CHINESE MINER Ah Tung NATIVE YOUTH TIN MINING Co. Moorina Tasmania
Born at Castlemaine, Victoria in 1858, Daniel Davis was convicted every few years from 1883, soon after his arrival in Tasmania on board the Derwent, to his discharge from the Hobart Gaol in January 1897. Eleven months later, he drowned accidentally in the Mersey at Latrobe, Tasmania. The inquest was reported on the 29th December 1897.
Prisoner DAVIS, Daniel, photographed by T. J. Nevin
Hobart Gaol March 1883.
TMAG Ref: Q15625
Verso inscription: F. C. (free to colony) Derwent 486 18 months Prisoner DAVIS, Daniel, photographed by T. J. Nevin Hobart Gaol March 1883. TMAG Ref: Q15625 Press Reports 1883
Daniel Davis and Richard Harris at trial The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) Thu 1 Mar 1883 Page 3 RECORDER'S COURT, LAUNCESTON. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9026521
TRANSCRIPT
ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE
Richard Harris (20) and Daniel Davies [sic] (26), charged with having, at Moorina, on the 29th November, assaulted and robbed Ah Tung of £3 11s, pleaded not guilty. Mr. Miller appeared for the prisoners. Lee Kong was sworn as interpreter. Ah Tung deposed that he was proceeding from a store at Moorina to the Native Youth claim on the night of the 29th November, and was accosted by two men. He was afterwards garotted and robbed by them. After the robbery he picked up a piece of meat and some sugar which had been carried by the prisoners. James Alexander deposed to Harris informing him on the night of the 29th November, when the two prisoners were in witness' hut, that they had robbed a Chinaman that night.
The details in this report by the Hobart Mercury were incorrectly reported by newspapers in northern Tasmania in the ensuing week. The victim's name was changed and so was the date the crime was committed. No information about the work the offenders were seeking or undertaking was given, nor the reason the offenders were in the area. It appears their crime was predatory and premeditated.
The trial of Daniel Davis and Richard Harris The Tasmanian (Launceston, Tas. : 1881 - 1895) Sat 3 Mar 1883 Page 235 Law Courts https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/200314625
TRANSCRIPT
ASSAULT AND ROBBERY. Richard Harris and Daniel Davis pleaded not guilty to the charge of assaulting Ah Kung on the 29th of December, and robbing him of the sum of £3 1ls. Mr. Miller appeared for the prisoner Harris. It appears that the prosecutor was returning on the night in question from a store at Moorina to the Native Youth claim when he was set upon by two men whom he could not identify, and robbed of two £1 notes, a sovereign, a half sovereign, and a shilling. The prisoners admitted to a companion that they had robbed a Chinaman, and their description of the manner in which it was carried out tallied with that given by the prosecutor. Some beef and sugar were picked up by the prosecutor after the robbery, and it was proved that the prisoners had purchased similar articles that morning. The prosecutor admitted having identified a third man named Jones as the offender. His Honor summed up against the prisoners, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty after an absence of not more than a minute or two. SENTENCES. The following were the sentences pronounced.: .. . Richard Harris and Daniel Davis, assault and robbery, eighteen months' imprisonment.
Richard Harris and Daniel Davis were transferred south from the Recorder's Court in Launceston to serve their sentences at the Hobart Gaol in March 1883. Both were photographed on arrival by Thomas J. Nevin. This mugshot (above, TMAG Ref: Q15625) is the first photograph taken of Daniel Davis by T. J. Nevin for police records. The mugshot of Richard Harris, on the other hand, appears not to have survived, for several possible reasons: either Harris did not re-offend; or, he used an alias and kept re-offending; or, indeed, he may have left the colony, and lastly, his 20th century descendants might have destroyed his photo, the latter event believed to be more common than proven. These two entries (below) in convict records give just the barest of details: the photos were kept separately in Photo Books, duplicates of which were pasted to the rap sheet, some mounted as cartes-de-visite, some uncut.
Name: Harris, Richard Record Type: Convicts Remarks: Born Tasmania. Tried Launceston Index number: 30587 Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1399477 Conduct Record: CON37/1/11 Page 6161
Name: Davis, Daniel Record Type: Convicts Ship: Derwent Remarks: Tried Launceston Feb 1883 Index number: 17500 Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1386017 Conduct Record: CON37/1/11 Page 6160
The victim Ah Tung
Newspaper reports of the assault and robbery by Daniel Davis and Richard Harris varied in certain details: the name of the "Chinaman" they robbed and assaulted was reported as either Ah Kung (Tasmanian 3 March 1883), Ah King (Launceston Examiner 28 Feb 1883) or Ah Tung (Mercury 1 March 1883). The date the offense was committed was reported as 29th November 1882 or 29th December 1882. In every instance, however, the location of the crime was correctly reported.
