Betty Blunden 1981
Source: From a photocopy of Betty’s original typescript, held by my brother Peter Blunden;
The diagrams, family trees and documents have been omitted.
This document may be reproduced or quoted so long as material is attributed to the author.
Appendix 1 Direct line of descent, Nance family to Elizabeth Nance
Appendix 2 A suggested origin of the Comte de Nantes legend
Appendix 3 Last Will and Testament of Ann Blunden
Appendix 4Last Will and Testament of Andrew Nance
Appendix 5 The Nances and the Coaching Days
I first became interested in the history of the BLUNDEN family about forty years ago when I met Essie Thompson, an aunt of my husband Ralph. During the remaining twenty years of her life we saw each other often and she encouraged my interest by talking of her father, Godfrey Blunden, her grandparents and the Blundens in general. Essie gave me photographs of her four grandparents — John and Elizabeth Blunden and Captain John McMill and his wife Susannah. I also became a close friend of Ralph’s maternal aunt, May Gibson Allan, who told me stories of the McMillans and the Gibsons. That started a long search in the course of which I have collected information about the family from their descendants, from the Latrobe Library in Melbourne and from other sources.
In 1961, when Ralph and I were in England, I engaged a professional genealogist who traced the Blundens and Nances (Elizabeth Blunden’s family) over several generations. Word got around the family in Australia that I had done a lot of research, relatives contacted me and we pooled our information. At the Latrobe Library I was given the address of Lucy Marshall, of Auckland, New Zealand, who had written asking about John Blunden. I wrote to Lucy, who is the wife of Lindsay Marshall, grandson of George, John Blunden’s eldest son by his first wife, Harriet Jelleff. That was in 1967 and Lucy and I have corresponded and exchanged information ever since.
Lucy is a graduate in English, an amateur historian and was first president of the Genealogical Society of New Zealand. Through her I got in touch with Evan Best, a graduate historian and a Councillor of the Australian Society of Genealogists. Sydney. Evan is a great-grandson of Susannah Dreweatt, Elizabeth Blunden’s sister. and has contacts with Nance descendants all around Australia, in England, the United States and Canada.
At about the same time I began corresponding with Phyllis Blair, a granddaughter of Ada Blunden and a great-granddaughter of John and Elizabeth. When I heard in 1972 that Phil and her husband Jim, a journalist with considerable experience in historical research, were about to go to England and planned to visit Portsmouth to see what, if anything, remained of the Blunden and Nance properties, I sent them a copy of all my research material.. On their return to Sydney they sent me a report on their Portsmouth investigations and since then Jim has continued to give me the results of further research done in Australia and England. especially in relation to the Cornwall Nances.
I have written my story in two parts: The Blundens in England and The Blundens in Australia. “The Blundens in England” is a short narrative drawn from the vast amount of material collected by the professional genealogist and the historian/genealogists of the family, Lucy, Evan and Jim. In putting together “The Blundens in Australia” I have been helped by historians, members of the family, archivists at the Latrobe Library and officers of the Victorian Lands Department. Much material was also obtained from birth, death and marriage certificates.
Starting point for the search was a Notary’s Certificate given me by Aunt Essie. It was dated 12 June, 1874 stating that John Blunden, of this parish, widower, and Elizabeth Nance of this parish, spinster, were married in the Parish Church of Portsmouth in the County of Southampton 16 August, 1844.
The family tradition was that John was a doctor from Ireland, a connection of the Blundens of Castle Blunden, Kilkenny and that Elizabeth’s father was Comte de Nantes and that he had escaped from France during the Revolution.
A copy of the 1844 marriage certificate was obtained from Somerset House and in it the respective fathers were named George Blunden, yeoman and Andrew Nance, Esquire, living at Broad Street, Portsmouth. The genealogist in London started the search, obtaining information from census returns. records of births, deaths and marriages. the contents of wills. The story could be told backwards, as it was unfolded. but it is simpler to tell it from ‘the beginning’ — the point to which the genealogist, first, and later Lucy Marshall, ware able to trace the family.
The Blundens can be traced with reasonable certainty to RICHARD BLUNDEN who married ALICE CLARKE on 9 October, 1614 In Boxgrove, Sussex. Alice, the daughter of John Clarke and Agnes Pettie was born in 1593. RICHARD and ALICE BLUNDEN had six daughters and one son, WILLIAM, who was baptised 15 May, 1634. He married SARA (surname unknown) and they had nine children, the youngest being JOHN who was baptised 26 March, 1677. William died 1702/3 and we may gain some impression of the life of a seventeenth century working man in Sussex from his will and the Inventory of his possessions, both held at the Record Office at Chichester.
William was a “cordwainer,” a shoemaker and worker in leather, but he also farmed a few acres of land. He lived in a four-roomed cottage furnished with plain necessities but no luxuries. The main room or “Hall” contained two tables, twelve chairs. a couple of stools, a cupboard, two andirons, two pewter dishes, a flagon. three candlesticks and a grate. In the kitchen was a table and six chairs, fourteen pewter dishes, a cupboard, a variety of kitchen implements such as cleavers, tongs, hooks, spits reminding us that meat was then cooked over an open fire. The hall chamber contained two beds and bedding and three chests while the kitchen chamber held one bed, two chests, a warming pan, two chairs, two dozen napkins, four table cloths, eight pairs of sheets, five ‘pillow coates’ and seven pounds of thread.
There was also a brew house, a milk house and a drink house, probably either lean-to rooms or out-buildings. Various utensils were stored in the brew house besides a vat and cheese press, tubs, drink vessels and bottles.
In the drink house there were twenty-four cheeses, one pot of butter, two flitches of bacon and one salting trough while the milk house contained ten milk trays.
William’s outdoor stock comprised two fat hogs and twelve lean ‘shilts’ and two horses. There was corn in the barn and thirty quarters of barley worth £24; five quarters of oats and five quarters of vetches and fourteen acres of wheat in the ground. His will mentions land held in Halnaker and Strettington in the parish of Boxgrove.
William’s wearing apparel, purse and money were worth. £5 and his total estate was valued at £84, including £1 for “all things unseen and forgotten.” William bequeathed all his “freehold lands, tenements, barns and buildings ... in Halnaker and Strattington in the parish of Boxgrove” to his son John Blunden and his heirs. John was made executor of his father’s will. William left fifty pounds to his daughter Ann Blunden, five shillings each to his widowed daughter, Sarah Charles and to his second wife, Katherine as well as a shilling apiece to his grandchildren.
There is a marriage licence dated 23 November, 1702 for JOHN BLUNDEN of Boxgrove, Yeoman and ANN ROYLE of St. Pancras near Chichester. Ann was the daughter of Henry Royle, brickburner and his wife Magdalen and had been baptised 7 January, 1679. The first two children born to the couple were baptised at Boxgrove: Ann, baptised 5 October, 1703 and Sarah, baptised 1 March, 1704. On both entries John is described as ‘husbandman’. John and Ann probably went to help in the brickburning business of her parents as John is described as a brickburner in his will made in 1729, proved in 1731.
The wills of Ann Royle Blunden’s parents were found; that of Henry “Roile,” brickmaker was proved in 1716 and he left everything to his wife, Magdalen. Her will, proved in 1741, is a long document and shows that she held the leasehold of a number of properties in Chichester which were let to tenants. She is described as a “widow being very much in years” and makes a number of personal bequests — her working tools and best riding hood as well as her brewing utensils to her daughter Magdalen Clinch...to her daughter Jane Lucas one bedstead, one pair of curtain rods, and my “silk damask not made up.”.."to my daughter Ann Blunden my best suit of clothes, one holland apron, one shift, one half handkerchief, my mother’s wedding ring, one hat and silk. hatband.”
Magdalen “Roile” left all her property to be divided between her three married daughters, Magdalen, wife of Timothy Clinch; Jane, wife of Richard Lucas and Ann Blunden, widow. Ann’s share included “freehold tenements divided into two tenements in St. Pancras now in occupation of Thomas Morley and William Oliver ... and a leasehold tenement without Eastgate in the Parish of St. Peter the Great last in occupation of Thomas Dunstall...” as well as the personal bequests mentioned above.
JOHN’s will, made in 1729 and proved in 1731, mentions his “four youngestchildren” Mary, JAMES, Elizabeth and Robert Blunden. Presumably these were the only children still under age as there is a separate bequest “to my dear children a shilling a piece,” a formula that is said to indicate that other provision has already been made for such beneficiaries. John bequeathed to his wife “all my dwelling house and buildings in St. Pancras in the City of Chichester ... my wife to have the house and household goods with what moneys these shall or may be left for the better maintaining of herself and her children...” Ann was made sole executor and his mother-in-law, Magdalan “Rill” was one of the witnesses.
JAMES BLUNDEN of Clapham, brickmaker was married to ELIZABETH PARSONS, maiden of Tarring at Heene 14 December, 1741. James and Elizabeth had five sons and one daughter, the baptism of the first four appearing in the Durrington Bishop’s Transcripts — John, 15 July, 1742; James, 14 June, 1744; George, 6 March, 1746; William, 25 April, 1748. STEPHEN’s baptism, 8 February, 1749 is recorded in the Goring Parish Register.
JAMES, a brickmaker of Clapham when he married, was a yeoman of Coate in the parish of West Tarring when he died in 1791. His son James predeceased him. His estate, under £1,000, was divided between his four other sons and various grandchildren. James, George, William and STEPHEN all received 1/ 16th part.
On 5 May, 1787, when he was thirty-six years old STEPHEN, now known as STEPHEN BLUNDEN of Poling, farmer, married FANNY GOBLE or Broadwater, aged 38. STEPHEN’s brother, George, of Tortington was bondsman. Four years later George died. His property was then “not more than £1,000.” George was a yeoman and his will gives us a few facts about his brothers. John was “of Combes” and a labourer. James, deceased, was of Goring. And “To my brother STEPHEN BLUNDEN of Poling, farmer, all my lands...all goods, securities (except goods to be given to my wife) charged with payment of annuity of £20 to my wife.”
STEPHEN and FANNY had one son, named GEORGE and he was baptised at Poling 9 August, 1788. ‘STEPHEN died 4 April, 1807 and his wife FANNY died 29 October, 1829. They were both buried at Poling.
On 21 February, 1314, when he was twenty-six, GEORGE BLUNDEN, now a farmer of Lyminster, County Sussex married ANN FRANCES BARTON CORTIS. Ann was twenty-five, the eldest daughter of George Cortis, yeoman of Angmering, grand-daughter of James Cortis, yeoman of Ferring Fure and great grand-daughter of John Cortis, yeoman of Ferring Fure. Ann’s aunt, also named Ann Cortis married William Halsted at Angmering in 1781. William Halsted was an executor to the will of his brother-in-law, James Cortis, in 1824. Probably this is the origin of the name Halsted being given as second name to Godfrey Halsted Blunden, GEORGE and ANN (Cortis’) grandson who was born in Australia in 1853.
GEORGE and ANN had eleven children, JOHN, the eldest being the founder of our branch of Australian Blundens.
The first four children were born at Cross Bush, Lyminster. JOHN was born December, 1814; Stephen, 4 February, 1816; Frances, 1818; Emily, 1820. Henry was born at Angmering, his mother’s birthplace, in 1822 and the remaining children were born at Poling-George, 1824; Martha, 1826; Helen, 1829; twins Richard and Robert, 1830; and Edward, 1831.
GEORGE BLUNDEN died 31 January, 1845. The witnesses of his will were his daughter, Martha and William Halsted, probably his wife’s cousin. His will reads:
“This is the last Will and Testament of me George Blunden of Poling in the County of Sussex Yoeman whereby I give devise and bequeath unto my dear wife Ann Blunden all and singular my real and personal Estate and Effects of every description for her own use absolutely and for ever and I appoint my said wife sole Executrix of my will and Guardian of my Children this Second day of January one thousand eight hundred and forty five.
G. Blunden
Signed in our presence
and in the presence of each other
by us also in his and her presence
Wm. Halsted
Mart. Blunden
Edw. H. Johnson Commissioner.
Proved at London 6th April 1845 before the Judge by the Oath of Ann Blunden Widow the relict the sole Executrix to whom Admin. was granted having been first sworn by Commissioner to Administer.
Valued at £800”
Before GEORGE died most probably JOHN, and certainly Stephen and Emily had sailed for Australia in 1836. More of that later. John had returned to England and marri ed HARRIET, daughter of Joshua Jelleff on 21 November , 1837. Their first son, George, was born 3 September, 1839 in the Parish of Catherington. John is described on the birth certificate as “yeoman of Horndean.” Two more children, Frederic and Fanny, were born to Harriet before her death, aged twenty-five on 9 March, 1842 of Phthisis in her husband’s home at 84 High Street, Portsmouth. It was a chemist shop and John had changed his profession to chemist. Harriet’s second and third children both died in infancy.
