Mary Sophia Axup chair of the WPL 1913

IN THEIR SHOES



March is Women's History Month.

The Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office for this year 2013 at Flickr has featured an album of Founding Women and a page on women's suffrage at the State Library of Tasmania.

MARY SOPHIA AXUP and the TWPL
Thomas Nevin's sister-in-law Mary Sophia Axup nee Day, chaired a meeting in 1913 of the Tasmanian Workers' Political League, the forerunner of the Australian Labor Party, seeking nominations for Labor candidates to stand for the seat of Bass in the forthcoming Federal election:



The Mercury 22 August 1913

TRANSCRIPT

Bass Divisional Council of the T.W.P.L. [Tasmanian Workers' Political League] met last week at the A.W.C. office, Launceston, Mrs Axup being in the chair. It was decided to invite nominations for Bass of those willing to stand in the Labour interests in the Federal campaign which may shortly be entered upon. The secretary Mr. J. Mooney was also instructed to advise all country branches to be in readiness for the campaign.

Mary Sophia Axup ca, 1940
Photo (detail) courtesy of © John Davis and Axup descendants 2007 ARR.

THE NEW LABOR 1913
If these women in army and police uniform one hundred years ago  had something to blow their bugles about, it certainly wasn't about plain sailing towards leadership in the Services, let alone leadership of the Labor Party, or - dared they even contemplate it - leadership of the Nation as Prime Minister and Governor-General.



Title:Two women in army and police uniforms ca. 1912
ADRI:PH30-1-4981
Source:Archives Office of Tasmania

Extract from The Companion to Tasmanian History

CLASS
... A different segment of the middle-class provided the most effective challenge to landed power in Tasmania. In the 1880s a new generation of politicians, mostly lawyers and businessmen hostile to notions of landed privilege and critical of what they (and earlier criticis) deemed class legislation, established a reformist political class that reshaped the political landscape and hence class relations in Tasmania by replacing landed power with parliamentary democracy and centralised executive power.

Class relations were further rewritten after the west coast mining industry was established in the early 1880s. A Trades and Labor Council was formed in 1883. The rise of unions was a challenge to capital, pointed to distinct class interests, and was a focal point for collective identities based on work. The movement for reform was aided by the devastating impact of the 1891 Depression. Disputes in the shipping, pastoral and mining industries dispelled the liberal belief that labour and capital had shared interests, hastened working-class organisation, and ushered in a period of class conflict. The Tasmanian Workers' Political League, the Tasmanian forerunner to the Australian Labor Party, was formed in 1901 and represented workers' interests at a political level....

Hector Axup's donation to the Boys' Home for a ship 1887

REFORMATORY SHIPS
The Vernon and Sobraon



Vernon (est. 1867) and Sobraon (est. 1892) in Sydney Harbor

Captain Hector Axup and the Boys' Home
Hector Axup was one of three master mariners in the family of photographer Thomas J. Nevin. Both men had married daughters of master mariner Captain James Day, namely, Elizabeth Rachel Day to Thomas J. Nevin in 1871, and Mary Sophia Day to Hector Axup in 1878. Their father James Day passed away at the Battery Point home of his son-law Hector Axup in 1882. Their uncle Captain Edward Goldsmith was master and commander of the Waterloo, Wave, Janet Izzat and notably the Rattler, great merchant ships bringing cargo and passengers to Hobart, retuning with wool, whale oil and gold from the 1830s to the 1850s.

In the same issue of the Hobart newspaper, the Mercury, October 10, 1887, in which the "old boys" of the Royal Scots had placed an affectionate obituary to Thomas Nevin's father John Nevin (1808-1887), Hector Axup was mentioned in the following article. His donation to the Boys' Home was enclosed in a letter expressing his regret that a training ship was not available. No doubt his wish was informed by knowledge of the Vernon, established in 1867 on Sydney Harbour as a reformatory industrial school for vagrant, destitute  or juvenile offenders, which provided boys with moral training, nautical and industrial training and instruction, and elementary schooling.



Hobart Mercury 11 October 1887

TRANSCRIPT

Boys' Home.-The monthly meeting of the governors of this institution was hold yesterday afternoon at the Stone Buildings, Macquarie-street. Mr. J. Macfarlane presided, the others present being :-Messrs. Alfred Dobson, B. Shaw, F. W. Mitchell, and F. Belstead. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. A Ietter was received from Mr. H. Axup enclosing a subscription towards the Home, and expressing his gratification at the healthy, happy, appearance presented by the boys at the recent annual meeting. He also favoured strongly bringing up the boys for a seafaring life, and regretted that they had not a training ship for the purpose. On the motion of Mr. Dobson it was decided that a letter of grateful acknowledgment should be sent to Mr. Axup for his donation and the kindly feelings he had expressed.

