Around 1915, 22-year-old Sid Boon of Longford visited a display touring Tasmania, where a replica of the famous Strasburg clock was being displayed. He was so impressed that he was inspired to build a replica. With only a photograph and a glimpse of the exterior and working operations, coupled with his inventive genius, he set to work. After […]
Tag: Longford
Newman Williatt (1797-1832) & family
Amongst Longford’s early residents were Newman Williatt and his wife Eliza and one child, they moved there from Launceston, Tasmania around 1829. Newman Williatt and Eliza Towers married in Launceston on 29 July 1824. While living in Launceston, the birth of two children have been located, a girl, Janet Elizabeth, born on 1 October 1825 […]
Fires in the Bishopsbourne Area (1839 – 1982)
1839 – Minette, Liffey River – Colonial Times, 13 August 1839 House and out-buildings burnt to the ground. Cause unknown. Loss near £500. 1852 – Ross ……. Little Hampton – Colonial Times, Fri. 7 May 1852 Burnt, a stack of hay containing 80 tons. The fire occurred on Sunday morning last between two and three […]
William Pritchard Weston (1804-1888)
Settler Farmer, Churchman, Artist, Justice of the Peace, Anti-transportationist, Municipal Councillor and Tasmanian Premier. When William Pritchard Weston, the son of John Weston a surgeon of London, left England in 1823 aboard the “Adrian”, he was 19 years of age and was carrying a letter of recommendation from a friend at the Colonial Office, London […]
Lieutenant George Briscoe Skardon RN (1786-1850)
Ship’s Officer RN, Settler Farmer, Magistrate, Justice of the Peace and Churchman. On the 10 April 1826, George Briscoe Skardon, at the age of 40 years, received a location of 2,000 acres at Norfolk Plains about five miles west from Longford, Tasmania and three miles east from the later township of Bishopsbourne, with the area […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bishopsbourne: William Webb & Family
The family had a strong connection with Bishopsbourne and were involved with erecting buildings, the establishment and operating the Bush Inn hotel, farming and the postal service. The patriarch of the family was William Webb who was born on 20 December 1792 at Nether-Stowey, Somerset, England. He married Ann Maria Webber (1789-1860) on 30 June […]
Methodism at Longford – Beginnings
One of our lectionary readings of recent times told of Jesus sending out seventy-two disciples to the towns and villages in Judea on mission. Their aim was to bring God’s Kingdom to the people of that region. A similar outreach commenced at Longford in the year 1834, when a small band of men and […]
Bishopsbourne – Chronology
Bishopsbourne, Tasmania, as a named place, came into existence in 1844 when Bishop Francis Nixon, the first Church of England bishop in Van Diemen’s Land, purchased part of the Vron farm property from the William Gwillim Walker Estate. Bishop Nixon designated that the College being established be known as Christ’s College and the township Bishopsbourne. […]