The First Settlers
In 1954,
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Hobart, and opened the David Collins
Monument.
1804 1954
This memorial erected to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Hobart was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second on 20th February 1954.
Persons victualled at Port Phillip and/or the River Derwent 17th October 1803 to 31st December, 1804. Recorded by Lieutenant Colonel David Collins Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land [ Names ]
Hobart Town (1804) First Settlers Association 20th February 2004.
This memorial stands on the traditional land of the Mouheneenner people the original custodians of this site.
Photographs supplied by Kent
Watson / Graeme Saunders
The
First Settlers a Memorial at Hunter Street Hobart is the location of the IXL
Building, and known as the Macquarie Wharf.
A recent addition is the set of four memorials for the Convict Women and
Children who arrived.
Four sculptures commemorate the convict women and
their children who were transported to Van Diemen`s Land (Tasmania).
The sculptures are at the location where they disembarked after their
journey. From
1803 to 1853, almost 13,000 convict women together with 2,000 children
arrived in Van Diemen’s Land.
|
Hunter Street, Macquarie Wharf,
Hobart, 7000
First Settlers in the
Jillett/Bradshaw Family include:
·
Mathew
Bowden
· Samuel Gunn
·
Janet
Patterson
·
Maria
Sergeant
Many others are intermingled in
the lives of Robert and Elizabeth, either as acquaintances or through marriages
of their children.
Rev Robert Knopwood
Rev Knopwood's name is written on
almost every birth marriage and death record of early Hobart. That was his job, he did not think very
highly of the unmarried mothers, and probably put a lot of pressure to bear and
influence on their lives. He was later
appointed as the Magistrate.
His biography:
He graduated in 1786, but by this time had been borrowing substantially and was said to have become associated with the hunting and shooting set of the young Viscount Clermont. He was ordained deacon at Norwich in December 1788 and priest a year later. By this time he was so deeply in debt that he had to sell half of Threxton to Clermont; but he continued his heavy borrowing and in October 1795 was forced to sell the remainder of it. It is likely that he became chaplain to Clermont and later to Earl Spencer, through whose influence he was appointed chaplain in H.M.S. Resolution in 1801. He served in the West Indies and elsewhere until in 1803 he joined David Collins's expedition to Port Phillip.
From that date he began his famous diary and continued it until his death. At what is now Sorrento he conducted the first religious service in Victoria in October 1803 and, after Collins decided to abandon that settlement, the first service in Tasmania at Hobart Town in February 1804. In March 1805 he moved from his tent to Cottage Green, the house he had built at Battery Point, 'having been sixteen months three weeks and five days exposed to the inclemency of all weathers and continual robberies by convicts and servants'.
In addition to his 400-acre (162 ha) glebe at Clarence Plains (Rokeby), Governor Philip Gidley King granted him 100 acres (40 ha) there and thirty acres (12 ha) in Hobart, Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted him another 500 acres (202 ha) in 1815, and he also had a grant on the South Esk. But despite all this his ineptitude in money matters led to difficulties. By 1816 he was forced to accept an offer of £2000 for the Cottage Green property, though this fell through and in 1824 Lieutenant-Governor Sir George Arthur acquired it for £800. He served as a magistrate from March 1804 until 1828 and despite a reputation for kindliness showed no apparent concern at the severity of the sentences he felt called on to impose. He toured his huge parish on horseback, travelling as far as Port Dalrymple until Rev. John Youl took up appointment there in 1819.
The near-illiteracy of his diary in the Royal Society of Tasmania, Hobart, is not borne out by his correspondence, and his letters show a man of finer qualities than those of the generally accepted sporting parson. The diary reveals that for many years he had a painful complaint, though his frequent indisposition was always ascribed to intemperance; but his liquor bills provide plenty of evidence of his conviviality. He entertained generously; Collins was a frequent visitor, and Knopwood often dined at Government House.
The diary is a daily record of his own doings and those of the settlement; its value lies largely in the fact that often there is no other source for the period, and one wishes that he had devoted less space to the weather; he writes of his pride in his garden, and of his affection for Betty Mack, whom he had adopted as an infant when her mother was deserted by a marine.
