1851-1880

U for Umbrella Maker

Miss W. 1821-1850, 1851-1880, 1881-1910, Early families, General information , , , , ,

Thanks to Jo Hopkins for writing this post for the A-Z challenge.

UMBRELLA MAKER is not a trade that springs readily to mind, however that is the occupation that James Jones gave when he was committed to trial in London in 1837.

James Jones was born in 1817 in Shoreditch London. On 27 June 1837, James approached John Love in the street and demanded money, making him a ROBBER.1

He was sentenced to transportation for twenty-one years and began his time as a CONVICT. He was transported on the Moffatt and arrived in Hobart on 1 April 1838. His convict record  has umbrella maker crossed out and the comment LABOURER inserted.2

James Jones was allocated to the New Norfolk area to labour in a WORK GANG, then after his probationary period he was assigned to Robert Thorne of Pitt Water. Thorne was the son of Samuel Thorne, a marine who arrived in Hobart Town in 1804.

As an ASSIGNEE Jones was required to undertake any tasks allotted by his master, and Thorne had varied business interests – coastal shipping, farms, a ferry, the Rose and Crown Inn. Thorne had a grain store on the foreshore in Lewisham and probably operated a passenger ferry from there across to 5 Mile Beach (The middle of the three ferries). James Jones is likely to have been a FERRYMAN who rowed across the channel.

James Jones received a Ticket of Leave on 25 December 1842 and married Ann Kennedy in 1843. On the birth registrations of their three children (William 1844, Harriet 1845 and James 1848), he was described as a MARINER. In 1847 he attained a Conditional Pardon.

By 1848, James Jones had acquired and was the LICENCEE of the Victoria Inn in Lewisham. (The building was extensively remodelled for a century then demolished around 1968. The Lewisham Tavern was built on the site.) 3

NS1553-1-420 Lewisham House

Ann Jones died in 1857, and James remarried to Charlotte Stacey, daughter of John Stacey and Hannah Stacey (Green).  The 1858 marriage record lists him as a LICENCED VICTUALLER. Their son Charles and their eight daughters were born in Lewisham between 1859 and 1875.

For many years James was a great SUPPORTER of the local area. Newspaper reports (found through Trove) see him on organising committees for race meetings held at Forcett and for regattas at Lewisham. The Victoria Inn was often the venue for meetings and celebrations.

In 1865 James Jones, SHIP OWNER, together with Robert Harrod launch the Lewisham Belle, a 55-foot schooner to trade between Sorell, Lewisham, the Tasman Peninsula and Hobart. Unfortunately, the new and uninsured boat sinks off Taroona
with the loss of three crew and the cargo of wheat.

James Jones continued to live in the Lewisham area where he had been assigned in 1839. By the time of his death, he was a LANDHOLDER owning 169 acres of land around the area. Much of the property was farmland – around Boathouse Hill and the hill behind and including the Rose and Crown Inn (no longer licenced). His estate included the Victoria Inn and the parcel of land immediately to the north of the inn. This block, perhaps mistakenly sold by the government, contained the local Watch House, making James a GAOL OWNER.

  1. Digital panopticon The Digital Panopticon James Jones b. 1817, Life Archive ID obpdef2-1634-18370703 (https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/life?id=obpdef2-1634-18370703). Version 1.2.1, consulted 20th April 2022. ↩
  2. https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON27-1-7P172#  Founders and Survivors Record ID fasai37630 ↩
  3. Victoria Inn. AA Rollings photo NS1553-1-420 ↩

P for Photography

Miss W. 1851-1880, 1881-1910, 1911-1940, General information, Special people , , , , ,

Albert Archer Rollings was born on 24 March 1865 to parents James and Martha Rollings (nee Wiggins).

In 1888, he was elected as secretary of the Lower Sorell road trust.

On 4 June 1890 he married Sophia Dodge, youngest daughter of Ralph Dodge, in Hobart.

In 1894, Arch was selling off a lot of goods at Rosy Vanyan, Forcett, the property owned by his parents who had both passed.

By 1895, Arch was the manager of the Forcett Milk Company operating from 78 Murray Street, Hobart.  In 1898, he was now manager of the Country Milk Supply Company and he was sent to Sydney to scope out how milk was supplied to customers there. Arch was present in 1917 when the Primary Producers Union was formed.

He was appointed post-master and savings bank agent at Forcett in 1896 after his sister Kate resigned.

In the late 1890’s, Arch had a photography business in Harrington Street, Hobart with his partner Harry Dart. In the early 1900’s he sold his part of the business and moved to Sorell where he set up his own shop. He also had a partnership with H E Howard until 1906.

Arch was a member of the Sorell cricket club and often mentioned in reports. In 1914, he donated pendants as trophies for cricket. In 1916, he was secretary of the re-organized Sorell Rifle Club and by 1921 Arch was captain of the Sorell Rifle Club  also donating a trophy that year.

When a public meeting was held in August 1915, Arch used his skills to throw the anthems of the Allies onto a screen so everyone could join with the choir in singing.

In November 1922, Arch was selling his drapery business in Sorell. Sophia Rollings died on 28 September 1928. Arch remarried to Julia Adelaide Rapp. He died on 2 March 1947.

As Rollings and his wives had no children, the business was up for auction in the late 1950’s when the second Mrs Rollings died.