Lucy Marshall has taken particular interest in the Jelleff family as Harriet was the mother of George Blunden, the founder of the Blunden family in New Zealand.
Lucy writes:
received Joshua Jelleff’s will from Somerset House but it does not help us very much as no probate value is given. Even probate value might not help much as the will was made in 1823 when Harriet was only six. Joshua’s property was to be managed by trustees and divided when the youngest child (Harriet) became twenty-one. The property may have increased or decreased in value during the next fifteen years. Presumably Harriet did not receive her share until a few months after she married John Blunden. Joshua’s will was proved in 1839 but he may have died a number of years earlier. (There was no mention of receiving the share of the estate at marriage). I have not traced the Jelleff family beyond Harriet’s grand-father. it seems possible that the name was originally Jolliffe, a common name on the Isle of Wight.
“Joshua’s property was to have been shared between his wife, his ‘reputed son John Jelleff of Chidham in Sussex’, his sons Joseph and James, and daughters Eliza, Mary Ann, Louisa, Jane and Harriet. These nine beneficiaries would have been reduced to five at the most by 1838 when Harriet was twenty-one. James was dead, also his sisters Mary Ann, Louisa and Jane.
“Joshua Jelleff seems to have been a fairly substantial-farmer. He left £834 to be invested for the benefit of his ‘honoured mother’, tor life. After his death his sister Mary had a life interest in the income from £417 which was eventually to be divided between her children or those of her deceased sister Elizabeth Bridges. The other £417 was to be divided among Elizabeth Bridges’ children as they became twenty-one Surely Joshua must have.’ had plenty of money if he could provide for his nieces and nephew as well as his children.
“We know that John Blunden did not benefit greatly from the estates of his parents. His father left not more than £800 and he received only the interest on his share of his mother’s estate. — It does seem likely that his first wife, Harriet came into some money a few months after her marriage. This would have passed completely into John’s control and it seems very likely that he invested it in Australia.”
When JOHN BLUNDEN married ELIZABETH NANCE in the Parish Church of Portsmouth in the County of Southampton 16 August, 1844 he gave — as his “Rank or Profession” — Gentleman. (Some years later in Australia he practised as a Doctor of Medicine and was known as Dr John Blunden. It seems the only formal training he received for the medical profession was as a chemist’s apprentice. The name Blunden does not appear in “Munks Roll of the Royal College of Physicians,” a published list of doctors from earliest times. His name is also absent from the “Medical Directory, 1845” in the Society of Genealogists’ library, London. The first medical school in Australia opened in Melbourne in 1863, and there is no Blunden on any list of doctors published in Australia.)
Two years after John married Elizabeth Nance, her brother Andrew Nance married John’s sister Martha Blunden. Through my genealogist I was able to trace back three generations to an Andrew and Martha Nance of Sandwich. Since then a great number of people including a group of fifteen Nance descendants from the US and five from Cornwall have traced the Nances to a Nicholas de Nans who lived in Cornwall circa 1241. Jim Blair has passed on to me the results of this research and I shall draw up a simple family tree in Appendix.’. Jim also has a theory on the possible origin of the Comte de Nantes legend and his notes are to be found in Appendix 2.
John’s mother, Ann Blunden died at Angmering in 1864, aged seventy-five years. Her estate was “under £4,000.”
Here is a summary of her will: (The complete will is given in Appendix 3.)
Four sporting pictures to Stephen Blunden. Portrait of late husband and China Bowl to Emily Walford. Plate and plated articles, furniture, books, linen, household goods, between Emily Walford and Martha Nance, to be equally divided. Executors Stephen Blunden and Andrew Nance.
Estate (under £4,000) to be converted to cash.
1/10th to be invested and the interest paid to son-in-law, John Newland
Tomkins for life then to grandson John Tomkins, until he was twenty-one, when the said sum, ore tenth of the estate, is to be paid to him for his own and absolute use and benefit.
In case grandson John Tomkins survives father but dies under twenty-one, the 1/10th portion to be shared between all her children in the same way as the rest of the estate.
The residue of the estate to be shared equally between all her children then living, as tenants in common, not joint tenants.
Nevertheless, the share to which John Blunden will be entitled is to be retained by the executors and invested by them and they are to pay him the interest during his lifetime.
After the death of John Blunden, his share to be invested in trust for George Blunden, John’s eldest son by his first wife.
If George Blunden dies before his father the money is to be in trust for John Blunden absolutely.
If George Blunden survives his father but dies before twenty-one, then the share Is to be divided between all other children of John Blunden in equal shares to be paid when they turn twenty-one. If any of her children OTHER THAN JOHN BLUN DEN die in her lifetime leaving lawful issue, the latter are entitled to the share their parent would have had.
Lucy Marshall made these comments on the will:
“Ann Blunden’s sister, Miriam, married John Cole Tomkins of Poling at Angmering in 1818. It seems likely that John Newland Tomkins, husband of Ann’s youngest daughter Helen, was also her first cousin and thus was nephew as well as son-in-law to Ann. She probably spent her last years with them at Angmering and becam especially fond of her grandson, John Tomkins, who had a special legacy in her will. We do not know if this John Tomkins survived to inherit his grandmother’s bequest. The other grandson to receive special mention, George Blunden, did survive and thus John’s five other children did not benefit from their grandmother Blunden’s estate as John, of all her children, received only a life interest in his mother’s estate. It is not clear why his mother should have discriminated against John in this way — whether she distrusted his handling of money or whether she felt George should have been better provided for. (There is the story that John invested money from his first wife in Australia on George’s behalf but ill was lost through drought). It cannot have been that she felt that John’s second family would be sufficiently provided for by their Nance grandfather, as her daughter Martha was married to Elizabeth’s brother, — Andrew Nance and no special provisions were made regarding Martha’s share of her mother’s estate:
“It is doubtful whether George did actually receive any special inheritance from his grandmother. According to his daughter Jessie, he went to Australia after his father’s death and collected a small legacy from his father’s estate which paid for his trip and some new clothes for the children. There was no mention of any subsequent money from his grandmother’s estate.
“Incidentally, John’s interest had to be paid for nearly thirty years — until his death in 1893. Of the two trustees, Stephen Blunden died soon after his mother on 3 February, 1865. Andrew Nance died 24 December, 1877 at Portsmouth (worth nearly £70,000). Their executors mu t, in turn, have continued to administer Ann Blunden’s estate.”
In 1961 while Ralph and I were in Europe, we spent some time in Ireland. Still believing that Castle Blunden was “in the family” we visited Kilkenny and saw the castle. It is a beautiful three storey Georgian house which has taken the place of the original castle. Later we met Sir William and Lady Blunden in Dublin. They are, a charming couple with six daughters. They* were reconciled to the probability of the castle being inherited by a nephew. When Ralph explained that we were Australian Blundens and believed we were connected in some way, Sir William was puzzled but not decisive. I looked up Debrett when I returned to Melbourne. The Baronetcy was granted in 1766 to Sir John Blunden and from a look at the family tree there was no way that there could be a connection. It is possible that the two families sprang from the same source.
The Nance family of Portsmouth was a prosperous one. The ANDREW NANCE (1) of my family tree, 1751-1800, was apprenticed as a felt maker in Padstow, Cornwall in 1764. There is no record of his whereabouts for the next ten years but during that time he married Martha, whose surname is unknown. They were married before 1772 and possibly she was a Frenchwoman and possibly they were married in Caen in France. Jim Blair has made unsuccessful attempts to obtain a record of the marriage but the relevant records were destroyed during the World War 2. This Martha, of whom nothing is known, is the most likely person to be the ‘French Connection” of the Nance family. (The family legend was that Elizabeth Nance had been the daughter of the Comte de Nantes who came as an emigre to England. The professional genealogist that I used made this the first area for her research. There never has been a Comte de Nantes.)
Their first son, William Andrew was born about 1773 possibly in France. He was a hatter in Southampton in 1797. Seven more children were born to Andrew and Martha and they were all baptised at Sandwich, Kent. The fourth child was ANDREW NANCE (2). He became a hatter of High Street, Portsmouth. When he was twenty years old he married Ann Norris, daughter of William Norris, brewer and wine merchant of High Street, Portsmouth. The hatter subsequently became a hotel proprietor as well as the owner of a great deal of property in Portsmouth. He owned the Fountain Hotel in High Street where his son, Andrew (3) was born. He also owned the old Blue Posts Inn of Broad Street and the Crown Hotel. He was postingmaster between 1833-1836 and Alderman of Portsmouth in 1851. His other children were Martha, born 1798, who married Thomas Calton; Suseanne, 1801-1805; Ann, 1803-1805; Susanna, 1808, who married Thomas Dreweatt; Andrew (3) 1810, who married Martha Blunden; Marianne, 1805, Charlotte; William, 1813; James, 1816; ELIZABETH, 1818, who married John Blunden; Eleanor, known as Ellen, 1820, who married James Conway Langdon; and Richard, 1822.
ANDREW (2) — died 15 January, 1853. His will is printed in full in Appendix 4. Briefly, it provided an annual income — the interest from a specified ‘legacy’ — for his daughters Martha, Susanna, Elizabeth and Ellen, and for the widow of his son James who pre-deceased him and for the two daughters of his daughter Marianne who also pre-deceased him. Elizabeth and Ellen’s ‘legacies’ were both of £3,000. Several properties in Rands Court, Gosport, County Southampton, also a dwelling house in Bathing Lane, otherwise West Street, Portsmouth were left to his son William. Two dwelling houses, shops, etc. on the south side of High Street in Portsmouth were left to Martha.
As well as the annual income, Elizabeth and Ellen were left, in equal shares, the rents and profits of “Freehold and leasehold messuages and dwelling house, stores. wharf buildings and premises situate at the point of Portsmouth aforesaid and adjoining the Harbour formerly known as Whiting$ and now in lease to and in occupation of George Baker...free from the control and debts of their present and future husbands...and Elizabeth and Ellen shall respectively have no power to anticipate the same...” — they could not sell the property, it was in trust and on their deaths it should go to their children and their heirs “for ever.”
His son Andrew (3). was one of the executors, but he is not otherwise mentioned in the will. When he died twenty-five years later he left an estate of £70,000, so it could be assumed that he was given his share of his father’s estate before the latter died. (Nance (2) Will App. 4)
Ellen was the first Nance to come to Australia. She was twenty-one when she married James Conway Langdon at Lymington, Hampshire 8 July, 1841. Susanna Nance, who married Thomas Dreweatt, did not herself go to Australia, but her daughter, L ouisa Dreweatt went there after her marriage to Captain Richard Sleeman. Louisa and Richard Sleeman are the great grandparents of Evan Best. Andrew Nance (3) married Martha Blunden, John’s sister. An obituary in the Portsmouth Times, 24 December, 1877 reads:
“The late Mr Alderman Nance, J.P. The announcement of the death at his residence, Oatlands, Kingston Cross, on Christmas Eve, of the above named gentleman, although not unexpected, occasioned a deep feeling of regret in the borough:..., Portsmouth has been deprived of one of her leading citizens...an unostentatious and retiring disposition....many years a member of the Town Council. As a man of business Mr Nance deservedly gained a high reputation, his Judgment being exceptionally, sound, his perception most acute., and his enterprise unbounded. He was moreover ever ready to lend a helping hand to others ... Nearly a year ago Mr Nance,, on visiting — his stable at Stamshaw, received a kick just above the knee from a vicious horse which he had just purchased. A wound was produced and malignant disease manifested itself, which soon reduced Mr Nance to the condition of a helpless invalid, as he remained until his demise ... The propriety of amputating the limb was several times discussed, but it was always decided that the deceased would not survive the shock to the system. Mr Nance was barn on the 6th of April, 1810, at the Fountain Hotel, Portsmouth, which was then kept by his father, the late Mr Andrew Nance, who was also at the same time landlord of the Crown Hotel, Pembroke Street, and a post-master who was known throughout the country. From his early boyhood the deceased was extremely fond of horses... As a young man Mr Nance drove for some rime the historic “Tantivy” coach between London and Portsmouth, and on one occasion accomplished the journey in the then extraordinarily short period of five hours and forty-two minutes. After giving up the whip Mr Nance devoted himself to business ... he obtained the post of local agent of the London and South-Western Railway, Mr Nance did not confine himself to any particular line.. His object was to make money, and whether as a farmer — he lived at Baffins for several years and cultivated upwards of one thousand acres in different parts of the Island of Portsea — or assisting his father in the management of his affairs, or in the various speculations in which he engaged he was eminently successful... His extreme shrewdness was evidenced in a remarkable manner in connection with the Floating Bridge Company. At a time when it was anything but flourishing he acquired a large number of shares at a low price, and by his never-failing attention and energy brought the concern into a prosperous condition. He was principal proprietor of the Old Water Company and a large shareholder, and at the time of his death chairman of the directors of the Portsea Island Gas Company... Mr Nance was also a director of the Southsea Clarence Esplanade Pier Company, and of the Landport and Southsea Tramway Company. He was likewise one of the promoters of the ill-starred Southsea and Isle of Wight Steam Ferry Company, the one solitary exception to the good fortune which attended his ventures. During the Crimean War Mr Nance entered into some large contracts with the Government for the supply of corn, coal, etc... Mr Nance was the beau ideal of a hearty, goodnatured Englishman... oldest Freemason in the borough, and a founder of the Portsmouth Lodge ... oldest member of the Town Council ... elevated to the aldermanic bench...at that time Mr Nance’s father was an alderman of the borough...the deceased was elected mayor 1854-3 ... he was present at the Lord Mayor’s reception of the late Emperor and Empress of France...” The list of Andrew Nance’s positions continues.
