WOMEN CLIENTS clothing HAND-TINTED cartes-de-visite Aboriginal Tasmania CITY PHOTOGRAPHIC ESTABLISHMENT Thomas J. Nevin
National Gallery of Victoria Catalogue Notes No title (woman wearing a bonnet with a pink bow), carte-de-visite (1865-1867) T. NEVIN, Hobart Medium albumen silver photograph, watercolour Measurements 9.5 × 5.8 cm (image and support) Place/s of Execution Hobart, Tasmania Inscription printed in ink on support on reverse c. AD ALTIORA / CITY PHOTOGRAPHIC ESTABLISHMENT / T. NEVIN. / LATE / A. BOCK. / 140 ELIZABETH ST / HOBART TOWN. / Further copies / can be obtained at / any time. Accession Number 2003.395 Department Australian Photography Credit Line National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Presented through the NGV Foundation by John McPhee, Member, 2003
This carte-de-visite of an unidentified older woman, one of many older women who favoured Thomas Nevin's services for this type of full-length studio portrait, is unusual in that the pink tint applied to the ribbons tied in a bow at her neck is the same shade of pink applied to the ribbons worn by Pangernowidedic in a reprint, ca. 1875 of four Tasmanian Aborigines who were photographed originally in 1864 as a series at Government House (see below).
National Gallery of Victoria No title (woman wearing a bonnet with a pink bow), carte-de-visite Photographer T. NEVIN, Hobart
The verso stamp of this cdv bears photographer Thomas J. Nevin's most common extant commercial design which he adapted from a late example of his predecessor's, Alfred Bock, when Nevin acquired the business, the City Photographic Establishment, on Bock's departure from Tasmania in 1867. The verso stamp on this carte-de-visite is identical to the cdv (below), taken of Elizabeth Bayley in late December 1874 (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery collection), and printed in blue ink rather than black. The chair, carpet and table are the same in both cdvs, suggesting their captures date within days or months of each other, although the NGV has dated their photograph to 1865-1867. Both women were also photographed with the same body orientation to the viewer's left. The older woman directed her gaze to the right of the photographer, while the younger woman fixed her stare squarely at him. The cdv of Elizabeth Bayley held at the TMAG, however, is not tinted.
Verso of cdv which bears Nevin's common commercial stamp. TMAG Ref: Q2012.28.28
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Collection
TMAG Ref: Q2012.28.28 [Above]: Full length cdv on plain mount: Elizabeth Bayley, second wife of Captain James Bayley of Runnymede, New Town, Tasmania, Studio portrait by Thomas Nevin late December 1874. Verso with studio stamp: “Ad Altiora” above Kangaroo emblem, T. Nevin late A. Bock encircled by belt printed with “City Photographic Establishment” and address below, “140 Elizabeth St. Hobart Town”. In italics below: “Further Copies can be obtained at any time”.
Pink and Blue Tinting
The original session in which this photograph was taken of Tasmanian Aboriginal people identified by Julie Gough (2014) as William Lanne (male, seated), Mary Ann (standing), Trucanini (on viewer's right) and Pangernowidedic (on viewer's left) is dated 1864 and widely credited to the studio of Henry Albert Frith of 19 Murray Street, Hobart. The original photograph was mass produced over the next 40 years in various formats, as a large albumen silver photograph (NGA), as a sennotype, as a lantern slide, and as a plain mounted rectangular carte-de-visite. A reproduction was obtained by Sir George Grey (1812-1898), Governor of New Zealand, probably ca. 1882 through requests in letters (Auckland PL manuscripts) made to the former Tasmanian Surveyor-General James Erskine Calder for long-neglected Tasmaniana. Calder sourced books mainly from bookseller William Legrand and photographs from John Watt Beattie whose major source of early Tasmanian photographers' work for his own commercial reproduction from the 1890s onwards was the Royal Society's Museum. This one sent to Grey was not a late Beattie reproduction; it was an older reproduction, a hand-tinted copy from the 1870s already held by the Museum when it was sourced and sent to Grey in New Zealand, and which he shortly afterwards donated to the Auckland Art Gallery in 1893.
