Dear all Certainly from the text of the markets cows were being milked and dairy produce sold, ie butter, cheese at the markets. It is possible that if someone was having difficulty in feeding a baby, that other lactating women may have helped. Annette ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ross Sneddon" <rsneddon@bigpond.net.au> To: <aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 8:28 AM Subject: Re: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station > > Lesley, Ken and Group, > > It was close on 75 years before any registered "pure bred" cattle came to > Australia and they were in fact beef cattle. Registered pure bred Dairy > cattle took around 100 years before any arrived. Let's not debate what is > a > pure bred animal. > > However, all cows, beef, dairy or mixed breeds as no doubt all early > cattle > were do produce milk, if only for their own young and I believe that mixed > bred cows that were as much inclined towards the dairy end as the beef end > of cattle confirmation were in the first fleet. Although beef usually > produce less milk than dairy, I am sure enough milk could be obtained from > any cows available to nourish the progeny of tough convicts of the era. > > And bear in mind we eat (old) dairy cows today and most people cannot tell > the difference. > > Ross. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ken Mero" <kenmero@tsn.cc> > To: <aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 10:12 AM > Subject: Re: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station > > >> Lesley, Thanks for the article, it really made old Sydney come to life. >> Just >> one question that has been puzzling me, if we didn't have any dairy cows >> only beef cows in the early years, how did the convict girls, those that >> couldn't naturally, feed the babies milk.?? Regards Ken at Wauchope in >> the >> middle of the mid north coast dairy land. >> ----- >> Subject: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Dear Lesley and Members of this wonderful List. To you Lesley " Thank You" seems inadequate, with your help and assistance over the years, I have made a few of my "Brick Walls Tumble". Your kindness is very much appreciated. I would very much like to take this opportunity to extend to one and all " The Blessings of Christmas and I wish you all a " Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year".... May all those Brick Walls start to tumble. Sincerely Fay Fraser Gold Coast.

Hi Dianne There was a gaol in George Street, on the corner of Essex Street. On checking the 1828 NSW Census it does not appear as thought he was still in gaol. The Census was taken in November 1828 regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html -----Original Message----- From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Dianne Myers Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 2:35 PM To: AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS@rootsweb.com Subject: [PJ] Early Gaols Hi I have a convict, Stephen JOHNSON who in February 1828 wrote a letter from gaol to apply for his children to be taken into the orphan school as his defacto, Elizabeth DENHAM had taken off and left the children behind. He was in gaol for not paying his debts. In his letter his states that Elizabeth DENHAM had collected money that was owing to him and taken it, leaving him without the ability to pay his debts. My question is does anyone know what gaols existed in Sydney in 1828? In the 1823/1825 census he is shown as living in Port Macquarie with Elizabeth and his children, later in 1828 he appears in the census as living in George Street Sydney. I am not sure if the letter was sent from a gaol in Sydney or Port Macquarie. Regards, Dianne

Hi I have a convict, Stephen JOHNSON who in February 1828 wrote a letter from gaol to apply for his children to be taken into the orphan school as his defacto, Elizabeth DENHAM had taken off and left the children behind. He was in gaol for not paying his debts. In his letter his states that Elizabeth DENHAM had collected money that was owing to him and taken it, leaving him without the ability to pay his debts. My question is does anyone know what gaols existed in Sydney in 1828? In the 1823/1825 census he is shown as living in Port Macquarie with Elizabeth and his children, later in 1828 he appears in the census as living in George Street Sydney. I am not sure if the letter was sent from a gaol in Sydney or Port Macquarie. Regards, Dianne

