1788 AD Magazine of the Fellowship of First Fleeters ACN 003 223 425 PATRON: Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO Volume 48, Issue 5 49th Year of Publication October-November 2017 To live on in the hearts and minds of descendants is never to die 5th PRESIDENT BERYL LEWIS HONOURED IN MEMORIAM The Southern Highland Chapter’s June Meeting was I will never forget – just 12 guests in right royal company – very special indeed. Mr Howard Lewis humbly engifted a magnificent dinner, served by attendants in formal cos- the Chapter with a beautiful eternal memorial to his tume in honour of the occasion.” much beloved wife, our Past Patron, Mrs Beryl Lewis. Beryl and Howard attended the Inaugural Meeting of Howard lovingly related Beryl’s fervent involvement our Chapter in November 2004.Beryl was the proud Pa- with the Fellowship over 44 years. Beryl became Vice tron of the Southern Highlands Chapter from June 2007 President at the 1973 AGM. She was elected President until her passing in July 2013. at the 1975 AGM having acted in that capacity for a few The memorial was a very treasured possession of weeks after the death of Beryl’s. The framed minia- Edgar Kable. Beryl re- tures of the Ships of the First signed her Presidency at Fleet were in her study close the Executive Committee to her desk where she could meeting in June 1983. see it as she worked (along A highlight of Beryl’s with portraits of her heroes Presidency was represent- Captain Cook & Governor ing the Fellowship in May Phillip). Howard had the 1980 as an honoured guest framing updated to include of the City of Portsmouth Beryl’s Fellowship Badge for the unveiling of the along with three brass Bonds of Friendship. As plaques outlining her involve- Beryl recalled ment in the Fellowship. “Portsmouth really cele- Our Guest Speaker Paul brated – the Royal Yacht Brunton (OAM, FAHA Emeri- was dressed and an- tus Curator of the State Li- chored in the Solent and brary of New South Wales) a the streets were lined long-standing friend of Beryl with flags, with bands and Howard, was invited to playing in most streets. Paul Brunton Howard Lewis unveil the memorial – he Her Majesty was coming considered it a great honour to Portsmouth! Following a Formal State Luncheon to do so. Paul recalled Beryl’s in the Guildhall, we were taken by coach to the Sally Port involvement in the Bankstown Historical Society and her for the unveiling of the Bonds of Friendship by Her Majesty dedicated work as a volunteer in the State Library, of the Queen, who chose to dismiss her car and walked, to how she brought so much history to so many people. He the delight of the thousands who lined the streets. I and eulogised her as a woman of integrity, vision, warmth, a approximately 9 or 10 dignitaries were in the front row to woman of charm. An astute business woman. A gentle- be presented to the Queen, how proud I was and how im- woman in the old-fashioned sense of the word. pressive it was to see the First Fleet so honoured in that beautiful old city. Sydney has so much to learn! At night, President Pamela Cormick warmly accepted the gift on there was a formal Private Dinner to attend and I was behalf of the Chapter and the memorial will be displayed transported in the Lord Mayor’s beautiful car to an evening at all our meetings. WS Registered by Australia Post Publication No. 100002063 PRICE $2.50 Phone 02 9360 3788 FoundersNew First available Fellowship of First Fleeters, 105 Cathedral Street, Woolloomooloo, NSW 2011 Email:[email protected] Fleeternow on found. e-mail. First Fleeters on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FirstFleeters Details on page 12 Membership Enquiries:[email protected] WEBSITE: www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au See page 12 Founders October/November 2017 PRESIDENT’S PEN FOUNDERS The magazine of the Jon Fearon Fellowship of First Fleeters Editor , Layout and Artwork Jon & Karys Fearon As Founders has been in preparation our citizenry Ph. 02 4311 6254 once again has had to endure another bout of historical, E-mail: [email protected] seemingly hysterical, revisionism by media. The annual Australia Day debate has surfaced early and with seem- DIRECTORS 2016-2017 ingly more venom than usual. We of the Fellowship are not President/Chapter Development bowed. We continue to honour our ancestors and are grateful f o r Jon FEARON, BA. Dip Ed. Stud (TESOL), the roles they played in founding the nation we know today. It has been good Vice-President/Events/ to see that both our Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer have recently ac- Maintenance knowledged in public their First Fleeter ancestry. Denis SMITH OAM It is fitting therefore, in our archival tribute in this issue, to