Auckland Art Gallery Title: The Last of the Native Race of Tasmania Production Date: Medium: black and white photograph, hand coloured Size (hxw): 200 x 170 mm Inscription: THE LAST OF THE NATIVE RACE OF TASMANIA / ALL DEAD / THE ORIGINAL PICTURE TAKEN FOR THE TASMANIAN GOVERNMENT AND PLACED IN THE MUSEUM, HOBART, 1865. PHOTOGRAPHY BY H.A. FRITH. PUBLISHED IN THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON JOURNAL , 7TH JANUARY 1865 (PAGE 13). A LARGE COPY, TAKEN FROM THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVE, HAS BEEN PURCHASED BY SIR GEORGE GREY, TO BE PLACED IN THE ART GALLERY, AUCKLAND. Credit Line: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Sir George Grey,1893 Accession No: 1893/2 Other ID: 1893/2/A http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artists/723/henry-albert-frith
This second photograph dates from the same sitting in 1864 with minor changes to seating positions and clothing. It is also a hand-tinted reproduction dated ca. 1875 by Jane Lennon when John Hawkins published it in 2008. Hawkins notes the seating re-arrangement but not the fact that the balustrades on the upper internal balcony on either side of the sitters are more visible, while the tops of the columns are not. This may be another photographer's negative, perhaps one taken by someone working with Frith, Letitia Davidson, for example, who may have been present on the occasion, which was the annual Ball held at Government House in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday (May 27th, 1864). The print is not as carefully reproduced as the one above, and the hand-tinting differs slightly as well.
The note to this print dates it as ca. 1875 (Plate 13: Hawkins 2008)
[Source]: John Hawkins, A Suggested History of Tasmanian Aboriginal Kangaroo Skin or Sinew, Human Bone, Shell, Feather, Apple Seed & Wombat Necklaces Published Australiana, November 2008 Vol. 30 No. 4 Note to this photograph (Plate 13: Hawkins 2008) "Courtesy Jane Lennon Antiques, Hobart," http://www.jbhawkinsantiques.com/uploads/articles/TasmanianAppleseedNecklacesAustraliana-PDF.pdf
Both of these reproductions were hand-tinted after printing at dates later than the 1864 original sitting, These two images were not processed as sennotypes of the 1860s for which both Henry Frith and Alfred Bock were renowned exponents, nor were they reproduced in the genre of photographic portraits painted over in oils which were much sought after in the 1890s. These reproductions were delicately tinted by studio colorists in the 1870s, using three colours: blue, yellow, and pink, typically applied to some feature of apparel and to some facial features. This palette and application to prints is typically found on Nevin's portraiture of family, clients, and convicts. In similar manner to the tinting of NGV's full-length portrait of the unidentified woman by Nevin, the colorist ca. 1875 applied the same shade of pink tint to the same object of clothing in this image, namely to the ribbons worn by Pangernowidedic, seated next to William Lanne on extreme left.
Another photograph (below, and its negative) taken minutes apart from the tinted one above shows slight changes to the poses of the two sitters on the left, William Lanne and Pangernowidedic. Both face the front to look directly at the camera and photographer in this capture, whereas their heads in the tinted photograph (above) are orientated towards the viewer's right. Another change is the placement of William Lanne's right hand on his knee, which in the tinted photograph is in his pocket. Pangernowidedic's hand too is extended, whereas in the tinted photograph she held it clenched. The other two sitters, Mary Ann (standing) and Trucanini (on viewer's right) show barely any variation at all in their poses for each of the two captures.
Title: The last of the Tasmanian natives, 1864 / photographer Mr. Henry Albert Frith, Hobart Town Item identifier: 93QVxNQ1 Permalink: https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/93QVxNQ1 State Library of NSW
The plate from which prints were obtained for this photograph was offered at auction recently by Gowans, Moonah, Tasmania, 19th June 2015. The first is the negative of the SLNSW copy, digitally flipped to show the composition as it appears on the positive print; the second is the negative of the SLNSW copy.
Above: this is the negative, digitally flipped to show the composition as it appears on the positive print of the SLNSW copy
Below: this is the negative of the SLNSW copy as it appeared when offered for sale.
The plate's provenance or previous ownership is unknown after its first use. The colonial government issued the commission first in 1864 to underscore the official narrative that the civilizing of Tasmanian Aborigines had been a successful endeavour, hence the dressing up of the sitters in elaborate European clothing and their presence at official events commemorating Queen Victoria's birthday. The plate may have arrived at Thomas Nevin's studio for reproduction in the early 1870s through requests for further prints by the colonial government as the belief that Tasmanian Aborigines were near extinction was becoming more widespread. Once Thomas Nevin ceased contractual work in 1888, his commercial and government stock was passed on to photographer and collector John Watt Beattie whose government commission from the 1890s was the promotion of Tasmania's heritage in intercolonial markets. The stock phrase to tout this and many more images of Tasmanian Aborigines in the name of tourism at the turn of the 20th century was "Last of Tasmanian Aborigines".