Another obituary, in the Hampshire Telegraph, December 26th, 1877 includes this interesting paragraph: “...was elected a Councillor for All Saints’ Ward, from which position he was deposed by enlightened burgesses for having advocated the introduction of the railway to Portsmouth. He was subsequently elected a representative for the Ward of St Paul...”
Jim Blair was intrigued that Andrew Nance should cover the seventy-two miles between London and Portsmouth in five hours and forty-two minutes. He did some research into the coaching days. See Appendix 5.
After Jim and Phil Blair visited Portsmouth in 1972 Phil sent me this report of their search for places that had been connected with the Blundens and Nances.
“During two days spent at Portsmouth in November, 1972, Jim and I located and photographed the sites of several buildings associated with the Blunden and Nance families. I say “sites” because unfortunately not one of the buildings is still standing. The last survivor, the one-time “Fountain Hotel,” where Elizabeth and Andrew Nance were born, was demolished shortly before our visit and only a few stones remain, forming a tiny section of wall adjoining the Sallyport Hotel. The Sallyport Hotel, next door to the Fountain Hotel is still standing, as are the other two buildings between it and the Grand Parade as shown in the plan of the High Street, 1839.
“On the same plan John Blunder’s Chemist Shop (No. 84) is shown opposite the Fountain in High St. This building and a whole row of shops adjoining in the 1839 plan are no longer there. In their place are green lawns flanking the Cathedral (St Thomas’s) which in earlier times was hidden from view by the High St. shops.
“Down towards the Point, in Broad Street, we found the site of the Blue Posts inn which now forms an unprepossessing portion of the Vosper Thornycroft Shipbuilding Yard. What a pity that a place with such historic and romantic associations should come to such a mundane pass! The same may be said for No. 31 on the opposite side of Broad Street. Here a vacant block is the temporary resting place of a tarpaulin-covered motor-launch. In 1844 it was the home from which Elizabeth Nance went to her wedding with John Blunden.
“We went out to Milton Churchyard, a couple of miles east of Old Portsmouth, to see if we could find the grave of Andrew Nance, Elizabeth’s brother. According to his obituary he was buried in the Nance family vault. The old church is gone and the present one dates only from about 1912. All but a handful of the headstones in the churchyard have been removed and there are no Nance or Blunden names among those that remain. We called at the Vicarage. The Vicar was not at home, but his wife told us that she understood there were still some vaults under the lawns, but burials were no longer conducted there. The best we could manage was a snap of the lawns which, by the way, the Vicar’s lady suggested were now considered slightly dangerous to walk on. Perhaps Andrew and his colleagues are beginning to feel restless!
“From Milton we went to Kingston Crescent in search of “Oatlands.” but this also no longer exists. By close examination of the street we decided that it must have stood on the northern side of the Crescent, most probably in the vicinity of the new County Police headquarters. We did locate Kingston House, mentioned in Andrew’s obituaries as the house in which the Mayor and Aldermen assembled to don their official robes prior to the funeral. Kingston House is unoccupied, dilapidated and about to be demolished.
“We called at the Guildhall and when we explained our interest an official took us into the Council Chamber and showed us the Mayoral Honor Roll on which the name of Andrew Nance appears for the years 1854-5. We were also shown the Mayoral Plate and 16th and 17th Century Letters Patent confirming the status of the City. While at the Guildhall we enquired about the exact location of the Blue Posts, viz: Vosper Thorneycroft Shipyard, southern end.
“We searched in vain for traces of the Crown Inn, described in the Andrew Nance obituaries as having been situated in Pembroke Street. We had a feeling that it might be incorporated in the present Royal Naval Club, which Alan Balfour, in his book “Portsmouth” (page 56), says was formed out of a major rebuilding of two 18th Century structures in 1867. However, after returning to London. we wrote to the School of Architecture at the Portsmouth Polytechnic, and found out from that source that the Crown Inn was not in Pembroke St. at all, but in High Street, If you compare the sketch on Page 28 of “Portsmouth In the Past” with the architectural plan of High St. in 1839 you will find that the Inn depicted in the sketch tallies with the buildings Nos. 34-35-36 in the plan. According to “Portsmouth in the Past” the last portion of the old building was demolished in 1900.
“It seems strange that the obituaries should mention Pembroke Street, but after all, when Andrew died in 1877 it was more than 40 years since the building had been an inn, and human memories are not always reliable. Possibly the Crown had a side entrance from Pembroke Street behind other High Street buildings.
“We also asked the School of Architecture about the location of Oatlands. The reply, received since our return to Sydney, was have talked with various people and it seems probable that your supposition is correct the site of “Oatlands” was that now occupied by Kingston Crescent Police Station.”
“One more word about the ‘Fountain Inn’. After its career as the Old Soldiers Home, it became a YMCA Building and finally a Youth Hostel.”
Phyllis Blair Gordon, N.S.W. June, 1973.
Sydney was founded in 1788, Hobart in 1804, Brisbane in 1823 and Perth in 1829. These colonies were established as convict settlements or convicts were eventually used there as labour for the pioneers. Victoria was illegally and haphazardly settled from as early as 1828 and convict labour was used again. South Australia was to be different.
As a result of the enthusiasm of a number of men, ambitious, adventurous or idealistic men, the South Australian Act was passed in the British Parliament in 1834. Authority in the new settlement was to be shared between the Colonial Office and a Board of Commissioners. The names of the ten Commissioners were gazetted in May, 1835. £20,000 had to be raised and land sold to the value of £35,000 before settlement could begin. The largest buyer was the South Australian Company formed in 1835-36. The governorship went to Captain John Hindmarsh, James Hurtle Fisher was appointed Resident Commissioner and William Light was placed in charge of surveys. The official pioneering party sailed on HMS Buffalo, reaching Holdfast Bay on 28 December, 1836, when the colony was proclaimed. Apart from the official party, more than one hundred and thirty-six un-named immigrants were also aboard the Buffalo.
Research done by Jim Blair has proved that Emily Blunden was among those on the Buffalo, and that Stephen preceded her.
I quote Jim Blair:
“Stephen Blunden in Adelaide. The first indication that Stephen Blunden (brother of John, baptised Lyminster 1816) had preceded John to Australia I found at the Mitchell Library, where his signature appears on a photostat copy of an original Address of Appreciation by a number of citizens of Adelaide on 28 October, 1838, to George Milner Stephen in recognition of his services as Administrator of the Colony of South Australia during the interregnum between the departure of Governor Hindmarsh and the arrival of Governor Gawler.
“I have so far been unable to trace the date of his arrival in Adelaide.
“The Colony was proclaimed on 28 December, 1836 on the arrival at Holdfast Bay (Glenelg) of HMS Buffalo, but several vessels had disembarked colonists at Kangaroo Island and Holdfast Bay in the five months between 27 July, 1836 and the arrival of the Buffalo. Stephen could have arrived in one of these. Alternatively, it is possible that he was among the 136 unnamed emigrants who travelled in the Buffalo. (See Emily Blunden notes.)
“As his sixteen year old sister was listed among the cabin passengers as “Mr. Gilles family” and was later referred to in the “Register” newspaper as “Mr. Gilles ward,” it seems obvious that Osmond Gilles knew the Blunden family before leaving England. In view of his official position as Colonial Treasurer it would not have been very difficult for him to see that Stephen was approved as an emigrant.
“It is at any rate definite that Stephen was established in Adelaide by 10 February, 1837 as he is recorded (“S.A. Register, 3.6.1837 — the first issue of the paper to be published in Adelaide) as having attended a public meeting on 10.2.1837 called for the purpose of disputing Colonel Light’s choice of Adelaide as the site for the capital.
“At this meeting, after letters had been read from Colonel Light and from masters of vessels then at Port Adelaide, an Amendment was moved approving of Light’s choice. This was carried 218 to 137. Stephen Blunden voted for the amendment.
“The “Register” 3.6.1837 also prints an account of the Sale of Public Lands, 27 March, 1837, being unsold and unreserved sections in the Town of Adelaide, beyond the 437 preliminary sections (i.e. the sections sold in London to raise the guaranteed sum needed to put the Colony afloat).
“At this sale Stephen Blunden bought “Lot 157, Section 465 for £6. This “town acre” was in Wright Street, on the north side, four blocks down from West Terrace.
“It seems certain that Stephen was also the owner of one of the 437 preliminary sections. At the meeting on 10.2.1837 “each landholder was entitled to one vote for each land order held by him.” In the report Stephen was credited with one vote. This implies that he was one of the 437 preliminary section holders, in which case he must also have been entitled to one town acre.
“I have not located this block, but the Third Report of the Colonization Commissioners, page 59, Appendix 19a, shows Stephen Blunden as the original proprietor of the 134-acre country section in District E.
“Under the terms of the South Australian Act the 437 holders of the original land orders were entitled to 80 acres and one town acre. The town acres were balloted for on 23 March, 1837, four days before the sale mentioned earlier. Allocation of the country sections was a much slower affair, owing to survey difficulties. Those who had placed their faith on District E (the Encounter Bay area) ‘had a particularly long wait. In May, 1839 it was reported that everything was ready, but the “Register” 4.5.1839 announced that owing to an error in surveying, selection would have to be postponed.
“By this time Stephen had left the Colony in the “Zebra,” which cleared for Batavia and presumably thence to England 12.2.1839. Shortly after his departure there was a passing reference to him in the “Register” 23.2. 1839.
“We are glad to learn that another Special Survey has just been taken up by the Hon. George Milner Stephen, Colonial Secretary. The spot selected for the survey is the mouth of the beautiful river recently discovered by Messrs Strangways and Blunden and named by them the Gawler. The Gawler, we understand, joins a fine creek, navigable for vessels drawing ten or twelve feet, a few miles to the northward of the outer passage into Adelaide.”
“I doubt whether the Gawler River today quite merits the praise the “Register” gave it in 1839, but it is interesting to know that Stephen Blunden was one of its discoverers.
“The next mention of Stephen appears in the “Register” 15.2.1340 in the form of a letter written to Osmond Gilles under the heading WHAT IS DOING AT HOME?
“This question is one which, in connexion with the Colony, is very generally put to newcomers, and is at all times of considerable interest to the older settlers. It would be more amusing than profitable to detail at length the many stories that reach us in regard to the notions that exist in England of the actual state of the Province, and the anticipations that are occasionally formed of its future wealth and grandeur. We may, however, indulge our readers with some extracts from a letter addressed to Osmond Gilles, Esq., with which we have been favoured by that gentleman. The writer is Mr Stephen Blunden, who went home in the Zebra and whose knowledge of the rural districts was very extensive:
“I went to London on the 7th October and was very well received by Colonel Torrens and the Commissioners. I underwent an examination before the Board respecting the Colony and its soil, climate, stock etc., also the capabilities of Port Adelaide, Encounter Bay, Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln etc. The Commissioners were highly delighted with my description of the Colony generally, and did me the honour to say that I had given them a better description than anyone yet.
“I am now employed to select fifty married shepherds from the county of Sussex, and other labourers, which they leave to my discretion. They have also made me a land agent during my residence in England. Before I had been in London six days I was the cause of 8000 acres of land being sold. The Colonel proposes to send me to Belfast to select emigrants on a large scale. If that is the case I shall not return to the Colony this six months.