Henry Savery, meeting Knopwood at Government House, saw him as 'an elderly parson in a straight-cut single breasted coat with an upright collar, a clergyman of the old school, remarkably mild and placid countenance, manner easy and gentlemanly in the extreme, conversation lively and agreeable—a choice spirit'. However, he was no favourite of Macquarie, who frequently criticized his behaviour.
Knopwood's last years were saddened by sickness and poverty. In 1817 his salary of £182 was increased to £260; but in 1823 when he retired through ill health his pension was only £100, though he had his land at Rokeby. He ministered unofficially to his neighbours there until in 1826 he was appointed rector of the parish. He held this position until his death on 18 September 1838, harassed from time to time by his creditors.
His grave was unmarked until Betty Mack's daughter, Mrs Stanfield, who had inherited his estate in Chancery, erected the present monument. He lived at Battery Point
His home
drawn by John Montague, Colonial Secretary
He is buried at Rockby
Cemetery. A then and now photo.
The Story of
Mary Mack and her Daughter Elizabeth
Mary Mack
By W. H. HUDSPETH
(Read 4th
October, 1949)
Among the actors; who played
minor roles in the drama of Tasmanian history during the early years of the
little Settlement on the banks of the Derwent were two women, whose names are
worthy of remembrance, not merely for· their own sakes but because of their
association with a man who played a leading part, the Rev. Robert Knopwood first Chaplain of
the infant Colony.
They were Mary Mack and her
daughter, Elizabeth Mary, sometimes called ' Betty' or ' Betsy ' Mack.
Of Mary Mack little is known,
except that she was a young woman in her early twenties when she first came on
to the scene. She probably came out in 1803 on board the 'Calcutta' with Lt.
Col. David Collins to Port Phillip, and thence in 1804 to Hobart 'Town. But
he1· name does not appear in any of the lists available in the Mitchell
Library, or elsewhere, to which I have
had access.
Collins brought with him a
detachment of Royal Marines, who, if of good conduct, were allowed to quit the
service on their return to England. or to be discharged at the expiration of
three years after landing in Australia, if they desired to remain and become
settlers. Between Mary Mack and one of these Marines an acquaintance began which
ripened into a romance, with a not unusual, but tragic sequel.
The young man returned to England,
leaving her behind with an infant daughter of eight months old. The poor girl
was destitute, and Bobby Knopwood, in the kindness of his heart and out of
compassion for her distress, took her and her baby under his roof at Cottage
Green, where she remained until
her death a few months later, at the age of 27.
She was buried in St. David's Cemetery, and over her grave se1ected a simple monument, a slab of Tasmanian Blue-Gum, on
which were inscribed the following words:~
IN MEMORY OF MARY MACK WHO DEPARTED
THIS LIF'E
October 11th 1808 Aged :27 YEARS.
This monument has had an unusual
history . As the years went by, the old
St. David's Cemetery fell upon evil times, and became the haunt of the thieves and larrikins and other undesirables,
who defaced the headstones and their inscriptions. One of Mary Mack's
descendants noticed that her tablet had been damaged, and rescued
it and presented
it to The Tasmanian Museum.
years afterwards it was sent to England to be exhibited there as a sample of the
durability of Tasmanian
timber.
Upon its return it was again housed in the Museum, where it has been
ever since. The wood
is still in perfect preservation 140 years after it was cut
although it bears
obvious signs of desecration by sacrilegious hands. It is the second oldest
existing memorial of those in St. David's Cemetery, and one of the very few
tangible links still left with those far-oft' days of Tasmanian history.
MARY MACK AND HER DAUGHTER
Mary Mack's infant child was born
on 30th August, l806, and in due course was baptised with the name of Elizabeth Mary .
Apart from family tradition our
only source of information about her is the diary of Robert Knopwood. Unfortunately
he was a bad diarist, with little literary ability, and very rarely indulging:
in any personal opinions or comments, most of the entries being bane laconic statements of fact. And so,
in perusing his diary, we must he prepared to read between the lines in order
to discover the motive's and background behind the incidents recorded.