"Last of Tasmanian Aborigines". Printing Plate 7 x 10cm Gowans auction, Moonah, Tasmania, 19th June 2015
Vignetted portraits of Tasmanian convicts from the 1870s-1880s are relatively rare, and hand-tinted portraits even more remarkable, given the photographs were taken for daily use by police in the course of surveillance, detection and arrest. Prisoner identification photogaphs (portraits or mugshots) were taken and printed by commercial photographer Thomas J. Nevin from 1872 to 1876 for the Municipal Police Office registry, Hobart Town Hall, while he was still operating from his studio, the City Photographic Establishment, 140 Elizabeth St. Hobart, and thereafter to 1888 while in civil service. Nevin and his assistants printed several mugshots as vignettes (cloudy background) and hand-tinted the prison-issue, check-patterned scarf in light blue to better identify the sitter as a prisoner. At least seven of these hand-tinted prisoner photographs by Nevin are held in public institutions (NLA, TMAG, and SLNSW). This one taken of prisoner Job Smith, alias William Campbell, was hand-tinted by Nevin's studio with the same duck-egg blue tint used on the 1875 reprint of the four Tasmanian Aborigines. It dates to May 1874 when Nevin returned with Job Smith, known then by his alias William Campbell, from Port Arthur to be tried for rape at the Supreme Court, Hobart. Job Smith was executed on 31st May 1875.
DEATH at SEA on board the RATTLER CAPTAIN EDWARD GOLDSMITH imports 1848 ANNIE BAXTER diarist
Screenshot from Master and Commander (video clip below)
A Death at Sea
Teenager Thomas Landale jnr, b. 1830, died at sea on 19th September 1848 on board the barque Rattler six weeks out from London on the voyage back to Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Captain Edward Goldsmith in command. He was returning from studies in England, the son of medical practitioner Thomas Landale snr (1795-1851) and Harriett Dry, sister of politician Richard Dry.
Captain Edward Goldsmith performed the burial rites at sea in the presence of the only other family member on board, younger brother Richard Landale, b. 1831, barely seventeen years old. Presumably the body was disposed of soon after death rather than kept on board until first landfall, which might have been the Falkland Islands where Captain Goldsmith routinely berthed to resupply his crew. On arrival in the Derwent at Hobart ten weeks later, Port Officer Lawrence recorded the names of all passengers at the time he boarded the vessel, but recorded nothing about the death at sea. Although death notices had appeared in the press by the 9th December 1848, the death itself was not listed in official death and burial registers, making it difficult to ascertain both the cause of the teenager's demise and location of a cemetery memorial.
TRANSCRIPTS
On the 19th September last, on board the Rattler, while on his return to this country, Thomas Landale, junior, Esq., aged 19, eldest son of Thomas Landale, Esq,. of Elphin.
DEATH AT SEA. - We regret to observe that the eldest son of Dr. Landale who went some time since to England, to complete his education, died during his passage out on board the Rattler.
Source: Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899) Sat 9 Dec 1848 Page 5 No Title
Arrival of the Rattler at Hobart, VDL, 5th December 1848 Port Officer's Log Archives Office Tasmania MB2-39-1-10, image 196 Source: http://stors.tas.gov.au/MB2-39-1-10
Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List Saturday 16 December 1848 https://www.nla.gov.au/ferguson/14403897/18481216/00050248/1-4.pdf
The Sydney Shipping Gazette listed the names of passengers arriving at Hobart Town, 5th December 1848, on board the Rattler, barque, Goldsmith, from London [departed 4th August 1848], but no mention of the death at sea of Thomas Landale jnr. Apart from younger brother of the deceased, Richard Landale, whose name was misspelt in the Sydney Shipping Gazette notice as Lansdale, the other passengers were Mr. G. Smith, Mr and Mrs Levy, Miss Blyth, Dr. Underwood, Mr. M. Kennel. Mr. C. Gurnsey, Mr and Mrs Cook and daughter, Mrs Esdmond, Margaret Macdonald, Mrs Quinn, Serjeant Sullivan, wife, two daughters, and one son, Mrs Bailey and two daughters.
At YouTube: Burial at Sea, Master and Commander (2003)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu6znbnWZow
Diarist Annie Baxter 1847-49
How the family grieved for the death of Thomas Landale jnr was recorded by Melbourne-based diarist Annie Baxter (1816-1905), who maintained a close relationship with politician Richard Dry (1815-1869), uncle of the deceased boy, from a previous time when they first met in Hobart. Her liaison with Richard Dry intensified when her marriage to Lieutenant Andrew Baxter (1813-1855) had ceased in all but name only. Her visits to Tasmania exactly coincided with the arrival of Captain Edward Goldsmith and the Rattler between the years 1847 to 1849. She stayed with her brother Captain William Hadden of the Royal Engineers at Davey St. Hobart, near the corner of Harrington St,, close to photographer Douglas Kilburn's house at Number 22, a few doors along from Stewart's Brewery and Captain Goldsmith's house at Number 19. St David's Burial Ground was opposite, and across from the burial ground was the new St Mary’s Hospital, erected in 1847 which Annie Baxter frequented for the hot baths and the young male clientele. On one occasion she heard "a young man in the next Bath and he was busy using a - which made such a noise, I could scarcely prevent laughing." What was he using?
