Redcoats in a red land

[Mossy]

Alright, a quick intro shall we? This tread is where i will be posting what i can find on the 40th regiment, primarily on their first tour in Australia in the 1820's. However, i hope this will also branch out into other units and time periods.

I'm hoping other people will also contribute here with whatever they have; be it about Australian colonial history in general, the Regiments' service in other colonies or wars, or information on a particular individual from the Regiment. Questions are very welcome also, as are thoughts or statements in general.

So, without much more ado, let's get into it shall we?

Sam.

[Mossy]

The 40th Regiment of Foot, the 'Excellers', were posted to Australia from 1823 until 1829. They were posted to the main areas of settlement in Tasmania (Called Van Deimans Land at the time) and Sydney.

Their main duties were guarding convicts, constructed fortifications, assisted police and provided other guard duties. They also took part in the 'Bathurst Emergency' of 1824 and likely several other low-key encounters with the Aboriginals.

[peter monahan]

Alright, a quick intro shall we? This tread is where i will be posting what i can find on the 40th regiment, primarily on their first tour in Australia in the 1820's. However, i hope this will also branch out into other units and time periods.

I'm hoping other people will also contribute here with whatever they have; be it about Australian colonial history in general, the Regiments' service in other colonies or wars, or information on a particular individual from the Regiment. Questions are very welcome also, as are thoughts or statements in general.

So, without much more ado, let's get into it shall we?

Sam.

Good on ya, Sam! Look forward to reading your posts.

Peter

[Ed_Haynes]

Thanks for the thread, Sam! As you know it is an area where I have an interest and know NOTHING. More more more.

As eye-candy:

Private John Maxham, H. M. 40th Regiment

1- Candahar, Ghuznee, Cabul - Private John Maxham H. M. 40th Regt.

2- Maharajpoor Star - Private John Maxham H. M. 40th Regt.

"Paperwork" in hand. Full Diana Birch research job from the 1970s.

In summary:

Born Hansted, Suffolk, about 1807. A labourer, he enlisted in the 40th Regiment of Foot at Cochester on 21 November 1825, aged 18 years. He served 19 years and 74 days, 16 8/12 years overseas:

New South Wales and Van Diemen?s Land ? 1 year 11 months

East Indies ? 10 years 10 months

Scinde, Baluchistan, Afghanistan ? 3 years 11 months

Shown as qualified for both medals. No courts martial and conduct shown as ?good?. Discharged 1 February 1845 on account of health, he signed with an ?X?.

See also: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2400&st=56

[Mossy]

Thanks guys! It might be a bit slow at times, but i think alot of it should be reasonably unknown to most.

I myself have only recently begun to learn about this part of our history, so it's new to me as well!

Ed, i don't suppose you would be able to tell us the exact dates of Pte. Maxham's service in Australia as it might help narrow down his location and duties.

I'll be posting a large article on the Bathurst Emergency of 1824 in a bit, it's long but interesting. Because information of this campaign is scarce, i've copied it directly from the sources (there's 2) and left it unaltered in order to avoid any 'mis-translations' on my part.

Sam.

Edited December 5, 2006 by Mossy

[Mossy]

Bathurst Emergency, a series of engagements between September and November 1824 which marked the final phase of resistance by Wiradjuri Aborigines to British settlement of New South Wales west of the Blue Mountains. An escalating series of clashes beginning in 1822, led by Wiradjuri leader Windradyne (or ?Saturday? as he was called by whites), caused the governor, Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane, to proclaim martial law ?West of Mount York? on 14 August 1824. A further 43 troops of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment were sent to Bathurst, brining to 75 the strength of the garrison there under Major James Morisset. In addition, a paramilitary force of 50-100 men was raised from among local settlers.

