Australia - 1851 Gold Rush

In 1851 there was a gold rush in Victoria. The result was a huge influx of new settlers into Australia. From 430,000 in 1851 the population of Australia rose to 1.2 million in 1861. In 1861 Melbourne was the largest city with a population of about 125,000. Sydney had about 100,000 people.

Australia and Merino Sheep

 

In 1797 Merino sheep were brought to Australia. The number of sheep in Australia quickly boomed. There was a huge demand for their wool in England. By 1820 there 100,000 sheep in Australia. By 1830 the figure had reached 1 million. There were 1 million sheep in Tasmania. By 1850 there were 13 million sheep in New South Wales. By 1850 half of all wool woven in Britain came from Australia.

Convicts and Australia

 

During the 17th century and 18th century European explorers reached Australia. In 1770 Captain Cook claimed eastern Australia for Britain. He called it New South Wales.

Life was hard for ordinary people in the 18th century and punishments for even minor crimes were severe. In England you could be hanged for more than 200 different offences. However as an alternative to hanging prisoners were sometimes sentenced to transportation. In the 18th century convicts were transported to Virginia and Maryland in what is now the USA. Transportation was a relatively humane punishment. At any rate it was better than hanging!

However after the American War of Independence (1775-1783) this was no longer possible and the government began looking for a new destination for transportees. In 1786 it was decided to send them to Botany Bay.

Getting rid of undesirable members of society may not have been the sole motive for founding a colony in Australia. The British may have hoped to found a naval base in the Pacific. They also hoped Australia would be a source of timber and flax.

At any rate on 13 May 1787 a fleet of 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth. On board were 759 convicts, most of them men with sailors and marines to guard the prisoners. Captain Arthur Philip commanded them. With them they took seeds, farm implements, livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses and chickens and 2 years supply of food. The first colonists came ashore at Port Jackson on 26 January 1788.

At first things were difficult for the colonists and food was short although Phillip sent a ship to South Africa for more provisions which returned in May 1789. Food was rationed and the rations were anything but generous. However things gradually improved. A second fleet arrived in 1790 and a third fleet came in 1791. At first the settlers lived in simple wooden huts but later convicts made bricks for houses.

Captain Phillip left Australia in December 1792. When he returned to England he took samples of Australian plants and animals. He also took two indigenous people.

At first convicts worked on government land for provisions but from 1793 those who behaved well were freed and given grants of land. Also the first free settlers arrived in 1793. Although hopes of growing flax in Australia came to nothing but whales were hunted in the Pacific and seals were hunted in the Bass Strait.

Old Government House

 

The term ‘Government House’ is used in Australia and other former British colonies to designate the residence of the Governor or other vice-regal representative.

The first Government House in New South Wales was built early in 1788 at Sydney Cove followed by Parramatta.

Old Government is located on the Parramatta River adjacent to the City of Parramatta CBD. It was the core tribal lands of the Burramattagal people of the Darug nation for thousands of years before settlement by Europeans in 1788 under Governor Arthur Phillip.

Old Government House is representative of the second settlement of the Colony of NSW. It was the site of Government administration of the new colony and a significant convict system. It was a site of intensive public works and industry. It was an important location in agricultural development and experimentation and played an important role is establishing the viability of the colony, especially in the initial years of struggle against famine, the environment and cultural displacement.

Parramatta Park is a nationally significant cultural landscape closely associated with early colonial government, with the beginnings of rural settlement in Australia and with the exploration and expansion of colonisation. The evolution of this site from Aboriginal land to colonial outpost, to Vice Regal domain and subsequently as a public park, is unique in Australia. It contains relics of historical, scientific and aesthetic significance, including: scar trees and archaeological sites documenting Aboriginal occupation; transit stones from Governor Brisbane’s 1821 observatory;

Old Government House and its associated outbuildings dating to the late 18th century; six 19th and 20th century gatehouses; the Dairy, which contains one of the oldest intact buildings in Australia; the landscape which

demonstrates the evolution of agriculture and development of the first successful farm and the early colony of Rose Hill; an unusual and important Boer War Memorial; and important communities of remnant Cumberland Plain woodland vegetation. The Park is unique in its significance as a rich and intact archaeological resource with great research potential.