Source: Toni-Anne Sherwood (2010) p. 282, August 2[7th].
This sketched portrait ca. 1850 by Thomas Bock (below) is an almost contemporary representation of Richard Dry, Annie Baxter's lover who behaved to her "in the most friendly manner ... How dearly I love him!" she confided ecstatically to her diary. Quite obviously, the word "friendly" could not express enough how deeply satisfying she found his love, so she underscored it. According to Sherwood (2010, p. 44), no portrait, painting or photograph was found among the diaries or seems to have survived of Annie Baxter herself from these years, although in the diaries Annie Baxter mentions a "likeness" taken of her by cartographer and cartoonist George Frankland (Sherwood p.91), and a gift of a cameo brooch from Dr Hadley (Sherwood p.261).
Annie Baxter's lover Richard Dry ca. 1840s Artist: Thomas Bock (ca. 1830-1855) Ref: a3171002 Mitchell Library, SLNSW
Annie Baxter led the giddy life of a flirtatious socialite while fitfully despising herself for confiding so much of the prattle to her diary. During the summer of 1848-49 when Captain Edward Goldsmith was in town, she went riding with him, dined with him, requested he import plate for her, spent the night under the same roof as him at Sharlands, New Norfolk, on 17th December 1848, and probably dallied with him as was her custom with men of her class regardless of their respective matrimonial status or prospects. In late 1849, she met Mrs Elizabeth Goldsmith who arrived at Hobart with her husband and two sons on the Rattler, after which no further mention was made of Captain Goldsmith. Another man by the name of Goldsmith - Adolphus Goldsmith who held large leases on land at Trawallo, Victoria (40,000 acres) and at St. Helens, Victoria (25,000 acres) - is mentioned two or three times in her diary as Mr. Goldsmith while visiting Victoria, not to be confused with Captain Goldsmith and presumably no relation. By March 1850 Annie Baxter had met and formed a relationship with a new paramour, Josiah Thompson of HMS Maeander.She departed Hobart for England in 1851, married again in 1857 to Robert Dawbin on 1st September at St Paul's, Melbourne, and concluded her diaries n 1868.
In November 1848, with the Rattler still a month out from arrival at Hobart, Annie Baxter's thoughts were already about Captain Goldsmith and her box, an import containing "plate". If the news of Thomas Landale's death at sea had been received in Hobart before the arrival of the Rattler, she was not aware of it until Richard Dry visited her on Tuesday 12th December 1848 when she records:
Tuesday morning Mr Dry came to sit with me, and told me of poor Tom Landale‘s death on board the Rattler, about six weeks after sailing; This vessel came in the night before, and that is the reason why he did not come to see me. Poor fellow! he was sadly cast down, as Tom was his favorite; and he was very fond of him...
Source: Sherwood, T-A. (2010) Annie Baxter in Van Diemen’s Land : an abridged and annotated version of her journal, 1834 –1851. PhD thesis, University of Tasmania. June 2010. Digital thesis ePrints University of Tasmania
Source: Archives Office Tasmania Richard Dry on left, his wife Clara Meredith, whom he married in 1853 on right, posing with a terrier. Later, Sir Richard Dry, Tasmania's first locally-born Premier, and Lady Dry. Unattributed photographs of people associated with St David's Cathedral The photograph of Richard Dry was taken in an untidy studio, possibly Alfred Bock's or Thomas Nevin's, ca. 1860, and that of Clara Dry may have been taken by the Frith brothers, Murray St. Biography at ADB: click here.