“I am now in treaty with Mr Watkins and a party of gentlemen to buy 8000 acres of land and I have no doubt they will do it. Colonel Wyndham will also buy up more land. I have not seen him yet, but have heard from him in Yorkshire. Adelaide town acres are selling at a high price in London — from 50 to 100 per cent higher than in the Colony; country sections are selling high, from £1500 to £2000 a section in good situations. The Commissioners are determined to do everything for the town of Adelaide and the Old Port. The Colonel says the Governor cannot remove the Old Port as it would be an injustice to those sections on the line of road.
“The Commissioners are building a steam tug for the Harbor to cost 8000. Mr Burton is sending out a steam boat direct to Adelaide, 250 tons, to sail shortly. The Colonel has bought twelve country sections, with town acres; he has four sections at Encounter Bay, which he values very much. He speaks highly of Encounter Bay and says it must and will be a place of great note. I could get £1000 for my section tomorrow.
“I dined with the Colonel and Mr Grote M.P. at the Union Club. Mr Grote bought 4000 acres and his brother is coming out. The Commissioners are sending out 1000 emigrants this month; their intention is to send out 1000 every month. A line of steam boats to the Australian Colonies is in contemplation, ore to sail every month.”
“The tone of the “Register’s” introductory remarks leave it to the reader to decide whether or not the editor intended them. to include Stephen’s comments among the “notions” that he considered “more amusing than profitable,” but it is a fact that the early land boom in South Australia burst in the following year. As to Colonel Torrens’ faith in the future of the Old Port, only eight months after the letter was printed Stephen’s sister Emily was among those present at the official opening of the New Port.
“The “Register” 14.11.1840 has the following entry among its Shipping Intelligence: Monday November 9th. Arrivals — The ship Waterloo, 500 tons, Captain George Robertson, from London and Falmouth, having left the former place on 18th June and the latter on the 5th July. Passengers: Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Tooks and family, Mr. Samuel Tooks: Mr. and Mrs. Burgess and child; Mr. and Mrs. Williams: Messrs. Robertson, Burgess, Crase and Blunden and 209 emigrants under the charge of Mr. O’sullivan, surgeon superintendent.
“It seems reasonable to assume that this Blunden is Stephen returning from his sojourn in England. ‘The presence of a Mr Crase as fellow passenger is interesting, as Stephen several years later married Catherine Crase (about 1848). It is just barely possible, however that the Waterloo Blunden was John, bearing out the story that he had already been to Australia once before his 1844-5 trip. I have written to the Public Records Office in London to find out if they have a passenger list for the Waterloo which might show Blunden’s initial. I don’t really expect result from this, but it is worth trying.
“I have not found any later references to Stephen in the “Register” but will write to the Lands Department in Adelaide to see if they have a record of the sale of his town acres and his section at Encounter Bay.
“PS. A third possibility has now cropped up. The Waterloo Blunden could be HENRY.. Une South Australia Almanack and Directory for 1844, in its statistics for agricultural production for 1843 shows “Balrannah, H. Blunden, Lake Osmond, 20 acres wheat, 7 cattle, one horse” (Balrannah is adjacent to Osmond Gilles property, Gilliston, where Ada Blunden was born.) I will check this also with S.A. Lands Department.”
Jim Blair
22.9.1974
“Emily Blunden in Adelaide.
In a booklet published by the Old Colonists Association of South Australia at the time of the celebration of the Jubilee of the Colony in 1886, a list (incomplete) of passengers who came to South Australia with Governor Hindmarsh in 1836 in HMS Buffalo contained the name Emily Blundell.
“It seemed quite possible to me that this might be a misspelling of the name of Emily Blunden, sister of John Blunden, who married Frederick Walford in Launceston in 1843.
“Following up this idea, I found several references to Miss Blunden in the early files of the “South Australian Register” at the Mitchell Library; also a copy of the “Buffalo’s” original passenger list, now in the Public Records Office, London.
“Miss Blunden is included among the 1-6 Cabin passengers, mostly Government officials and their families. (There were also 136 ‘emigrants, wives and children’ — names not listed.)
“Miss Blunden is described as “Mr Gilles family.” Osmond Gilles was Colonial Treasurer, appointed to that post “partly because of his wealth and his loan for the initial expenses.” He was a successful merchant who was prominent among the organizers of the South Australian Colonization project. His brother Lewis was already established in business in Launceston., and was later associated with Osmond Gilles in Adelaide. Osmond was 48 years old.
“Assuming Miss Blunden to be John’s sister Emily (born Lyminster), she would have been sixteen at the time of her arrival in Adelaide.
“The following are references to Miss Blunden which I have gleaned from the files of the “South Australian Register.”
“9.2.1839 The Township of Glenelg.
We are glad to learn that our excellent Colonial Treasurer, Osmond Gilles, Esq., is one of the six fortunate holders of this valuable township. The others are Miss E. Blunden (Yr. Gilles ward), Mr Finke, Chief Clerk of the Treasury, in whose name it is drawn, Mr.J. Oakden, Mr. Gilles nephew; Mr Wigley, Resident Magistrate and Mr. Smith, solicitor. It is already determined to bring the town lots into the market and in our next the sale will probably be advertised.
(I have found no further reference to Miss. Blunden in connection with Glenelg. I suspect that her name merely ‘went into the hat’ as a dummy for Osmond Gilles. J. Oakden was presumably a son of Philip Oakden, Gilles brother-in-law and his business partner in Hamburg 1816-1833. who emigrated to Tasmania in 1833. Osmond Gilles went back to London in the same year and became. involved in the South Australian project in 1835.)
3.4.1839 (In a list of guests at Governor Gawler’s levee ... ,)
Osmond Gilles Esq., and Miss Blunden;
19.10.1839 (In a report on Governor Gawler’s Levee and Drawing Room) — Apologies for non-attendance were received from ... Miss Blunden ...
8.2.1840 (In a list of donors to the S.A. Church Building Fund Miss Blunden 1s. Annual subscription.
24.10.1840 Miss Blunden is listed among guests at Official Opening of the New Port.
12.6.1841 A Miss Gilles is listed among passengers who sailed Tuesday June 8th, in the barque Lady Emma bound for Portland Bay, Port Phillip and Launceston.
Launceston Advertiser, 1.7.1841. Arrivals: June 28th Barque
Lady Emma. Passengers: ...Miss Gilles ...
do 9.9. 1841 Arrived from London September 3rd. Barque Andromeda 409 tons, Captain Coltish. Passengers: Messrs. Walford, Williamson, McKiechney and Allnut and 23 emigrants.
“Apart from this entry I have found no mention of a Miss Gilles being in Adelaide in the early days. I feel sure this entry refers to Emily Blunden. As she is elsewhere referred to as Gilles’ ward, the error would be quite understandable. I suggest she went to Launceston to stay with the Lewis Gilles family and stayed on there, ultimately marrying Walford. Her brother Stephen was friendly with Gilles in Adelaide (see Stephen Blunden notes) and when John and Elizabeth came out in 1845 they lived for some time on his property Gilleston, where Ada was born.”
Jim Blair
18.9.1974
“Stephen Blunden in Adelaide... Addendum 28.4.1975 Jim Blair.
“I now feel sure that Stephen came out to Adelaide on Governor Hindmarsh’s ship HMS Buffalo, on which it has already been established that his sister Emily was a cabin passenger.
“I have been in touch with the South Australian Department of Lands and the S.A. Registrar-General’s Department regarding land held by Stephen in South Australia. You will note from copies of their letters that Stephen held two town acres in Adelaide (Section 186 and Section 465) and two country sections in the Encounter Bay area (Sections 211 and 214). He also probably held country section 210 as well, but there seems to be some doubt about this.
“For the purpose of this note the important section is Town Acre 186, as it was a “preliminary section,” i.e. it was one of the 437 sections sold in London before the organizers of the Colony received official sanction to establish a new province. Till now we have known that Stephen bought Section 465 at the first land sale in Adelaide, but have merely assumed that he also held a preliminary section, basing this on the fact that he was permitted to vote at the public meeting of landholders on February 10th 1837.
“The Lands Department letter of 10.12.1974 shows that he was not the original purchaser of Section 186, but bought it from Richard Street. No date is mentioned, but obviously the transaction must have been completed before the public meeting in February, 1837.
“The Registrar-General’s letter shows that Section 186 was granted to Stephen on papers dated 23rd December, 1836 and signed by James Hurtle Fisher, Commissioner of Public Lands.
“The date and name are all-important because on that date Fisher was aboard H14S Buffalo in South Australian waters at the end of the voyage from London and Spithead (Portsmouth), approaching Port Lincoln, which was reached the following day.
“The inference is inescapable that Stephen Blunden was also on the Buffalo among the 136 un-named emigrants on the official passenger list.
“HMS Buffalo made only a brief visit to Port Lincoln, then sailed for Holdfast Bay where colonists from earlier ships were awaiting the arrival of the Governor. The ship anchored in the Bay early on the 28th December and a couple of hours later the official party went ashore and the new Colony was proclaimed. Emily Blunden was almost certainly present at the ceremony, as Miss Fisher, a daughter of the Commissioner, wrote in a letter home that “it was agreed that the proclamation should be read, for which purpose it was necessary that all the officers belonging to the Colony should go on shore, and it was determined that the ladies should accompany them.” It seems from the account that the rest of the passengers did not land until later, so Stephen probably missed the ceremony (unless Osmond Gilles was able to use his influence to get him preference over the rest of the emigrants).
“It is tempting to suggest that John Blunden was also among the 136 un-named emigrants on the Buffalo, thus giving justification to Florence Blunden’s and Vera Whelan’s belief that John had paid a visit to Australia earlier than his known arrival in the William Wise in 1845. However, this seems rather unlikely.
“The time pattern makes it barely possible. His stay in Australia would have to have been very short, as he was married to Harriet Jelleff in Portsmouth on 21 November, 1837.
“Alternatively, it would have been possible for John, after Harriet’s death 9 March, 1842, to have gone to Australia — Emily was there and Stephen had come back with a good report — decide he would like to settle there, and return promptly in order to woo and marry Elizabeth Nance 16 August, 1844. They arrived in Adelaide 5 January, 1845 by the brig William Wise.
“Stephen’s land transactions did not bring him the sort of money he had in mind when he wrote to Osmond Gilles in 1830. “I could get . £1000 for my Encounter Bay section tomorrow.” Sixteen years later he sold two sections for £220.
“I doubt whether Stephen ever returned to Australia. I have been unable to get any more information about the Blunden who arrived at Port Adelaide in the Waterloo in November, 1840, but I think it was most likely to be Henry, who is shown in the S.A. Almanack as farming at Balhannah in 1843 and 1844. It seems probable that Henry was merely leasing this land (probably from Osmond Gilles).
“The Balhannah farm has nothing to do with the half-acre block that Henry bought in 1859 at Mount Barker. This is interesting, though. We know from other sources that Henry was in Port Arlington district in 18-56-57, apparently helping John at Ellenvale. John relinquished the Ellenvale lease in August, 1857 and this would provide a reason for Henry deciding to try his luck again in South Australia in an area he knew. Mount Barker is only a short distance from Balhannah.
“The South Australian Directory, 1877 shows “Henry Blunden, Storekeeper, Mt. Barker.” His name does not appear in the 1378 Directory. That is the year in which his land was sold to Reuben Pope for £140.
“PS: A “William Blunden, carter, Hampden Road, Mt. Barker” was listed in the 1872 Directory; and “William Blunden, store, Halifax Street” in the 1878 Directory.
“Did Henry marry? Could this William be a son?
Jim Blair
28.4.1975
Extract from a letter to me from Jim Blair, 1 June, 1980.
“You will recall my apparently successful attempt to prove that Stephen Blunden was on the Buffalo among the 136 unnamed immigrants. I am afraid that this has now been shot to pieces. I based my argument on the fact that a land-transfer certificate signed by James Hurtle Fisher, Commissioner for Lands, was dated 23 December, 1836. As Fisher at that date was aboard the Buffalo, nearing the end of her voyage to South Australia, I reasoned that both Stephen Blunden and Richard Street (the original purchaser of the block of land) must also have been on the ship. However, in 1978, while in London, I found the original log book of the Buffalo at the Public Records Office at Kew. This includes a complete list of the immigrants and neither Stephen Blunden or Richard Street is among them. There is no likelihood of the list being incomplete, because Hindmarsh was subsequently in acrimonious correspondence with the Admiralty over the cost of victualling the passengers and if he could have strengthened his case by digging up a few more names he surely would have done so.
“It seems that the land transaction must have taken place in England before the departure of the Buffalo, (approximately 30 July, 1836 from Spithead, Portsmouth) and that Fisher took a note of it but did not write out the transfer until late December when he was tidying up :his books preparatory to landing in South Australia.
