Table of contents for Edition 18, 2022 in Traces

Then The conception for the Argyle Cut began in the early 1800s, as growing infrastructure in the colony meant that a direct link between The Rocks and Millers Point was crucial. At the time, the two popular Sydney areas were separated by a giant sandstone ridge. Pedestrians were able to cross the divided Sydney suburbs by scaling the unsafe and deteriorating steps that had been carved into the rock back in 1810, when Argyle Street was first paved and named. Transporting cargo, however, was impossible, and carriages had to make a long detour to access Darling Harbour. The first plan came from Alexander Berry, one of Sydney’s wealthiest landowners, who ambitiously aimed to cut through the centre of the rock, and then issue a toll to passengers and stock using…

Australia holds an important place in the global history of filmmaking – for example, Australian producers were the first in the world to extend films to feature-long narratives (often over 3000 feet!). Films made in Australia usually didn’t rely on American or European models, and were made with local audiences in mind, telling distinctively Australian stories. Australia is also the birthplace of the world’s first multi-reel, feature-length film – the bushranging epic The Story of the Kelly Gang. This film managed to achieve many ‘firsts’ – the first to feature the Australian outlaw hero Ned Kelly, the first in the ‘bushranger film’ genre, and (sadly) the world’s first lost full-length film. A soaring debut On Boxing Day 1906, crowds gathered at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre to see The Story of the…

In the years immediately following the 1918 Armistice, a grateful Commonwealth Government distributed almost 2000 captured guns and mortars (along with 5000 captured machine guns) to towns and cities throughout the continent. In relative terms, this was the largest collection of its kind ever assembled by an allied army, an astonishing testimony to both the Australian Imperial Force’s military prowess and the diggers’ determination to make that success known in every part of Australia. The hometown display of vanquished weaponry was especially important for a young country like Australia, far removed from the European battlefields, that had suffered the highest casualty rate of any combatant nation (per capita). State War Trophy Committees were convened to help manage the distribution of this largesse and the sometimes undignified scramble that followed the…

In the heart of New South Wales’ Riverina region is Australia’s most haunted house, the Monte Cristo Homestead. Filled with spooky stories, strange sights and a murderous past, the homestead’s elegant manor is shrouded in mystery. Building a community at Monte Cristo Christopher William Crawley first built the mansion in 1885, and he lived there with his wife, Elizabeth, their seven children and a series of servants. Crawley was a wealthy farmer and landowner, who had made his fortune in Junee, a small town in the Riverina region, after the Great Southern Railway Line opened in 1878. Crawley sold some of his land, collected all the money he could and purchased a licence to build the Railway Hotel opposite Junee’s new train station. Travellers, farmers and landowners passing through saw…

Volcanoes uncover New South Wales shipwrecks The recent undersea volcanic eruptions near Tonga have played a part in uncovering shipwrecks on New South Wales’s Mid North Coast. Rough seas following the volcanic events have moved approximately one metre of sand, revealing the wrecks of the Sydney Queen, Lurgurena and Koondooloo, as well as 50-year-old ferries, at South West Rocks. Maritime archaeologists are documenting the wrecks, and exploring other areas around the coast for further uncovered artefacts. Maritime archaeologist Brad Duncan and Heritage NSW have used the recent events as part of their work on developing a model that aims to better anticipate favourable conditions for shipwreck visibility along the New South Wales coastline. Ancient history damaged Two sacred Aboriginal petroglyph sites have sustained significant damage in an act of vandalism…

For over a century, from around 1840 to 1952, my ancestors worked a farm on the Hawkesbury River at Freemans Reach, New South Wales. The family often speculated about how Freemans Reach got its name, so I wrote to Traces, hoping that someone could help me solve this riddle. Freemans Reach today is situated on the Hawkesbury River between Argyle Reach and North Richmond (or ‘Upper Reach’ as shown on old maps). We now spell the name without an apostrophe (Freemans), but old maps show it as Freeman’s. Does this mean it was named after a Freeman family, or a free man? Lower down the river, at least one reach (a portion of the river between bends) was named after a family living nearby. The date for the naming of…