The extracts cited here are from Toni-Anne Sherwood (2010), Annie Baxter in Van Diemen’s Land : an abridged and annotated version of her journal, 1834 –1851. PhD thesis, University of Tasmania. June 2010 digital version. The original manuscripts of Annie Baxter's diaries are held at the State Library of NSW under her last married surname: Annie Maria Dawbin diaries, 12 September 1834-3 May 1869[Contents]
Dawbin, Anna Maria
DLMSQ 181
DLMSQ 182
DLMSQ 183
3 boxes of textual material (32 volumes)
Diary extracts: Captain Goldsmith 1847-1849
Annie Baxter met Captain Edward Goldsmith for the first time one year earlier, in January 1847: "a Captain Goldsmith of the Rattler" she recorded, pouty and piqued with interest: "a certain [insert name here] ..." is the usual full expression to denote someone special. Such was her desire to impress him, she took the reins of the horses and carriage they rode in to visit William Sharland's hop plantation at New Norfolk in the Derwent Valley, much to the amusement of Captain Goldsmith seated behind, chaperone on this trip to Elizabeth Oke Buckland, daughter of Hutchins School headmaster John Buckland, married to chief justice Sir Valentine Fleming in 1852. William Sharland had received "new kinds of hops" imported on the Rattler, 50, 000 hop pockets on one shipment alone(Courier 17th November 1847), sourced from the Goldsmith plantations and nurseries at Chalk in Kent. Captain Goldsmith's excursion to Sharland's extensive plantation was to see how his plants were prospering. Annie Baxter made the same journey again through the Derwent Valley one year later with Captain Goldsmith (1848), this time chaperoned by another of her paramours, hotelier Dr. Hadley.
William Stanley Sharland (1801-1877) ADRI: NS407-1-21 Unattributed ca. 1870s Elizabeth Oke Buckland, later Lady Fleming, wife of Sir Valentine Fleming ADRI: NS407-1-35 Unattributed ca.1870s Series: Photograph Album Mainly of People Associated with St Davids Cathedral, 1901 - 1753 (NS407) Source: Archives Office of Tasmania
1847
January 19th Tuesday. [1847] Only a fortnight elapsed without my writing in this book = since when, I‘ve been to New Norfolk (this day week by the bye,) in company with Miss Buckland and a Captain Goldsmith of the Rattler; [167] I drove all the way there to the amusement of the persons driven.
We breakfasted at Mrs Sharland‘s: she is a pretty little wayward thing, and looks so young to have seven children! Three of the Misses Shaw are staying with their sister, and are ladylike, nice girls. The eldest will in all probability become Mrs Robertson, and in such case – I pity her.
After luncheon, we rode to see Mr Sharland‘s hop-garden; it is very pretty, to see the hops in the stage they are now in, and there appears to be a good crop this season.[168]
Footnotes:
[167] The newly built 522-ton barque Rattler, commanded by Edward Goldsmith, made its maiden voyage to VDL in 1846. It arrived 11 Nov. 1846 after a voyage of 110 days and sailed for London on 21 Jan. 1847. Goldsmith had previously visited Hobart Town as commander of the Wave and was described fondly in local newspapers as ―our old friend‖ (Courier 28 Oct. 1846)
[168] Hops were cultivated in the Derwent Valley from the late 1820s and by the 1840s it had become the "premier hop growing region" in the colony (Evans 181). Sharland had been among the pioneer growers. Hops are harvested in late Feb. and early Mar.; by mid-Jan. they would be reaching maturity. [see page 183 digital]
Women picking hops, Derwent Valley Tasmania Postcard ca. 1900 Archives Office Tasmania Ref: AUTAS0016125499962
1848
November 9th Thursday [1848] – It is between 3 and 4 o‘clock, now, and I‘m sitting in the silence of "sleep", writing by the fire! I‘ve been in downright agony for some time, but am now almost free from pain in my unfortunate face.
Laudanum! my old comforter, has been had recourse to, and I hope to get some sleep soon.
I‘ve finished the book Miss Buckland very kindly lent me, called, "Rose, Blanche & Violet"; it is prettily written – and the second character is so womanly & faulty, that I consider it beautiful! Violet, is more my own stamp, and I can therefore perceive [224] her faults easily.... The Rattler is expected every day; I hope she may come before I leave, as I anticipate a box by Captain Goldsmith, containing the Plate I sent for ... [see page 591 digital]
December 7th Thursday [1848] On Monday Mrs Roberts gave a dance, and I believe it went off very well, William went to it, but I remained at home, & had the pleasure of Dr Hadley‘s company. He improves vastly on acquaintance, and is very agreeable.
Tuesday morning Mr Dry came to sit with me, and told me of poor Tom Landale‘s death on board the Rattler, about six weeks after sailing; This vessel came in the night before, and that is the reason why he did not come to see me. Poor fellow! he was sadly cast down, as Tom was his favorite; and he was very fond of him.[148]
Footnote [148] Tom (b. 1830) was Dry‘s nephew and the eldest son of Harriet and Thomas Landale (see entry 14 Mar. 1837) [see page 237 digital]
December 16th Saturday. [1848] At 10 o‘clock,Captain Goldsmith and Dr Hadley came, and soon after we all started for New Norfolk; I drove after the first 9 miles; and we reached our destination about 1 o‘clock. We drove to the Archdeacon‘ as arranged before, and at 3 had dinner. Mrs Marriott looks very pretty, and as well as ever I saw her looking, altho‘ in such deep distress about her servants, whom she cannot manage to keep for any time. She amused me very much in saying that she could not attend to her birds, and asking the Archdeacon to get one of the men to feed them!
