olly Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 LOL, Tasmania plays such a massive role in our history doesn't it Skani? Beautiful neck of the woods, imagine convicts being sent there - they must have got down on their hands and knees and thanked the heavens ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 LOL, Tasmania plays such a massive role in our history doesn't it Skani? Beautiful neck of the woods, imagine convicts being sent there - they must have got down on their hands and knees and thanked the heavens ! Although it must have been like being sent to the moon after months on a sailing ship :eek: There is evidence in some of the convict records that some deliberately committed crimes so that they could be sent out here to join family members - a type of free family reunion scheme! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Although it must have been like being sent to the moon after months on a sailing ship :eek: There is evidence in some of the convict records that some deliberately committed crimes so that they could be sent out here to join family members - a type of free family reunion scheme! Yes and some who came and were sent back later returned to live a free and purposeful life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Although it must have been like being sent to the moon after months on a sailing ship :eek: There is evidence in some of the convict records that some deliberately committed crimes so that they could be sent out here to join family members - a type of free family reunion scheme! Just think, commit a heinous crime, i.e. steal an orange:laugh:and get a free boat trip to paradise:jiggy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Just think, commit a heinous crime, i.e. steal an orange:laugh:and get a free boat trip to paradise:jiggy: And maybe 300 lashes!:mad: Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Yes and some who came and were sent back later returned to live a free and purposeful life. Some also stayed here and did very well - behaved themselves, finished their sentences, were given a grant of land and allowed to employ other convicts as free labour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 And maybe 300 lashes!:mad: Cheers, Bobj. Yes, you would have had to have been tough - and desperate. :wideeyed: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Some also stayed here and did very well - behaved themselves, finished their sentences, were given a grant of land and allowed to employ other convicts as free labour. Yes sorry that's what I meant when I said they were sent back (to UK) and eventually returned (to Aus) to live great lives and help to build the country - this is something not often associated with the convicts who returned - they made a contribution to Australia and especially many of the women. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Been enjoying this series on abc iview about the battles between the early governors and land owners of australia including captain bligh of bounty fame: http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/348484 Episode 1 and 2 available at time of posting this - just choose from the selector towards the right after clicking the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 It's hard to know how many returned to Britain. Many had it as a condition of their sentence that they weren't allowed to. Some adopted a new name to cover their convict tracks or worked their passage back as ships crew - by very circuitous routes. Many were just so much better off here - given opportunities here they would never have had because of the rigid class system at that time in Britain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Yes sorry that's what I meant when I said they were sent back (to UK) and eventually returned (to Aus) to live great lives and help to build the country - this is something not often associated with the convicts who returned - they made a contribution to Australia and especially many of the women. Very much so, olly. These pioneering women were the salt of the earth, living in slab/bark huts that had brown paper for a bit of pravacy, hessian bags across the doorway for a bit more privacy and antbed floors. They made most of their own candles, rendering the tallow, making their menfolk's garments whilst working alongside the men, helping to clear the bush for that all important first crop. Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Very much so, olly. These pioneering women were the salt of the earth, living in slab/bark huts that had brown paper for a bit of pravacy, hessian bags across the doorway for a bit more privacy and antbed floors. They made most of their own candles, rendering the tallow, making their menfolk's garments whilst working alongside the men, helping to clear the bush for that all important first crop. Cheers, Bobj. And all that while often having 5 or 20 kids to look after as well ! There is a book called "NO PLACE FOR A NERVOUS LADY - VOICES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN BUSH" By Lucy Frost which is a good indicator of what some of the pioneering women were thinking. There are letters back 'home' in which they voice their feelings about how things were in the Aussie bush and their acquaintance with the local aborigines etc. Very fascinating reading. Here is a passage which is interesting written by one woman living in northern Victoria: "I am perhaps putting things in their worst light, but Home (England) ideas of this Country are very false. The greatest amusement we have is riding, but even too much of that becomes monotonous, with no object in view. As to the scenery, there is none. It is certainly the ugliest country I have ever seen, reminding one of the north of France.......the soil is bad and the heat and hot winds dry up everything. All I can say is that I do not like Australia and would rather be in England, or on the continent with 50 pounds than here...." Sound familiar anyone? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Here is a passage which is interesting written by one woman living in northern Victoria: "I am perhaps putting things in their worst light, but Home (England) ideas of this Country are very false. The greatest amusement we have is riding, but even too much of that becomes monotonous, with no object in view. As to the scenery, there is none. It is certainly the ugliest country I have ever seen, reminding one of the north of France.......the soil is bad and the heat and hot winds dry up everything. All I can say is that I do not like Australia and would rather be in England, or on the continent with 50 pounds than here...." Sound familiar anyone? LOL They didn't like Australia and they didn't like France - typical Poms! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olly Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Not sure though if I can believe that any part of France in those days even remotely looked like Australia:laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Very much so, olly. These pioneering women were the salt of the earth...Cheers, Bobj. Even to get here must have been a test of endurance. I had 4 sets of great great grandparents who came out here around 1850 from England and all had children with them. One family had 6 children including a 2 year old and the voyage took 5 months - longer than the average. I try to imagine 5 months on a sailing ship with a 2 year old :arghh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest16631 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 ...................loved Maryborough...................so much history................met Mary Poppins...............[the creator Pamela Travers was born here.......!].................and it was the destination of many ships......and the town has many beautiful colonial buildings and queenslander houses.................[ATTACH]3522[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3523[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3524[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3525[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3526[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest16631 Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 [attach]3527[/attach] [attach]3528[/attach] [attach]3529[/attach] [attach]3530[/attach] [attach]3531[/attach] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyyu Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 off topic, just watched a doco on willie the conc 1066 . when he took over from harold he took half of England for himself and the other half was divided among 190 nobles and to this day thier descendants still own twenty percent of England.[its a fair chunk] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I love reading about ghost towns and there seems to be absolutely loads in the US. Are there any in Oz that are still partially standing (as opposed to just a sign saying that a town was once here)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I love reading about ghost towns and there seems to be absolutely loads in the US. Are there any in Oz that are still partially standing (as opposed to just a sign saying that a town was once here)? G'day mate, not in the same league as the US ones, but nevertheless, ghost towns. http://www.australiaforeveryone.com.au/places_towns_gh.htm Been to a few, Silverton in NSW, Witenoom and Cossack in WA, Mary Kathleen in Qld, there are only the concrete slabs remaining, Rum Jungle and Moline in the NT. Incidentally, Moline was "put in mothballs" just after I went there in 1964. The then manager showed me a lump of pitchblende and stuck a geiger counter on it...Moline won the (then) largest lump of pitchblende in the world, it was, from memory, 1608 lbs. Uraninite is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2, but also contains UO3 and oxides of lead, thorium, and rare earth elements. It is most commonly known as pitchblende (from pitch, because of its black color, and blende, a term used by German miners Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Just ordered a copy of 'Angor to Zillmanton' today, which tells the stories of 520 deserted towns and mining camps in north Queensland. Should be a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 just stumbled across a good pdf ebook ,'North Queensland's Mining Heritage Trails' which can be downloaded @ http://203.8.128.204/heritage/documents/heritagemining_web.pdf hoping to grab a couple of days away next week and aim to visit a couple of the sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 off topic, just watched a doco on willie the conc 1066 . when he took over from harold he took half of England for himself and the other half was divided among 190 nobles and to this day thier descendants still own twenty percent of England.[its a fair chunk] I don't know what happened to the chunk my ancestor acquired in The West Country. The other 80 per cent is probably owned by the 'nouveau riche' aka Americans/Russian Oligarchs/Arab oil billionnaires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyyu Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 another piece of history that a lot of poms miss is Norfok island where most of the descendants of the mutiny on the bounty now live,you can hear seventeenth century english spoken albeit with a smattering of tahiatian.part of NSW [maybe thats eighteenth century english] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus1 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Article on the ABC today @ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-23/aboriginal-dna-dates-australian-arrival/2913010 which dates the first exploration / migration to Australia by ancestors of today's Aboriginal Australian's to about 70,000 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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