John Alexander Jackson (1809-1885) who had strong connections with Tasmania, joined the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank Limited at its foundation in 1851, with branches being opened in Australia soon after. He had been recruited by Bank directors in London to the position of Senior Audit Manager, with stationing to be at Melbourne. His […]
Farming – Stock & Crop
Dad, Eric, continued to follow the occupation of his father, Melvyn, and both Grandfathers, William Badcock and Isaac Richardson, that of a mixed farmer growing various crops and the running of stock. The family held to the philosophy of “not having all eggs in the one basket”, the thought being that if one segment was […]
Obituary: Athol Frederick Richardson MBE
(20/4/1924 to 24/9/2008) In 2004, when Athol was being admitted to the Toosey Aged Care facility at Longford, Tasmania he was introduced to other residents as being a legend but being well known in the area would have needed few introductions. Athol was born at Deloraine the second youngest of a family of one girl […]
Farming Machinery
STEAM ENGINES Steam engines were never numerous in the Bishopsbourne, Tasmania or Green Rises districts but did play an important part in farming for at least 70 years until being replaced by the tractor in the 1940’s. The earliest engines were stationary units and were moved from place to place by teams of bullocks, however, […]
Coins of Australia
Coins are very much part of our lives, and are used to transfer value when we purchase goods, or make a donation, meet car parking fees and with small coins sometimes being used as screw drivers, amongst other uses. We think of coins as being of either gold, silver or copper. When Australia was settled […]
The Reverend Benjamin Drake
More than a century and a half has passed since Benjamin Drake left Tasmania, his association here being only for 10 years, 1853 to 1863, yet his name is still remembered in many Tasmanian households. Although serving in ministry at Forth and Cullenswood in Tasmania he is particularly remembered for bringing over 850 immigrants to […]
Cornish Convict Girls Help In Historic Quilt
Originally published in the Cornwall Family History Society Journal 157, September 2015.
Sammy Cox
The name of Sammy Cox was already entrenched in folk lore as I was growing up at Bishopsbourne in the 1940s/1950s where, for a period, he had worked as a gardener. His celebrity status was due in part to his longevity, reaching the age of 117 years and of having lived with the Aborigines for […]
Christ’s College, Bishopsbourne
When Christ’s College at Bishopsbourne was advertised for opening on Thursday, 1 October, 1846, those planning to attend were cautioned “the only good road was by way of Longford over the punt, as the approaches to the bridge on both sides were not passable for vehicles and it was advisable to carry a pistol, as […]
When the Horse was King
The importance of the horse through the 1800s is indicated by the fact that the horse was included as an essential when our State was first settled, two horses being brought ashore in 1803 at the Risdon settlement on the banks of the Derwent and one by Paterson in the north at Port Dalrymple the […]