The first entry about the child
is dated 14th August, 1807, when he wrote:
'This afternoon little Mary, a
child of one year old, came to my house, and Mrs. McCauley Knopwood's keeper, took her, her mother being a poor distressed
woman'. Mrs. McCauley kept house for Knopwood until she went to live with her
husband on his farm at Muddy Plains, as Sandford was then called.
Knopwood was very often hazy about
dates and ages. He was however quite certain even of his own age, and in the
case of little Betsey Mack he contradicted himself, and gave her different ages
at different times. But he always insisted than 30th August was the date of her
birthday.
The mother Mary Mack, died
fourteen months after they took refuge at Cottage Green, and the poor· orphan
child was then formally adopted by Knopwood and brought up as his own. The
volumes of the diary for the; next six years, 1808 to 1814, are unhappily
missing, and we do not hear anything more of her until September, 1814, when he recorded, ' Little Betty
and self walked to Newtown to dine with the Whiteheads.
The Whiteheads, were good friends
of Knopwood and had a farm near Cornelian Bay, and as she
was then only eight years old she
must have been a sturdy child to walk so far. On 30th August, 1815, there was
an entry 'My little orphan's birthday, seven years this day' (she was actually
nine) and thereafter 'there were frequent entries of subsequent birthdays,
which were always occasions for special celebrations.
On 28th March, 1816, Mrs. Hayes,
the wife of one of Governor Collins' free settlers, gave a ball for her grand-daughters,
the two Miss Bowens, to which Betsy was taken, her first dance and 'stays all
night'. On her tenth birthday, 30th August, 1816, she was given some handsome presents,
a cow from Lt. Governor Davey, another
from Edward Lord, and a third from Knopwood himself. They were rather odd gifts
for a child of her tender age but probably they were taken care of at the McCauley
farm, and brought her in some pocket money.
On 24th March, 1818, he took her
for a water picnic to Crayfish Point, accompanied by three men and four native
girls. The latter dived for the fish and caught a 'great many'. The following
month they had another outing to the same spot, with two native girls to do the
fishing.
There were other excursions, to
Knopwood's farm at the Cove, and to the McCauley farm at Muddy Plains. Those early years must. have been bright and
happy years for the little girl, as well as for her adoring foster-father.
But she was now twelve years old,
and it was time to think of more serious things than crayfishing and bush
walks, she must be educated and brought up as a young lady should be. So in
September, 1819, Knopwood took her in his boat across the river to Clarence
Plains, to inspect the Seminary for Young Ladies at Rokeby, kept by Mrs. Speed. We know
nothing about this establishment, but apparently the inspection was satisfactory,
at any rate on the surface, and Betsey was duly placed under the care of its
proprietress and remained there for about three years.
She was visited from time to time
by her guardian, and on at least one occasion, on 23rd October, 1822, by the
Governor's Lady (politely referred to by Knopwood as 'Mrs. Sorell') who he
says, 'was very much delighted by Mrs. Speed's manner and the neatness of the
beds and rooms'. But, alas, we suspect that this delightful manner and neatness
were only window-dressing, and concealed methods and practices that would have
done credit to Mr. Squeers of Dotheboys Hall. For in January, 1823, there was
this entry-' From her ill-treatment I determined to take my orphan child from
school'. From this bald statement we are left to imagine what poor little
Betsey's trials and experiences must have been. How thankful she must have been
to get back to the gentle loving atmosphere of Cottage Green!
But it was not to be for long.
She was now sixteen and growing up, and Romance
was waiting around the corner. Cinderella had found her Prince.
He was a young man named Henry
Morrisby, who lived with his father at Clarence Plains. He had probably met her
at the Rokeby School, or at Muddy Plains. They fell in love with one another
and became engaged. Knopwood at first seemed very happy about the matter,
although reluctant to part with his beloved companion, and readily gave his
consent to the match. He describes Henry Morrisby as ' a young man of excellent
character ' and busied himself with elaborate preparations for the marriage. He
officiated at the wedding, which took place at the old St. David's Church on
20th October, 1824, and entertained the guests at breakfast at Cottage Green,
and then took the happy pair in his boat across the Derwent to spend their
honeymoon at the McCauley's farm.