Few details of the military campaign which followed are known with certainty. Although the episode is often called the ?Battle of Bathurst?, it was neither a single action nor focused exclusively in the immediate vicinity of the present-day city of that name. Grassby and Hill maintain that events began on 10 September with a clash about 80 kilometres north-west of Bathurst, between a 30-40-strong Wiradjuri war-party and three station hands who were tracking cattle that the Aborigines had driven from the Cudgegong River area. The next morning the whites stumbled upon the war-party?s camp about 32 kilometres north of Bathurst - fortunately emptied of its occupants, who were burying three warriors killed the day before. Finding the camp laden with weapons, the station hands buried the greater part of this cache before the tribesmen returned. Opposed now by largely defenceless Aborigines, the whites shot down sixteen of their opponents ? including one of the Wiradjuri leaders nicknamed Blucher, after the Prussian commander at Waterloo ? and forced the remainder to retreat with many wounded. In one stroke a major war-party had been eliminated.

Following on this success, a week later the garrison at Bathurst itself took to the field in four ?flying? columns. The largest of these led by Morisset advanced north, while another moved west and two others headed east. Over the next fortnight a giant sweep was carried out across a radius up to 160 kilometres from Bathurst, covering as far east as Mount York and as far north as the Capertee district and Cudgegong River. The success of this operation was unarguable. By mid-October, the first Wiradjuri had begun to surrender; by 3 November Governor Brisbane was able to report that ?hostile Natives were hourly coming in and sue for peace and protection?.

Brisbane, evidently concerned to justify to London such an extreme measure as the resort to martial law, later admitted that the number of Aborigines who were killed in achieving his desired outcome ?can only be gathered from conjecture?, but claimed that in all probability the figure was not much more than double the seven Europeans who lost their lives. Aboriginal tradition, however, presents a different picture, suggesting that tactics of the utmost severity bordering on extermination were employed. Two incidents alone ? at Bell?s Falls Gorge, a few kilometres west of Sofala, and in another gorge near the headwaters of Clear Creek (east of Brucedale) ? allegedly resulted in the systematic shooting of hundreds of Wiradjuri men, women and children. Another incident amounting to a massacre reportedly occurred at a camp established mainly as a refuge for women and children.

Brisbane?s own description of the campaign?s aims and methods ? although superficially innocuous ? lends support to the worst interpretations of what happened. The governor reported that:

?the Detachment at Bathurst?[was] divided into various small parties, each headed by a Magistrate, and proceeded in different directions in towards the interior of the Country, and by previous arrangements were to form junctions at certain given points. This system of keeping these unfortunate People in a constant state of alarm soon brought them to a sense of their Duty?

The tactics are recognizably those of marshalling terrorized Aborigines into areas where they could be attacked. It need scarcely be added that the presence of magistrates did no more than preserve the quasi-legal nature of proceedings, since at least one of these functionaries was a retired army officer anyway and another was Morisset himself, the very man authorised to employ ?the Use of Arms?beyond the ordinary Rule of Law in Time of Peace?[including] Resort to summary Justice?.

While a ruthless policy of extermination undoubtedly brought results, curiously Windradyne himself remained at large for several months after the terror began. Not even the offering on 25 August of a reward of a land grant of 500 acres (202 hectares) for his apprehension did anything towards inducing his hapless fellow tribesmen to betray him. Windradyne decided himself when resistance was useless and submitted personally to Brisbane at Parramatta on 28 November, described by some as a broken and defeated leader. On 11 December Brisbane formally repealed his martial law measures.

Historical records of Australia, Series I, vol. 11 (1917), Sydney: Commonwealth Parliament Library Committee; Al Grassby & Marji Hill (1988) Six Australian Battlefields, Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

Article from ?Where Australians Fought: The encyclopedia of Australia?s battles?

Written by Chris Coulthard-Clark, Published 1998 by Allen & Unwin.

[Mossy]

14 August: To suppress the conflict between Aboriginal and European populations, Brisbane proclaimed martial law west of the Blue Mountains. The detachment at Bathurst was strengthened to 75 men and local magistrates rode with soldiers in pursuit of the Aborigines. The ?most warlike chieftain? was taken to Sydney to receive a pardon from the governor and many of his ?tribe? attended the annual gathering of Aborigines held on 28 November. Martial Law ceased on 11 December.