Ah Tung was assaulted and robbed at Moorina, on his return from the store there to the tin mining settlement working the claim of the Native Youth Tin Mining Company. In the 1880s, there was a thriving Chinese community at Moorina and Weldborough, located near St. Helens in the north east of Tasmania. According to Helene Chung, whose great grandfather mined there -
At its peak, Weldborough had about 700 Chinese miners: most of the State’s 1,000 to 1,300 or so Chinese. The original pub slept three shifts to a bed. Not roulette but mahjong and fan tan were played in the island’s first casino. A lottery was part of gambling and a Chinese man was murdered while taking the proceeds to the bank at nearby Moorina. In 1893 a visiting Chinese opera company performed at Weldborough ....
Source: Helene Chung, ‘One Village – Two Names: A Tasmanian Chinese on a Wild Dragon Chase’, a paper presented at the Chinese Heritage of Australia Federation Conference, Museum of Chinese Australian History, Melbourne, 1-2 July 2000.
Helen Vivian's report on the Chinese tin mining communities in North East Tasmania (1985) gives an overview of the area as Ah Tung would have known it in the 1880s:
The years 1883-85 saw a partial depression in the North East. The most accessible tin deposits had now been worked out and many gold mines were deserted. The European population had greatly diminished as a result. The Secretary of Mines, however, felt that this was more due to a lack of spirit than a lack of mineral wealth. He opined that the initial expectations of the gold miners had been too high and in his report for 1884, spoke favourably of the tin mining industry:
"The tin mining industry appears to be carried on with vigour, the total quantity of ore produced during the six months ended 30th June (1883) being 746 tons, valued at £38,700. Many of the claims in the District are held by co-operative parties, who are steadily prosecuting their work, attracting little or no public attention. A considerable number of Chinese are employed as tributors."
This period of economic slump apparently affected European wage earners far more gravely than the Chinese, who were by now mainly employed on their own account. Thus, the arrival of 200 or more Chinese in 1885 sparked off a determined anti-Chinese immigration campaign championed by the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council (T.T.L.C.). Protest meetings were organised against Chinese and other non-British immigrants and a number of resolutions calling for the adoption of a restriction~t policy were presented to the Tasmanian government.
Despite the strong anti-Chinese feeling in sectors of the mining community an attempt to start an anti-Chinese movement in the North East met with very little support....
1892: two more photographs
Two later photographs were pasted to this rap sheet created in August 1892 at the Police Office Devonport on the occasion of Daniel Davis' imprisonment for larceny, sentenced to six months. Who took these photographs or where they were taken is not clear, but what is clear is that the first mugshot taken by Nevin in 1883 did not find its way onto these later gaol records. What else is not clear is why the photograph on the rap sheet dated 1897 was copied as a black and white version and pasted onto the 1892 rap sheet, which was supposedly created five years earlier when the booking mugshot of Daniel Davis was taken sporting a moustache, arms crossed, hands visible against his chest.
Name: Davis, Daniel Record Type: Prisoners Year: 1892 Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1486028 Resource: GD63/2/1 Page 416
Detail of above: Name: Davis, Daniel Record Type: Prisoners Year: 1892 Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1486028 Resource: GD63/2/1 Page 416
Discharged from Hobart Gaol January 1897
This photograph of prisoner Daniel Davis, registered as number 696 and dated 1st January 1897, was taken for the purposes of his discharge from the Hobart Gaol, Campbell Street on 16th January 1897.
When this record was created, on the occasion of his discharge from his latest conviction of three months for being idle etc, a summary of eight offences was included dating from the most serious, the assault and robbery in 1883, for which he served 18 months. He was most commonly convicted of larceny, serving 3 to 6 months, almost every year to his death by drowning in 1897.
Detail of criminal record - rap sheet below:
Rap Sheet Details
Photo Reg. No: 696
Date: 1.1.1896
Name: Daniel Davis
Rubber stamped: H.M.Gaol Hobart 4 Jan1897
PARTICULAR MARKS
Star tattooed between thumb and forefinger of left hand.
