in 1872 by Richard Rouse Terry, grandson of the wealthy convict Samuel Terry, and brother of Edward Terry the first mayor of Ryde.

The original "Dennistone House", was the property of Dr Thomas Forster and named in memory of his English birthplace. [Thomas Forster was the husband of Gregory Blaxland's daughter, Elizabeth. In 1829, Blaxland transferred Brush Farm Estate to Elizabeth and Dr Forster. In 1830 they expanded the estate by purchasing the Porteous Mount grants of 120 acres on the Denistone ridge].

The house was destroyed by a bushfire in 1855.

In 1872, the land was acquired by Richard Rouse Terry who built the current house.

A plaque funded by the NSW Bicentennial Council reads:

This "Handsome Mansion" was bult in 1872

by Richard Rouse Terry. A "picture of

elegance and comfort of the most unostentatious

kind" it was an integral part of the social life of

early Ryde."

Denistone House was purchased by the New South Wales Government in 1913 for use as a convalescent home for men. It later became the maternity wing of the Ryde District Soldiers' Memorial Hospital which opened in May 1934.

A Government Contract!

2009-02-23T18:38:00.012+11:00

Today I travelled on the first train out of Epping on the new railway line to Chatswood.

Despite the political arguments that the line is coming into operation some three years late, it appears that the original idea for a junction line from Epping connecting the northern railway line with the North Shore line goes back some 80 years to John Bradfield of Harbour Bridge fame.

According to an article in the Northern District Times, 18 February 2009, Pastor Larry Galbraith of the Epping Church of Christ holds archival documents that point to a plan for a Epping-Chatswood railway . According to a commerative booklet dated Easter Saturday 1928, to mark the laying of the foundation stone of the Epping Church of Christ in Bridge Street, the "value of siting a new church at Epping, given the electrification of the Northern Line and the authorisation of the junction line connecting the northern suburbs at Epping with the North Shore line" was duly noted.

The $2.29 billion railway line is the biggest infrastructure project in NSW. As an engineering feat it is a testament to all those who worked on it.

Do you have an ancestor who worked on building the foundation of New South Wales?

History Services NSW has a database of Government Contracts and Contractors covering some 49,164 entries on successful applicants for contracts awarded by the New South Wales Government over the period from 1832 to 1900.

For more information go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/govt_contracts.htm

Was your ancestor a Postie? - 200 years of Australia Post

2009-02-19T14:43:00.012+11:00

This year 2009, marks 200 years of the postal service in Australia.

The postal service officially began on 25 April 1809 when a former convict, Issac Nichols was appointed the first postmaster of New South Wales.

His task was to co-ordinate all mail coming into the colony. He set up Australi's first post office at his home in George Street, Sydney and advertised the names of all mail recipients in the Sydney Gazette. Settlers could collect their letters from Nichols' home for a fixed price of one shilling per letter, with parcels costing more depending on weight.

In 1825, the NSW Legislative Council passed the first postal Act giving the government control of the colony's postal services.

Later, Nichols later appointed his servant, George Panton as the colony' first postman in 1828. From that time, letter carriers as they were known distributed mail in Sydney

Mail routes out of Sydney were established and more postmasters were appointed. By 1828, regular daily horseback deliveries had begun operating from Sydney to Parramatta and Liverpool; a twice weekly service ran to Windsor and Campbelltown and a weekly service from carried mail to Penrith and Bathurst. There was also a twice weekly mail service by ship between Sydney and Newcastle.

As the colony grew, post offices sprang up and the postal service became a vital cog in the wheel of opening up overland routes for the mail and providing a means for people to communicate and receive supplies.

Because of the distances involved in the distribiton of mail, the Government of New South Wales required the services of thousands of contractors to deliver mail services. Often it was the mail contractor who forged the route through an inhospitable countryside.

History Services NSW has compiled a database of over 12,000 contracts awarded by the Government of New South Wales to persons to provide specific mail services for the period 1835 to 1901. For more information go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/mail.htm

Finding Richard Johnson

2009-02-12T21:01:00.009+11:00

On Australia Day, 26 January 2009, Mary and I visited Richard Johnson Square on the corner Hunter and Castlereagh streets in the centre of Sydney.

We got a great photo of the monument erected in Richard Johnson's honour against the backdrop of a vintage bus from the Sydney Bus Museum. Buses from the Museum's fleet were running services through the city for the Australia Day celebrations.

Reverend Richard Johnson was appointed to accompany the First Fleet to New South Wales to become the first clergyman in Australia. His story illustrates the significant difficulties he experienced in establishing religious services and building a church in the infant Colony.

For full details of his story go to:

http://www.historyservices.com.au/resource_material_johnson.htm

NSW Convict Ancestors

2009-02-11T10:57:00.004+11:00

History Services NSW is a one-stop research boutique that can provide you with the most comprehensive information on your NSW convict ancestor.

Visit us at http://www.historyservices.com.au/

We will be able to help you if you are just getting started with your family history or are updating your research.

Since the launch of the our website we have provided many researchers with information on a convict ancestor.

Enquiries and comments are most welcome.