He gave them wedding presents of
cattle and sheep, and persuaded Lt. Governor Sorell to grant them a farm of
their own at Muddy Plains. But after it was all over the old man went back
sadly to his empty house, overwhelmed by the realization of his loneliness and
with gloomy forebodings for the future. ' Very unwell ' he confided to his
diary ' at the departure of my only comfort, my dear adopted
daughter, E. Mack'.
In October the following year
(1825) Cottage Green was to witness another interesting event, the birth of
Betsey's first child. It was a son, who was christened 'Robert Henry' on 14th
November. Knopwood gave a grand dinner party to celebrate the occasion,
bringing up from his cellar, wine which, 'had been in the house from 12 to 14
years'. For the next year or two things apparently went well with the young
couple. Robert and his mother often came to Hobart Town to visit the old man,
the boy was vaccinated with ' Cow Pox ' and his first birthday is recorded in
the diary.
But in 1829 there was a hint of
trouble at Muddy Plains. In an entry of 10th May of that year Knopwood wrote
'At Clarence Plains. In the afternoon returned to Mrs. Morrisby. He behaved
"malum" to her'. (Throughout his diary he dropped into Latin when he
had anything particularly unpleasant to record.) This was followed, a few days later,
by another remark, 'At Mrs. Morrisby's. He was returned and behaved very ill to
my poor dear girl. I took her part. His conduct is very bad'.
And again, on 2nd June, 'My poor
dear girl, Mrs. Morrisby-E. Mack that was and her little boy were obliged to
return home. Mr. Morrisby would not allow her to remain. His treatment of her
is shameful'. This must have been a particularly bitter blow for Knopwood, as
June 2nd was his birthday, and Betsey and the boy had gone over to celebrate it
with him. However the breach was healed a few months later, when he says that
Mr. Morrisby had come over to tea at Cottage Green, and 'we made it up'.
Knopwood seldom bore resentment against anyone for long, except for Colonel
Arthur, whose treatment of him he never forgave or forgot.
The last day of that year was
spent with his beloved Betsey and her friends Mrs. and Miss Chase, who sat up
with him until midnight to see the Old Year out and the New Year in, and to
wish him a Happy New Year. But their good wishes were not fulfilled, for the
new year was to see the close of what was probably the saddest chapter of Bobby
Knopwood's long life.
He was approaching his 70th year,
and had for some time been in serious financial difficulties. His creditors had
seized and sold most of the valuable land granted to him on his arrival in the
Colony. He had been compelled to resign his post as Chaplain, to make room for
Rev. William Bedford, and to take up temporary duty at New Norfolk. He had
expected to be appointed permanently to that Parish, but his hopes were dashed
by the arrival from England of the Rev. Hugh Robinson, armed with the
appointment, and he himself was relegated to Clarence Plains. He was still
occupying Cottage Green, but in 1829 that, too, was sold to one Henry Jennings,
who soon after disposed of it to Lieut. Governor Arthur.
Jennings had assured him that he could stay on
there as long as he liked, but this did not suit Arthur's plans, and in 1830
the poor old man was forced to leave his beloved home and to take up residence
in his New Parish, in a tiny uncomfortable cottage not far from Kangaroo Point,
on the road to Howrah. By April of that year he had packed up all of 'his
possessions and moved into his new abode. He was most unhappy, and from time to
time would walk up to the Bluff and gaze wistfully across the water, dreaming
of the days that were no more.
And then, six months later, came
the final, shattering blow. On October 19th, 1830, Mrs. Morrisby, who was
expecting her second baby, invited him to dine with her next day the anniversary
of her wedding-but he was unwell and had to decline the invitation. The
following morning, at nine o'clock, he was horrified to receive the news that
she had died shortly after giving birth to a baby daughter. She, whom he loved
more than anything in the world, had gone, at the age of 22 and left him to
face the future alone!