When convicts were sentenced to their fate on Australian shores, many knew that it was unlikely that they would ever see their families again. The voyage from Britain to the Australian colonies took more than eight months, and even if convicts were to receive a pardon, many stayed in Australia and created a new life rather than undertaking the long, expensive journey back to their homeland. For this reason, convicts had to accept the fact that they wouldn’t see their families and loved ones for many years, if ever again. Convicts wanted their families to have something to remember them by, something that could represent their affection and act as a token of their love. Many chose to make what is now known as a convict love token, as they…

This handmade puzzle was made in the mountains of Maryland, United States, in the 1890s to entertain adults. The puzzle is smartly made, and wouldn’t be easy for amateurs to create since it’s important that all parts are well-fitted; however, it could be bought in stores for a small cost. The goal of the puzzle – and what makes it a puzzle – is to figure out how to remove the rings. It’s an adaptation of the wire puzzle called the Chinese Ring Puzzle, a popular parlour game of the Victorian era made from wire and ivory. This version is made with a a wooden base, shaped as an elongated oval, that has seven holes drilled at one of its ends, forming a row of holes. Nails have been threaded…

While looking at old photos in a jumble sale, a negative fell out and instantly caught my attention. Its size (approximately four centimetres by six centimetres) intrigued me. Holding it up to the light, I saw a picture of a man holding a dead fox in one hand, and a rifle in the other. The way it fell right in front of me seemed like fate. From that moment on, I was compelled to research this photo. I had it developed and was amazed by how clear the picture was. I couldn’t stop thinking about the original owner of this negative, who would have had it developed, and who would have kept the photograph in their photo album. My goal was to identify this man, and to do so, I…

When a sailing ship crashed ashore in the dead of night, who was to blame? There is inherent drama in a witness statement such as, ‘The Captain was drunk the best part of the voyage.’ Coupled with the loss of a fine ship and the drowning of a crewman, the evidence already seems damning. But whose testimony should we believe – and why? By the 1880s, passengers bound for the Australian colonies had largely abandoned sailing vessels for speedier steamships, but full-sailed clipper ships were not obsolete. Originally built for hauling freight, clippers now focused full-time on carrying commodities. When the barque Queen of Nations departed London in February 1881, for instance, its cargo was valued at £22,700. Clearing for Sydney, it included railway tracks, hardware, earthenware, china, glass, clothing,…

‘In the 1860s, the idea of the modern city was being invented… and there was still a great deal to figure out.’– Samuel Martland ‘Brisbane town is the recognised place for drinking, whoring and folly by night.’ So said Ludwig Leichhardt in 1844. When the settlement became the capital of the new colony of Queensland in 1859, the situation was little improved. Education, health care and the arts were poorly developed. Given the shortage of government schools and the need to provide education quickly, the colonial authorities partly funded the church schools. The children were taught the subjects of a British education: namely reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar and geography, with some general religious instruction. Teachers had ‘not merely to instruct the children, but also to train them to habits of…

MyHeritage Australia • New South Wales Assisted Immigrants Index, 1839–1896: 60,365 records • New South Wales Convicts Index, 1791–1873: 150,000 records • New South Wales Deceased Estates Index, 1880–1939: 260,166 records. Belgium • Birth Notices: 5,443,853 • Death Notices: 6,897,946 records • Marriage Notices 5,824,889. France • Index of Obituaries and Funeral Notices: 5,639,021 records • Legion of Honour: 366,331 records • Val-de-Marne Civil Births: 709,948 records • Val-de-Marne Civil Deaths: 1,171,403 records. Germany • North Rhine Westphalia (Arnsberg and Münster) Deaths, 1874–1938: 8,343,820 records. Norway • Death Registrations: 591,777 records. Russia • Cemetery Records: 3,387,291 records. Sweden • Household Examination Books: 158,165,291 records. www.myheritage.com. FamilySearch Argentina • Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635–1981: 4,614,243 indexed records • Cemetery records, 1882–2019: 613,909 indexed records • Santa Fe, Catholic Church Records,…