When Convicted 17.10.96
Where P.O. Latrobe
Offence Idle &
Sentence 3 months
Date of Discharge 16.1. 97
Native Place Castlemaine, Victoria
Year of Birth 1858
Ship Derwent Condition F.C.
Religion R. C.
Edication R & W
State Single
Height 5.8 Weight 10.0
Build Medium
Complexion Dark
Color of Hair Black
Color of Eyes Brownish Gray
Trade or Calling Labourer
Name: Davis, Daniel Record Type: Prisoners Year: 1895-1897 Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1449801 Resource: GD128/1/2
Death by drowning December 1897
Daniel Davis drowned in the Mersey Tasmanian News (Hobart, Tas. : 1883 - 1911) Tue 28 Dec 1897 Page 4 NORTHERN NEWS. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173659505
TRANSCRIPT
Launceston, December 28.
From Latrobe comes word that on Sunday a man named Daniel Davis, aged about 40 years, was found drowned in the Mersey opposite Watt's Hotel by Mr Ready, who was walking along the river bank.
He informed the police, and after making a stretcher they had the body removed to the hotel.
It is surmised that Davis wandered away and accidentally fell into the river.
Name: Davis, Daniel Record Type: Deaths Gender: Male Age: 40 Date of death: 26 Dec 1897 Registered: Mersey Registration year: 1897 Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1216969 Resource: RGD35/1/66 no 462
INQUEST
Daniel Davis inquest Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928) Wed 29 Dec 1897 Page 8 LATROBE. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154090252
TRANSCRIPT
LATROBE
At the inquest held on the body of Daniel Davis, before Mr. P. C. Maxwell, coroner, and a jury (Mr A. Ellis, foreman), a verdict that he came by his death accidentally by drowning, and not otherwise, was returned.
Name: Davis, Daniel Record Type: Inquests Age: 40 Date of death: 26 Dec 1897 Date of inquest: 27 Dec 1897 Verdict: Accidentally drowned Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1354170
ADDENDA: The Joss House 1937
Source: Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 - 1954) Tue 29 Jun 1937 Page 2 Chinese Joss House Presented to Launceston Museum. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68486167#
TRANSCRIPT
LAUNCESTON, Monday, - The joss house presented to the Launceston City Council by Chinese residents of Northern Tasmania will be officially opened by the Mayor (Mr. F. Warland Browne) at the Queen Victoria Museum at 3 p.m. next Thursday.
Brought from China in 1884 by the Chinese miners on the North-East Coast, and established at Weldborough, the joss house has been renovated, and its quaint contents have been assembled at the museum in a special section.
This task has meant a great deal of work for Mr. Chung Gon, jun., and Mr and Mrs A Manchester in the past 18 months.
The Joss House donated to the Launceston City Council 1937. Photo dated 1940 Source: https://www.examiner.com.au/story/4429252/from-asia-to-tasmania-photos/#slide=5
Helen Vivian, Tasmania’s Chinese Heritage: An Historical Record of Chinese Sites in North East Tasmania, Australian Heritage Commission and Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston, 1985.
CANARY and CAGE BIRD EXHIBITION 1869 THOMAS NEVIN PRIZE CARDS photographs of model birds WILLIAM HISSEY taxidermist
A collection of British birds Item Number: NS1013/1/897 Start Date: 01 Jan 1880 Source: Archives Office of Tasmania
Thomas Nevin's photographs of model birds fixed to prize cards which were attached to the cages of winning entries at the Canary and Cage Bird show at the Hobart Alliance Rooms in May 1869, and again at the Tasmanian Poultry show at the Hobart Town Hall in August 1869, were deemed to be of high quality by both the press and the recipients of the prizes. None, it seems, of these photographs on prize cards - or indeed the stuffed birds which were Nevin's models - has yet to surface in Australian public collections. The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) - known as the Museum of the Royal Society in the 1860s - would be the likely repository, yet the management has yet to provide a comprehensive digitized catalogue displaying online any of their substantial holdings of bird and animal taxidermy, let alone photography from the colonial period (their attempts at an online catalogue, available until 2005 when it was taken down without explanation, was better than nothing, the present state of affairs). Thomas J. Nevin's hundreds of photographs including fifty (50) or more stereographs of streetscapes and buildings; gardens, rivers and flooded landscapes; group outings with visiting VIPS; studio portraits of women; and the sixty (60) or more mugshots of "convicts" all dating from the late 1860s to the early 1880s and all held at the TMAG, were only accessible as copies to our T. J. Nevin project as descendants on payment of more than $5000 (five thousand Australian dollars) in 2015. Enjoy them and our generosity on this weblog while you can.