The Vernon 1867-1892





Powerhouse Museum
Title Photograph of Garden Island and reformatory ship "Vernon"
Published 1865-1875
Physical Description Albumen prints
319 mm x 263 mm
Manuscript annotation in ink on front of mount 'GARDEN ISLAND AND THE REFORMATORY SHIP VERNON, /GARDEN ISLAND, SYDNEY.' Manuscript annotation in pencil on reverse of mount 'Garden Island / &the "Vernon" /from Mrs Macquarie's Chair /Sydney Harbour /The "Vernon" is a Reformatory ship /for boys.'The ship "Vernon" was built in 1839. It was used as a reformatory ship 1867-1892



The Vernon
NSW State Records
Agency number: 411
Title: Nautical School-ship "Vernon" ( 1867-1892) / Nautical School-ship "Sobraon" (1892-1911)
Start date: 06 May 1867
End date: ? 31 Jul 1911
Category: Juvenile Justice Centre
Creation: Industrial Schools Act of 1866 [30 Victoria, Act No. 2, 1866]

"An Act for the relief of Destitute Children" [30 Victoria, Act No, 2, 1866] - the Industrial Schools Act of 1866- received assent on 12 September, 1866 and came into force on 1 January, 1867.(1) This Act authorised the Governor to proclaim "any ship or vessel or any building or place together with any yards, enclosures grounds or lands attached thereto to be a 'Public Industrial School' ". Any vagrant or destitute child under the age of sixteen could be directed by two Justices of the Peace to attend an Industrial School and to remain the responsibility of the Superintendent until the age of eighteen, unless apprenticed out or discharged. A child could be apprenticed out from twelve years of age but if twelve or over when admitted, was required to attend the School for a year before becoming apprenticed. Each child was to receive instruction in the religion of his family. The Superintendent was authorised to discipline any child who absconded from the School. Males and females were to attend different Institutions. Parents could be required to pay for the upkeep of their child while attending the Industrial School. (2)

On 25 January, 1867 the Colonial Secretary purchased the wooden sailing ship the "Vernon" and at a cost of more than eight and a half thousand pounds it was fitted up as an Industrial School. (3) The ship, moored in Sydney Harbour between the Government Domain and Garden Island was declared a Public Industrial School on 6 May, 1867. (4)

On 10 May, 1867 James Seton Veitch Mein was appointed Commander and Naval Instructor of the "Vernon" (5) and on 17 May, 1867 he was made Superintendent of the "Vernon". (6)

Admissions to the "Vernon" commenced on 20 May, 1867 (7) and by July, 1868 113 boys had been admitted, 14 of whom had been apprenticed out.(8) Boys as young as three were admitted to the Ship. "An Act to amend the Industrial Schools Act of 1866" [34 Victoria, Act No. 4, 1870] was assented to on 17 October, 1870. This Industrial Schools Act Amendment made provision for boys who were younger than seven when sent to an Industrial School to be placed in a Female Industrial School until the age of seven. (9) Subsequently, young boys admitted to the "Vernon" were cared for by the Biloela Public Industrial School for Girls on Cockatoo Island. On 28 February, 1878 there were nine boys at Biloela. (10)

On board the "Vernon", boys received a combination of moral training, nautical and industrial training and instruction, and elementary schooling. The curriculum was well-defined. (11)

From 1 April, 1878 Frederick William Neitenstein was appointed Superintendent of the Vernon, (12) establishing a system which rewarded good behaviour with privileges rather than by administering corporal punishment. (13) In 1878 trades teaching was abolished. (14) In 1880 the teaching of vocal music was introduced and a brass band was established. By 1881 the "Vernon" boys received an education in the same subjects as children received at any other Public School as prescribed by the Department of Public Instruction. (15) The School had its own gymnasium, a spacious recreation ground, an entertainment hall and a recreation hall on land. (16)

From its commencement, the "Vernon" served as both an Industrial School and a Reformatory. [Although legislation was passed in 1866 to authorise the establishment of reformatories no reformatory for boys was established until 1895]
After the passage of the State Children Relief Act, 1881 [44 Victoria, Act No. 24, 1881] the majority of destitute boys were boarded-out rather than being sent to industrial schools and those committed to the "Vernon" were increasingly boys with criminal charges. (17) By 1892 many had been transferred from charitable organisations (18)

Not until 1904 did the school have a sea-going tender, the HMS "Dart"- a steam and sailing schooner. (19) On 5 June 1906 the HMS "Dart" was proclaimed an Industrial School in accordance with provisions of the Neglected Children And Juvenile Offenders Act of 1905. (20)

On 8 November, 1892 the "Vernon" was replaced by the "Sobraon", which was treble the size of its predecessor. During 1893 it had an average number of 263 boys. (21)

The Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act of 1905 [Act No. 16, 1905] came into force on 1 October, 1905. As the probationary system it established was introduced, the number of children committed to industrial schools and reformatories declined. (22)

The numbers of children sent to the "Sobraon" quickly decreased. The enrolment for 1910 was 231, a 5% decrease on the enrolment for the previous year. These boys were discharged to their parents or guardians or apprenticed out and by the end of July, 1911 the remaining of the boys were set to the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys and the Brush Farm Home for Boys. The "Sobraon" was abandoned.(23)