 

The site is managed by two entities - Parramatta Park Trust manages the parklands known as Parramatta Park and The National Trust of Australia (NSW) manages Old Government House, which sits on a small hill in a central location within the parklands.

Over the past 220 years, Old Government House is reflecting its changing uses as well as patterns in the history of Parramatta. Old Government House is a highly regarded heritage site.

WW1 - William Hutchison

 

Private William Hutchison was born in Mulwala, Victoria. His father was William Hutchison of Daniel St, Granville, NSW. William was a farmer before joining the army at the age of 19. He served in 3rd Battalion and his service number was 2127. He served in Gallipoli and was killed in action on 10 July 1915. He is buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey Plot 1, Row A, Grave 20.

Samual Pyers - Convict

 

Samual Pyers was born in 1771.  was tried on 13 Sep 1790 at Middlesex. He was sentenced to 7 yrs transportation. He arrived at Port Jackson on board the 'Active' (3rd fleet) on 26 Sep 1791. On 25th of October 1797, Sarah was tried and convicted at the Old Bailey. She was 14 years old at that time. Sarah Johnson was living with Samuel Pyers in 1801. On 2nd November 1801, Samual and Sarah were married by Rev Henry Fulton. In 1802 Samual's occupation was listed as a constable and later as a farmer. In 1805 Samual was listed as a land holder on Norfolk Island, holding 14 acres of land, 10¾ of which were in crops. On this land Samual had two dwelling houses as well as two outhouses. When it was decided to abandon the settlement on Norfolk Island the people were deported to Van Diemen's Land.

Samaual and Sarah and their three children: Richard, Mary and Sarah were removed to Hobart (5th embarkation) arriving there 1 Oct 1808. Samual was granted 30 acres of land in 1811 (in lieu of the land he had held on Norfolk Island) at New Town. In 1823 he received a grant of 50 acres in the district of Morvin, and 30 arces at Glenorchy. Samual and Sarah had another 5 children in Tasmania - Maria, Hanna, Samual, Susannah and George. They sold their 30 acres in Newtown in 1840 and moved to the Hamilton area where Sarah died 11 May 1840 from inflammation of lungs. She was 61 years old. Samual died at Fairydale on the 13 Aug 1850 at the age of 79. Both, Sarah and Samual are buried at St. Peter’s Hamilton.  

Four of his children were amongst the first settlers in Victoria. Richard, the eldest, along with his wife and two children settled at Portland in October 1839, Susannah and her husband, James Cook, at Gleneg River (Casterton)in 1839/40, George arrived in 1840 and lived at Buninyong before becoming a squatter in the Donald area. Samual also farmed in the Merino area and later in the Charlton District.

Australia

 

Australia is estimated to be 7,692,024 square Kilometres. It is the sixth largest nation after Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and the United States of America. However, Australia has a relatively small population. As of 3^rd July 2015 it is 23,819,381.

Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent and its outlying islands. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Its interior has one of the lowest rainfalls in the world. Its fertile areas are well-watered.

The Australian federation consists of six States and two Territories. Most inland borders follow lines of longitude and latitude. The largest State, Western Australia, is about the same size as Western Europe. Six Australian States are - New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. And two Territories are – Australian Capital Territory and northern Territory.

Australia’s culturally diverse society includes its Indigenous peoples who arrived more than 50,000 years ago, and settlers from countries all around the world. Immigration is an important feature of Australian society. Over six million people from 200 countries have come to Australia as new settlers. Migrants have made a major contribution to shaping modern Australia. People born overseas make up almost one quarter of the total population.