Article from ?Australians: Events and Places?, part 8 of the ?Australians: A Historical Library? encyclopedia set. Executive editor S.G. Foster, Published 1987 by Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates.

[Mossy]

This is my first medal to a member of the 40th who had service down here in the colonies.

Name: Robert Stewart

Date of Enlistment: 1820.

Age at Enlistment: 14 years, 5 months.

Date of Discharge: 1845.

Rank at Discharge: Sergeant.

Period of Overseas Service: 20 years.

Period of Australian Colonial Duty: 11 years, 2 months.

I have copies of all his paper work here, but have just started properly looking through it. I'm guessing i'll find he was also up for a Maharajpoor Star as well, see the 'love taps' on the medal. Whether he was involved in the above mentioned campaign or not, i may not be able to tell (no rolls or lists) but matching up dates and locations may be the best i can do. If any one has other ideas, i would be glad to hear them.

As an aside, the hanger on the medal is rather decorative. Floral designs and a 'hand' (Yes, that's what it actually is!) gripping the medal. And who says British medals all look the same, eh?

Sam.

[Ed_Haynes]

This is my first medal to a member of the 40th who had service down here in the colonies.

Name: Robert Stewart

Date of Enlistment: 1820.

Age at Enlistment: 14 years, 5 months.

Date of Discharge: 1845.

Rank at Discharge: Sergeant.

Period of Overseas Service: 20 years.

Period of Australian Colonial Duty: 11 years, 2 months.

I have copies of all his paper work here, but have just started properly looking through it. I'm guessing i'll find he was also up for a Maharajpoor Star as well, see the 'love taps' on the medal. Whether he was involved in the above mentioned campaign or not, i may not be able to tell (no rolls or lists) but matching up dates and locations may be the best i can do. If any one has other ideas, i would be glad to hear them.

As an aside, the hanger on the medal is rather decorative. Floral designs and a 'hand' (Yes, that's what it actually is!) gripping the medal. And who says British medals all look the same, eh?

Sam.

Well, the medal is reverser (as is the ribbon), and it looks like it has had a hard life.

Nice one, though!

[Mossy]

Thanks Ed.

In my opinion, it looks like the (Hopefully temporarily) missing Star is the cause of most of the 'injuries', similar markings abound on the 1882 Egypt medals. The ribbon appears to be old, but not the original. Probably just a 'wardrobe-manfunction', but one i'll leave alone for now.

A person over at another forum i posted this medal at, noted he had seen other Afghan War medals with similar hangers. Consequently, i'm currently searching for an image of such a medal to see whether it was a isolated group, ie regimental or squad, or more widespread. Any ideas, people?

As i'm currently working my through Stewart's records at the moment, i'll be able to post more information on him shortly. Stay tuned...

Sam.

[Mossy]

And yet more snippets of information regarding the actions of the 40th...All sourced from this fantastic site: http://www.militarybadges.info/brits/category/02-units.htm

While the Mounted Police enabled the colonial government to deal with, if not control, bushranging, its formation was sometimes detrimental to the regiments serving in New South Wales. If colonels allowed reliable men to be transferred to the force the their regiments' discipline often suffered. If they sent bad soldiers the policing of the colony was jeopardised. This added to the strains on the troops, for during the 1820s the garrison's responsibilities were widened to include a number of outstations.

The colony was not only growing from Sydney and across the mountains but distant settlements were established along the Australian coast, and responsibility for their security fell to the army. Men detached to garrison these isolated stations were entered on the regimental rolls as being 'on command' ' Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay were settled as penal stations in 1822 and 1824. In 1825 Norfolk Island, abandoned since 1813, was reoccupied, also as a penal settlement, by Captain Robert Turton and 33 men of the 40th.

