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 […]
Tag: Tasmania
Weather Forecasting by Previous Generations
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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. […]
Jan (Jaan) Ferdinand Jouke Boersma (1943-2020)
Jaan Boersma was dux of the Launceston Technical High School in 1959, gaining eight credits from all eight subjects which provided a springboard for his distinguished career. Jaan, as an eight year old, arrived in Tasmania from Holland with his parents and siblings. Here he completed his primary school education at the Cormiston Road State […]