In the afternoon all went out but me, and I made myself useful in copying a song for Mrs Marriott whilst they were out; Mrs Sharland, Mrs Schaw, Miss L. Schaw and the 4 Misses Sharland came up to see me. The former being en famille [179] looks so ill and weak! Poor little creature, it is really too bad for her to be always either nursing, or having children.[180] How fond men should be of their wives, when they see them suffer so much for their sakes! I asked her if she felt nervous at the approach of another accouchement? She said ―Oh! no; I would far sooner have children, than suffer as you do = with a child, it is over, & there is an end of it; but you are always ill! She is a good mother & wife – …
Footnotes [178]Sarah Anne, eldest daughter of Deptuy Commissary General George MacLean and his wife. [179] Pregnant/ In the family way (French). [180] Frances Sharland was pregnant with her ninth child, a daughter Catherine was born 31 Mar. 1849. [see page 244 digital]
December 18th Monday [1848] We breakfasted, and called at the Archdeacon‘s by 9 o‘clock; Capt Goldsmith, Louis & William sat in the front, and Mrs Marriott & I behind. Oh! I was so shaken! it is pitiable how I feel for a time, any over-fatigue, and positively I could scarcely move during the whole evening – not to mention other disagreeables. Miss Buckland & Miss Burnett were here; and Tom too, as mischievous as ever; he sat the whole evening by me, occasionally tickling my feet, or rather, trying to do so. Miss Buckland talks of accompanying him over to Longford on Friday next; so he will not make much stay with us. [see page 614 digital]
1849
January 28th Sunday [1848-1849] Friday and Saturday were both such warm days! On Thursday we went on board the "Rattler" and took both the children with us. Friday we rode out, and were accompanied by Mr & Mrs Drake; William commenced the ride, but vanished upon seeing Messrs Roberts & Vickery on horseback: we found him at home, talking with Miss Burnett. [see page 632 digital]
November 27th Tuesday [1849] All the afternoon was passed at my Frame, and my work progresses rapidly. The Rattler came in last night; and W. C. went on board today to see Mrs Goldsmith; They have brought me a box from Harriet [Annie's sister]. I don‘t know whether I am very curious to see the contents, but I would like to know what they are.. Dr Hadley paid me a short visit after Mess; I‘m always so glad to see him, because he is to see me, I suppose ...[see page 697 digital]
November 30th Friday. [1849] Everybody appeared on the qui vive [143] today; at an early hour might be seen groups of gaily-dressed individuals, bending their steps towards the anticipated "scene of action", the Regatta ground. Mrs E. Bedford, Miss M. Scott, Vizzy, Nelly,[144] Louis & Annie, accompanied me at 9 o‘clock to the Flag Staff, to see the boats start. Dr Hadley met us at the Barrack Gate, altho‘ it was rather early in the day; and Messrs Johnston and Montgomerie came up to the look-out, whilst we were there. William [Annie's brother] drove Captain & Mrs Goldsmith [145] to the Domain at ½ past 11= and the carriage then returned for me; After the children‘s dinner, I drove them and Mrs Stonor to the Regatta. We went on to the ground quite alone; but I espied Dr Hadley in advance,...
Footnote: [145] Captain Goldsmith‘s vessel, the Rattler arrived in Hobart Town on 27 Nov. [1849] from London. His wife and son were among those on board [see page 698 digital] Correction: both sons were on board - Richard Sydney and Edward jnr
December 11th Tuesday [1849] – Yesterday was such a broiling day; but in the afternoon, we had a gallop on the sands, and regularly warmed the horses. We were home by 4 o‘clock, and I then worked at my worsted. I am now reading "the Emigrant" by Sir F. Head. It is quite a political work.
Messrs Dry & Hollings, and Captn Goldsmith paid me a visit yesterday morning; the former brought me a note from Mrs Chiene, who is just moving to Perth – where [she] is going to reside. Dr Landale, who had a stroke of par[ ], is getting well again. This morning Mr Tillett called to say Adieu to me, as he sails this afternoon in the Endora, for California; so I gave him my note to Mr Dyson Aplin.