Ahh, remember most of these people would have been locked up in the hulks for years with the restricted head room common in sailing vessels of the time. That would have been true of the voyage as well. They would have been continually bent over. Food wasn't plentiful in the first years of the colony either, but it was probably better than that in prison. regards Ray On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 9:10 PM, Lesley Uebel <ckennedy@bigpond.net.au>wrote: > Hi Colin > > I guess it was the...... > > Good and plentiful fresh food, fresh air, an invigorating sea voyage :) > ... > physical work and perhaps less disease etc. > > If you look, for instance, at the growth in height that many of the convict > men > achieved in the first few years after arrival, the good food and climate > must > have something to do with that. > > regards > > Lesley Uebel > mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au > CLAIM A CONVICT > http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Colin > Borrott-Maloney > Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 7:50 PM > To: aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [PJ] Early Parramatta > > > What is special about these > ""Women, who certainly would never have bred in any other climate,"" > > Why do they suddenly start conceiving here ?? > > Cheers > Col > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi again Colin. There were also menstrual problems, but I did not really want to go there as I was preparing dinner the time when I answered before.... but I still think that the change in food and climate was probably the main factor. Regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html -----Original Message----- From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Colin Borrott-Maloney Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 7:50 PM To: aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PJ] Early Parramatta What is special about these ""Women, who certainly would never have bred in any other climate,"" Why do they suddenly start conceiving here ?? Cheers Col

Hi Colin I guess it was the...... Good and plentiful fresh food, fresh air, an invigorating sea voyage :) ... physical work and perhaps less disease etc. If you look, for instance, at the growth in height that many of the convict men achieved in the first few years after arrival, the good food and climate must have something to do with that. regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html -----Original Message----- From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Colin Borrott-Maloney Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 7:50 PM To: aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PJ] Early Parramatta What is special about these ""Women, who certainly would never have bred in any other climate,"" Why do they suddenly start conceiving here ?? Cheers Col

Maybe it was the male love potion pheromones were just too irresistible, with all the fresh country air :-)) Cheers Col ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Bushell" <bush@cbn.net.id> To: "Convicts Port Jackson" <AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 8:44 PM Subject: Re: [PJ] Early Parramatta > Col, > > I had better be careful how I answer. For a start I assume that you are > aware of what causes conception. > > Perhaps this enhanced breeding phenomenon might have something to do with > the imbalance of genders within the community. Those ladies who might > have > limited chance of finding a partner in the old country would have no > trouble > attracting one in NSW because there were just so many more men than women. > > Of course he does refer specifically to the climate rather than > demographic > influences. Perhaps the relatively mild climate, as compared to the old > country, might have encouraged more of the activity that leads to > conception. > > I tend to favour the demographic explanation, but I am no expert on the > subject. > > Best regards, > John > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > __________ NOD32 3695 (20081216) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > >

Hi everyone I have posted this before and possibly more than once, but thought it may help some who had early convicts sent to Parramatta >From the Journal of Captain Watkin Trench. Nov 1790 "The main street of the new town is already begun. It is to be a mile long, and of such breadth as will make Pall-Mall and Portland Place "hide their diminished heads." It contains at present 32 houses completed, of 24 feet by 12 each, on a ground floor only, built of wattles plaistered with clay, and thatched. Each house is divided into two rooms, in one of which is a fire place and a brick chimney. These houses are designed for men only; and ten is the number of inhabitants allotted to each; but some now contain 12 or 14, for want of better accommodation. More are building; in a cross street standing nine houses for unmarried women; and exclusive of all these are several small huts where convict families of good character are allowed to reside. Of public buildings, besides the old wooden barrack and store, there is a house of lath and plaister, 44 feet long by 16 wide, for the Governor, on a ground floor only, with excellent out-houses and appurtenances attach to it. A new brick store house, covered with tiles, 100 feet long by 24 wide, is nearly completed, and a house for the store-keeper. The first stone of a barrack 100 feet long by 24 wide, to which are intended to be added wings for the officers, was laid today. The situation of the barrack is judicious, being close to the store-house, and within a hundred and 50 yards of the wharf, where all boats form Sydney unload. To what I have already enumerated, must be added an excellent barn, a granary, and inclosed yard to rear stock in, a commodious blacksmith's shop, and a most wretched hospital, totally destitute of every convenience. Luckily for the gentleman who superintends this hospital and still more luckily for those who are doomed in case of sickness to enter it, the air of Rose Hill has hitherto been generally healthy. A tendency to produce slight inflammatory disorders, from the rapid changes of the temperature of the air, is most to be dreaded. "...my other remarks on the climate will be short, it is changeable beyond any other I ever heard of, but no phenomena, sufficiently accurate to reckon upon, are found to indicate the approach of alteration. Indeed, the first 18 months that we lived in the country, changes were supposed to take place, more commonly at the quartering of the moon, than at other times. But lunar empire afterwards lost its credit; for the last two years and a half of our residing at Port Jackson, its influence was unperceived. Three days together seldom passed without a necessity occurring for lighting a fire in an evening. A habit d’etè, or a habit de demi sâison, would be in the highest degree absurd; clouds, storms and sunshine, pass in rapid succession. Of rain, we found in general, not a sufficiency, but torrent of water sometimes fall. Thunderstorms, in summer, are common, and very tremendous, but they have ceased to alarm, from rarely causing mischief, sometimes they happen in winter. I have often seen large hailstones fall. Frequent strong breezes from the westward purge the air; these are almost invariably attended with a hard clear sky. The aurora australis is sometimes seen, but is not distinguished by superior brilliancy. To sum up: Notwithstanding the inconveniences which I have enumerated, I will venture to assert a few words, that no climate, hitherto known, is more generally salubrious *, or affords more days on which those pleasures, which depend on the state of the atmosphere, can be enjoyed, than that of NSW, the winter season is particularly delightful. * To this cause, I ascribe the great number of births which happened, considering age, and other circumstances, of many of the mothers. Women, who certainly would never have bred in any other climate, here produced as fine children as ever were born. Regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html

Thanks Lesley for all the info you pass on to us Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year Lorna Prendergast --- On Tue, 16/12/08, Lesley Uebel <ckennedy@bigpond.net.au> wrote:   Start your day with Yahoo!7 and win a Sony Bravia TV. Enter now http://au.docs.yahoo.com/homepageset/?p1=other&p2=au&p3=tagline

What is special about these ""Women, who certainly would never have bred in any other climate,"" Why do they suddenly start conceiving here ?? Cheers Col ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lesley Uebel" <ckennedy@bigpond.net.au> To: "Aus-Pt-Jackson-Convicts@Rootsweb. Com" <aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 6:30 PM Subject: [PJ] Early Parramatta To sum up: Notwithstanding the inconveniences which I have enumerated, I will venture to assert a few words, that no climate, hitherto known, is more generally salubrious *, or affords more days on which those pleasures, which depend on the state of the atmosphere, can be enjoyed, than that of NSW, the winter season is particularly delightful. * To this cause, I ascribe the great number of births which happened, considering age, and other circumstances, of many of the mothers. Women, who certainly would never have bred in any other climate, here produced as fine children as ever were born. Regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message __________ NOD32 3694 (20081215) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com

Col, I had better be careful how I answer. For a start I assume that you are aware of what causes conception. Perhaps this enhanced breeding phenomenon might have something to do with the imbalance of genders within the community. Those ladies who might have limited chance of finding a partner in the old country would have no trouble attracting one in NSW because there were just so many more men than women. Of course he does refer specifically to the climate rather than demographic influences. Perhaps the relatively mild climate, as compared to the old country, might have encouraged more of the activity that leads to conception. I tend to favour the demographic explanation, but I am no expert on the subject. Best regards, John

Thank you Lesley, they were unpleasant times for the Convict, Regards, Jill J Source: From Reminiscences of Thirty Years' Residence in New South Wales and Victoria by R Therry (1863) Much of the maladministration's of the law may no doubt be attributed to the improper materials of which the magistracy at an early period was composed. Many of its members had been commanders and mates of convict and other ships, and of small coasting vessels; and the 'rough and ready justice' of the quarter deck was transferred to the magisterial benches of NSW.