In May, 1826, Captain Peter Bishop, a lieutenant and 30 men of the 40th marched about the almost unexplored southern highlands for a month. After travelling for several hundred kilometres, having seen virtually no hostile Aborigines, Bishop's party returned to Sydney. The Sydney Gazette sarcastically pointed out that his expedition was the only one known to have returned without spilling blood. Darling, however, chose to believe that the 'prompt and unexpected appearance of the had some effect' in convincing Aborigines that resistance was futile.

In 1829 officers of the 40th enquired into the hardships which their men endured while serving against the Aborigines. Sergeant Armstrong testified that he had been part of a detachment stationed at Bothwell. Twenty of the 77 men under a Lieutenant Williams generally remained in the barracks, 32 were posted at small outstations and another 25 formed several 'roving parties'. The roving parties left Bothwell for patrols of up to three weeks, carrying what salt rations they could. After using up the meat, which would have frequently gone bad in summer, they relied on settlers for provisions, often receiving poor rations in return for government receipts.

The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment saw more action in Australia than any other regiment. It served in Van Diemen's Land during the Black war from 1824 and returned for a second tour from 1852 to 1860.

'Roving patrols' from Bothwell, undertaken to locate and attack Tasmanian Aborigines, were exhausting. Armstrong testified that they were 'very frequently lost in the Bush for 3 or 4 days together. The parties, usually comprising three or four men under a corporal, rose before daylight to march through thick scrub or forest.

Sergeant Armstrong claimed that 'the stoutest men of the Regt were frequently knocked up on these fatiguing marches'.

He wears the white duck trousers issued between October and May during the southern summer. Due to an oversight the men of the 40th serving in the bush at this time were without haversacks, and Armstrong carries his ration in a cloth bag slung from his cross-belt.

Sergeant 40th Regiment of Foot, 1829

Image by Lindsay Cox

Edited February 14, 2007 by Mossy

[Ed_Haynes]

Marvelous information, Sam. Thank you, mate!!

[Mossy]

And more:

Originally known as Great Swanport, Swansea is a quiet paced town of 600 located on the northwest shore of Great Oyster Bay and is ideally placed midway - approximately 135 kms (85 miles) - from both Hobart and Launceston.

The area was settled by Europeans in the early 1820's and included a convict station at Rocky Hills of some 400 prisoners. A small contingent of the 40th Regiment Of Foot under the command of Captain George Hibbert was also garrisoned at Waterloo Point. The town remained under military control until the Glamorgan Municipality, the first rural municipality in Australia, was established in 1860. It eventually became the primary service centre on the lower eastern coast of Tasmania and, in recent times, has proved to be a popular holiday destination

Numerous sailors passed through the bay over the next twenty years but it wasn't until the 1820s that Europeans settled in the district. In 1821 there were three families in the area. It wasn't until 1827 that any sort of substantial community was established in the area. It was in that year that Captain George Hibbert of the 40th Foot Regiment established a military outpost at Waterloo Point (near the present site of the Swansea Golf Club). It was a typical military post with accommodation for the soldiers, a guard house and a commissariat. By 1852 it had hardly developed. One observer wrote that it was little more than 'One struggling street, its chief feature a long wooden pier, erected by the inhabitants with government aid, the white cottage of an English clergyman on the point to the south ... and a few whitewashed buildings.' None of these buildings now remains.

1826

July 10: Captain Bishop of the 40th Regiment receives instructions to go to Illawarra to protect settlers from bushrangers, apprehend escaped convicts, and stop the illegal cedar trade and general lawlessness. A stockade is set up at David Allan's farm, Red Point, with 30 soldiers. Victualled by C.T. Smith. It is unclear why Red Point was chosen - prominent geographical feature? Evidence of bushrangers around this time is contained in Alexander Harris's Settlers and Convicts and the story of the Geraghty brothers.

*[Augustus Earle watercolour, May 1827]

If only we could get our hands on some kind of roll detailing who was where whilst on tour in the colonies. Then we could a much clearer picture of what the individual soldiers were doing. Sigh, almost impossible really. Probably due to the fact the British regiments who served here had such a distaste for their duties here.