Just as Louis‘ lessons were finished, Mrs Cox paid me a visit of an hour. She told me some very amusing anecdotes of Mrs Harvey; and another one, of Mr E. Meredith – who is going to marry Miss Bostock. It appears that he wrote to ask Mr Connolly if he could not have his Intended‘s £1000!! He positively has no place to take her to, and wants to borrow her trifling sum of money! Such is Matrimony in this Colony, oftentimes. [see page 701 digital]
Source of Extracts: Sherwood, T. A. (2010) Annie Baxter in Van Diemen’s Land : an abridged and annotated version of her journal, 1834 –1851. PhD thesis, University of Tasmania. June 2010. Digital version click here.
The barque Rattler was an attraction to visitors at the Hobart wharves. Open days were scheduled when tours on board were invited (28th Jan. 1848-1849). The Regatta was the other great attraction. Captain Goldsmith had been a committee member, umpire and judge of the annual Regatta races from his first engagement by Governor Sir John Franklin in 1842. In 1849, it was Annie Baxter's brother William Hadden who drove Captain and Mrs Goldsmith to the Regatta grounds (Nov. 30th 1849).
Annie Baxter was fond of riding and could manage horses whether hitched to a carriage or mounted. She recorded in this entry of December 11th, 1849, that "we had a gallop on the sands" and although not stated, she presumably rode side-saddle. This photograph (below) taken of Mrs Hutchinson (ca. 1870s?) riding side-saddle shows how much strain the position placed on the upper torso and hips.
Title: HUTCHINSON, Reverend A. & Mrs, with third unknown figure, riding in the bush at Middlesex Plains Station
Ref: ADRI:PH30-1-3833 [n.s., n.d.]
Source:Archives Office of Tasmania
Imports per "Rattler" 20th December 1848
The goods arriving on this voyage of the barque Rattler from London to Hobart, Van Diemen's Land could not have differed more from the huge quantities of alcohol which arrived on the Rattler's voyage in 1850. On this voyage, Captain Edward Goldsmith had sought out from London's merchants every household item a settler and small business trader would need, from slops (simple clothing) for their servants to tools, japanned ware, clocks, muslins, china figures, blinds, bedding and bibles, and even a freezing machine.
One item - a case of daguerreotype plates - suggests at least one photographer's studio was operating in Hobart, barely a year after the introduction of the medium to the Australian colonies. Two practitioners in the canon of early Tasmanian photographers in 1848 were Thomas Bock, working at 22 Campbell St. Hobart between 1848-1855, and Thomas Browne. at 52 Liverpool St. in 1846, moving to 31 Macquarie St. by 1848 until 1853. Browne is notable for his 1847 daguerreotype of three Tasmanian Aborigines dressed in furs and photographed in his studio (Gough, J. “The First Photographs of Tasmanian Aboriginal People” in Lydon, 2014). In addition to the photographic supplies were paints and artists' supplies:
2 casks white and red lead, 4 casks linseed oil, 17 cases paint oil and turps, 2 hampers varnish, 2 barrels colours, Stevens and Harcourts;
These two cased and hand-coloured daguerreotypes, both attributed to Thomas Bock, each depict young brothers whose lives would have been very similar to the Landale brothers' experiences in the 1840s.
Thomas Bock (1790 – 1855) (attributed) James and Henry Barnard c. 1850 Cased, hand-coloured daguerreotype TMAG Collection
In amongst all these cases, boxes, casks, crates and barrels was Annie Baxter's box of plate, possibly this shipment of silver plate exported by Dugard (London), documented on the Rattler's Cocket no.222; thirty eight ounces of British silver plate, value £23 ....
Silver plate outwards 6 June 1847 Source: Archives Office of Tasmania Cargo, Passenger and Crew Lists Customs Dept: CUS36/1/442, image 397
Source: The Courier (Hobart, Tas. : 1840 - 1859) Wed 20 Dec 1848 Page 2 SHIPPING NEWS.