For the next few weeks his diary
was full of laments over this untimely and unexpected loss. On 22nd October he
wrote--' At home all day in a most melancholy state. Many friends both came and
sent to know how I was, including Rev. Bedford to settle about the funeral'. On
23rd October-' Preparing for the funeral of my dear and ever-regretted
Elizabeth Mary Mack . . . in fact my only comfort'. There is no account of the
funeral in the diary, but on the 26th he says, 'This morn early I visited the
grave of my dear and ever-regretted late E. Morrisby ', and on 5th November,
'Rode to Clarence Plains. Called upon Mrs. Maum, and gave her two gown pieces
for her attendance upon my dear :and ever-regretted late E. Morrisby.
Afterwards I visited the Tomb'.
The following Sunday, 7th
November, he rode to Clarence Plains and preached :a funeral sermon on the
death of his 'dear lamented girl'. 'Everybody' he added greatly affected by the Sermon'. On 10th
November he baptised the new baby, giving her the name of 'Elizabeth Sarah
Morrisby '. His many friends rallied round him and endeavoured to comfort him,
but the old man never really recovered
from his grievous loss, and from
time to time we find entries which show his inability to forget. Thus, on 2nd
June, 1831, he wrote 'This day I entered into my 69th year [it was really his
70th] and never to my. recollection spent a more unhappy day. The death of my
dear and ever-regretted girl, late E. Morrisby, was always in my thoughts,
recollecting the many happy days she was with me, and her friends, to
commemorate it. I expected the Rev. Mr. Connelly and another. They did not come
'.
On 30th August, the anniversary
of Betsey's birthday he said ' I always, when in Hobart Town, had a large party
to dine with me, and how very happy we always were on this day. But now she is
keeping her birthday in a happier place, by the side of that God whom she
always put her trust in'. Mr. Morrisby married again, much to the old man's
disgust, but later he became reconciled to the new couple, and they were very
good to him, and looked after him when he went to live at Rokeby. He became
greatly attached to the two children, and often had Robert to stay with him. He
sent him to the Orphan School at Newtown to be educated, and took him to
Reviews on the Domain and to other entertainments.
By his Will, made in 1836 Robert
Knopwood left everything he had to the two children. He died on 18th September,
1838, at Kangaroo Point, at the age of 77. And so, when we look at this old
slab of Tasmanian hardwood, with its· rudely carved lettering, let us remember
the story behind it, and keep it as an enduring memorial of a youthful romance,
and of the charity and kindliness of a man, whose frailties are too often
remembered, while his virtues and good deeds are apt to be forgotten.
Mary
Mack's Headstone, formerly in St. David's Cemetery, now in the Tasmanian Museum
The
Story of Mary Mack and her Daughter Elizabeth ... - UTas ePrints
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13672/1/1949_Hudspeth_story_of_Mary_Mack.pdf
by WH
Hudspeth - 1949
An interesting story, written
perhaps with a little bias.
Nobody would possibly know
whether Mary Mack was in any romantic attachment with any Marine or not.
Most probably she was the victim
of so many other convict and young women of the time. After all the Commander David Collins was
used to having his own way with the single ladies, his surgeons had their own
separate arrangements, as did many others.
Was her name Mary Mack? if she is
not on the records, then not possible.
Was she Mary Mc..... perhaps
Perusal of the list of convicts
does not provide much information as to who was the Mary Macks.
However, there is one person who
seems to not be identified, and noted as "may have returned to
England"
Margett, Jno: May have returned to England. That would be highly unlikely, as he was
tried at Middlesex, and originally sentenced to death, and was in the cells,
that commuted to life.. He arrived on
the Calcutta in 1803.
If he arrived, did he bring his wife? Margett, said quickly equates to Mack.....
depending on the dialect, and the transcription of the name.
Another poor girl, whose life is
to be remembered under a piece of Tasmanian wood.
Now to find the wood!