Sam.

[rosalie]

My GG Uncle was Lt. William Williams of the 40th. He was awarded his father's vacant cornetcy in the 11th Light Dragoons following his father's rather heroic death at Salamanca in 1812, William was 12 years old. He was attached to the 57th then to the 40th when they went to Tasmania. He was Police Magistrate in Bothwell and he and a small band of his men chased Matthew Brady, an escapted convict/bushranger, into the path of John Batman. William is said to have shot Brady in the knee making his capture a little easier.

He married Jane Reid daughter of Alexander Reid of Ratho, Bothwell then his regiment was sent to India. He was a Brevet Captain in India but the cost of living there was so exhorbitant he couldn't get ahead so he began learning Hindustani to work as a translater which would give him more income. In Nov 1834 he died, probably of cholera, just before returning to Tasmania and was buried in Colabah Cemetery. I have never been able to locate this cemetery. I have copies of a few letters written by him to Gov. Arthur about a pound in Bothwell and there is some information in Matthew Brady by Calder.

And yet more snippets of information regarding the actions of the 40th...All sourced from this fantastic site: http://www.militarybadges.info/brits/category/02-units.htm

While the Mounted Police enabled the colonial government to deal with, if not control, bushranging, its formation was sometimes detrimental to the regiments serving in New South Wales. If colonels allowed reliable men to be transferred to the force the their regiments' discipline often suffered. If they sent bad soldiers the policing of the colony was jeopardised. This added to the strains on the troops, for during the 1820s the garrison's responsibilities were widened to include a number of outstations.

The colony was not only growing from Sydney and across the mountains but distant settlements were established along the Australian coast, and responsibility for their security fell to the army. Men detached to garrison these isolated stations were entered on the regimental rolls as being 'on command' ' Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay were settled as penal stations in 1822 and 1824. In 1825 Norfolk Island, abandoned since 1813, was reoccupied, also as a penal settlement, by Captain Robert Turton and 33 men of the 40th.

In May, 1826, Captain Peter Bishop, a lieutenant and 30 men of the 40th marched about the almost unexplored southern highlands for a month. After travelling for several hundred kilometres, having seen virtually no hostile Aborigines, Bishop's party returned to Sydney. The Sydney Gazette sarcastically pointed out that his expedition was the only one known to have returned without spilling blood. Darling, however, chose to believe that the 'prompt and unexpected appearance of the had some effect' in convincing Aborigines that resistance was futile.

In 1829 officers of the 40th enquired into the hardships which their men endured while serving against the Aborigines. Sergeant Armstrong testified that he had been part of a detachment stationed at Bothwell. Twenty of the 77 men under a Lieutenant Williams generally remained in the barracks, 32 were posted at small outstations and another 25 formed several 'roving parties'. The roving parties left Bothwell for patrols of up to three weeks, carrying what salt rations they could. After using up the meat, which would have frequently gone bad in summer, they relied on settlers for provisions, often receiving poor rations in return for government receipts.

The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment saw more action in Australia than any other regiment. It served in Van Diemen's Land during the Black war from 1824 and returned for a second tour from 1852 to 1860.

'Roving patrols' from Bothwell, undertaken to locate and attack Tasmanian Aborigines, were exhausting. Armstrong testified that they were 'very frequently lost in the Bush for 3 or 4 days together. The parties, usually comprising three or four men under a corporal, rose before daylight to march through thick scrub or forest.

Sergeant Armstrong claimed that 'the stoutest men of the Regt were frequently knocked up on these fatiguing marches'.

He wears the white duck trousers issued between October and May during the southern summer. Due to an oversight the men of the 40th serving in the bush at this time were without haversacks, and Armstrong carries his ration in a cloth bag slung from his cross-belt.

