This is my paternal grandmother, Edna. The baby that she is clutching is my father, Jack. By the time Jack was 8 years old he was a resident at the St Joseph’s Home for Boys, an orphanage at Kincumber on the central coast of New South Wales. The unfortunate consequence of Jack being raised by…
John ‘Daines’ – Part 3: the turner’s tale
It is 1832, Sydney Cove. Our very good turner John Daines and his two Highway Robbery accomplices are awaiting their fate in their new homeland. What will it be gentlemen? Conform or rebel? Let’s start with the weaver, William Miller. Conform? Rebel? Fight back or go quietly into this good night? William Miller will first…
John ‘Daines’ – Part 2: Highway Robbery
Highway Robbery! I know what you’re thinking. A well-dressed guy on a rearing shiny black horse. He has a menacing-looking scarf covering half of his face. He’s brandishing a pistol and saying to an unsuspecting coachload of terror-stricken ladies – “Stand and deliver! Your money or your life!” Am I right? It turns out that…
John ‘Daines’ – Part 1: the surgeon’s diagnosis
The three-year-old convict ship Planter slipped quietly out of Portsmouth on 15 June 1832, headed for Port Jackson in the far-flung colony of New South Wales. On board (aside from the necessary crew and military guard), were 2 passengers, 3 women, 1 child, a Royal Navy Surgeon and 200 male convicts. One of those convicts…
In the service of Dr Gaunt
For about 190 years, the little village of Windermere has stood on the banks of what we now call the Tamar River, just north of Launceston in Tasmania. The area is the deep time traditional land of the Leterrermairrener Clan who for over 10 000 years knew the area as Kanamuluka. Windermere village has its origins as a…
Woolwich to Norfolk Island in 92 days
In March 1844, the convict ship Blundell departed for Norfolk Island. She was the first convict ship to sail directly, rather than via Sydney. The Blundell was fitted out with a humane experiment; sufficient sleeping room for every convict to allow them to leave their bed without disturbing others. On board for the voyage was…
Finding my Collman family part 8 – Sydney Collman – late of Mungindi, Culcairn and Marrickville
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but honestly, researching these Collmans is getting me nowhere. I have researched up and down, back and forth, sideways, and round and round. So far, I haven’t ruled any of them out, and I haven’t made any real breakthrough either. I’m down to the last of the…
Finding my Collman family part 7 – John Weston Collman
There has been a Christmas miracle. A photograph. For the first time, thanks to a new connection, I’m seeing the face of one of the Collman brothers. He’s a little blurry but he’s a Collman and I feel blessed to see his face. For the past couple of years, I’ve been on the hunt for…
Finding my Collman family part 6 – also known as George
I’m back on the case, searching for my grandmother Edna’s birth father – my mysterious great grandfather, aka M.G. It’s been a while, so a quick re-cap: I’m exploring the lives of two Collman-Weston couples and their sons – the five men who might be HIM. This time it’s the turn of Thomas. Could he…
A Collman Extra – Tom Collman, Hurstville to Casino… via Mungindi?
I can’t believe my luck; I’ve finally met someone who can tell me a little about my mystery great grandfather’s family – the Collmans! Thanks to my new friend’s help and her fabulous research I’ve come across some new information about Tom Collman, the man I told you about in Part 2 of my Collman…
On “Tasmania” to… Tasmania!
When my 4x great grandmother Mary Ann Goodson departed from her homeland on the convict ship Tasmania in September 1844, I wonder, did she have any idea about what lay ahead? Was she frightened? Nervous? She had every reason to be worried; aged 42 she was not like the young girls that she’d stood next…
KINdling 