Taxidermy in Hobart 1860s
Taxidermist and hairdresser William Hissey (1805-1896) whose commercial premises were close to Thomas Nevin's studio in Elizabeth Street, Hobart in 1868, was most likely the supplier of the model birds which Thomas Nevin photographed for the prize cards awarded at the Canary and Cage Bird show at the Alliance Rooms in Hobart in May 1869. William Hissey's skills in taxidermy extended to native animals which he exhibited in Europe as well as parrots, parroquets, cockatoos, and wattle birds. The Acclimatization Society of Tasmania in turn received flora and fauna from England, some surviving or not, as in the case of the vixen which Mr Hissey stuffed and donated to the Royal Society's Museum:
Mr Hissey, taxidermist and hairdresser Source:The Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870) Wed 20 May 1868 Page 2
TRANSCRIPT
TAXIDERMY.—It is pleasant to notice any description of industry which is handily and well executed. Such is animal stuffing, as it is carried on by Mr. Hissey, of Elizabeth-street. In addition to his ordinary occupation of hair-dressing, Mr. Hissey devotes his leisure hours to the stuffing of birds and other animal, and the natural and life-like appearance he gives to them is very pleasing. He lately stuffed a vixen which was forwarded from England to the Acclimatization Society here, with the prospect of setting it at large with its mate into our scrub, but it appears it died soon after its arrival. This when stuffed had all the appearance of the animal in its natural state at home, and is to be seen among the other curiosities in the Museum of the Royal Society. The native birds of the colony under the manipulation of Mr. Hissey assume the appearance they are accustomed to make while they are abroad among our massive forest trees, or while they rustle through the bush; and perhaps in no part of the world are birds of richer or more beautiful plumage to be found than in Tasmania. The parrots, parroquets, cockatoos, the wattle birds, and the bronzed winged pigeons are not to be surpassed anywhere, and such of them as have been exhibited in the countries of Europe have been admired by all who beheld them. Some of our native animals when stuffed by Mr. Hissey are equally admirable.
Source:The Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870) Wed 20 May 1868 Page 2
A matter of weeks later, in July 1868, the press again praised William Hissey for his tasteful presentation of a stuffed parrot belonging to Church of England clergyman Robert Rowland Davies (1805-1880). Davies was a keen horticulturist who introduced many plants into Tasmania, who served as president of the Launceston Horticultural Society and who was a strong opponent of transportation. The oddity about this particular parrot, the reporter noted, was the bird's vivid hues which, as a species, usually exhibited a "a common green sort", hinting that the parrot's plumage had been touched up with paint of various colours. An admirer of Rowland's "brilliant sermons" was Jane Williams (1819-1885), possibly a relative of Florence Williams who may have been the artist responsible for prettying up the parrot, the same parrot which may have stood in as the model for her painting of a native bird in oil (see painting below):
Source: Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870), Saturday 25 July 1868, page 2
TRANSCRIPT
TAXIDERMY.—There is now on view at the establishment of Mr. Hissey, the taxidermist, of Elizabeth-street, a pretty specimen of the proprietor's art, in the shape of a stuffed parrot. The bird is of the common green sort, but by some freak of nature presents scarcely any of the colour ordinarily belonging to the family of which it is a member. It exhibits instead a variety of hues, including brown, yellow, green, red, and black. It has been very tastefully set up by Mr. Hissey for its owner, Mr. Rowland Davies, and is one of the most pleasing of many pretty objects in the shop.
Source:Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870), Saturday 25 July 1868, page 2
Hobart taxidermist William Hissey acquired specimens either alive or shot, which he then eviscerated, preserved, and stuffed. It was up to local artists such as Florence Williams to render a realistic representation. Artists working initially from dead specimens would calibrate their measurements and render their colour with some painterly addition of foliage from the specimen's usual habitat. This is an example by Florence Williams of a bird native to the area of New Town (near Hobart) where she lived, ca. 1873.
Description: Florence Williams. (British / Australia 1833 – 1915) A native bird with mountain berries and native flora, backed by Mount Wellington oil on canvas Signed with initials FW Original gilt frame, the image 59.8 x 45.2cm. Florence Williams was born in the UK and exhibited at the Royal Academy. Williams moved to Australia in 1863 and lived in New Town, Tasmania from 1873 – 1875, during which this work would have been painted. From the estate of G. T. Stilwell Private Collection Auction 2015 Lot closed - Price Realized incl. BP:$93,000 ESTIMATE: $6,000 - $10,000
William Hissey (1805-1896) whose occupation was registered as hairdresser on his death was a resident of 195 Davey Street Hobart. He died of paralysis and senile decay, 81 years old, attended by Dr. Crowther, death registered on 17 May 1896.