“It now seems likely that Stephen, not Emily was the first Blunden in Australia. We know he was in Adelaide as early as 10 February, 1837 as he is on record as voting at a public meeting at that date. Since no vessels arrived from England bet ween the arrival of the Buffalo (28 December, 1836) and the date of the meeting, it follows that Stephen must have come out in one of the eight or nine ships that preceded her. Unfortunately, full passenger lists for these ships have not survived.”
Forty years ago Aunt Essie said to me: “John. Blunden came out to Australia with Governor Hindmarsh. He was his doctor.” I looked up the Buffalo passenger list at the State Library and as John Blunden’s name did not appear, and Governor Hindmarsh had another doctor I discounted the whole story.,
Lucy Marshall wrote to me from New Zealand: “George Blunden’s daughter, Florrie stated quite certainly that John Blunden, his brother Stephen and sister Emily came out to Australia. Emily stayed and married, Stephen went back and remained in England, while John went back then returned to Australia.” Florrie was born in New Zealand, Essie and Viva in Victoria. Florrie never met her Australian cousins. I think we can reasonably assume that John did come to South Australia in one of the ships that preceded the Buffalo.
If John did indeed accompany Stephen on his journey to South Australia he would have been twenty-two at the time. Stephen was twenty. Emily, who sailed in the Buffalo was sixteen. When she married Frederic Walford, 9 November, 1843 in Launceston she was twenty-three and he twenty-eight. Walford had arrived from London 3 September, 1841, was admitted to the Van Dieman’s Land bar 12 November of that year and was partner of the law firm of Walford and Douglas, Launceston until some time in 1851. (From State Archives, Hobart.) The Walfords then moved to Adelaide. Apart from the fact that Emily received a personal bequest-plate and plated articles, furniture, books, linen and household goods, between Emily Walford and Martha Nance, to be equally shared” and one tenth of the estate when her mother, Ann Blunden died in 1864, nothing further is known of Emily.
Stephen we know returned to England where he married Catherine Crase about 1848. John, presumably, after a very short stay in South Australia returned to England where he married Harriet Jelleff. The marriage was on 21 November, 1837, just before John’s twenty-third birthday. John was twenty-seven when Harriet died 9 March, 1842. Their first child, George was then two and a half years old, the other two children of the marriage having died as infants.
Two of the Nance girls left their comfortable life in Portsmouth and sailed to Australia as young wives of pioneer husbands. Ellen (Eleanor) was the first. She was twenty-one when she married James Conway Langdon at the Parish Church, Lyminster 8 July, 1841. Historians are not agreed as to when Langdon first arrived in Australia. Billis and Kenyon in “Pastoral Pioneers of Port Phillip (1932)” state that he held the pastoral licence of “Ellendale” as early as 1838. Then later they state that he was at “Ellenvale” between 1843-48. In any case he was the pioneer settler of “Ellenvale,” at Indented Head which is situated at the eastern end of the Bellarine Peninsula. The Peninsula forms the south-western boundary of Port Phillip Bay. Indented Head, eight or nine miles in from the Heads was a safe anchorage. In 1835 Batman and his party landed there during the course of their famous land and sea exploration of Port Phillip Bay. The expedition was followed by their treaty with the Doutta Galla tribe of aboriginals when Batman “bought” 500,000 acres across the site of the future Melbourne and 100,000 acres around where Geelong now stands and including all of the Bellarine Peninsular. This treaty was soon pronounced illegal.
The Peninsula provided excellent grazing land, but many pioneer squatters, after landing in Victoria at Indented Head, passed over it because there was no permanent water there. Later it was discovered that adequate water could be had by digging wells and settlement proceeded. “Ellenvale” was a run of 6,200 acres, bordered on the north, east and south by Port Phillip Bay and on the west by a “line parallel and fifteen miles distant from the Eastern boundary of Geelong township.” The Langdons stayed at “Ellenvale” until 1848 when the run passed to William Harding, except for lots 18, 19, 5 and 6 for which Langdon secured freehold. It was here, probably the site of the original homestead, that the villa “Spray Farm” was built in 1851.
Dr. Philip Brown, historian of Geelong, has been most generous with his help to me. In a letter from him:
“Spray Farm has begun to interest the National Trust. I see its origin in the following notice in the Geelong Advertiser for Saturday, 7 June 1851: ‘Tenders will be received until Saturday the 14th instant for the whole or several works required in the erection of a Villa, at Indented Heads, for J.C. Langdon Esq. Plans and specifications at the office of the undersigned. John Young, Architect, Market Square, South’... The Langdons were living on their freehold, no doubt in the house designed for them, when it was reported in 1860 that Mrs Langdon ‘kindly presided at the pianoforte and harmonium’ when a meeting to raise funds for church purposes was held in East Bellarine school house ... at least three sons have been recorded and they all went to Geelong Grammar, being entered in 1868, 1871 and 1876 respectively...
“It seems that J.C. Langdon moved from Spray Farm to Highton, across the Barwon from Geelong, near (or at least not far from) the bluestone house which I think was Dr Blunden’s ...
“It is said that during the 1870s the Langdon bays and others used to ride in to school (then opposite Christ Church, Geelong) from Highton, to which the Langdons moved at a date which I do not yet know, and where J.C. Langdon died in 1886, aged 83.”
Ellen died in 1882, at Herne Hill, Geelong aged sixty-two years. From Evan Best’s genealogical research the Langdons had nine children. Eleanor, 1847; Nora, 1850; Gilbert, died young; Constance, 1852; George Fitzherbert (known as Fitz), 1854; James, 1856; Edith 1858; Cassandra, 1860 and William Henry, 1863.
The three boys all went to Queensland and became pastoralists.
“Spray Farm” came up for auction 13 December, 1974, 622 acres to be sold in four lots, lot 1 including the homestead and stables.
I drove down to see the house before the auction. Ellen, after thirteen years in the Colony, had moved into a beautiful house. It is U-shaped, the base of the U facing north across the Bay. There are deep verandahs around the outside walls and the entrance is in the centre of the side nearest the sea. A wide hall, with a room off each side, leads to an octagonal vestibule. This is lit by an elaborate skylight. There are three doors each side of the vestibule. Two each side lead to bedrooms, the other two to kitchens in the east wino, and servants quarters in the west wing. The area between the two wings is partly enclosed as a courtyard by the stables, which are built of brick and still have the original slates on the roof. The main house is built of stone and part of the roof has been replaced with corrugated iron. A most unusual feature of the house is a series of floor to ceiling louvred shutters, set in a little from the edge of the north verandah. Some shutters are fixed and some are free to open and shut. They would keep the house coal and free from glare from the sea in summer.
The whole of “Spray Farm” was sold for $434,195, Lot 1, with the house, bringing $139,650.
The second Nance girl to go to Australia was Elizabeth. She married
John Blunden 16 August, 1844 in the Parish Church, Portsmouth. Elizabeth was twenty-six years old and John twenty-nine. They, with five year old George must have set sail almost immediately for Australia. The brig William Wise, 240 tons, from London arrived in Adelaide 5 January, 1843. There were fourteen other cabin passengers. (Adelaide Observer, 11 January, 1845.) Also mentioned under Shipping Intelligence: “4 cases, 1 cask, J. Blunden.” The family friend, Osmond Gilles, was living in Adelaide. It was Gilles who had brought Emily with him as his ward on the Buffalo in 1836. John and Elizabeth were staying at Gilleston, about eighteen miles from Adelaide, when Elizabeth’s first child, Ada was born. She was baptised 6 November, 1843 at Trinity Church, Adelaide. In the baptismal record John’s profession is shown as Surgeon. This is the first written record of John being a doctor.
John came to Australia with capital, probably from the beginning intending to take up land. Almost certainly he had some money from Harriet’s inheritance from her father. It is also very likely that Andrew Nance would have given Elizabeth a generous dowry when she married.
An intending squatter had to have enough capital for his fares, to buy his flock, pay for the food and supplies (and their transport to the property, which was expensive) for his family and shepherds for three years. For that was the time it took before the ‘first clip was shorn, transported to a port, shipped to England and for the first payment to come back. (Geoffrey Blainey in ‘Tyranny of Distance’ .) I thought it would be interesting to get an ‘educated guess’ from Blainey as to how much capital John would have needed. I wrote giving the facts as far as we knew them. Blainey answered: “If Blunden financed his own venture in 1843 I’d say £1200 (which was equal then to he could have started with as little as perhaps a labourers wage for twenty years) or as much as £4,000 but these are only guesses ... 1842-44 were miserable years.”
Lorna Banfield in “Like an Ark” gives the date of John Blunden’s occupancy of Concongella as 1343. She writes of the Allans who were the first occupants of the run. They called it Allanvale. Mrs Allan died and was buried on the adjoining property. Her headstone reads “Sacred to the memory of Eliza Ann Allan who departed this life on 15th March, 1845, aged 26. “
C.E. Sayers in “Shepherds Gold, A History of Stawell” writes: “Allan, heartbroken from the death of his young wife and heavily in debt, had crone from the district and Dr. John Blundell, having redeemed it from the bank, occupied Concongella. It was Blundell’s run when McLachlan found gold in Pleasant Creek.
When John occupied Concongella [Aboriginal word — “to make love.” From ‘Place Names of Victoria’ by Les Blake, 1977] at the end of 1845 he would have travelled there by one of the three available routes. Many settlers overlanded from Adelaide to the Wimmera and this route included a crossing of the Murray River. A friend of mine who grew up west of the Grampians made enquiries for me about this route. It varied according to the season. In winter parties travelled north of the Grampians, in summer south of the Grampians where it was a little cooler. Later when gold was discovered at Concongella it was taken to Adelaide this way, the route was called the Cold Road and it was over 350 miles long.
Alternatively John and his party could have taken a ship to Portland and moved north from there along the Major Mitchell Line, named after the explorer who first discovered the Wimmera and left the route marked by his bullock wagon wheels. Portland to Concongella is roughly 250 miles.
A ship to Geelong or Melbourne would have brought John to within 220 miles of Concongella. If he’d gone via Geelong there would have been the opportunity to see his relatives, James and Ellen Langdon who were already established on the Bellarine Peninsular.
Elizabeth did not go to Concongella until early or mid 1847. Ada’s death certificate records that she spent the first year and a half of her life in South Australia. The story of an incident that took place during Elizabeth’s journey comes from Vera Hudspeth, daughter of Florence, John and Elizabeth’s youngest child. Elizabeth brought from England with her “a harp, a lute, a spinet and some very lovely dresses and quaint little bonnets of silks and brocades and fine lace. I can just remember gazing at these beautiful old garments in awe and delight even now wonder what became of them. She was then my adored grandmother and we often went with our mother to visit her in Melbourne.
“...Elizabeth and her husband and stepson had to set out upon a long journey in a bullock wagon over a rough track, and on the way the harp was jolted out, a wheel passed over it, so it was completely broken, which was a great grief to the young girl, in a strange land, among unknown people, and completely unused to these primitive conditions after the comfort and luxury of her English home.”
Unexpectedly I was able to confirm that Elizabeth had indeed played the harp. One of the Blunden descendants, Grace Barnard corresponded with me. She had Elizabeth’s book of Harp Music which she posted from Perth that I may see it. The book had gold blocked on the cover “1822” and written inside was “Elizabeth Blunden.” The engravings in the book were so outstanding that I had several pages photocopied.
I had the urge to go to Stawell and see what, if anything, was left of Concongella. Early in 1967 Ralph and I decided that we would spend the Easter holiday driving along the south west coast of Victoria then return to Melbourne via Stawell. In preparation I wrote my first letter to Dr Philip Brown, the acknowledged authority on the history of the Western District and the Wimmera. Dr Brown’s reply gave us a wonderful start.
“Dr. John Blunden is the only pioneer of that name about whom I know anything and that isn’t much. He is referred to as “Blundell” in both Miss Lorna Banfield’s “Like the Ark.”..and in Mr. C.E. Sayer’s “Shepherd’s Gold.”.. Both these books mention the Concongella occupation, but are not very enlightening, which is not surprising, considering the complications. There was a great dispute over the Allanvale or Concongella run, but I don’t think Blunden came into it. His role appears to have been that of “picker-up” after John Allan walked off ...
“Billis and Kenyon will show you that Dr. Blunden was licensee of Concongella (spelt various ways) from 1844 until March 1858. As Dalgety’s then took over, it is possible that he got into financial difficulties...
“Your investigations with respect to Concongella should bring much better results at the Lands Department (Central Plan Room) than at the Titles Office ...
“While he still held the licence for Concongella, Dr. Blunden was also associated with the Ellenvale run near Geelong...