revisit Ena Treasurer Harper’s articles on European and Aboriginal Encounters that appeared in the Kevin THOMAS, FCA,FCPA,FCIS newsletter over two years from April 1978. And on this theme we are excited to Office Manager/Secretary/ announce that in the next issue you will be able to read a significant article by Facebook one of our members with aboriginal ancestry. Therese LUCK Investigating historic cemeteries and the finding of First Fleeter headstones Research/Web Site Co-ordinator have always been our forte, so members will be pleased to know of some forth- John BOYD JP. coming developments. At St Peters church in Petersham, England, our plaque Chapter Liaison /Membership honouring Lt Henry Lidgbird Ball will be unveiled and dedicated on 22 October. Karys FEARON, BN Taking part will be some members of the Fellowship so we will be looking for a Archives full report in due course. Robert LAMB. Mech Eng. Cert. In Tasmania moves are at a standstill to have our plaque installed at the old & Machinist Cert. town cemetery at Sorell where FF William Hambly is buried. Many of his de- Archivist/Events scendants live in that state and are eager honour him with a dedication cere- Sharon LAMB. Assoc. Dip Land & eng mony. Others of us plan to be at the 200th Anniversary celebrations of St Mat- Survey Drafting thews, Windsor, in the second week of October, starting with a commemora- Minute Secretary tive service on the 8th. Best wishes to family groups who have organised activi- Karen LOVETT, BA. Dip Ed ties to coincide with the Windsor celebrations. Family Trees/Database/Computer My call is still out for historic photos of the early days of the Fellowship. In Management Tony HOLDEN preparation for next year’s anniversary we need a big selection, particularly of the first twenty years. Black and white copies are fine and even if they need to Plaques/Membership remain in albums we can still photograph them for our purpose. Chris COUNTER JP Membership Don’t forget the Fellowship’s Annual General Meeting to be hosted this year Val COUNTER by Hunter Valley Chapter. Details are listed below and the Directors are hoping there will be a good roll-up on the day from far and wide. Two directors will be CONTENTS retiring so there will be up to three vacancies to fill. Please consider offering for 1. Fifth President Honoured service. Note that due to track work buses will be replacing trains that week- 2. Directors; President’s Pen; Annual end on the Central Coast, Newcastle and Hunter lines. General Meeting Announcement 3. Blowing up our Heritage 4. James Squires’ First Transportation FELLOWSHIP OF FIRST FLEETERS ACN 003 223 425 5. continued Patron: Professor The Honorable Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO 6. Edward Risby, 1755-1823 Vice-Patron: Commodore Paul Kable AM, RAN, Rtd. 7. continued; Genealogy: Donations Vice-Patron: Peter Christian OAM 8-9 Encounters between Europeans and Aborigines in NSW (from the archives) NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 10. Book Review: Perseverence; Chapter The next Annual General Meeting Office bearers Will be held on 11. Chapters in Action Saturday 28th October 2017 12. New Members; Births; Deaths; At Commencing at 11.00am the Helm; Luncheon 2018; Chapter Sec- At: Adamstown Senior Citizens’ Hall retaries 153A Brunker Road Adamstown NSW 2 October/November 2017 Founders BLOWING UP OUR HERITAGE Member #7643.1 Paul Miskelly responds to our the Woronora River, including the Lucas Watermill site. Woronora Watermills story This site’s demolition may have been part of a more exten- sive program to demolish what Council regarded as sub- Thank you for featuring in the June/July 2017 Issue of standard squatters’ dwellings along the river on the Founders the story on the nomination for listing on the neighbouring “Shackles Estate”. State Heritage Register of the two Lucas Watermills built on tributaries of the Georges River, and in particular, the The Lucas Watermill site is situated downstream of the Woronora River Watermill. causeway which forms the Woronora River crossing of Ma- jor Thomas Mitchell’s original road from Sydney to the top There is, however, a bitter-sweet aspect in being re- of Bulli Pass, constructed in the years 1843-44 (Anon. minded of the profound significance of this site, a site with 1947). (This which I was very familiar, being as they are in the vicinity causeway was of the Lucas Heights Research Establishment at which I was given the employed for several years. name the On the one hand, it is very pleasing indeed to learn that Pass of Sene- the local Council is supporting a State Heritage listing of g a l b y what is one of the important sites of our First Fleet Heri- Mitchell, per- tage, going back as it does to 1825.