Dear Lesley & List, thank you Lesley for the information on the Markets. Husband Tom's maternal family had a stall there (not the QVB). His great grandmother, Mary Ann HESKETH (nee BIGGS, daughter of Mary Ann and Charles BIGGS) had a stall in the early 1900s (she died in 1911 aged 70). Her daughter ELIZA NEWTON HESKETH (married to Thomas Henry Charles ROWAN) continued with the stall until old age when she died aged 71 in 1953 at Homebush. There is a photo in the PIX magazine, (about 1957) of her serving saveloys and peas for threepence, age 64. The article says her mother had the stall before her when a 'half saveloy and peas were a penny which were eaten on the spot.' (Daily Mirror July 31, 1957. Are any of the books referenced by Lesley still available? The HESKETH family had NEWTON or OLIVE/ER in their name, male and female. Not sure of the origin. Regards, Lynette -----Original Message----- From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Lesley Uebel Sent: Sunday, 14 December 2008 10:27 AM To: Aus-Pt-Jackson-Convicts@Rootsweb. Com Subject: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station It is not so very long ago that here in Sydney transgressors were pilloried and put into the stocks on this spot. The price of petty crime was to be expiated by suffering jeers, jests and a little mud slinging and some of our forebears took advantage of the situation, yet it was only to eke out the sparse pleasures of the day.

Lesley, Thanks for the article, it really made old Sydney come to life. Just one question that has been puzzling me, if we didn't have any dairy cows only beef cows in the early years, how did the convict girls, those that couldn't naturally, feed the babies milk.?? Regards Ken at Wauchope in the middle of the mid north coast dairy land. ----- Subject: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station

Source: From Reminiscences of Thirty Years' Residence in New South Wales and Victoria by R Therry (1863) Much of the maladministration’s of the law may no doubt be attributed to the improper materials of which the magistracy at an early period was composed. Many of its members had been commanders and mates of convict and other ships, and of small coasting vessels; and the 'rough and ready justice' of the quarter deck was transferred to the magisterial benches of NSW. Not a few were needy and selfish settlers, who sought to extort by the lash the maximum of labour from prisoners assigned to them. A purely nominal responsibility attached to their acts; for how was a convict 'civiliter mortuus' to seek redress for any wrong, however gross and illegal, of which he was the victim ? It may be said that Government was bound to protect them; but in the then state of society, and especially remote parts of the country the magistrate was the only person on whom the Government could rely for the dispensation of justice tempered with mercy. Rarely, and except in case of some outrageous wrong, did the voice of the sufferer in the wilderness reach the seat of government; and even then the mode of relief afforded was to invite the wrong-doer to report on his own conduct. His statement of the case usually prevailed, as it was only opposed by the petition of one whose degraded position favoured the presumption that he was a discontented man, and of a troublesome character, on the truth of whose complaint no reliance could be placed in opposition to that of a magistrate of the territory. At the period to which I allude, this magistrate of the territory – a high sounding title – was a little magnate of the land. His powers were large and almost irresponsible, as far as related to his rule over the convict population. A facility of the abuse of it was afforded by a prevalent practice of entertaining the complaints of masters against their assigned servants in the private residences of magistrates, where they were exempt from public criticism. Justice in such cases was administered somewhat after this fashion: A person in the position of a magistrate had usually 30 or 40 convicts assigned to his service: his neighbour, a magistrate also, living about 10 or 15 miles distant from him, may have had about as many more. For the sake of illustration, these magistrates may pass under the well-known names of Jones & Brown, whilst the convicts of each may, for our present purposes, be recognised under the generic name of Robinson. Well, on Monday, the day appointed for trial, Jones bring 5 or 6 Robinsons before Brown, on a charge of ‘insubordination’, a grave offence, punishable by the lash, though what constituted the offence of insubordination, no legal definition was ever yet given. It might mean anything: sometimes a refusal to do double work; a hasty word; a look of dissatisfaction, or, of constructive disrespect; whatever, in fact, Jones thinks fit to call insubordination Brown decides to constitute the crime of insubordination. On being duly convicted in the parlour of Brown, nobody by but the accused, the accuser, the witness under examination, and the judge, the latter usually concurring in the reasonableness of this legal interpretation, 5 or 6 Robinsons are ordered to the triangle, to receive a flogging, from 25 to 50 lashes, repeated, after an interval of a few days, 3 or 4 times. On the following Monday, Brown in his turn brings a like number of his Robinsons before Jones, who, to preserve a consistency in judicial decisions, awards a like punishment for like offences. On the first Monday, the court (it was called a court) being over, the accusing magistrate, Jones, shares the hospitality of the presiding judge, Brown; a few friends are invited to meet him, and a jovial evening is spent. Vice versa, on the following Monday, Jones, in his turn, becomes the dispenser of the lash and the giver of the feast. It is due to the character of General Darling to state that he was not the creator of a system that admitted of abuses such as these. He found it in existence on his arrival. It first grew out of a state of society in which Government was obliged to place confidence in magistrates residing in the interior, whose conduct was beyond its observance and control. General Darling’s administration was not undistinguished by meritorious efforts to multiply courts of petty sessions, where justice might be administered in public; and, moreover, it is due to General Darling to record of him that he resisted an application made by some magistrates and others, by petition, to increase the extensive powers which they already possessed for the infliction of this degrading punishment. But it was not until the arrival of Sir. R Bourke, that the whole system was swept away, and the authority of a single magistrate abridged so effectually, that without violation of the law, such a scene as is sketched above could not be enacted. Regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html