“The site of the original Ellenvale homestead seems to have been on what is now Spray Farm, between Drysdale and Portarlington, where in 1851 J.C. Langdon, the pioneer pastoral tenant had a villa built by a Geelong architect. But Langdon relinquished the Ellenvale licence (or so it seems) to William Harding in 1847, and Harding sold to Dr. Blunden in or about 1855. By that time, however, the Ellenvale run was apparently shorn of Spray Farm (where Langdon continued to live), and was largely turned into freehold which stretched across the parish of Bellarine (in which Spray Farm is situated) to the parish of Paywit, of which a list dated 16 May, 1856 shows that Blunden was then a ratepayer...
“Blunden was succeeded at Ellenvale in 1857. I think he lived in Geelong, in a bluestone house above Buckley’s Falls, on the Barwon, which now belongs to Mr. J.F. Baum, a farmer.
“Langdon had boys at Geelong Grammar School. I fancy that Godfrey Blunden, who joined the School at the same time as F. (Fitz) Langdon on January 27, 1868, was Dr. John Blunden’s son.”
It was Dr Brown who first drew our attention to the fact that John had once owned Ellenvale as well as Concongella. Subsequent letters from him continued to provide invaluable information. It was six years after Mr Brown’s first letter that I made the connection: that Ellenvale was named after Ellen Langdon, one of Andrew Nance’s daughters and Elizabeth’s sister.
We did as Dr Brown suggested and contacted the Lands Department. Ralph came away with a number of xerox copies
(1) A printed leaflet from the Colonial Secretary’s Office, Sydney dated 7th October, 1847 setting out the rules whereby Licensed Occupants of Waste Lands of the Crown could apply to have that same land leased to them. Printed forms could be obtained from the Commissioners of Crown Lands. People objecting to the claims of others should lodge a Caveat at the office of the Colonial Secretary.
(2) John Sinclair’s Application and the description of his property formerly “Allanvale” now “Sinclairs” dated March 1348.
(3) A caveat entered by John Blunden on Aug. 30th 1348 against John Sinclair being granted a Lease for his run ‘Sinclairs Station’ Sir, I have the honor to request that your honor will record this my protest and objection to the (illegible) of a lease to the person named in the margin (John Sinclair) for the run in the district called Sinclairs Station or Allan Vale applied for by him in conformity with the terms of Her Majesty’s Orders in Council. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your Honor’s most obt. servant, John Blunden To His Honor C.J. Latrobe Esq.
(4) John Blunden’s application dated Dec. 1 1848.
Commissioners District — Wimmera District
Name of Run Cuncungella
Estimated number of acres 57,600
Estimated capacity for grazing 12,000 sheep
Description of the lands — Commencing at a marked tree about 2 1/2 miles S. 3 E from home station and bounded by Sinclairs by a line running N. 581 — 2 E 3 1/2 miles to the Doctor Creek, Thence N.E. 3 miles and 50 chains thence a line bounded by Fallon N to the top of the big hill and thence to the marked tree at Clarke’s boundary about 4 miles. Thence bounded by W.T. Clarke S 70 W about 20 chains, N 32 1/2 W 168 chains, N.69 W. 84 chains to Mrs Green’s road by the road 1/2 mile, thence S. 67 1/2 W about 11 1/4 miles and bounded by Mrs. Green. Thence a line bounded by Boyd S.W. by S. about 4 miles. Thence a line bounded by Miles S.S.E. about three miles to Burketts rock thence along the top of the Black Range about six miles including all its Eastern falls to the mount behind the spring including the spring and its Northern falls, thence along the horse shoe ridge to the top of the sugar loaf hill about 2 1/2 miles, thence S.E. 2 miles and 10 chains Wills range, by the range in an Easterly direction about 70 chains. Thence a line bounded by Sinclair N. 4 1/2 W about three miles and 70 chains (including hut and water holes about the center of this line) to marked tree at the starting point.
Signature of Applicant John Blunden
(5) A form — “Application for a lease of waste land...” Filled in by John Blunden applying for lease of Concongella, signed December 1, 1848. Counterdated officially December 20, 1848.
John refers to the creek on the property as Doctors Creek. When we visited Stawell in 1967 this creek was referred to as both Doctors Creek and Concongella Creek. In his application John Sinclair writes “bounded on the north side by Mr. Blundens station...”
(6) A letter in which Mr John Blunden withdraws Caveat against Mr. Sinclairs application for lease, Wimmera District.
May 10, 1849.
Sir, As a matter of precaution which I considered necessary at the time Mr. Sinclairs application was published for a lease for Allan Vale Run, I was not then in twelve months occupation of my licensed station and the indefinite description of the boundaries between us given by Mr. Sinclair left it doubtful what he claimed, I lodged a Caveat against the issue of his lease. I now hereby request to be allowed to withdraw the same. I have since made my application for a lease of my run called Cuncungella, Allan Vale in which I have described the boundary between the two runs according to the settlement by arbitration alluded to by Mr. Sinclair in his application but in terms showing the exact line I claim and therefore leave it to him to oppose my application if he thinks fit to do so.
I have the honour to be Sir, Your Honor’s most obt. servant, John Blunden
To his Honor, The Superintendant, Melbourne.
(It is 1849, four years since John occupied the property. Yet he writes “I was not then in twelve months occupation of my licensed station.” Apparently he had been squatting there without the legal license. Ralph raised this point when he was with the Officer in charge of historical enquiries at the Lands Department. He was told that it was not unusual for land to be occupied for some time before a license was taken out.)
(7) William Hardings application for a lease of the run on the Bellarine Peninsular that was taken over by John Blunden in 1855 and held by him until 1857.
Name of run Ellenvale or Willis and Swanston’s Cattle Station
Estimated number of Acres 6,200
Cattle 800 or 5,000 sheep
Description County of Grant, Parish of Paywit, at Indented Head. Bounded on the West by the 15 mile Boundary Line from Geelong, extending Swan Bay Northward to Port Phillip Bay, on the North & East by the Shores of Port Phillip Bay including Duck Island. Sandy Heathy soil.
(8) A document in which “John Blunden transfers interest in run “Concongella” (the first time this spelling appears) to Dalgety and Ibbottson.” Dated 17 March, 1858, Geelong.
The night before we left for our holiday, I rang Mr. Baum, explained our interest in his farmhouse and asked if we might call and see it when we were passing through Geelong next day. He agreed, but no one was home when we arrived. The farm and the house were in an extreme state of neglect but the position was superb. The house still showed how attractive it had been, solid bluestone construction, single storey, and with a verandah on two sides. The garden had almost disappeared into the weeds but there were still a few roses and some tremendous old trees. The house had been built on a beautiful spot, on a high rise in an angle of the Barwon River. On the other side of the river was a bluestone quarry, possibly the source of the stones in the house.
(The Baum farm, 34 acres, 2 1/2 miles from the Geelong Post Office was sold by auction in February, 1974. “...this historic property which has been held by the Baum family for 70 years is situated in Highett Road, Highton and overlooks the picturesque Buckley Falls. The 100 year old homestead is in good condition....” It brought $106,000.)
We arrived in Stawell on Easter Sunday evening to find the town en fete. We had forgotten that Easter was the time of the famous Stawell Gift Athletic Meeting. We walked around the town and found the name Dane appearing as the donor of the memorial cairn to mark the spot where the first reef gold was found. And Dane appeared on a shop front. To start our enquiries I rang a Dane in the phone book. I explained that we were in Stawell to see if there were any traces left of John Blunden. I was put on to “Uncle” who was 73 and hadn’t been in Stawell for twenty-five years but had come up to see the Gift run. He knew Blunden as Blundell, which might have disconcerted us if we had not been warned by Dr. Brown. He told me a story that his father had told him. When this Dane had been a small boy he’d gone out rabbitting with some young friends. When it came to lunchtime they found themselves many miles from home but near the Doctor’s place. They had asked Dr Blundell if he would g m something to eat and he gave them some meat. The e boys made a give the camp fire, cooked the meat and had the best meal they could remember. When young Dane’s father next met Dr Blundell he thanked him for his kindness to the boys. “That’s alright” Dr Blundell replied, “It was meat I’d put aside for the dogs.” ‘Uncle’ roared laughing over this story; apparently it was a family favourite. He then suggested I ring Mr Morris Robson of the Stawell and District Historical Society. Mr Robson asked us to meet him the following morning He did not believe that the Doctor’s name was Blunden until we produced the photostats picked up from the Lands Department. he told us that a booklet had been produced in 1961 to celebrate the Centenary of Concongella and though it was out of print he thought he could locate a copy and he would post it to US. (He did.) All the local knowledge of the Blundens was in the book. Mr Robson told’, us that nothing was left of the original homestead. but there was a little cemetery still there and he could arrange for some friends to show us the way. The Rathgebers. We took the road going east from the town, past the big gold cairn. The Rathgebers lived in a small house, set in a fork of the road a little way past the bridge over the Concongella Creek. They were very old and Mr Rathgeber’s father had lived there before them. He came with us in the car to show us the way to the site of the old Concongella homestead. We went back, recrossed the bridge, turned left and followed the creek upstream. From the notes made at the time, we drove about four miles, crossed the creek and then came to a big cyclone gate on the right. We drove through and up a hill where we could see the ‘Little cemetery. The fence had fallen into disrepair and of the few headstones there was only one still standing. ‘Sacred to the memory of ISABELLA, beloved wife of William Chapman who died June 1863 Aged 30 years’. Chapman had been head shepherd daring John’s time at Concongella and stayed on after the run changed hands. Fifty yards further on, on the top of the hill, a few very old fruit trees and great patches of dried off iris marked the site of the homestead. We were told that the iris were beautiful in the spring. There were half a dozen square hand-made bricks still set in the earth. The remains of’ the floor of the dairy? It seemed appropriate for us to take them so we prized them out of the earth and put them in the back of the car. Anyone want a brick?
The view was magnificent, over brown paddocks (there was a drought) to a distant row of hills. Mr Rathgeber said the house, though derelict, had been there not so many years ago and that the country as far as we could see was all part of the original Concongella run.
Later we visited the small cairn on the banks of the Pleasant Creek, put there to mark the place where a Concongella shepherd had found the first gold in the district. Then came Stawell, built on part of the original property.
To picture the lives of John and Elizabeth when they arrived in Australia one needs to know something of the conditions prevailing at the time. I have drawn mainly on Margaret Kiddle’s ‘Men of Yesterday’ for the following historical material.
The population of the Port Phillip District, as Victoria was then known, grew rapidly after the arrival of the Hentys at the end of 1834. In 1836 it was 224, had doubled by 1837, was nearly 6,000 by 1839, when La Trobe was appointed Superintendant of the District. By 1840 the population was over 10,000. In 1846, a year after John and Elizabeth arrived there were 10,954 people living in Melbourne, 1,370 living in Geelong and 3,746 in the inland.
The arrival in the District of ‘Young Hugh Murray’, (whose son married Florence. Blunden in 1374) is recorded by Margaret Kiddle. He “threw in his lot with the brothers G.T. and Arthur Lloyd, young William Carter and James Austin who ‘joined together for mutual protection’. This little group was made up of men of smaller capital. Murray’s initial capital seems to have been about £300 (or, that was what he spent in stock) while the Lloyds and Carter had sheep which had cost them £600 landed at Port Phillip. They occupied the Colac country in September, 1837.”
Major Mitchell and his party were the first white men to see the land that was later to be known as the Wimmera. They passed through it in the winter of 1836, and Mitchell named it Australia Felix. They came from Sydney, and marched through to Portland, carving The Major Mitchell Line with the wheels of their bullock drays. The first pioneer settler was Robert Briggs who reached the district in 1840. He came from Monaro, N.S.W. where he had rested his sheep, then pushed on with them along ‘Major Mitchell’s Line’ into country that was shadowed by the Grampians. There he squatted on the 200,000 acre run that was to be named Ledcourt. Soon after, William Blow was in the vicinity seeking land for John Sinclair’s sheep.
Overlanding cattle to Adelaide in 1839, young John Allan had noted the good grazing land along the Wimmera River. At Adelaide in February, 1840 Allan married Eliza Anne Lipson. A year or two later they set out from Geelong with a flock of sheep, crossed the divide and settled on Concongella Creek or. the southern boundary of Sinclair’s run which stretched northward for about 40 miles. Allan called his run Allanvale, and a son was born there.
As a result of a dispute over boundaries, Allanvale was allotted to John Sinclair in 1844 and Allan was given the northern area known as Concongella. Mrs John Allan was the first woman to die in the district. She was buried in the garden of the old Lexington homestead and the inscription on the flat stone slab reads ‘Sacred to the memory of Eliza Anne Allan who departed this life on the 15th March, 1345 aged 26.
