Dawson

V for Van Diemen’s Land

Miss W. Boyd, Bryant, Chandler, Colgrave, convict, Davey, Dawson, Dixon, England, Hearn, Jackson, Pickering, Sutton, Virco, Watkins , , , ,

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

Henry George Dawson

Miss W. Biography War, Dawson , , , , , , , ,
dewdrop157 / Pixabay

This post is written especially for ANZAC Day, when I post about service members in my family. Henry George Dawson is my great granduncle. The biography is also on WikiTree.

Henry George Dawson was born on 3 March 1891 at Gladstone, Tasmania. He was the 5th child born to Alexander Dawson and Hannah Sutton. 1

Henry’s father was a miner in Gladstone and in 1899, the family moved from Gladstone to Queenstown which is also a mining town but on the west coast of Tasmania.

Unfortunately in 1901, Henry’s father passed away from inflammation of the lungs. He had done a double shift at the mine as his family had a misfortune from a bush fire in Queenstown in the area where they lived. They lost their belongings which they had moved to what they thought was a safe place and then a few days later they also lost their house. 2

In June 1903, Henry must have been visiting Zeehan and had two of his fingers crushed by a cart wheel. He was taken to hospital and released after the fingers were dressed. 3 4

With many young children to look after, Henry’s mother Hannah remarried in 1905 to Michael John Carey and had one child with him.

Henry survived the North Mt Lyell mining disaster on 12 October 1912. He was rescued 4 days later at 3.30pm. Two of his older brothers also survived. 5

Henry no longer wanted to be involved with mining so he headed to Melbourne instead. His marriage to Florence Augusta Albrecht was registered in 1913 in Victoria, Australia. 6

In 1915, Henry’s younger brother John McKay Dawson, was killed in Egypt. 7

The birth of Henry and Florence’s son John (named after his uncle who had passed) was registered in 1915 in Victoria, Australia. 8

On 14 January 1916, Henry enlisted in the army in Melbourne. According to his attestation papers, he and his wife were living at 136 Prince’s Street, Port Melbourne. His medical history mentions the second finger on his right hand was missing. Maybe from the accident in Zeehan in 1903. 9

Henry had served 2 years in senior cadets and 6 months in the Citizen Forces in Queenstown but resigned voluntarily because of business. Henry was put in the 22nd Battalion, 11th Reinforcements and service no 4409.

On 29 March 1916, Henry departed Australia heading to England on H.M.A.T. Orontes. On 5 September, they moved across to France from England. On 20 September he joined the 22nd Battalion from the 2nd Australian Divisional Base at Etaples, France.

On 13 October, Henry was killed in action and buried at the Railway Dugouts 1.5 miles SSE of Ypres. 10

From 3 January 1917, Florence received 2 pounds per fortnight and their son Jack received one pound per fortnight from the pension of a deceased soldier.

As Henry’s widow, Florence received the Memorial Plaque and Scroll as well as the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

A descriptive memoriam poem was put in the local paper by Henry’s mother, stepfather and siblings. 11
== Sources ==
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  1. Birth Registration, Libraries Tasmania, Names Index ↩
  2. 1901 ‘THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE.’, The Mount Lyell Standard and Strahan Gazette (Queenstown, Tas. : 1896 – 1902), 16 April, p. 2. , viewed 22 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232837433 ↩
  3. 1903 ‘WESTERN NEWS.’, Tasmanian News (Hobart, Tas. : 1883 – 1911), 27 June, p. 4. (FOURTH EDITION), viewed 21 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176651686 ↩
  4. 1903 ‘Queenstown Notes.’, Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tas. : 1890 – 1922), 27 June, p. 4. , viewed 21 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article83730987 ↩
  5. 1912 ‘NORTH LYELL, Oct. 16, 3.30 p.m.’, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 – 1954), 17 October, p. 5. , viewed 21 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10254223 ↩
  6. Marriage Registration, Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Registration number: 6030 / 1913, (accessed 21 April 2025) ↩
  7. 1916 ‘QUEENSTOWN’, Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tas. : 1890 – 1922), 7 November, p. 4. , viewed 21 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84092695 ↩
  8. Birth Registration, Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Registration number: 15681 / 1915,  (accessed 21 April 2025) ↩
  9. NAA, National Archives of Australia, record for Henry George Dawson ↩
  10. 1918 ‘QUEENSLAND’, Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tas. : 1890 – 1922), 11 October, p. 4. , viewed 21 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84291554 ↩
  11. 1918 ‘Family Notices’, Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tas. : 1890 – 1922), 12 October, p. 2. , viewed 21 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84291213 ↩

R for Ringarooma

Miss W. Dawson , , , ,

Many of my posts relating to Tasmania include something to do with mining. Present day Ringarooma is a small town about 55 kilometres northeast of Launceston. The area was first used by the Tasmanian aborigines but it wasn’t until the 1850’s when James Scott blazed a track over the range of mountains that the area was opened up for farming.

In my recent research, I have found that the original town developed in the 1860’s called Ringarooma was actually near the mouth of the Ringarooma River flowing out into Ringarooma Bay. In 1888, this town was renamed to Boobyalla. Also in 1888, the town once called Krushka Town was renamed Ringarooma. This is the present town mentioned in the first paragraph.

Ringarooma is also a registration district for births, deaths and marriages in Tasmania.

The early settlers in the 1860’s arrived in the Ringarooma area by horseback or walking as the tracks were very narrow. As the settlement grew larger, the tracks were widened and bullock trains could then bring in people and supplies. It would take about 12 hours from Launceston in a two horse buggy.

In the 1870’s alluvial tin was found about three kilometres from the town. Now smaller townships developed but still based around Ringarooma where the miners would get their supplies. Gold was first found in the early 1880’s at the New River.

For those families who didn’t want to mine, they could clear the land to grow crops. They found the soil around Ringarooma was of a great chocolate colour and was fantastic for dairy and beef cattle. Crops such as potatoes, peas, carrots and onions were also grown as well as hops.

In 1908, the Ringarooma Co-operative Butter, Cheese and Bacon Factory was opened.

Mercury Mine, Alberton, Ringarooma (c1900)

How this registration district fits into my family history.

Alexander Dawson senior and Hannah Sutton, my 2nd great grandparents, married in 1882 in Gladstone which is in the Ringarooma registration district. Alexander was a miner. They were married in the home of Catherine Dawson, Alexander’s mother.

Alexander Dawson, my great grandfather, as mentioned in the post about Queenstown, was born in Gladstone in the Ringarooma District in 1884. Most of his siblings were also born in the Ringarooma district and around 1899, his parents, Alexander senior and Hannah nee Sutton moved the family to Queenstown where their final child Frederick was born in 1900.

Unfortunately Alexander senior died in 1901 from inflammation of the lungs. His death was written up in the local paper.

PS Maybe I should have checked precisely where the Dawson siblings were born rather than just looking at the registration district. The distance between Gladstone and the town Ringarooma is about 55 kilometres.