Sergeant 40th Regiment of Foot, 1829

Image by Lindsay Cox

[rosalie]

My GG Uncle was Lt. William Williams of the 40th. He was awarded his father's vacant cornetcy in the 11th Light Dragoons following his father's rather heroic death at Salamanca in 1812, William was 12 years old. He was attached to the 57th then to the 40th when they went to Tasmania. He was Police Magistrate in Bothwell and he and a small band of his men chased Matthew Brady, an escapted convict/bushranger, into the path of John Batman. William is said to have shot Brady in the knee making his capture a little easier.

He married Jane Reid daughter of Alexander Reid of Ratho, Bothwell then his regiment was sent to India. He was a Brevet Captain in India but the cost of living there was so exhorbitant he couldn't get ahead so he began learning Hindustani to work as a translater which would give him more income. In Nov 1834 he died, probably of cholera, just before returning to Tasmania and was buried in Colabah Cemetery. I have never been able to locate this cemetery. I have copies of a few letters written by him to Gov. Arthur about a pound in Bothwell and there is some information in Matthew Brady by Calder.

And yet more snippets of information regarding the actions of the 40th...All sourced from this fantastic site: http://www.militarybadges.info/brits/category/02-units.htm

While the Mounted Police enabled the colonial government to deal with, if not control, bushranging, its formation was sometimes detrimental to the regiments serving in New South Wales. If colonels allowed reliable men to be transferred to the force the their regiments' discipline often suffered. If they sent bad soldiers the policing of the colony was jeopardised. This added to the strains on the troops, for during the 1820s the garrison's responsibilities were widened to include a number of outstations.

The colony was not only growing from Sydney and across the mountains but distant settlements were established along the Australian coast, and responsibility for their security fell to the army. Men detached to garrison these isolated stations were entered on the regimental rolls as being 'on command' ' Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay were settled as penal stations in 1822 and 1824. In 1825 Norfolk Island, abandoned since 1813, was reoccupied, also as a penal settlement, by Captain Robert Turton and 33 men of the 40th.

In May, 1826, Captain Peter Bishop, a lieutenant and 30 men of the 40th marched about the almost unexplored southern highlands for a month. After travelling for several hundred kilometres, having seen virtually no hostile Aborigines, Bishop's party returned to Sydney. The Sydney Gazette sarcastically pointed out that his expedition was the only one known to have returned without spilling blood. Darling, however, chose to believe that the 'prompt and unexpected appearance of the had some effect' in convincing Aborigines that resistance was futile.

In 1829 officers of the 40th enquired into the hardships which their men endured while serving against the Aborigines. Sergeant Armstrong testified that he had been part of a detachment stationed at Bothwell. Twenty of the 77 men under a Lieutenant Williams generally remained in the barracks, 32 were posted at small outstations and another 25 formed several 'roving parties'. The roving parties left Bothwell for patrols of up to three weeks, carrying what salt rations they could. After using up the meat, which would have frequently gone bad in summer, they relied on settlers for provisions, often receiving poor rations in return for government receipts.

The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment saw more action in Australia than any other regiment. It served in Van Diemen's Land during the Black war from 1824 and returned for a second tour from 1852 to 1860.

'Roving patrols' from Bothwell, undertaken to locate and attack Tasmanian Aborigines, were exhausting. Armstrong testified that they were 'very frequently lost in the Bush for 3 or 4 days together. The parties, usually comprising three or four men under a corporal, rose before daylight to march through thick scrub or forest.

Sergeant Armstrong claimed that 'the stoutest men of the Regt were frequently knocked up on these fatiguing marches'.

He wears the white duck trousers issued between October and May during the southern summer. Due to an oversight the men of the 40th serving in the bush at this time were without haversacks, and Armstrong carries his ration in a cloth bag slung from his cross-belt.

Sergeant 40th Regiment of Foot, 1829

Image by Lindsay Cox

[Stuart Bates]

Here is a link to a site that lists all British regiments etc. who served in Australia - http://freepages.his...er1/tobegin.htm

Stuart

[Mervyn Mitton]

I'm going to settle down on one of my 'home' days and thoroughly enjoy reading this. When I was at Geelong , they concentrated on the explorations of Australia - many of our 'old boys' and their families had taken part in them and they had been pioneering families - however, the military history was not covered. Had my Father not stopped me going to Duntroon, I expect I would have known a lot more - but , it was not to be - so, I know this thread will be interesting. Thankyou.