Also Eliza Anne Lipson Allan born ‘March 15 1845.Died 13th April 1345.
John Allan was apparently in financial difficulties, and soon after the death of his young wife he gave up his run which passed into the hands of Dr Blundell. (The story of the Allans is from ‘Like the Ark’ by Lorna Banfield.)
Margaret Kiddle gives a detailed picture of the living conditions of the early pioneers. John and Elizabeth’s first house would probably have been a ‘wattle-and-daub’ hut or a slab hut. The roof would probably have been made of bark. The number of men a squatter engaged to accompany him up country depended on the size of the station. Usually he took about three to begin with. He did without an overseer until he was well established but from the beginning he needed a bullock driver. Bullockies were a class apart, celebrated for their highly coloured language, resource, intractability, and sometimes trustworthiness. It was their job to drive the drays with the station supplies.
At the home station of a sheep run the master’s duties varied with the size of his flocks and the number of men he employed. At least once or twice a week he had to ride round his out-stations, check the number of sheep, and look to their physical condition. Once a week he gave out supplies to his shepherds and hut keepers. On an established station the usual weekly supplies were ten to twelve pounds of flour, tan to twelve pounds of meat, two pounds of sugar and a quarter of a pound of tea. Sometimes about two ounces of soap and two ounces of tobacco would be given as well. All other rations would be drawn from the store and the cost deducted from the man’s wages.
A well stacked stare supplied all manner of food-stuffs, such things as axes, writing paper, bags as well as clothing. And there would be the bushman’s remedies for all ills; gleaming blue bottles of castor oil and brown bottles of pain-killer. The usual wants of station hands were heavy boots, canvas trousers, serge shirts and cabbage tree hats.
Shepherds worked from sunrise to sunset. At sunrise they would set off from the hut. For lunch a man carried “a flagon of tea, a piece of damper and a slice of beef.” He held a carbine in readiness for attacks by blacks, and pistols would be stuck in his belt. His dog, usually a rough-haired Scottish collie trotted beside him or brought up the stragglers from the rear.
Shearers travelled the country taking work as they needed it. In 1840 when wages were at their highest they were paid 20s. a hundred sheep and usually shore about sixty a day. As far as possible a squatter tried to depend on his own men, but as flocks increased this became impossible.
Family prayers became a part of home station life wherever women made their homes. These wives were in need of prayer, for they lived in a state of almost constant anxiety. Not only were there blacks, bushrangers, fires, snakes and all manner of real and fancied dangers to contend with, there were also their own life processes. That some succeeded in living there did not make the bush a place for white women who had been gently reared. All the discomforts of childbearing had to be endured in rough huts, sometimes far from any medical help.
The struggle which took place during the forties for secure tenure of their lands concerned all squatters. The majority held their land beyond the official bounds of settlement. They had no choice but to be Crown licensees and therefore to have uncertain tenure. In 1847 the Order-in-Council was passed. Land was divided into settled, intermediate, and unsettled districts. The settled districts comprised land around Melbourne, Geelong and Portland and that encircling some other towns. They also included land within three miles of any part of the sea, and areas along some rivers. By December 1848 the whole of the Western District was included. The “unsettled districts” included all other lands. The copies of documents obtained from the Lands Department show the processes John Blunden went through to obtain the lease of Concongella and the anxiety he felt at the time.
The security of their leases encouraged the squatters to commence building substantial home stations in stone. The only record of the home John built is in the little local history ‘Concongella — The Cradle of Stawell’. It says:
“The Concongella homestead was quite an imposing structure, judged by past standards; and according to historical documents, was four miles north of Great Western ... Dr Blundell’s name was associated with the selection for more than a decade, and, in addition to being on call in cases of sickness and watching the increase of his flocks and herds, he acted as the district coroner. He ran about 12.000 sheep, which were dispersed over the large selection, with shepherds and shepherd’s huts dotted here and there at convenient points... One of the shepherd’s huts was situated at the foot of One Tree Hill where Pleasant Creek meandered through the property... In this hut two shepherds named William McLachlan and Alexander Fraser resided. The spot became famous in the historical annals of the town for the reason that the first gold was won by McLachlan on the western side of the creek in 1853...on the Concongella selection. When quartz gold was discovered by Dane and party at the Quartz Reefs in 1856 it also was in portion of the Concongella selection.
“The Concongella homestead stood on the rising ground above the Concongella Creek, and the fact that the creek ran through Dr Blundell’s property led it to be called Doctor’s Creek. The name still persists; as a matter of fact the two names are synonomous. The old bush track from Pleasant Creek to the south was in close proximity to the homestead, and highwaymen loitered around and relieved miners of the gold they were taking to Mt Ararat and other centres for disposal
“...the town of Stawell as we know it today was fashioned out of part of the old Concongella selection.
“One Tree Hill was part of the Concongella selection but few people have any realisation of the great part it played in the history of the district. The huge gum tree which gave the hill its name developed a cavity as large as a blackfellows mia mia, and in later years for safety’s sake it was felled. On the windswept slope of the hill the two shepherds lived in a hut, and had ample time to commune with nature. They were loyal servants of Dr Blundell and quite different to shepherds in many selections in other parts of the Colony who cared neither for their employer or his property. McLachlan, in his daydreams visualised that gold existed in the cement along the banks of the Pleasant Creek, which ran through the selection, and he put his theory to the test, and found the first gold in this part of the Colony.” “Concongella — Cradle of Stawell.”
The summer of 1851 was extraordinarily hot and dry. On Thursday, 6 February the temperature was 110 in Melbourne and bushfires broke out throughout the State. The loss of sheep and cattle was appalling. After the fires the drought continued and about 5,000,000 lambs were slaughtered to save the lives of the parent animals. In June 1851, gold was discovered at Clunes and Warrandyte, in mid-August at Buninyong in the Western District. A month later the Ballarat field had been discovered and Geelong was the gateway for the rush. La Trobe reported to the Secretary of State — “Cottages are deserted, houses to let, business is at a standstill and even shops are closed. The ships in the harbour are in great measure deserted.” When the first gold seekers arrived from overseas several months later some of the hysterical excitement had spent itself. Some bush workers realized it was harder work than shearing and held out less chance of certain profit. By the middle of October many had begun to return home. To add to the trials of the time, the September rains were extraordinarily heavy and the long drought was broken by floods. “In the first place there was the greatest drought ever known, next the wettest season, and to crown all, the discovery of Sold. “
The efforts made by all squatters to accomplish the shearing of 1851 were herculean. There was admiration indeed, almost wonder in the press reports that “in spite of the shortage of labour, the wool is coming down as usual.” Nevertheless it came down at a price, shearing rates increased 40 to 50 per cent above those prevailing in the previous year. The cost of rations increased in the same proportion. Bullockies, well aware of their worth, refused to load wool bales unless treble the carriage of other years was paid.
Five more children were born to Elizabeth at Concongella. Ada was nearly two when Ralph was born October 5, 1847. Reginald was born 1851,
Godfrey 1853 and the twins Florence and Blanche 1856. Blanche died as an infant. Vera Hudspeth writes in her history: “A young nurse, playing with Blanche one day, tossing her up and catching her, the baby somehow broke her neck. This is the story handed down to us, and of course Blanche was the strong one and Florence very delicate.” The death was not registered so there are no further details to record.
One wonders how the family coped with drought, bush fires, floods, shortage of labour all adding to the usual hazards of life in the outback. In the end, financially, they did not cope, and John lost the money he had invested in Concongella. The property was transferred to Dalgety and Ibbotson 17 March, 1858.
Gold mining, both alluvial and quartz, was well established before the Blundens left Concongella. Stawell began as a cluster of tents near the Pleasant Creek and by 1859 had a population of 20,000. Subdivision of the immense sheep runs began in 1861. Concongella (it covered ninety square miles) and its neighbouring properties were subdivided.
Many orchards and about a hundred little vineyards were established in the area. Today, only two of the vineyards remain, “Great Western” and “Concongella.” In 1863-66 brothers Joseph and Henry Best bought land on both sides of the Concongella Creek, north-east of the township of Great Western. I visited the Lands Department hoping to verify which side of the boundary between the original Concongella and Allanvale runs these Best acres were. But I was unsuccessful. There is no detailed map showing the boundaries of the original pastoral leases in relation to the subsequent subdivisions. Joseph’s land was west of the creek and he called the vineyard he established there in 1866 “Great Western.” it now belongs to Seppelts and the famous Great Western champagne is still produced there. Henry’s land was east of the Concongella Creek. It is still in production and the wine is labelled “Concongella.” Perhaps the most decisive evidence that these two vineyards are not in the old Concongella lease is that they are not mentioned in the booklet “Concongella — The Cradle of Stawell.”
In 1854 John had taken over the property Ellenvale near Geelong. A document held at the Lands Department reads — “Returns of stock pastured by Mr John Blunden at Ellenvale station in the County of Grant, during the years 1854 and 1855. 1854 — sheep — 1,300. 1855 — sheep — 1,700.” Mr Philip Brown wrote that John had bought Ellenvale as it was freehold, and that he was a ratepayer in 1856. In August 1857 John relinquished Ellenvale.
A Robert and Henry Blunden were qualified to vote in the Portarlington area, which was part of Ellenvale, during 1856-7 (La Trobe Library). It seems almost certain that these Blundens were John’s younger brothers who had joined him in the Ellenvale venture.
I do not know where the family lived after leaving Concongella but in 1865 they were living in Ballarat. A Victorian Postal Directory of that year shows J. Blunden, Ligar Street, Ballarat. In 1867 Godfrey was at Ballarat Grammar School. This information was supplied by the Hon. Secretary of The Old Geelong Grammarians when he answered a letter of mine asking if Godfrey had attended Geelong Grammar in the eighteen sixties. “I have looked up the records of old boys and the only Blunden we have on record is Godfrey Blunden: came to school from Ballarat Grammar on 27 January, 1868 aged 15 years.” Mr Philip Brown believes the Blundens lived in the bluestone house on the Barwon River and Vera Hudspeth writes that they lived some years in Geelong, then moved to Colac where John practised medicine in partnership with Dr Rae.
In July, 1964 Ralph and I drove down to Colac to see if there were any traces left of the Blundens. We met Mr Kettle, President of the Colac Historical Society. He did not remember the name Blunden but promised to make enquiries for us. Mr Kettle followed up with a letter. “A friend of mine who lived all his life in Colac told me the Dr Blunden lived in Polwarth Street, only five minutes walk from Dr Rae. Both houses would be just across from the tip. There is a vacant block where Dr Blunden’s home stood... My friend was acquainted with Mr & Mrs Andrew Murray and he says that Mrs Murray told him that she was her father’s pill maker. She made them from a certain brand of soap and breadcrumbs. They — the pills, worked wanders for her father’s patients.”
On 4 November, 1874 Florence Blunden married Andrew Strachan Murray in Colac. They lived in the “Borongarook” homestead which had burnt down and was demolished before our trip to Colac. In 1875 John is recorded as Surgeon and J.P. in Colac and Magistrate of Midlands.
George, and then Reginald migrated to New Zealand.
These are extracts taken from letters written me by Lucy Marshall. Lucy is married to Lindsay Marshall, son of Jessie Blunden Marshall.
“When George married nineteen year old Sarah Buchanan in 1877 he gave his age as thirty-three. Actually he was thirty-eight.
“George had ten children and twenty-one grandchildren. There are all sorts of legends in our branch of the family. They were convinced that John had given up a title to come to Australia perhaps the title to some family land? On George’s death certificate his father is given as Sir John Blunden! I was interested to learn that George had a legacy from his grandmother, Ann Blunden. We had been told that he had a substantial inheritance from his mother, Harriet Jelleff, but that his father had invested it in land in Australia and most was lost through floods and drought. I had not heard that Florence never saw him. He called his eldest daughter Florence. We have the Blunden family bible for George and Sarah and their children. It contains a letter from Florence and one from Reg Blunden.
“There is a story that George’s mother, Harriet was French, the daughter of emigrees from the French Revolution... We have a story that John, Stephen and Emily came out to Victoria with Governor Latrobe, John as his medical advisor, Stephen as his secretary, Emily as companion to Lady Latrobe.
“George Blunden, by the way was said to have inherited £20,000 from his mother’s dowry, all lost by his father!
“George apparently went to a good private school in Melbourne and was put to University. His father wanted him to study medicine but he had no stomach for it, tried law, and seems to have drifted to New Zealand. We don’t know exactly when, probably about 1863/4. He could have been here twenty years before his marriage and goodness knows what he was doing in that time.”