Thomas Nevin and the model canaries 1869
The prize cards had on them a large and well-executed photograph by Mr Nevin, photographer, of this city, of what is called in England a model canary; and, accepting that model as the correct one, the Judges found several birds which came well up to the standard —
JUDGING SCOTCH FANCY CANARY—THREE SCOTTISH WORTHIES. Image from page 270 of "The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and foreign" (1878)
Source: CANARY AND CAGE BIRD EXHIBITION Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870), Wednesday 5 May 1869, page 2
TRANSCRIPT
CANARY AND CAGE BIRD EXHIBITION
The first Tasmanian canary and other cage bird Show, which was held at the Alliance Rooms yesterday, under the patronage of His Excellency the Governor and the Hon. Mrs. Du Cane, was a decided success. No less than two hundred and twenty song birds were exhibited, including linnets, bullfinches, goldfinches, &c., besides an English thrush and blackbird, laughing jackasses, grosbeaks, and a great variety of parrots, paroquets, cockatoos, &3., &C. His Excellency and Mrs. Du Cane, accompanied by the Honorable Sir Richard and Lady Dry and Mr Chichester (Private Secretary), arrived punctually at twelve o'clock, and made a long and careful inspection of the exhibits, expressing much gratification at the large number and. excellence of the birds sent in. Besides the birds entered for competition, many were sent in for exhibition only — by the Hon. Mrs Du Cane and Messrs. Aldred, Johnson, Pope, Powell, Crowther, Petterd, Wellington, and others whose names were not attached to the cages. Mr Cearns also sent in a vase containing gold-fish. The prize cards had on them a large and well-executed photograph by Mr Nevin, photographer, of this city, of what is called in England a model canary; and, accepting that model as the correct one, the Judges found several birds which came well up to the standard — notably the variegated yellows of Mr Northcote, Mr Aldred, and Mr Walch's buff, Mr Montgomerie's yellow, and many others specified in the subjoined prize list. Much interest was taken in seven birds at the upper part of the room, which had been entered for a sweep of seven pounds, which was carried off as follows :—
First prize of £4, Mr Pope ; second prize of £2, Mr Montgomery ; third prize of £1, Mr McCawley. All were well shaped, well marked, and, we presume, good songsters, — to our mind, the great desideratum after alL " Sacrifice colour to accomplishments. Nature seldom gives rare beauty and great accomplishments." So said William Kidd, whose treatises on the canary are known, wherever canaries are kept or bred. But there were birds to satisfy the most fastidious, of good shape, good colour, and many with splendid notes. We scarcely remember to have seen a finer collection of birds, and most heartily congratulate the projectors of the exhibition on the success which has attended their efforts. We shall hope it will stimulate them, as well as the public generally, to introduce more of the song birds, denizens of the English fields and woodlands and brook sides. Such as the Nightingale, the Blackcap, the Sedge Reed, and Willow Warblers; the little Golden-crested Wren, always welcome for his sprightly ways, and many others.
PARROTS.
Rosella—1, Petterd ; cockatoo—1, Giblin ; king parrots—1, ditto ; African parrots —1, Graham ; 2, Walker ; English magpie—1, J. ditto ; Natiee magpie—l, Barnes; Norfolk Island parrots —1, A. Walker; jackass—1, Mrs Birchall; parrakeet—I, Quinlan; pair parrots—1, ditto; pair Adelaide parrots, 1 ditto ; 1 ditto—1, Birchall; cockatoo parrot—1, Walker; green parrot —1,
Powell; pair finches—1, M'Grath.
The Belgium Canary, awarded first and second prizes at the Tasmanian canary and other cage bird Exhibition attended by Thomas Nevin in May 1869, might have sounded like this one, that is, if its species-specific song hasn't changed much since 1869.