But Elizabeth Mack, through her
marriage to Henry Morrisby, fair and squarely became another of the interesting
boughs on the extended branches of the Jillett Family tree.
The Morrisby bough developed into
one of the largest branches imaginable.
Lieut Edward Lord,
This article was published
in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (MUP), 1967
Edward Lord (1781-1859), officer of marines,
commandant, pastoralist and merchant, was born on 15 June 1781 in Pembroke,
Wales, the third son of Joseph Lord and his wife Corbetta, daughter of
Lieutenant-General John Owen, brother of Sir William Owen, fourth baronet, of
Orielton. Edward was gazetted a second lieutenant of marines on 12 September
1798 and stationed at Portsmouth.In 1803 he joined the expedition of Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins to Port Phillip, and was in the first contingent which sailed thence to establish a settlement on the Derwent, Van Diemen's Land, in February 1804. In the same year he built the first private house in Hobart Town. In February 1805 he was granted sick leave to return to England, but after six months in Sydney he returned to Hobart with several ewes and a ram 'near the Spanish breed', the latter a gift from Governor Philip Gidley King. He was appointed first lieutenant on 3 December 1805 and a month later received his first grant of 100 acres (40 ha). By October 1806 he was the largest stock-owner in Van Diemen's Land; and within another year he was the senior officer there, subordinate only to Collins.
He again visited Sydney in April 1808, soon after the deposition of Governor William Bligh, and from Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Foveaux he obtained, among other favours, an appointment as magistrate and a grant of 500 acres (202 ha), which he selected on the Derwent, towards New Norfolk. On 8 October 1808, soon after his return to Hobart, he married Maria Risely. He was an implacable opponent of Bligh while the deposed governor was at the Derwent from March to December 1809. Bligh complained that Lord and William Collins kept a shop, contrary to regulations, and monopolized 'the advantages of Trade to the great Injury of the Settlement'; for all that, in the same year Lord was appointed Naval Officer and inspector of public works.
When David Collins died unexpectedly on 24 March 1810 Lord took charge of the settlement and is said to have burned all the papers at Government House the same night. He applied to the secretary of state for the colonies to succeed Collins. Lachlan Macquarie, who had a poor opinion of Lord, hastily sent Captain John Murray to take charge, relieved Lord of his offices and gave him leave to return to England. There on 20 October 1812, having learned that his application to succeed Collins had failed, Lord resigned his commission in the marines; next day through the influence of his brother John Owen, M.P. (who had changed his name on inheriting the rich Orielton estates near Pembroke) he received an order for a grant of 3000 acres (1214 ha). He took 1500 acres (607 ha) near Sydney and the other 1500 (607 ha) formed the nucleus of his Orielton estate in Van Diemen's Land, which grew to 3500 acres (1416 ha).
Lord returned to Hobart in March 1813 in his own brig, the James Hay, with goods worth £30,000, and was soon on intimate terms with Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Davey, although Macquarie had warned Davey that Lord was 'a dangerous and troublesome man'. One reason for Davey's recall was that in defiance of Macquarie he gave preferential trading concessions to Lord, and bought wheat from him at an excessive price. In 1817 Lord was suspected of smuggling from the Kangaroo which Captain Charles Jeffreys had improperly brought to the Derwent and, when Lord charged Acting Commissary William Broughton with improper trading, Lord refused to go to Sydney to prosecute at the court martial that Macquarie and Broughton desired. Judge-Advocate (Sir) John Wylde criticized both Lord and those officers in Hobart who had supported his accusations, and Macquarie exonerated Broughton, describing Lord as 'vindictive and implacable'.
When William Sorell became lieutenant-governor, Macquarie named Lord first on his list of 'bad characters' at the Derwent. Despite this Lord and Sorell soon became close friends.
When Lord returned to England late in 1819 he told Bathurst that he had been 'injured to an almost incalculable Amount' by Macquarie's 'harsh and unjust proceedings' and sought redress. Although his charges were refuted Bathurst gave him an order to Macquarie to grant him 3000 acres (1214 ha) and recommended him to Sorell.