[Kev in Deva]

From my reference notes:-

The 40th Regiment of Foot are shown at Galway and Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland in 1791.

and more interestingly in Castlebar, County Mayo in late 1854 - early 1855

from where they were removed in disgrace for rioting and attacking the local

Royal Irish Constabulary. (R.I.C.)

Kevin in Deva. :beer:

Edited September 1, 2009 by Kev in Deva

[Stuart Bates]

The old Regiments.org has the 1st Battalion 40th Foot in NSW and Van Diemen's Land 1823 - 1828.

It also has them back in NSW in 1852 - 1854.

The website that I gave the link to above (post #16) corroborates this.

Stuart

Edited September 1, 2009 by Stuart Bates

[Mervyn Mitton]

After 1881 they became the 1st Bn. South Lancashire Regt..

Mossy, great post and I'm pleased you brought it back - I've enjoyed reading it. Was also good to see posts from Ed haynes - what a pity he doesn't seem to contribute now - his knowledge is invaluable to specific collectors. I also thought the posts from Rosalie were very interesting - the family connection is incredible. Is Rosalie still a member - I haven't seen her name on other posts ?

What I wanted to say was - Thankyou.

[rosalie]

After 1881 they became the 1st Bn. South Lancashire Regt..

Mossy, great post and I'm pleased you brought it back - I've enjoyed reading it. Was also good to see posts from Ed haynes - what a pity he doesn't seem to contribute now - his knowledge is invaluable to specific collectors. I also thought the posts from Rosalie were very interesting - the family connection is incredible. Is Rosalie still a member - I haven't seen her name on other posts ?

What I wanted to say was - Thankyou.

Still a member, enjoying reading everyone's posts. William Williams was Police Magistrate in Bothwell I think he took over from Lt. Curtain, his constable P.W. Welsh went on to bigger and better things in Port Phillip. I have copies of various letters etc and there are some of his letters in the Clyde Company Papers Vol. 1. His sister was the first woman to profess her vows in Australia and arrived with 4 other nuns in Sydney, they were the first religious women here, Sisters of Charity who started St. Vincents, she was also one of the first three Sisters to Tasmania arriving in 1847 at St. Joseph's. His brother was a Port Phillip Pioneer, auctioneer Charles Williams from whom I descend.

William transferred or swapped from the 57th to the 40th. His Uncle (by marriage to his Aunt Mary Finn) William Phillips was paymaster with the 40th.

I have been to Bothwell, of course the original barracks are long gone but the building built later on Barrack Hill is still there and the current owners have left various drawings on the cell walls created by those who found themselves incarcerated there. There is a map of Bothwell drawn by William Williams in his attempt to get land for a pound.

It was William's intention to settle in Tasmania probably Bothwell but that of course was not to be, it was a hard life even for an officer.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Hi - Rosalie. So pleased to have a chance to 'talk' to you. All of this wonderful info. and you've been keeping it to yourself ? We need photos and even more detail - our Aussiee early history needs to be brought out more fully and this thread has been excellent. Look forward to seeing more from you - when I can arrange it, will show an early prison warder's staff from the Port Alfred Penal Colony in Tasmania. It is exceptionally rare and pre 1852 (?) when Van Dieman's Land became Tasmania.

[rosalie]

I agree with your comment about Aussie history, the true history is in the lives of these quite extraordinary people. I actually went to Hobart for the 150 year Anniversary of the Sisters of Charity and took the opportunity to visit Bothwell. William and his sister Eliza (the nun) were twins born in 1800 Kilkenny Ireland. All the Williams were interesting and had well recorded lives but Williams letters, especially those written from India give a great insight into what their lives were like and the difficulties they had. I am happy to share any information that might be useful, he does mention various people, some military some local Bothwell folk.