Robert Tanner, a former Sorell history teacher and a resident of Sorell, was attending the viewing for the auction of the Rollings business in Sorell. He noticed an old dunny (outhouse) in the backyard, looked inside and found it had been used as a dark room. It contained lots of boxes filled with glass plate negatives. He thought these could be used as part of his grade 7 local history studies at school. There was no lot number, so the auctioneer added a number. On the day of the auction, Robert was teaching, so a friend bid for him and it cost 10 shillings and 6 pence. A lot in the late 1950’s.

Robert and some of the older residents of Sorell could name people in the photos, so they were then sent to the Tasmanian Archives where they are now held. To listen to the ABC interview of Robert, follow this link. Also find out more about the discovery by reading Robert’s article in Pitt Water Chronicles Vol 2 (p39-42).

Below is a selection of the first 100 images of Arch Rollings negatives now digitized by the Tasmanian Archives.

NS1553-1-1 Forcett football team
NS1553-1-45 Eileen (Blossom) and George Ward wearing their grandfather’s shoes Joseph Green
NS1553-1-52 Forcett shop and Post Office owned by Mrs Bailey
NS1553-1-57 Sorell Council Chambers, Court and Gaol demolished 1910
NS1553-1-61 Ferry “Cartela” at Lewisham jetty
NS1553-1-68 Mrs Hacks wedding – Nugent church
NS1553-1-73 House, Gordon St, Sorell formerly owned by G and L Phillips, later Strides Drapery
NS1553-1-74 Mrs/Miss Howard and students at Wattle Hill School
NS1553-1-91 Sorell Council dinner
NS1553-1-98 Madsens property, The Ferns, Wattle Hill

K for Kellevie

Miss W. 1851-1880, 1881-1910, General information, Towns , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Land near Kellevie 2022

Kellevie is a rural area in the municipality about 28 kilometres east of Sorell. Looking at newspapers mentioning Kellevie, it has certainly changed over time. Before I began the research for this post, I thought Kellevie was a very small place in the back hills of Sorell. I now have a different view of the history of the area. Blue links take you to newspaper articles to read.

In 1853, there was 280 acres of land leased to John Picken in the parish of Kellevie.

In 1862, in the local newspaper Kellevie was mentioned as being in the County of Pembroke and that it was a parish in the area called Carlton Scrub along with Nugent and Canning parishes. It was listed as agricultural land.

In 1871, Kellevie is mentioned often under Crown Lands for rent. Here are some examples of how the land is described by Mr Crawford:

Stony forest land ; steep hills in part, coarse herbage throughout. Not capable of much improvement. Carrying capacity-300 sheep.
Rocky tier land, chiefly, eastern frontage. Rough she-oak hills with coarse edgy flats here and there. Soil poor. Not capable of much improvement. Carrying capacity-200 sheep.

By August 1878, plans were afoot for a school at Kellevie.

Tenders were out by October 1878 and specifications could be viewed at Rochfort Hall, Upper Carlton, the home of Richard Copping, a well known whaling captain.

Builders wanted!

November 1878 saw a very detailed description of Kellevie in the local paper. Mention of the many families in the area.

First school master appointed in 1879. But just over a year later the school is shut and the master removed. Why? A new appointment has been made.

School is ready for pupils
  • Even in 1881, teachers were moved around a lot, but in a five year period all head teachers had been promoted from the Sorell district.
  • By August 1882, just four years after being built, tenders were out for repairing the school premises at Kellevie. By November that year, it was ready to be started and they asked the Board of Education for a fortnight’s holiday while the repairs were done.
  • In August 1883, whooping cough was prevalent among the students and the school was closed for a week.
  • A letter to the editor mentioned the Kellevie school in November 1883, and the teachers held a tea in the evening for students and parents on the day school closed for Christmas holidays.
  • June 1884 where Matthew Burnett lectured on temperance to a very large crowd at Kellevie.
  • August 1884 the school was averaging 60 children each day with Mr and Mrs Miller still in charge.
  • The annual tea meeting in December 1884 includes names of many prize recipients. December 1885
New classroom
  • Discussion of postal service in Coppington and Forcett area including Kellevie.
  • Students mourn death of a school friend at Kellevie in February 1886.
  • The schoolmaster and mistress Mr and Mrs Miller moved to Bothwell. Farewell meeting at the schoolhouse in July 1886.
  • Mr Downie is the new schoolmaster in August 1886 and more trouble re the postal service.
  • Discussion about opening up roads to Kellevie to allow produce to get to Dunalley more easily.
  • Upper Carlton now officially known as Kellevie through the Post Office.
  • Fantastic article with names of children receiving prizes at the Christmas tea meeting in 1886.
  • School numbers still growing, so Captain Copping helps again. But what about the Government?
More room needed
  • Problems with divine service being held in school buildings.
  • May 1887 a large gathering for a presentation to Rev Alex Doctor and Mrs Captain Richard Copping.
  • A parent from the Kellevie community wrote a letter to the paper regarding the surroundings of the school.
  • In August 1887, Reverend Alex Doctor is moved on to a church in Bothwell.
Assault in the district
Visit by Governor
Amputation not needed?
  • Lady Hamilton visits Kellevie school and a great description written up by the correspondent for the local paper. She also presented prizes for the end of the year.
  • Boy’s cricket teams between local schools. Dunalley defeated Kellevie in the first match but the reverse in the second match.
  • Poor school attendance due to illness in the area.
  • The school master Mr Downie was promoted to Scottsdale school.
  • What is attacking the sheep?
Sheep attacked

Readers: Which of the above newspaper articles did you enjoy the most or find the most interesting? Do you know how the parish got the name Kellevie prior to 1853 article in the paper?