Hi Doreen, Can You tell me the names of the Graves you want photos of at Liverpool. I may be able to help you. Lorraine From Sydney (near Liverpool) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doreen" <penne@hyper.net.nz> To: <aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 2:34 PM Subject: Re: [PJ] Research Manners > Hello there. I had a similar thing happen to me from this list when a > regular contributor offered to take photos of graves at the Liverpool > Pioneer cemetery.I applied and was told it would be $12.While this was > happening she asked if I could research one of her family members who had > lived near me in Napier NZ,which I did,told her the two archive photos > would > be $15 each = $30 which I sent her and never a whisper of thanks nor > repayment for the photos. Never again .Very disapointing behaviour. I of > course would have deducted what I owed her but never heard from her again. > cheers Doreen. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Elizabeth Walker" <lizrose@tpg.com.au> > To: <AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 7:03 PM > Subject: [PJ] Research Manners > > >> Hi Lesley, >> >> Recently I was approached by a "lady" who said she has connections to >> my family through one of my convict ancestral families. I found >> out what she had then forwarded on quite a lot of information. I >> also asked for some information from her line. >> >> Not a whisper of an answer, nor a thank you. >> >> I think this might be the last time I offer family >> information. Shame, after all these years of sharing and enjoying >> our discoveries. >> >> Disappointed researcher, >> >> Liz >> >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' >> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >> __________ NOD32 3680 (20081210) Information __________ >> >> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. >> http://www.eset.com >> >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Thank you Lesley for all the work you put into these informative and interesting messages. Barbara. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lesley Uebel" <ckennedy@bigpond.net.au> To: "Aus-Pt-Jackson-Convicts@Rootsweb. Com" <aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 10:27 AM Subject: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station > > It is not so very long ago that here in Sydney transgressors were > pilloried and > put into the stocks on this spot. The price of petty crime was to be > expiated by > suffering jeers, jests and a little mud slinging and some of our forebears > took > advantage of the situation, yet it was only to eke out the sparse > pleasures of > the day. > > > The Queen Victoria Building is not the site of Sydney's first market. That > was > in George Street North, between the present Globe and Essex Streets. The > new > Market square was laid out in October 1810 and the convict, architect > Francis > Greenway later designed an elegant domed building as a Market House at its > southern end. This was converted in 1828 into a police office and > magistrates > court. "The market is like a village', said the author of A Walk through > Sydney > printed in 1829. "On the left are maize and wheat for sale, on the right, > green > forage, vegetables, turkeys, ducks, geese and sucking pigs; in the front > are > rows of booths full of drapery and grocery." The writer noted the curious > fact > that the girls selling butter were 'somewhat sallow and sun freckled, have > sharp > chins, wide foreheads, flat faces, and are of majestic stature." The > markets are > paved with free stone, and covered over for shelter with roofs supported > on > stone piers, under which with different commodities of Australia are > exposed for > sale. By means of a pump