FOOTNOTES
(1) New South Wales Government Gazette, Sydney, Government Printer, 1867 v. 1, p. 1
(2) Industrial Schools Act of 1866, [30 Victoria, Act No. 2, 1866]
(3) Ramsland, J. "Children of the Backlanes", New South Wales University Press, Sydney, 1986, pp. 116-118
(4) New South Wales Government Gazette, op. cit., 1867, v. 1, p. 1165
(5) Ibid, p.1165
(6) Ibid, p. 1207
(7) New South Wales Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 1881 v. 4, p. 995, NSS Vernon , Report for the year ended 30 June 1881
(8) NSW V & PLA 1868-1869, v. 3, p. 845, Report respecting the Nautical School-Ship "Vernon"
(9) Industrial Schools Act Amendment, of 1870 [34 Victoria, Act No. 4, 1870]
(10) NSW V & PLA 1877-1878, v. 2, p. 663 Report of Superintendent of Industrial School for Girls, Biloela for 1877
(11) Ramsland, J op. cit., p. 140
(12) NSW Government Gazette, 1878, v. 2, p. 1733
(13) NSW V& PLA 1881 v. 4, p.995 NSS Vernon, Report for the year ended 30 June 1881
(14) Ibid, 1878-1879 v. 3 p. 951 Report of Inspector of Public Charities, 1879
(15) Ibid, 1881 v. 4, p. 995 NSS Vernon, Report for the year ended 30 June 1881
(16) Ibid, 1883-1884 v. 6, p.747 NSS Vernon Report for the year ended 30 June 1883
(17) Ibid, 1883-1884 v. 6, p. 747 NSS Vernon Report for the year ended 30 June 1883
(18) Ibid , 1892-1893 v. 3, p. 1395 NSS Vernon Report for the year ended 30 April 1892
(19) New South Wales Parliamentary Papers 2nd session 1904 v. 2, p. 984 NSS Sobraon, Report for the year ended 30 April 1904
(20) New South Wales Government Gazette, 1906, v. 2, p. 3289 
(21) NSW PP 1893 v. 3, p. 707 NSS Vernon Report for the year ended 30 April 1893.
(22) Official Yearbook of New South Wales 1913 p. 554
(23) NSW PP 1910 v. 1, pp. 44-45 Report of the Minister of Public Instruction for 1910

State Library NSW
Naval Training Ship "Vernon" with cadets' washing hanging between masts - Sydney, NSW
Date of Work: c 1888
Call Number: At Work and Play - 04427



State Library NSW
Foot drill, HMNS Vernon
Date of Work: 1870 - 1879
Call Number: Government Printing Office 1 - 05165

The Sobraon 1892-1911



The Sobraon
NSW State Records Office
Ref: 4481 a 026 000001

Leichhardt Library Service
Summary
The nautical school ship, the Sobraon. The ships Vernon (est. 1867) and Sobraon (est. 1892) were Industrial Schools for Boys. Boys received a combination of moral training, nautical and industrial training and instruction, and elementary schooling. The ships were made use of this way as there were no separate boys' reformatory schools until 1895. The Vernon was docked at Cockatoo Island. The Sobraon, which replaced the Vernon in 1892, was used until 1911, when the remaining boys were set to the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys and the Brush Farm Home for Boys. The Industrial Schools Act of 1866 authorised the Governor to proclaim "any ship or vessel or any building or place together with any yards, enclosures grounds or lands attached thereto to be a 'Public Industrial School' ". Any vagrant or destitute child under the age of sixteen could be directed by two Justices of the Peace to attend an Industrial School and to remain the responsibility of the Superintendent until the age of eighteen, unless apprenticed out or discharged.

The Vernon 1839
National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK



The 'Vernon' and Other Vessels (HM Ships 'Edinburgh' and 'Blenheim')
by John Lynn
Date painted: 1839
Oil on canvas, 99 x 137.1 cm
Collection: National Maritime Museum
A painting showing the steam auxiliary 'Blackwall frigate' East Indiaman 'Vernon', 996 tons, broadside in the centre. She is shown on her maiden voyage under sail and steam, passing HM ships 'Edinburgh' and 'Blenheim' as they beat down Channel off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, on 21 September 1839.

The painting was subsequently reproduced as an aquatint with the bow only of a further ship on the extreme right. All the three named ships are flying the Blue Peter, as outward bound, and the 'Vernon' flies the Wigram & Green pre-1843 house flag at the main. There are fishing boats tending buoyed lines in the foreground and a cutter in the distance with Bembridge cliff on the horizon. The 'Vernon' was built by Richard Green in London in 1838 to 1839 and according to the aquatint inscription her steam paddle engine was of 30 hp. Her sisters were the 'Earl of Hardwick', which also began life with auxiliary paddles, and the 'Owen Glendower', which was designed with them but converted back to sail only before her first voyage. The paddles of both other ships were unsuccessful and also soon removed. Registered for the London to Madras run, 'Vernon' was sold in 1863 to 1864 and ended her days as a reformatory ship at Sydney. John Lynn was a London artist who specialised in ship portraits, seascapes, coastal views and landscapes. He often combined ship portraits with exotic coastline and ethnographic detailing. Another portrait in the Green Collection showing the Indiaman 'Prince of Wales' (BHC3560) is also probably by him. The present painting is signed and dated 1839.

National Maritime Museum Greenwich UK
Object ID BHC3686

Mutiny on the Vernon1863
NB: This is not Thomas Nevin's uncle-in-law, Captain Edward Goldsmith; it is Captain Lionel Campbell Goldsmid, now irrevocably associated with the Vernon Mutiny of 1863.