The taxidermy specimens created by William Hissey and photographed by Thomas Nevin may well have ended up in glass cases like this one at the Museum by 1900 when librarian Alfred Taylor took this stereoscopic photograph:
A stereoscopic photograph of an interior display at the Museum. TAYLOR, A.J. Librarian (1873-1922) Item Number: PH30/1/2252 Start Date: 01 Jan 1900 Source: Archives Office of Tasmania
Thomas Nevin at the Poultry Show August 1869
Four months later, in early August 1869, Thomas attended the annual exhibition of the TASMANIAN POULTRY SOCIETY, but this time he photographed engravings of model birds rather than the stuffed ones. His photographs were pasted to the prize cards awarded to exhibitors, If any of these unique photographs of poultry, pigeons etc produced by Thomas Nevin as prize-cards for the 1869 Tasmanian Poultry Show have at all survived, they appear not to be extant in Australian public collections.
Source:The Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870) Mon 9 Aug 1869 Page 2
TRANSCRIPT
TASMANIAN POULTRY SOCIETY—We may remind our readers that the annual exhibition of this society, under the patronage of his Excellency the Governor and his Worship the Mayor and Aldermen commences tomorrow, and will be continued the following day. A very large number of entries have been made, so that a first-rate exhibition may be expected, and to add to its attractiveness valuable gifts of poultry, pigeons, canaries, &c. will be distributed each evening. The prize cards, which we have been permitted to inspect are beautifully executed photographs of poultry, pigeons, &c., by Mr Nevin, of this city, from engravings of model birds.
What exactly had Thomas Nevin produced as photographs for these prize cards? The journalist at the Tasmanian Times had inspected them and described them as "beautifully executed photographs ... from engravings of model birds". So whose engravings had he photographed, and why had he not just photographed live birds in their cages? Of course, in an era when the capture of a living being required complete stillness from the sitter for several minutes, the constant jerks and twitches of birds would have rendered every attempt a total blur. Only dead birds give a pleasingly sharp image. Stuffed birds would have been a handy solution, if knowing the names of the winners in advance was possible, but that too was not the case. It is entirely possible that prior to the opening of show, Thomas Nevin was not informed of the names of particular prize winners from the many dozens of different classes of entrant, so he produced instead a series of cards from engravings of "model birds" - i.e. generic images - already published from earlier poultry shows, such as these prints from the Birmingham (UK) Poultry Show which appeared in the Illustrated London News on December 10th, 1859. Without a single example, however, the exact format and appearance of Nevin's prize-cards for the 1869 Tasmanian Poultry Show will remain unknown.
BIRMINGHAM Poultry Show Prize Geese Ducks Pigeons Chickens Antique wood engraved print taken from the Illustrated London News December 10th.1859 1859 Sourced at eBay Nov. 4, 2017
Benchmarks 1860s-1870s
Other sources of engravings and lithographs of model birds were readily available to the family of Thomas Nevin and his fiancee Elizabeth Rachel Day by the 1860s. The Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) had purchased Gould's Birds of Europe, folio, 5 vols. and Gould's Humming Birds, folio. Part I. in 1852, the year following Elizabeth's uncle Captain Edward Goldsmith was elected to the Royal Society along with John Gould F. R. S. as Fellows, Corresponding Members, and Honorary Members in 1851. Offered at auction from the personal library of Dr Milligan by Mr Worley of Macquarie St, Hobart on 12 June 1860 was Swainson on Taxidermy. Another important volume on sale was "Gould's Birds of Australia Parts 7, Imperial Folio, splendid coloured plates" advertised by The Hobart Town Daily Mercury Wednesday 6 June 1860.
Thomas Nevin's father John Nevin found a wounded white goshawk at Kangaroo Valley which he showed at the Hobart offices of the Mercury, and which the newspaper duly reported on January 22, 1874. He had identified the bird from Gould's HANDBOOK to THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA, Vol. 2, published in 1865 as the common White Hawk (Leucospiza Novae Hollandiae - see Addenda with plates below).
TRANSCRIPT
WHITE HAWK.- We were yesterday shown a fine specimen of this bird wounded in Kangaroo Valley by Mr. Nevin. The bird is the common White Hawk (Leucospiza Novae Hollandiae) of this colony and Australia, and is well figured in Gould's large work on Australian Birds under the name of Astur Novae Hollandiae. Gould was formerly of opinion that the White Hawk was merely an albino variety of the New Holland Goshawk, but in his more recent work the "Handbook of Birds of Australia," he has placed it under the genus Leucospiza. This hawk is by no means rare.