(The first medical school in Melbourne opened in 1863. George was then twenty-four and if he did indeed try medicine he would not have left Australia until 1.863 or ‘66. B.B.)
More from Lucy:
“George had a farm at Rengotea, Fielding. This was bought by his father-in-law, Neil Buchanan.
“I understand that John and Elizabeth visited George and his family on one occasion. George’s wife always spoke very highly of them. ‘Fine Christian people.’ The Blunden children often recall a visit by their Uncle Godfrey. They heard him remarking that it was a great shame that George’s family should be brought up in such poor circumstances. George was no farmer and would sell a farm just when it was broken in and likely to become productive. Then he would move further into the back country and his family had few opportunities for schooling and were sent out to work when very young. I believe he was bankrupt at one stage. But then, there was always the story of the £20,000 in Chancery just waiting to be claimed!
“I wrote to the National Archives in Wellington in case he had enlisted in the militia at the time of the Maori wars. The only information they had about him was from a letter written in 1912 applying for a New Zealand War Medal. He stated that, as best as he could remember, he was in the Wanganui Militia at the Okehu RP — doubt and was orderly to Major Rooks. He seemed to have about eighteen months service.
“I always feel sorry for George, fathering a family in his fifties and sixties. They seemed to think that he was rather lazy leaving all the farm work to the children but he probably felt too old to cope with them all.”
We can share Lucy’s amusement at the legends that developed in the family. They were not so different from the legends that grew up with the Australian family.
Two letters written to George. The first dated 1910 from his brother Reginald Blunden who lived at Bennetts in the South Island of New Zealand, the second dated 1918 from his sister, Florence Blunden Murray.
‘The Downs’
Bennetts
Aug. 2nd./10
My dear George,
I received your letter last Saturday the day on which I returned from a visit to Victoria having been away about two months. During my stay I visited Godfrey at Warburton just for a day as lie was with me in Melbourne and Colac in which latter place I stayed with Florence for about a month. I found them all looking very well and it was a great joy to me to see them all again. Godfrey is still doing financing and valuing business and otherwise advises and assists his son-in-law with whom he stays. During my stay at Colac one of Florence’s daughters was married to a Tasmanian, a man of good connections and will be well off. He is engaged as Paymaster to the Mt Lyell mines of which young Mervyn Murray (Florence’s eldest son) is Mines Manager. This young man has got on in a marvellous way and has a salary equal to about £1000 a year.
I am very sorry indeed that you are so unwell but trust it is not so serious as you imagine it is. A man who has lived the quiet and steady life you have lived should attain a greater age than you are at present. It is 15 years since I took a trip away from home and I found a great difficulty in Setting away from my business in town, having to get leave of absence and I expect it will be some time before I manage to get away again. As far as going up to see you, if you are as ill as you say you are and naturally changed I should prefer to remember you as I saw you last. I always have thought it a great mistake to go and see the last of one whom we see but seldom, thinking it better not to disturb our last impressions when health reigned supreme.
I trust you will regain your health and strength and live yet longer to do the good amongst your fellowmen you have been doing for so long.
I am
Yours sincerely,
Regd. Blunden
Borongarook
August 26th 1918.
My Dear George,
I was much pleased to receive a letter from your daughter Florence just a few days ago. I have quite lost sight of you as I unfortunately lost your address and was wondering how I could hear of you and yours.
And now Florence tells me of the sad trouble that has come to you in the death of your dear son Harold. I am indeed grieved for you and your wife. It must have been a dreadful shock to you both. The world seems very full of trouble just now. So many homes have been made desolate thro this cruel war. You must be proud of your brave sons at the front and your returned bay will, I am sure, be a great comfort to you. The New Zealand soldiers are considered much of and worthy of all praise. Poor Reginald’s boy ‘Len’ was killed as I think you know. I am glad to think his poor mother did not live to know it’. Florence tells me you are not too well. I am sorry to hear this. It is sad when we get old we should have to suffer, just as we should be having a good time as a recompense for all the ups and downs of life. I am fairly well except for some rheumatism which worries me on cold days and we have had a cold wet winter.
There are only three of us in the old home now. All the children are married but my youngest daughter who finds it lonely I fear. She is much occupied with war work which gives her an interest in life. Please give my love to Florence and say I shall reply to her letter later. My right hand is very rheumatic which makes it difficult to write. Thank her for her letter. Hoping you are all feeling better.
I am with kind love
Your affectionate sister
F.E. Murray
In 1880 John and Elizabeth were living at 1 Dorchester Place, a two storey terrace house in Rathdown Street, Carlton. John was then sixtysix years old and may have retired from active medical practice, but he still travelled to Strathbogie to deliver Alice’s fourth baby, Clarice Essie on 7 August, 1881. Essie was the last of Godfrey’s children to be delivered by his father, though Alice was to have two more babies.
In 1886 John and Elizabeth were living at 6 Victoria Terrace, Beaconsfield Parade, on the waterfront in South Melbourne. The building has since been demolished.
On 29 December, 1893 John died at the home of his son (Godfrey?) 3 Chatsworth Road, Prahran. The death certificate records “Cerebral Clot and paralysis of Face, 14 days.” He was seventy-nine years old and was buried at the St Kilda cemetery. Eighteen months later, on 16 July, 1895 Elizabeth died at Osborn House, Nicholson Street, Fitzroy. Her death certificate records “Congestion of the lungs, five weeks.” She was seventy-six years old and was also buried in the St Kilda cemetery. Their granddaughter, Aunt Essie told me that John and Elizabeth spent their last years in a suite of rooms in Osborn House. It was an elegant apartment house built opposite the Exhibition Gardens and is still standing in 1980.
When I asked Aunt Essie if she had any of Elizabeth’s jewellery she told me that all the jewellery had been buried with Elizabeth “because she had loved it so much.” Naturally I was shocked. Alvie, Essie’s sister was there that day and she said “All I know is that I didn’t get any.”
The Melbourne Probate Office has no record of a will left by either John or Elizabeth. We know that George Blunden of New Zealand would have received a bequest from his grandmother, Ann Cortis Blunden, on the death of his father, John. Lucy says it was small. But it would appear that John had money other than that left him in trust by his mother. In 1955 Ralph’s son, Reg wrote to his cousin in New Zealand, Florence Blunden Collins. Reg writes:
“When Dr Blunden died he left my father (Ralph) and Godfrey £700 each (the same amount going to the other children) and they invested it in a sheep property. But after five years they had to walk off the place, failing to meet with success for reasons unknown to me... My father was in business as an Agent in Melbourne and lost everything when the banks failed.”
John died in December, 1893 and that was the year that the banks failed. I think it probable that the £700 gifts were made to his children quite a few years before he died.
As George did not figure in this handout it is very likely that Elizabeth contributed substantially to the gifts.
Elizabeth benefitted greatly on the death of her father, Andrew Nance 2, when he died in 1853. Both she and her sister Ellen Langdon were left an income for life, the interest on a “legacy” of £3,000 in both cases. And, in equal shares, they inherited the “rent and profit” from property attached to the wharf at the Point at Portsmouth. This property they held in trust for their children or their children’s heirs. See Andrew Nance’s will, Appendix 4. When Elizabeth died her estate would have been settled by the executors of her father’s will in England.
Aunt Essie told me that Elizabeth’s inheritance was £25,000, “£5,000 for each of her five children.” Godfrey invested his money in land at Warburton and went there to live with Essie, his daughter and her husband, George Thompson.
The people who knew John and Elizabeth have spoken of them with affection and admiration. After researching their lives I share that feeling. They lived arduously, but seem to have had remarkable health. During the time they spent at Concongella Elizabeth bore and raised her children under primitive conditions. They were all educated — by a tutor or Elizabeth, we do not know. Godfrey was at Ballarat Grammar School when he was fifteen, and almost certainly the other boys were there too. Godfrey then finished his schooling at Geelong Grammar.
John and Elizabeth were fortunate in that the violent deaths of their three sons and a daughter-in-law did not occur during their lifetimes. John’s dream of becoming a rich pastoralist was defeated by drought, fire, flood and the goldrush, but he was able to use his natural talent for medicine and become, as Vera Hudspeth put it, a country doctor.
When I met Viva Whelan we talked only of John and Elizabeth Blunden, her grandparents. Viva had died before I was ready to talk to her about her father, Ralph. Her daughter, Glen Wormald lived with her grandmother for most of her first fourteen years and she has talked to me about her grandparents.
“When they married at the Carlton Registry, 19 May, 1884 Grandfather was thirty-eight, but he gave his age as thirty. His name was Ralph James but he signed himself Ralph Clare Blunden. Grandmother’s name was Fanny Drew but she signed it as Frances Etty Drew. She was seventeen years old. (It is funny about the name Clare. They called their first child Clare, and then my mother called her first child Clare. I found the correct name and age on Ralph’s death certificate).
“Ralph and Frances had five children — Clare Basedon, who died later in childbirth, Reginald Halstead, Geoffrey Arlington, Ray Osmond who died in infancy, and Viva Adrienne, my mother. Geoffrey was drowned in the Bunyip River when he was eight. Grandmother jumped in to try and save him and she would have drowned too except for a big straw hat she was wearing. It kept bobbing up and a man pulled her out.
“Ralph and his brother Godfrey went into business together as Commission Agents. Then, during the nineties the banks closed and they went broke. Ralph sold up everything, trying to clear his debts then brought. the family to Longwarry. He was a railway clerk there.
“Every Saturday night he went into town to play the piano for the local dance. He was coming home one night after the dance, walking along the railway tracks when a train ran over him. He was killed instantly. That was 23 June, 1896.
“His mother, Elizabeth Blunden had died the year before and he was expecting to get some money. But he didn’t get any. Godfrey bought the land in Warburton with his money. I knew my grandmother very well. We called her Nana Blunden. I was fourteen when she died. She told me that they were as poor as church mice. She thought they should have a share of Elizabeth’s money and tried to get a copy of the will. But she was unsuccessful.
“After my grandfather died they were really desperate for money. I believe that Nana answered an advertisement in the paper for a job as housekeeper in New Zealand. On the ship going over she met a man and told him what she was doing. He said she was very brave and if she ever needed help to write to him in Sydney. Anyway, when she got to New Zealand her new employer met her and the children. They had to go up a river in a row boat and it was evidently a dreadful place. The man was a terrible person. He had two sons. The younger boy, Jackity, about eight years old was mad. He was dreadfully destructive. The other son was about twenty years old and he was nice. He used to help all he could but he was frightened of his father. Nana wrote to the man in Sydney and the older boy posted it for her. She asked if he would send their fare back to Sydney. It was about £10 in those days and this he did. But they had to stay on for quite a while as her employer would not take them down to the river. Finally the older boy took them to the port, wherever it was. Nana and the three children lived with the man in Sydney for quite some time.
“Nana had a friend, Maggie Ryan, who wasn’t married but had a little girl. She found it very hard to look after the child and work too, so Nana fostered the child. Her name was Marjorie and Nana had her until she married when she was seventeen. She was one of the family and we still keep in touch with her children. Marjorie is the little girl leaning against Nana’s knee in the family photo. I don’t think I ever heard the name of the man Nana lived with. He eventually went mad and died in an insane asylum in Sydney.
“Nana brought her family back to Melbourne and the first I remember of her was at Montrose where she had a job managing a guest house. My sister and I always stayed with her and my mother mostly did too. I think it must have been because my father was away a lot, working in timber mills in different places.
“After Montrose we moved to Elwood where Nana worked as housekeeper for Dr Moloney. We all lived with him and I can remember him quite well. He was known as the little doctor, was very dapper, waxed moustaches and always a flower in his buttonhole.
“After leaving there we went to Healesville where Nana ran a boarding house in Graceburn Valley Orchard. In those days about twenty men looked after the orchard, lived in another house and came in only for meals. We stayed there about six years. MY sister and I mostly lived with Nana in the boarding house. My father was working on the Maroondah Dam and he and Mother lived on the main road where the hospital is today. We would call in on our way home from school. My brother was born while they were living there.
“We moved back to Albert Park in 1930. Nana died in 1932 quite suddenly. She had been shopping the day before and had a heart attack or stroke. No one went to the funeral, not even my mother. Reg rode in the hearse, and I believe he was the only one there.”
Phil Blair, Ada’s granddaughter, died before I was ready to record some notes on Ada. Jim, Phil’s husband, has supplied me with the following information.
Ada married William Field Barnard at Geelong, 2 July, 1867. Phil understood that Field Barnard was an Oxford M.A. They had six children, Maurice, born 1868; Aubrey, 1870; Helen, 1873; Chandos, 1875; Gladys, 1877 and Muriel, Phil’s mother, 1881.
Jim writes:
“In the 1877 Directory