TRANSCRIPT

THE VERNON.
The Blackwall ship, Vernon, Captain [Lionel] Goldsmid, embarked 373 Government immigrants at Southampton, for Brisbane, on the 4th December, 1863, and on the 8th of the same month, she put to sea, but anchored at the Mother Bank off Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, owing to contrary winds. She lay there till the 13th of December, during which interval one of the seamen was lost overboard. She resumed her passage on that date, and had light variable winds and fine weather to the Line, which caused that portion of the run to occupy a longer time than usual. On the 2nd February, 1863, at 2 a.m., it was reported that some of the sailors were in the fore-hold broaching cargo, and making free with the spirits. Captain Goldsmid and Mr. Aldridge, the chief officer, went below and ordered them forward, and except that some of the men were very violent and threatening in their language, this attempt at mutiny passed off, and the men returned to their duty. At 10 o'clock on the same morning another attempt was made on the part of the crew to get into the hold, which was resisted by Captain Goldsmid and Mr. Aldridge, and some of the single passengers, who came to the assistance of the officers of the ship. As the sailors were all more or less excited by drink, they became very violent, and threatened to take the life of the chief officer, and some of them drew their sheath knives. Mr. Aldridge at this juncture went aft, and armed himself with a cutlass, with which he wounded two of the ringleaders, causing the mutineers to return to the forecastle. They still continued violent in their conduct, and threatened to fire the ship. From the time of this outbreak on the part of the crew, a guard of the single passengers, armed with cutlasses and pistols, was continually on duty on the poops and in the cabin, and the crew was not allowed on any pretence to go aft of the mainmast. The sailors said that they had been shown where to get the spirits by the second mate, and the present commander of the ship, Captain Aldridge informs us that from the subsequent conduct of that officer there is reason to believe they spoke the truth. The mutiny among the crew, and the incapacity of Captain Goldsmid, induced the surgeon-superintendent, Dr. James Sheridan Hughes, to direct that the vessel should put into Rio Janeiro, at which port she arrived on the 9th February. Here the mutineers, fifteen in number, were brought before a naval court held on board H.M.S. Egmont, and were sentenced to imprisonment in terms varying from three days to nine months. It may be mentioned, however, that although some of the men were sentenced to only three days confinement, yet, under the Brazilian law, they were not liberated until the ninth day, and those condemned to longer terms were in gaol a much longer time than the nominal sentence would seem to infer. The two wounded men and another who had interfered with some of the more violent mutineers on behalf of Mr. Aldridge, were sentenced to three days each, and the others to longer terms, according to their behaviour on board the Vernon.
As Captain Goldsmid had proved himself wholly unfit to hold the responsible position of master on board an immigrant ship, while on the passage from England to Rio Janeiro, the British Consul at the latter place removed him, and appointed Mr. Aldridge, the then chief officer to the command. The appointment seems to have been a very judicious one, and considering the very trying circumstances in which he was placed at the time, Captain Aldridge appears to have gained great credit for himself, by his conduct. While the Vernon was lying at Rio one of the sailors fell overboard and was drowned; this being the second loss from the crew by an accident of that kind. She sailed from Rio Janeiro on the 25th of February, and had a fair run of about thirty-two days to the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope. There she encountered a very heavy gale, during which she carried away the main topsail yard, an accident which protracted the passage very considerably, as it prevented the ship carrying as much sail as she would otherwise have done. From the Cape until after passing the southern portion of Tasmania, she experienced variable winds, and afterwards light north-westerly winds to Moreton Bay. She was off Cape Moreton on Tuesday the 10th May, but owing to light winds and calms she was carried away to the south by the coast current, and it was not until Thursday the 12th that she arrived in the bay. At 10.45 a.m. on that day, she was boarded by the pilot, and she anchored about three miles from the usual anchorage at sundown on the same night. Next morning she again got under weigh, and at one p.m. she brought up in her berth in the Brisbane Roads. On the following morning she was visited by Dr. Hobbs, who has courteously supplied us with the following information re- specting the passengers :
The Vernon was chartered by Her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners, and brings 373 government immigrants, comprising 152 single men, and 80 single women ; the remainder being married couples and their families. Notwithstanding the very lengthy passage through the detention at Rio Janeiro and other causes, there has been very little illness among the passengers, and the diseases which have been prevalent have been peculiar to children. There were eight deaths and five births.
Appended is a list of the births, giving the names of the mother and date of birth :-December 25th, Mary Barton, of a boy ; February 16th, Nancy Hall, of a girl ; 18th, Jane Cook, of a girl ; March 21th, Jessie Fisher, of a girl ; and 26th, Mary Rooney, of a girl. A list of the deaths is subjoined, giving the name, age, and date of death, and also the cause :-Sarah E. Hare, 1 year, of convulsions, on December 10 ; Robert House, 22, of disease of the heart, on December 23 ; Thomas Ryan; 40, of phthisis, on February 25 ;Ellen McMinimin, 8, of fever, on February 1 ; Harriet Rice, 1, of tabes mesenterica, on February l8 ; Alice M. Sibley, 1, of tabes mesenterica, on February 25 : Agnes Fisher, 8, of convulsions, on April 13 ; and James Quail, infant, of dentition, on May 4.