Having bought the Caroline, he returned to Van Diemen's Land in November 1820 with a large cargo of merchandise, and was at once appointed a magistrate. Soon afterwards he exchanged fourteen acres (5.6 ha) in Hobart for 7000 (2833 ha) in the interior; these and his 3000 granted acres (1214 ha) formed the nucleus of his noted estate, Lawrenny, on the River Clyde. At this time he was said to be the richest man in Van Diemen's Land, the owner of three ships, warehouses in Hobart and Port Dalrymple, 6000 cattle, 7000 sheep and 35,000 acres (14,164 ha). When the Van Diemen's Land Agricultural Society was founded on 1 January 1822 Lord became its first president and he was also an original proprietor of the Bank of Van Diemen's Land.
During 1822 he was accused of trying to bribe the head of the commissariat, but Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane was prevented from investigating the matter by Lord's departure in the Royal George which he had chartered to carry wool to England. The ship was almost wrecked at Cape Town, which caused Lord 'serious Losses'. At this time he claimed assets in Van Diemen's Land of £200,000, and debts owing to him of £70,000. When in England, he asked Bathurst in 1823 to grant Van Diemen's Land independence from New South Wales, partly because of the difficulties in prosecuting in Sydney suits for the payment of debts; he also asked for a legislative council and the right of trial by jury in the colony. He returned to Hobart briefly in 1824, and again in 1827 when he signed a petition to parliament for 'Trial by Jury and Legislation by Representation'.
His relations were far from cordial with Lieutenant-Governor (Sir) George Arthur. Governor Brisbane spoke of his sordid interests and proposed to remove him from the magistracy. In 1828, leaving a manager in charge of his estates, Lord returned to England and settled at Downe, Kent. He visited Van Diemen's Land in 1838-39 and the tenacity of his character was revealed in 1846-47 when at the age of 65 he made his seventh voyage to the colony to press a claim for land in further compensation for a deficiency in the original survey of his Lawrenny estate twenty-five years earlier. Lieutenant-Governors Arthur and Sir William Denison had both rejected this, but despite opposition Lord ultimately won his claim in 1854.
He died at 12 Westbourne Terrace North, London, on 14 September 1859. His estate in England was valued at £2000, and he still held considerable property in Van Diemen's Land, though much of it was encumbered. In December 1824 Lord won a case against Charles Rowcroft, settler, for criminal conversation with his wife, who had remained in Van Diemen's Land and died there two months before him. Lord was survived by one son and two daughters of this marriage, and by three sons and one daughter of an alliance in England.
While in Van Diemen's Land in 1846-47 two portraits of Lord were painted by Thomas Wainewright. A third portrait by an unknown artist is in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.
In the preface to that valuable historical record we read--''At a little village a few miles from Hobart there still walks about (1887) a hale, hearty man, who was born at Port Philip Heads, on November 25, 1803. His parents had landed there with the rest of the intended colony about six weeks before.
"On the following Christmas Day, under the gum trees, overlooking what is now called Sorrento, after the Chaplain's sermon, the assembled civil and military officers, the settlers and the convicts, Lieut-Governor Collins handed the little son of the Sergeant of Marines to the Rev. Mr. Knopwood, and stood, godfather to William James Hobart Thorne, the first white child born in the settlement.
In another month, godfather and godson, officer, emigrants and outlaws had hove up their anchors, and sailed away for Tasmania, where Hobart Thorne and Hobart Town grew up together. Hobart Thorne is confounded with Robert the hale and hearty man mentioned as living in Tasmania a few years ago. It would refer to the latter as Hobart at the age of 21 who went to Sydney, settled there and became immensely wealthy.
Robert spent the whole of his 81 years in the land of his birth, living the greater part of his life in the Sorell district, where at one time he possessed 13 estates, and in conjunction with his brother-in-law, Mr. Frank Pitt (late Harbourmaster, Hobart), carried on an extensive whale fishery, but the tide of adversity set in, and like many another he lived to see nearly the whole of his fortune swept away. His remains will be interred in the Church of England burial ground at Forcett where his wife was buried last year. ''
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