In 1963, the Mt. Lyell Mining and Railway Co. Ltd decided to close their rail line between Queenstown and Strahan, due to the high cost of maintaining the line. Closure was scheduled by the end of June 1963. A group from our Rosebery Methodist Church decided to take the very scenic trip before closure and […]
Tag: Tasmania
Tullah, Tasmania – 1963
Tullah is located on the West Coast of Tasmania around five miles north of Rosebery but separated by mountainous terrain limiting contact between the two centres. There probably was a walking track enabling some limited contacts. A connecting road was opened around 1960. Tullah was a mining town and very isolated. The only main access […]
Commercial Bank of Tasmania – Zeehan Branch
A branch of the Commercial Bank of Tasmania was opened at Zeehan in early 1891. The Bank, the second oldest in Australia, commenced in Tasmania with the opening of a branch in 1838 at Macquarie Street, Hobart. Further branches followed at a number of centres in Tasmania, and when they sold the business in April […]
Life as a bank teller in Rosebery, Tasmania – 1963
At the age of 19, I reached Rosebery on the West Coast of Tasmania arriving at the beginning of January 1963 and would remain stationed in the town until late October in that year. It was my first transfer and first time living away from home and had not previously visited the town or area. […]
Launceston Junior Technical School, later (1949) known as Launceston Technical High School
MOTO: CUM STUDIO ET HONORE – With Zeal and Honour. Beginnings – On 10 February 1919, when the school doors were thrown open to admit students, 55 boys were enrolled and soon after, increasing to 63. Later in the year, the Spanish flu struck, and the school was closed from late August till mid-October, and […]
Paranormal Happenings
Over the years, a number of unusual happenings have occurred, some within the family while others related to outside events. The Page Family – Death of Stanley One story Grandfather (John Page) often remembered related to the death of his brother Stanley, who died on 12 October 1918. Grandfather would tell that he and brother […]
Glenore – Whitemore (Tasmania)
The following history was written c1988 by Ivan Badcock with the view of it being included in the French-Badcock history book, “Go…..Be Fruitful and Multiply” , but was not included due to space limitations. Article revised April 2022 with photos added. Glenore – Whitemore By the 1850s many of the French and Badcock family members […]
Cornish Female Convicts Transported to Van Diemen’s Land
Around 24,000 women convicts were transported to Australia, with some 12,500 sent to Van Diemen’s Land of which 78 have been identified as coming from Cornwall, England. General details for Cornish convicts are attached. Transportation ceased to Van Diemen’s Land in 1853. A brief profile on each Cornish V.D.L. convict, including their lives after arrival, […]
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 […]