From The Brisbane Courier (Qld.), Monday 16 May 1864

Captain Lionel Goldsmid biographical notes

The Mercantile Navy List and Annual Appendage to the Commercial Code of Signals for all nations Ed J H Brown 2000 records Lionel Campbell Goldsmid Class examined OC; Date of Certificate 1854 and Examining Board Bristol. A List of New Patents Feb 5 1847 records Lionel Campbell Goldsmid of Rue Magador Paris - improvements in applying rudders to ships and other vessels. Lionel was a captain in the mercantile marine born Crickhowell South Wales abt 1820. He died July qtr 1913 Paddington London and was first married Oct qtr 1849 Marylebone 1 182. His first wife had already been married- she was Elizabeth Mackenzie who had married a Daniel. The 1851 Census ( Crown copyright, TNA) H0107 1491 589 66 shows Elizabeth at 55 St John's Wood Terrace Marylebone. Elizabeth GOLDSMID Married 29 authoress-fiction b Oxfordshire; Donald Daniel son 8 scholar b Jersey; Ellen daughter 6 b Jersey
The 1871 Census ( Crown copyright, TNA) RG10 2687 22 16 Ashfield-Holly Mill Villa Ross
Herefordshire records:
Campbell Goldsmid M 49 Captain in the Merchant Marine b Crickhowell S Wales; Elizabeth Goldsmid wife 49 authoress: fiction b Oxfordshire, Coombe; Ellen step daughter U 26 Independent b Jersey, St Saviours.
The family had also appeared in the 1861 Census at 3 Sussex Place G Church Lane Hammersmith .
Lionel appeared in the Queensland, Australia Passenger Lists 1848-1912 age 41 b abt 1822 Wales Port of Departure Southampton arrival Brisbane 12 July 1863 on the Ship ' Vernon'.
By 1880 Lionel had re- married following the death of Elizabeth ( Jan qtr 1878 Wandsworth London 1d 495 age 55) to Kate Crawcour nee Hart.

ADDENDA: Newspaper reports of The Vernon reformatory ship




RELATED ARTICLES main weblog

• Testimonial to Captain Edward Goldsmith 1849
• The Master Mariner in-laws: Captains Goldsmith, Day and Axup
• Mary Sophia Axup nee Day, sister-in-law
• Hector Charles Axup, brother-in-law

The Master Mariner In-laws: Captains Goldsmith, Day and Axup

CAPTAIN HECTOR AXUP
CAPTAIN JAMES DAY
CAPTAIN EDWARD GOLDSMITH



Hobart Town
Lithograph by Mayer, A. fl. 1841
Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office: Allport Library

Photographer Thomas J. Nevin's father-in-law on marriage in 1871 was Captain James Day (1806-1882), father of his wife Elizabeth Rachel Day (1847-1914). Her younger sister Mary Sophia Day (1853-1942) married Captain Hector Axup (1843-1927) in 1878. Thomas Nevin's wife Elizabeth Rachel Day was named after Captain James Day's sister, Elizabeth Day (1802-1875), who married master mariner Captain Edward Goldsmith (1804-1869) in 1829 at St George, Liverpool, England.

Captain Hector Axup (1843-1927)
In the week of Captain James Day's passing, his son-in-law, Captain Hector Axup and daughters Mary Sophia Axup and Elizabeth Rachel Nevin, placed this short obituary in the Hobart Mercury, 21st November 1882:



Death notice for Captain James Day, Mercury, 21st November 1882

TRANSCRIPT

DAY.- At his son-law's residence, H.C. Axup, Sloane-street, Battery Point, in the 78th year of his age, Captain James Day, for many years master mariner of this port, and brother-in-law of the late Captain Goldsmith.

Above: Captain Hector C. Axup ca. 1880s. Unattributed
Photo courtesy S. Baldwin 2007 ARR.

At the time of Captain James Day's death, Hector Axup was chief officer of the barque Natal Queen:



Mr. Axup of the Acacia and Natal Queen
The Mercury 11th December 1882

TRANSCRIPT

The barque Acacia has taken nearly half of her loading for Auckland, and will leave in a few days, for Spring Bay, where she will fill up with Okehampton stone. Mr. Axup, for a long while chief officer of the Acacia, has been appointed to a similar position in the barque Natal Queen. Mr. William Dart, who has been second mate of the Acacia for the last few years, succeeds Mr. Axup as mate.

The Acacia
Allen Green Collection
State Library Victoria



The Natal Queen ca. 1880
State Library of Tasmania Ref: PH30_1_5704



Above and below: the barque Natal Queen ca.1890
State Library of Tasmania
Built at Grangemouth in 1866 ; registered in Hobart 1873 ; wrecked in Adventure Bay 1909
Photographer: Williamson, William, 1861-1926
Ref: AUTAS001126071323; AUTAS001126071315



Captain Hector Charles Horatio Axup, who was for many years harbour pilot and leading tower assistant at George Town, Tasmania, married Captain James Day's younger daughter Mary Sophia Day (1853-1942) at the Wesleyan Chapel, Kangaroo Valley, Hobart, on 1st May 1878 where the family of Thomas J. Nevin resided. Captain James Day's elder daughter, Elizabeth Rachel Day (1847-1914), born in London and baptised at St. Mary Rotherhithe, Surrey with the first names of her aunt Elizabeth Goldsmith nee Day and her mother Rachael Day nee Pocock, married Thomas J. Nevin at the same chapel on 12th July 1871.

Captain James Day (1806-1882)
Captain Edward Goldsmith was a signatory witness to the marriage of his brother-in-law Captain James Day to Rachel Pocock (ca. 1812-1857) at St David's Church Hobart on January 6,1841:



St David's Hobarton
6th January 1841
James Day, 34yrs, Master Mariner
Rachel Pocock, 29 years, Spinster
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Uniting Church of England and Ireland, William Bedford, Senior Chaplain,
In the presence of Edward Goldsmith and Margaret Fuller

Below: this signature was written by the registrar for Edward Goldsmith on the marriage certificate of James Day and Rachael Pocock, 1841. See his actual signature on cargo documents here.



