V for Van Diemen’s Land

The state I live in is now called Tasmania but was once called Van Diemen’s Land.

The Palawa or Aboriginal Tasmanians were first on this island. When the rising sea level cut off the island from the mainland of Australia, the Palawa were isolated from contact with the aborigines on the mainland.

Their first knowledge of Europeans was when Abel Janzsoon Tasman landed in 1642 and planted a Dutch flag near what is now the town of Dunalley on what was then called Blackman Bay. There was no contact with the aborigines though.

It was at this time the island was named Anthoonij van Diemenslandt (Anthony Van Diemen’s land). This was in honour of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies.

During the early colonisation of Australia the name Van Diemen’s Land (VDL) was used and it was part of the colony of New South Wales. But in 1825, VDL became a colony in its own right. Then on 1 January 1856, it was renamed Tasmania.

The new name was to celebrate Tasman as the early explorer but also to get rid of the notorious convict past of VDL.

Tasmania 1644

How does VDL relate to my family?

Nearly all my ancestors first arrived when the colony was known as VDL.

Convicts:

  • Francis Colgrave – 1832 – ship Circassian
  • Isabella Watkins(on) – 1841 – Garland Grove
  • John Holliday Boyd – 1836 – Henry Porcher
  • Martha Virco nee Hearn – 1839 – Hindostan
  • John England – 1846 – Pestonjee Bomanjee
  • Rebecca Jackson – 1847 – Waverley
  • William Dawson – 1850 – Maria Somes (2)
  • Catherine McKay – 1848 – Cadet (3)
  • Mathew Sutton – 1840 – Mandarin
  • Mary McCrewney – 1848 – Kinnear (2)

Free settlers:

  • John Davey – 1854 – Wanderer
  • David and Mary Dixon nee Pickering – 1841 – Andromeda
  • William Chandler – 1855 – Fortitude
  • Caroline Bryant – 19 Jan 1856 – La Hogue – would have arrived during celebrations of new name Tasmania

U for Upper Blessington

Upper Blessington is a rural locality about 50 kilometres east of Launceston, Tasmania. There is another locality called Blessington which is about 30 kilometres south east of Launceston and adjacent to Upper Blessington.

In the 2016 census, Upper Blessington had a population of 61 while Blessington had a few more at 93. The two towns are on Blessington Road C401.

Upper Blessington is at the junction to Ben Lomond Road which leads up to the ski resort on Ben Lomond.

Much of the land to the south and east of Blessington Road is now pine plantation rather than the open farmland it was when my ancestors first lived there.

The map below shows the area my family lived in and Upper Blessington is just off the top right corner of the map.

The numbers represent:

          1. Evandale
          2. Clarendon
          3. Nile
          4. Deddington
          5. English Town
          6. Blessington
          7. White Hills

Distance from Evandale to Blessington is approximately 25 kilometres.

My family and the Blessington area

The first two Colgrave generations (18 chn) were born in 5 of the 7 towns above. 1840-1890

The first two Davey generations (20 chn) were born in 5 of the 7 towns  1860-1914

The first Dixon family (5 chn) were born in 2 towns 1842-1850

The first Boyd family (9 chn) were born in 2 towns 1842-1861

No children born at Clarendon in the above numbers.

Evandale – 17, Nile – 4, Deddington – 9, English Town – 5, Blessington – 9 and White Hills area – 8

I drove my mother, her sister and a cousin to Evandale to have a look at the area. We had lunch in the local pub and my cousin called out, “Anyone here a Davey or Colgrave? If so we are your cousins from Hobart.”  We got a positive reply and ended up for afternoon tea and another drive around the area looking at places related to the families.

I also had a big day out in the area as my first trip since Covid began. I wrote a post about it and included images.

I have also run two family reunions in the 1980’s and 2000’s at the Evandale memorial hall for the Davey and Colgrave families. At least 200 people turned up at each reunion where I had my computer to add information but also had a paper copy of the tree put up around three walls of the hall.

H for Honiton Clyst

Clyst Honiton Church - geograph.org.uk - 1322076

Honiton Clyst (or Clyst Honiton) was a small village but is now part of the outskirts of Exeter in Devon, England. In 1850, there were 467 people living in the village according to the Devonshire Directory. Little did I know that many of them were members of my Davey family in the 1830s.

In 1990, I stayed in a B&B in Honiton Clyst when I was researching my great great grandfather John Davey.  All I knew was that he was born in Devon around 1834. At that time the village was on the main road called the A30 which made it easier for me to drive into Exeter to visit the local archives each day. But since then the village has been bypassed by other major road works. The local Exeter airport is also near Honiton Clyst.

The major church there is St Michael and All Angels which has been in use since the 1680’s.

Some other posts I have written about researching John Davey: Research surprise, His biography, DNA match.