With our forebears mostly being involved in agriculture (Tasmania), there was always a keen interest in the weather and forecasting and when relatives or friends got together it would not be long before the conversation got round to the weather. Now day forecasting has become fairly accurate in the short term and with the features […]
Author: Ivan Badcock
Currency, Weights & Measures
In the early part of Dad and Mum’s lives, the Imperial systems were used for money, weight, length, volumes and temperatures, as well as for other measures. All this began to change in the 1960’s when the metric system began to be introduced in Australia. Some of the new metric measures were embraced quickly, particularly […]
Harry Conrad Bean
Harry Conrad Bean passed to his reward on Tuesday, 24 June 2008 at the age of 94 Years. He had been a lay preacher in the Methodist and Uniting Churches for over 50 years and also conducted worship in local Baptist Churches. Harry’s name first appeared on the Longford Methodist preaching plan when he was […]
Melvyn George & Evelyn Badcock (nee Richardson)
Grandfather, or Dad Dad as he was sometimes known by the grandchildren, was born at “Pleasant Hills”, Glenore, Tasmania on the 18 July 1879, the eighth child of an eventual family of 12 children born to William and Susan Badcock. His parents were mixed farmers and they, William and Susan, were to remain at the […]
Bishopsbourne Relics of Christ College
Article by Rev. W.H. MacFarlane, Rector of Longford and Historian. Written in 1946, while the date does not appear in the article, it refers to the Centenary Sports sponsored by Humphrey Bros which were held in January 1946 a few months earlier. This article was not formally published, instead, it was printed on paper and […]
Longford Methodist Circuit(s)
For 42 years there were two Methodist Circuits centred on Longford. The first was established by the Wesleyan Society in 1848 with the second by the Primitive Methodist Connextion, commencing in 1860. They would operate separately till joining together in 1902 forming the Methodist Church of Australasia. A further change occurred in 1976 with the […]
Wells, Water Holes & Bores
A reliable supply of reasonable quality water was essential for people engaged in agriculture and living in country areas. With “The Grange” farm property being more than a mile from the Liffey River and no natural storages being located on the farm, the early pioneers had to employ other ways of providing a water supply. […]
Global Warming
This article contains extracts from the book “Boiling Point” by Ross Gelbspan printed 2004 plus other supplementary information. Insects (Page 119) Of all the systems of nature, one of the most sensitive to temperature change is insects. Warming accelerates the breeding rates and the biting rates of insects. It accelerates the maturation of the pathogens […]
William Gwillim WALKER Family & Vron Property
William Gwillim Walker and family became associated with what is now known as Bishopsbourne, when on 7 February 1825 he received a Grant of 2 000 acres in the area and which property he named “Vron” after a family farm in Wales. The locality here at the time was identified as Liffey River, Norfolk Plains, […]
Alexander Thomas French
At the Hagley Uniting Church cemetery there is to be found a white marble headstone with black inlaid lettering, but due to age and exposure to the elements for almost a century, is covered by a black mould and is now difficult to read. But if the observer looks carefully it soon becomes apparent that […]