Captain James Day was born in Yorkshire (1806-1882), went to sea in 1819 at 13 yrs old, was First Mate on the Waterloo (1832) with Captain Goldsmith in command, and Master of the Highlander and the Lady Palmerston dating from 1853-55. He settled in Hobart in 1854 (Liverpool St) but his wife Rachael Pocock, mother of his two daughters Elizabeth Rachel (b.London 1847) and Mary Sophia Day (b. Hobart 1853), died of consumption in 1857. Captain James Day served as Chief Officer, Navigator and First Mate on whalers and merchant traders from the 1830s to his last years, including the Bombay (1830), the Orelia (1830), the Lion (1831), the Waterloo (1832), the Pryde (1850), the Panama (1850), the Swordfish (1852), the Star and the Electra (1868). According the obituary published on the death of his younger daughter Mary Sophia (Day) Axup (1853-1941), he owned his own vessel and traded locally within Australian waters in later years, residing with elder daughter Elizabeth Rachel (Day) Nevin and her husband photographer Thomas J. Nevin at their studio and residence, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart in 1874-5, and later with Mary Sophia at her house in Sloane Street, Battery Point, Hobart, where he died in 1882.
DEATH
Name: James Day
Death Age: 78
Birth Date: abt 1804
Death Date: 14 Nov 1882
Death Place: Hobart, Tasmania
Registration Date: 1882
Registration Place: Hobart, Australia
Registration Number: 491 Archives Office Tasmania



Electra: James Day, aged 60, Mate, 1868. Source: State Records Authority of New South Wales: Shipping Master's Office; Passengers Arriving 1855 - 1922; NRS13278, [X138-139] reel 436. Transcribed by Alice Norton. https://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/1868/04/media/058ele.gif

FIRST MATE JAMES DAY
Voyages 1829-1832

1829
Day J Carpenter
Georgiana 22 Aug 1829
Hobart Bombay
CUS33/1/1 p135

1830
After the wreck of the James which arrived at Swan River, Captain Goldsmith in command, James Day sailed as crew to Hobart on board the convict transport, the Bombay. His sister Elizabeth and her husband Captain Edward Goldsmith and their new-born son, Richard Sydney Goldsmith sailed with him as passengers.

Day James Seaman
Bombay 22 Aug 1830
Hobart Sydney
CUS33/1/1 p253

Day James Mr Chief Mate
Orelia 6 Oct 1830
Hobart Western Australia
CUS33/1/1 p266

1831
Day James Mr Chief Officer
Lion 24 Apr 1831
Hobart London
CUS33/1/1 p334

1832
On this voyage of the brig Waterloo, Captain Edward Goldsmith in command, his brother-in-law James Day was first mate.

James Day J 1st Mate
Waterloo 15 Aug 1832
Hobart Sydney
CUS33/1/1 p474





FULL LIST of CREW & PASSENGERS
Archives Office Tasmania
Waterloo, 1832; Edward Goldsmith master, James Day 1st mate
Arrivals Passengers 1833-35
stors.tas.gov.au/CUS30-1-1

In 1875 when Captain James Day re-applied in Hobart for his Master's Certificate of Service, he gave his son-in-law's photography studio address, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobarton, as his residence, the studio of Thomas and Elizabeth Nevin. Two documents giving these details are held at the State Library of Tasmania:



Captain James Day, Master, Certificate of Service and Testimonial
TAHO Card Index. Photos © KLW NFC 2013 ARR



The Lady Palmerston Captain James Day, master
TAHO Ref: PH301912 Beattie.

Captain Edward Goldsmith (1804-1869)
Elizabeth Goldsmith nee Day (1802-1875) - or "Mrs Captain Goldsmith" as she was known in Hobart - and her brother Captain James Day were both born in the city of York (Yorkshire, UK), but when Elizabeth Day married Captain Edward Goldsmith on 24th Jun 1829 at St George, Derby Square, Liverpool, Lancashire, she was registered as a "spinster of Liverpool" and he was registered as "Master Mariner Batchelor of Rotherhithe ". He was born at Chalk, Kent in 1804 but resided from an early age with his father Richard Goldsmith snr at his victualling houses, The China Hall and the Ship on Launch at Rotherhithe, Surrey, while undergoing training at East India House. He was in Liverpool in 1829 under contract to shipping agents in preparation for his command of the James to Western Australia (departed UK 29th December 1829).



Edward Goldsmith-Elizabeth Day marriage 24 June 1829
Source:Marriages at St George Derby Square in the City of Liverpool
Marriages recorded in the Register for the years 1813 - 1837
https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Liverpool/Liverpool-Central/stgeorge/marriages_1813-1837.html

Eldest son Richard Sydney Goldsmith was born on 19th May 1830 at the Swan River, Western Australia, ten days after their arrival on the James. They were stranded at Swan River when the James was wrecked by storms, so they proceeded to Hobart and Sydney where they christened Richard Sydney at St. Philips on 11th November 1830. Once back in London, they registered his birth and baptism again at St. Mary Rotherhithe where later, in 1847, Captain James Day and his wife Rachael Pocock would register the birth and baptism of their eldest daughter Elizabeth Rachel, Richard Goldsmith jnr's first cousin.