Source: Mercury 22 January 1874
Another report concerning native fauna, this time about Thomas Nevin's emu, appeared in the Mercury of 22 July 1878. While employed as Keeper of the Hobart Town Hall, Macquarie Street, Thomas Nevin had kept an emu in the paddock at the back of the Town Hall which had strangled itself while trying to escape. Because it was reported as an "ornithological disaster" it may have been the Tasmanian Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis, now extinct, one of the few remaining of the species and rare enough to warrant its presentation to the Museum of the Royal Society (TMAG). The many volumes of Gould's books on Australian birds and animals were readily available to Thomas Nevin, his wife Elizabeth and family while resident at the Hobart Town Hall between 1876 and 1880 because the Tasmanian library's collection of valuable books and international newspapers was housed in the same building Under Alfred Taylor's watchful eye as librarian), along with the Municipal Police Office and Mayor's Court on the ground floor, and police cells in the basement.
TRANSCRIPT
AN ORNITHOLOGICAL DISASTER.--
A young Emu the property of Mr. Nevin keeper of the Town Hall, came to an untimely end last week by being strangled in trying to force itself through the fence of the paddock in which it was kept at the rear of the Town Hall. The owner states his intention to present the Emu to the Royal Society's Museum.
Thomas Nevin's emu dies at the Town Hall, The Mercury 22 July 1878
BLAKSTONS ILLUSTRATED GUIDE, published during the 1860s-1870s in several editions was another ready source of reference.
Title: The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and Foreign Year: 1878 (1870s) Authors: Blakston, W. A Swaysland, W Wiener, August F Subjects: Canaries Cage birds Publisher: London New York : Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library https://ia600304.us.archive.org/7/items/illustratedbooko00blak/illustratedbooko00blak.pdf
Blakston et al, The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and Foreign, p.369
Blakston et al, The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and Foreign, p.433
Blakston et al, The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and Foreign, p.443
Text on left: the Swift Parrot, Tasmania
Blakston et al, The illustrated book of canaries and cage-birds, British and Foreign, p.444
Addenda 1: Mr Nevin's White Hawk
The following short article appeared in the Mercury, 22 January 1874. "Mr. Nevin" may have been the photographer Thomas Nevin, but it is more likely to have been Thomas' father John Nevin, given the somewhat frequent mentions in the Mercury in these years to his encounters with the wildlife at Kangaroo Valley, Hobart. The wording is somewhat ambiguous: was the bird wounded by Mr Nevin? Or was it already wounded when he found it and subsequently showed it at the newspaper office?
Source:Mercury, 22 January 1874.
TRANSCRIPT
WHITE HAWK.- We were yesterday shown a fine specimen of this bird wounded in Kangaroo Valley by Mr. Nevin. The bird is the common White Hawk (Leucospiza Novae Hollandiae) of this colony and Australia, and is well figured in Gould's large work on Australian Birds under the name of Astur Novae Hollandiae. Gould was formerly of opinion that the White Hawk was merely an albino variety of the New Holland Goshawk, but in his more recent work the "Handbook of Birds of Australia," he has placed it under the genus Leucospiza. This hawk is by no means rare.
This first plate is Sp. 14 from Gould's Birds of Australia (1848), mentioned in the article.
Sp. 14
Astur novae-hollandiae Accipiter novaehollandiae New Holland Goshawk White Goshawk
This second plate is Sp. 15, mentioned in the Mercury article with reference to Gould's HANDBOOK to THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA, Vol. 2, published in 1865. The full text is quoted below, from page 38 (see pages 37-39 for both):
Sp. 15
Astur novae-hollandiae(albino) Accipiter novaehollandiae White Goshawk White Goshawk
HANDBOOK to THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA, Vol. 2, by John Gould 1865
TRANSCRIPT
Sp. 15. LEUCOSPIZA NOV^E-HOLLANDLE.
White Goshawk.
Lacteous Eagle, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 216.
Astur Nova-Hullaiidia, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p. 179.
Astur albus, Jard. & Selb. 111. Orn., vol. i. pl. 1.
Falco Nova-Hollandia, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 16.
Fnlco albus, Shaw, in White's Voy., pl. at p. 260.
Sparvius niveus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., tom. x. p. 338.
Uiedalion candidum, Less. Traite d'Orn., p. 66.
Astur (Leucusjnza) Nov. ffoll., Kaup, Class. der Saug. und Vug., p. 119.
New Holland White Eagle, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. i. p. 40.
Goo-loo-bee, Aborigines of New South Wales (Latham).
White Hawk of the Colonists.
Astur Novse-Hollandise, albino, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. i. pL15.