TRANSCRIPT
"Per Rattler, from London - 3 bales canvas, 6 cases lucifers, 9 cases hats, 20 bundles spades, 10 kegs white lead, 12 cases trunks drapery, 2 trunks shoes 37 pockets hops, 12 packages ship chandlery, 1 crate sickles, I case brooms, I case woollens, 1 bale cottons, 100 cases French wine, 14 quarter casks 19 cases port wine, 30 quarter casks sherry, 20 cases do, 10 cases port wine, Nathan, Moses, & Co.; 12 crates crockery, H. Marks; 1 case blinds, J. Milward; 2 cases leather, 3 cases cottons, 1 case Cologne water, L. C. Stevenson; 7 cases 2 casks hardware, 1 cask glass, 1 cask white lead, 16 barrels tar, 2 casks white and red lead, 4 casks linseed oil, 17 cases paint oil and turps, 2 hampers varnish, 2 barrels colours, Stevens and Harcourts; 2 cases muslins, J. Guthrie 1 case books, R. S. Waterhouse Brothers; 1 case millinery E.P Bedford; 6 casks grindery, I. G. Reeves; 8 hhds hollow-ware, 14 casks ironmongery, 2 cases fenders, 1 case blinds, 1 case silver plate, 20 kegs 6 casks nails, 1 case ? lines, 1 case daguerreotype plates, 11 casks hardware, 1 case maps and charts, 1 bundle sash tools, 138 pieces plough metal, 30 barrels cement, 1 case German silver, ? cases japanned ware, 5 bales paper, 1 cask planes, G & T Dugard; 1 bale cottons, 1 case drapery, 4 casks glass, 3 casks plaster of Paris figures, 1 case turned wood, 2 crates ornamental flower pots, A. Spurling; 1 cask saddlery, 30 hhds 134 barrels beer, 30 casks nails, 1 cask hardware, 34 barrels Burton ale, 30 pockets hops, Kerr & Bogle & Co.; 6 cases cutlery, 12 barrels toys, 11 cases lucifers, 8 cases plated ware and cards, 3 casks brushware, 19 cases 25 casks glassware, 2 bales carpets, 3 crates ironmongery, 8 cases plated goods and whips, 1 keg tacks, 1 case fringe, 2 kegs pickled cucumbers, 1 keg herrings, 1 box cruet frame, 1 case books, 2 cases cottons, 1 case pewter ware, 2 cases prints, 1 case metal ware, 5 trunks boots and shoes, 1 case slops, 2 cases soap, 1 case dowlings, 1 case cabinet work, S. Levy; 11 cases 8 casks drugs, J. H. De La Hunt; 2 cases drapery, G. W. Walker; 4 cases saddlery, R. Webb; 8 cases linen goods, 2 cases colours, beads &c, 1 case musical boxes, 1 case clocks and watches, F Haller and Co.l; 22 crates 1 cask bottles, 3 cases corks, candles &c, 6 cases freezing mixture and machine, 2 cases furniture, 1 bale carpets, C. Swanston; 1 box apparel, Miss Dowbiggin; 1 case apparel, Myer; 10 trunks boots and shoes, 1 case combs and brushes, W. Robertson; 8 cases hats, 2 cases bale slops, 1 case paint, 2 cases ironmongery, 2 baskets scythe stones, 15 bundles shovels and forks, 1 case passage cloth, 1 cask brooms, G. Hutton; 4 packages brushes, 10 casks vinegar, 3 tons cordage, 1 case iron 6 anchors, 9 tons chain cable, 2 iron tanks, E. Goldsmith; 13 cases pipes, 12 cases pickles, 1 bale carpet, 1 case books, 1 cask china figures, 4 cases toys, 6 cases matches, 3 cases fancy goods, 1 case clocks, 1 case matches, 1 case Cologne water, Isaac Solomon; 12 cases congreves, 10 cases starch, 10 cases blue, T. D. Chapman & Co,; 1 box apparel, Meek; 1 case books, W Elliott; 1 bale rugs, 7 cases oilcloth, 1 bale ticks, 5 hhds hair, 2 cases looking glasses, W. Hamilton; 1 case stationery, W. Carter; 5 tons hoop iron, 2 kegs rivets, Burns, White and Co.; 1 case bibles, J. Dunn; 4 quarter casks wine, 50 hhds beer, 9 rams Brown & Co.; 3 cases 1 cask coach springs &c A. Morrison; 100 casks bottled beer, 5 hhds rum, 1 case patent medicine, L. Roope; 2 cases British goods, W. Fletcher; 1 case to Priaulx, Barlow, Moore, Lord Bishop of Tasmania,; 629 bales bedding, oakum, and 22 cases tin fire-irons, 3 casks tin meat dishes, 9 crates fenders, 1 parcel printed forms, 2 bundles broom handles, 9 bundles mop handles, 8 bundles chairs, 1 bundle coal baskets, 1 bundle handle scrubbing brushes, 5 bundles water pails, 50 bundles furnace bars, 10 bundles bearing bars, 5 bundles boiler ribs, 3 do hearth brooms, 50 iron boilers, 50 plates, 50 flues. 50 steam pipes, 50 furnace fronts, 50 boiler lids, 30 fire dogs, 1 chair, H. M. Government.
Within days of arrival, merchants placed advertisements in the local press for sale of goods ex "Rattler" etc...
Source: Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857) Fri 22 Dec 1848 Page 1 Advertising
New Wharf and stores, Hobart ca, 1870. Tasmanian Scenes, Ref: 17AUTAS001124075102 Archives Office of Tasmania