Richard Sydney Goldsmith christening record (1830-1854)
Source: NSW Registry of BDM

Richard Sydney Goldsmith died from fever aged 25 yrs on 15th August, 1854 at his father's house, 19 Davey-street, Hobart. He was a cashier at the Union Bank, Hobart, at the time of death.



Richard Sydney Goldsmith (1830-1854)
Obituary, The Courier Hobart 5 August 1854

Finally arriving in Sydney after the nightmarish experience of the voyage on the James to Swan River, W. A. in 1830, Captain Goldsmith, his wife and new-born son sailed for London on the Norval, Goldsmith in command. This notice appeared in the Sydney Gazette, 26 April 1831:



Departure of the Norval from Sydney for London,
Captain Goldsmith, master, with Mrs Goldsmith and child
Sydney Gazette, 26 April 1831.

TRANSCRIPT

Shipping Intelligence
DEPARTURES
For London, on Sunday last, the brig Norval, Captain Goldsmith, with a cargo of Colonial produce. Passengers, Mrs Goldsmith and child; and Mr. J. Wigley, and 2 children.

Mrs Elizabeth Goldsmith, sister of Captain James Day and wife of Captain Edward Goldsmith, sailed with her husband from London to the Australian colonies dating from the year of their marriage, 1829. She appears on several passenger lists, sometimes with children, sometimes alone, and usually with her husband at the helm. It also appears that she went shopping in London for fashions to be sent as cargo to the merchants of Hobart, viz. this shipment of bonnets in 1839:



The deference to women of status in 1830s Tasmania dictated that Captain Goldsmith's wife, Elizabeth Goldsmith nee Day, be spoken of only as "Mrs Captain Goldsmith", as John Johnson wrote in this advertisement for his sale of bonnets, The Mercury October 11, 1839:

TRANSCRIPT

BONNET
The undersigned has now ready for Sale, an assortment of Dunstable, Tuscan, and fancy Silk Bonnets
THE GIRL'S and LADIES' Silk Bonnets were selected under the immediate superintendence of Mrs. Captain Goldsmith, shortly before the Wave left England. A Guarantee of the latest and newest fashion! John Johnson, 59, Liverpool-street, Oct. 11, 1839.

The ladies of Hobart Town were wearing these styles ca. 1838



Creator: Bock, Thomas, 1793-1855
ADRI: AUTAS001124066499
ADRI: AUTAS001124066606
Source: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts



Note: DUNSTABLE BONNET, THE. English, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is unique to London publishers Charles and Samuel Thompson's 1765 country dance collection. The first straw bonnet was said to have been made in Dunstable, a market town in Bedfordshire, England, which in any case became associated in the 18th century with finely made straw bonnets. Source:https://tunearch.org/wiki/Dunstable_Bonnet_(The)Source for notated version:Printed sources: Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2), 1765; No. 157.

Captain Edward Goldsmith was a master mariner responsible for the conveyance of general cargo, luxury merchandise, colonial produce and passengers between London, Sydney and Hobart from the early 1830s until the mid 1850s, usually completing one voyage per year with an eight-month turnaround. He was a Director of the Hobart Town and Launceston Marine Insurance Company, established in 1836. With his agents Bilton and Meaburn he purchased land at Secheron Bay, Battery Point, Hobart to build a patent slip and dry dock. His closest friends in Hobart included Governor Sir John Franklin, merchant and shipping agent Thomas Chapman, and hop plantation pioneer William Sharland. The Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land admitted him as a member, and he was awarded a silver cup for his contributions to shipping in 1849. Captain Edward Goldsmith assisted in the funding of gold exploration in the island's north in the 1850s, and notably for Tasmanians, he was the builder of the twin vehicular steam ferry the SS Kangaroo in 1854, operating from land leased from the government at his patent slip and dock yard, known as Goldsmith's Yard, at the Queen's Domain in Hobart.



Directors of the Hobart Town and Launceston Marine Insurance Compnay
Askin Morrison. Edward Goldsmith. Henry Hopkins, Thomas Giblin, John Foster
Colonial Times, Hobart, 8th June 1855

Captain Goldsmith and the "SS Kangaroo"



This ferry carrying horse and carriage was most likely the vehicular ferry SS Kangaroo, an early photo , unattributed, held at the University of Tasmania Special Collections.



Captain C. HOOPER, 2nd Master of the Kangaroo
Item Number:PH30/1/4172
Start Date:01 Jan 1880
Source:Archives Office of Tasmania



At top: the photo of the Kangaroo was taken by James Chandler,whose aunt Martha Genge became Thomas Nevin's father John Nevin's second wife in 1879. Martha Genge's sister was Mary Chandler nee Genge, James Chandler's mother. See this entry for James Chandler's photo of his mother and aunt taken ca. 1920.



SS Kangaroo, ca. 1900 W. J. Little, Photo
TAHO Archives Tasmania
Refs: PH3015623

In this article published in the Mercury 23rd June 1882, the writer describes the plant for a patent slip imported and built with prison labour in the early 1850s by Captain Goldsmith: the intention was to build a reliable means of transport for passengers and horse-drawn vehicles between Hobart and Kangaroo Point (Bellerive):



Credit to Captain Goldsmith
Mercury, 23rd June 1882

To Captain Goldsmith, who came to the colonies in charge of one of the London traders, the credit of introducing patent slips into Hobart is due ...