This species has perplexed ornithologists more, perhaps, than any other member of the Raptorial Order—the point at issue being whether it be distinct or merely an albino variety of the Astur Rail. I have seen both birds in a state of nature, and critically examined numerous examples after death with regard to size, admeasurement, &c.; Slid, except in colouring, I found no difference whatever between the beautiful snow- white bird and the grey-backed individuals so frequently shot in the brushes of the eastern parts of Australia. Mr. Ronald C. Gunn and the Rev. T. J. Ewing, of Tasmania, however, incline to believe them distinct, and, in support of this opinion, call attention to the fact that none but white birds have been found in that island; but while I admit this to be true, I do not fail to recollect that- the most lovely individual I ever shot in Tasmania had fiery-red irides; still it is only fair to state they were not pink as in albinoes, and that most frequently the irides are bright yellow; the colouring of those organs therefore is evidently inconstant, and not to be depended upon as a characteristic. We know little or nothing of the nidification of either of the birds: could it be ascertained that the grey-backed and the white individuals mate with each other, they should be considered as identical; but until then it will be better, perhaps, to keep them distinct. Cuvier has hazarded the opinion that the white bird is an albino variety which has become permanent, and that they have the power of perpetuating their white vesture.
I think Professor Kaup is right in proposing a new generic title for this form, differing as it does both in structure and habits from the true Asturs, of which the A. palumbariiis is the type.
The sexes differ very considerably in size, the male being scarcely more than two-thirds the size of the female.
The whole of the plumage pure white; cere and legs yellow ; bill and claws black.
The John Gould Memorial commemorates John Gould, his wife Elizabeth Coxen Gould and John Gilbert. It was erected in 2004 to mark the 200th anniversary of John Gould's birth. The memorial was rededicated and a new plaque erected in April 2009 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the WA Gould League and 25 years at Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre which opened in 1984. John Gould was a zoologist, who was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. It is probable that after some slight education he served with his father as a gardener, and thus became attracted to both plants and birds. At 23 he was appointed a taxidermist on the staff of the Zoological Society of London, and in 1829 he married Elizabeth Coxen, a talented artist. In 1831-32 he published in twenty monthly parts A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, a volume notable for its eighty colour plates painted by Elizabeth Gould, and the precursor of a remarkable series of books on birds and mammals. In 1832 also he began the publication of The Birds of Europe, a work of five volumes that was completed in 1837. Gould turned his attention to the birds of Australia, and he issued in 1837-38 four parts of a so-called synopsis, with seventy-three plates by his wife, and immediately afterwards two more parts appeared. Very soon, however, he discontinued this work. He planned an expedition to Australia and he sailed in May 1838 with his wife and eldest son, aged 7, a young nephew, a man-servant and a maid-servant, and, most important, a zoological collector, John Gilbert. On 18 September 1838 in the Parsee the party landed in Hobart Town and at once Gould and Gilbert, accompanied at times by the servant James Benstead, began fieldwork in Van Diemen's Land and adjacent islands. In the following months, while Gilbert was operating in Western Australia, Gould visited New South Wales, spent several weeks exploring the Murray scrubs in South Australia, mainly in the company of Charles Sturt, and also visited Kangaroo Island. He also spent some time in Sydney, where in March 1840 he issued a prospectus relating to his proposed publications on the birds of Australia, already published before he left England, as indicated by a reprint in the Sydney Herald, 9 September 1839. The Gould party left Sydney on 9 April 1840, and publication of The Birds of Australia began in London on 1 December 1840. The final parts, making a total of thirty-six, appeared in 1848. As with his earlier books, these were published with admirable colour plates; many of the drawings had been executed by Mrs Gould, but after her death in 1841 other artists were employed. The total number of colour plates in the eight volumes is 681, and the whole production is undoubtedly the greatest of Gould's eighteen major works. Although grievously affected by his wife's death, and left with the care of six young children, he continued to work diligently at research and publishing. Gilbert died in 1845, but Gould subsidized other collectors and also kept in touch with Sturt and other explorers and naturalists in Australia. In addition to numerous papers in scientific journals, he issued works on humming-birds, on the birds of Asia, and on the birds of Great Britain, all beautifully illustrated; and during 1845-63 he produced in three volumes, The Mammals of Australia, followed in 1865 by a two volume Handbook to the Birds of Australia. He was engaged in compiling The Birds of New Guinea and the Adjacent Papuan Islands at the time of his death, and this work was completed by Dr R. B. Sharpe. During his lifetime Gould was honoured by numbers of scientific societies. Now his name persists as that of the "father" of bird study in Australia, and he is commemorated in a nation-wide institution, the Gould League of Bird Lovers.
