Henry Lewis England

S for Sandy Bay

Miss W. Chandler, England , , , , , ,

Sandy Bay is one of the oldest settled areas in Tasmania. But before the white men arrived the land was roamed over by the Muwinina people. There was lots of food and shelter found on the land and in the river which bounded part of their area. There were lots of fresh water creeks as well as beaches along the shores of the Derwent River.

The early European explorers were  Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, Nicolas Baudin and John Hayes. In 1808, just four years after the first settlement on the western shore of the Derwent River, many land grants were given to settlers who had been relocated from Norfolk Island. A lot of these settlers had been convicts and had earned their freedom on the island. Most grants were 20-100 acres and had frontage on the river. Easy for transporting goods from Hobart as the road was unpassable when wet and muddy.

In the 1840’s, some exiled Canadian political prisoners were set to road building from Hobart, through Sandy Bay and on to Brown’s River now called Kingston.

Some of the famous things found in Sandy Bay are:

  • Wrest Point Casino – first legal casino in Australia
  • Queenborough Cemetery – now built over by Hutchins School – their recent development has found more graves listed here
  • Long Beach – the end of the original tram line from Hobart – Sandy Bay Regatta held here each year
  • University of Tasmania – UTAS – including accommodation, oval, buildings for uni

Wrest Point Casino

How does Sandy Bay relate to my family?

My mother’s paternal lines are totally in Sandy Bay. Her paternal grandparents Henry Lewis England senior and Julia Charlotte Chandler both lived in the Sandy Bay area. The Chandler family still live in the area as they have had a garden nursery over the fence from where my mother lived with her parents in Grosvenor Street in Sandy Bay. Henry worked for the Queenborough Council in various roles.

Julia’s parents William Chandler and Caroline Bryant were living in the same house my mother lived in with her parents.

My mother told me lots of stories about her father taking her and her older sister down to Long Beach to go fishing. I think mum ate too many fish growing up as she wouldn’t cook it once she was married. Luckily dad liked cooking it. I have written other posts relating to mum and her family in Sandy Bay.

Family on regatta day, oral history from mum’s sister Margaret, Henry Lewis England Junior, biography of Julia Chandler

There is one video maker who has made a film about Sandy Bay in the 1800’s

Cousins

Miss W. #NaGenWriMo 2022 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There are some great places to meet your cousins. Weddings, family reunions, birthday parties and picnics at the beach.

The first photo today of cousins are some male members of the Davey, England, Boxhall and Stirling families. The Stirlings are actually double cousins to me as they are related through both England and Davey surnames. They are being serious in this photo but I also have one with them making faces and mucking around with the photographer at my aunty Margaret’s wedding in 1949.

Davey Stirling and Boxhall cousins
  • Back row: Len Davey, Ted Stirling, George Boxhall, Jack and Bill Stirling (twins) and Trevor Davey
  • Front row: Frederick Davey, Henry Lewis England (my grandfather) and Les Moore (husband of a Boxhall)

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, I helped organize family reunions with my cousin Hilary Birchall nee Davey. I would organize the family tree to be displayed, while Hilary would book the venue and invite the relatives she knew. We would also put an advertisement in the local papers in Tasmania for people to ring us to find out more about the reunion.

Many of the cousins from the south of the state would come up to Evandale where the reunion was always held. They would make a day of it, with the kids and grandparents, bringing a picnic lunch to share. These reunions also involved visiting the local church where many of the Davey and Colgrave ancestors were baptised and buried.

Whenever cousins from interstate arrived in Hobart we would have a get together. This particular one celebrated birthdays of the cousins from Western Australia.

Four young cousins from the Ryan family who are now adults

Dad has one favourite cousin from the Smith side of the tree, Ruby Blyth. He is pictured here with Ruby at her 21st birthday according to the information on the picture. I recently met Ruby again when I visited Flinders Island on a trip. This is where many members of the Blyth family live and where Ruby worked at the local hospital.

Finally, get togethers with visiting cousins could also be held on the beach especially if in summer. Our favourite beaches were Long Beach at Sandy Bay or we would drive down to Snug area and the beach near Coningham Nature Reserve.

In the first picture Raelene is our cousin as her grandmother (Aunty Glad) was the sister of my grandfather Henry Lewis England. In the second picture Michael is the grandson of Frederick Davey (also seen in the background) who was my grandmother Hannah Davey’s brother.

According to my DNA test, I have thousands of cousins but the main ones I know live in Tasmania.

Readers: Do you often get together with cousins?

Siblings in black and white

Miss W. #NaGenWriMo 2022 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This time I do have some photos relating to my dad’s side of the tree – the Smith family.

This is my father as a young boy, his mother and her brother (actually her half brother). Nan was very close to her brother Jack, who we knew as Bomber. He lived not far from Nan and he served in WWII and would often send nan postcards and letters from wherever he was serving.

Three more siblings of my nan are Ruby, Jimmy and Max. I have my nan’s photo album and she has many black and white photos of her siblings and nieces and nephews.

Now looking to my mum’s side of the tree where we have lots of photos of sibling groups.

These two photos represent the three England sisters. My aunty Margaret and her older sister Iris who died aged 10, then the second photo is my aunty Margaret with her younger sister Phyllis, my mum who was born a month before Iris died.

My grandmother Hannah England nee Davey was always very close to her sister Elizabeth Boxhall nee Davey known as Lizzie.

In this photo they even look alike – Hannah on left and Lizzie on right. The two sisters also kept in close touch with their other siblings especially those who lived in southern Tasmania. Hannah and Lizzie would often be together at different events. This photo shows two of Lizzie’s children Reuben and George Boxhall playing on the beach.

Many of the Davey siblings got together at the wedding of my aunty Margaret in 1949. Pictured above are Frederick, Doris, Hannah, Lizzie and George. Frederick is the youngest of the siblings and was born a month before his father died in 1914.

I also have one on mum’s paternal side of her father Henry Lewis England with his sister Ruby May England. This was also taken at Margaret’s wedding.

 

Readers: How many black and white photos do you have of siblings?