The Kangaroo and Captain Goldsmith were mentioned again in this excerpt from the Shipping News, Launceston Examiner, 21 January 1886:



The Kangaroo built by Captain Goldsmith 1854
Launceston Examiner 21 January 1886

TRANSCRIPT

The twin steamer Kangaroo was built in the year 1854 under the immediate supervision of the late Governor Sir William Denison, R.E. by the late Captain Goldsmith, formerly of the London traders Waverley and John Izat, at the Imperial expenditure, regardless of cost....

More about (the late) Captain Goldsmith and the Kangaroo appeared in this article titled SHIPBUILDING IN TASMANIA, published in The Mercury 23 June 1882. Read the article here.



The Famous Twins or SS Kangaroo ca. 1900, built by Captain Edward Goldsmith 1855, for the Hobart-Bellerive service
Source: Pictorial Portrayal of Tasmania’s Past, Beatties Studios, Winnings Newsagency 2011.
Photo copyright © KLW NFC Imprint 2014

Captain Edward Goldsmith: Arrivals and Departures
The following records were sourced from Port Officers' Logs, eg. MB2/39/1/1 P443 held at the State Library Tasmania; from NSW State Records Office (Reels 1271/1272); and from newspaper Shipping notices. The information here is incomplete, and does not include voyages exclusively to Port Jackson, NSW, for example, voyages on the barque Parrock Hall, 1844-1845.

1829
Voyage to Western Australia on the James, shipwrecked days after arrival on 8th May 1830 in a storm at the Swan River. Elizabeth Goldsmith gave birth to their son Richard Sydney Goldsmith on the 20th May. A major investigation into the journey and wreck was conducted by the Colonial Office. Captain Goldsmith, his wife Elizabeth and new-born son left the Swan River as passengers on board the Bombay, arriving in Hobart in late July, departing for Sydney on the Elizabeth. Read more about their nightmarish voyage on the James (1830) in this post.



Mr. Goldsmith, master of the brig James, wrecked at Swan River
Hobart Courier Saturday, July 31st 1830.

1830
Departed Goldsmith Child Passenger on the Elizabeth 15 Aug 1830 Hobart to Port Jackson
Ship to colony Bombay Child of Captain and Mrs CUS33/1/1 p258
Departed Goldsmith Mrs Passenger on the Elizabeth 15 Aug 1830 Hobart to Port Jackson
Ship to colony Bombay CUS33/1/1 p258
Departed Goldsmith Captain Passenger on the Bombay 22 Aug 1830 Hobart to Sydney CUS33/1/1 p253

1832
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Waterloo 5 Aug 1832 MB2/39/1/1 P276
Departed Hobart Goldsmith E Master Waterloo 15 Aug 1832 Hobart to Sydney CUS33/1/1 p474

1833
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Wave 14 Nov 1833 MB2/39/1/1 P443

1835
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Wave 9 Mar 1835 MB2/39/1/2 P245

1836
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master Wave 6 Dec 1836 MB2/39/1/3 P73

1838
Arrived in Hobart from Portsmouth on the barque Wave 17 July 1838
Goldsmith Ship's Master Wave 17 July 1838 MB2/39/1/4 P100

1839
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Wave 25 Sep 1839 MB2/39/1/4 P351

1842
Arrived in Hobart from London, Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Janet Izat 26 Oct 1842 MB2/39/1/6 P355

1843
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Janet Izat 16 Dec 1843 MB2/39/1/7 P313

1844
Arrived Goldsmith Capt on the Louisa 13 Dec 1844 CSO92/1/13 P110 (as passenger)

1846
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Mr Rattler 11 Nov 1846 CSO92/1/16 P96
Goldsmith Ship's Master Rattler 12 Nov 1846 MB2/39/1/9 P45

1847
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Rattler 11 Nov 1847 MB2/39/1/9 P374

While in Hobart, Captain Goldsmith of the Rattler was a Committee member at the 10th Anniversary of the Hobart Regatta, December 1, 1847. This beautifully printed program on silk is featured on TAHO's Flickr account:



1848
Arrived in Hobart Goldsmith Ship's Master on the Rattler 5 Dec 1848 MB2/39/1/10 P374

1849
Arrived in Hobart from London on the Rattler, 27 November 1849 Goldsmith Ship's Master
Rattler 27 Nov 1849 MB2/39/1/11 P381
Arrived Goldsmith Mrs on the Rattler from London 27 Nov 1849 MB2/39/1/11 P381

VOYAGES on the RATTLER, Captain Edward Goldsmith, Master:
1846: arrived Hobart from London, 14th November 1846, departed 21st January 1847.
1847: arrived Hobart from London, 11th November 1847, departed 29th January 1848.
1848: arrived Hobart from London, 4th December 1848, departed 25th February 1849.
1849: arrived Hobart from London, 27th November 1849, departed 26th February 1850.
1850: arrived Hobart from London, 13th December 1850, departed 19th March 1851.

Port Officers' Forms: examples
Series MB2/39 documenting Captain Goldsmith:



Captain Goldsmith, arrival of the Wave 17 July 1838



Captain Goldsmith, arrival of the Wave, 23 September 1839



Arrival of the Rattler, Captain Goldsmith 27 November 1849
Examples of Port Officers' Forms
Series MB2/39 documenting Captain Goldsmith:
State Library of Tasmania



J.J. Crew 1874 State Library of Victoria Collection
"The Quay, Hobart Town from a photograph"

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