in the centre of the market-place, they are > always kept > perfectly agreeable and clean. The market days are Tuesdays and Fridays. > The > market opens at seven o'clock in the morning by the ringing of a bell; and > from > the elegance of its appearance, and peculiar form, it bespeaks rather an > amphitheatre, than a public place. The masonry work of this building > reflects > great credit on the builder, Mr Brodie. > In 1846 the whole of the buildings and land were handed over to the > recently > formed Corporation of Sydney. The market then consisted of four long rows > of > wooden sheds, which were later united under one roof at a cost of £10,000. > In > the late 1840's beef and mutton were selling at twopence a pound, potatoes > at £6 > a ton, peaches a shilling a basket, cheese fourpence a pound, ducks four > shillings a pair, colonial tobacco ninepence a pound (it was miserable > rank > stuff from the Nepean) bottled ale eleven shillings a dozen and sherry at > thirty > shillings a dozen. > > > "After all, there is comfort to be found in the vicinity of Botany Bay,' > said > one philosophic visitor. "With a beast of veal or a couple of short legged > fowls, a ham and a glass of Madeira, our existence may be rendered > tolerably > easy at the very ends of the earth!" > > > The anonymous author of Settlers and Convicts who called in at the market > taproom found "almost everyone drinking rum in drams, or very slightly > qualified > with water", their chief conversation consisting of vaunts about the size > of > their working bullocks. "Their dresses were of all sorts - the blue jacket > and > trousers of the English lagger, the short blue cotton smock-frock, fustian > jackets, woollen smocks.. Some wore straw hats, some beavers, some, caps > of > untanned kangaroo skin. And not a shin in the room that displayed itself > to my > eyes had on either stocking or sock." Most of the bare-shinned farmers > whose > lumbering carts were drawn up outside the market stalls were "highly > elevated in > liquor", noisy and quarrelsome. But their women were quiet and sober. > Indeed, > "it was the habit of numbers of respectable persons, especially of the > fair sex, > to lounge about the market every Thursday to diversify the time". The > market > taproom was a notorious centre for political talk-the iniquities of > Governor > Darling were canvassed there, as well as the speeches of the reluctant > duellist > Robert Lowe, Wentworth, and a fiery young ivory-turner named Henry Parkes. > > > > The ramshackle old congeries of market sheds, occasionally rebuilt or > re-roofed, > lasted until 1891, when demolition began to prepare for the Queen Victoria > Building. Two years before that, Greenway's old police court had been > pulled > down, and the City Council bought the site from the Government for > £124,000, > thus acquiring the whole block from Market to Druitt Streets. > > > What did it look like? Anything like the markets we know today? Probably > yes, if > we could turn back more than 180 years - perhaps they were a little more > serious > about the buying and selling side than we could be at either Paddy's or > Flemington markets, but when transactions were concluded, there was still > the > same urge to relax and enjoy. One contemporary account of those early > market > says: "The settlers drove their drays into the open area amidst the old > shed > like stalls that here and there stood for the occupation of dealers, and > the > whole was surrounded by the remains of a three-rail fence. 'The author > noted > that there was no hay, but its place was taken by bundles of green grass, > much > of it almost as coarse as reeds. > > Presiding over the police court in the 1830's was the swarthy, romantic > and > slightly mysterious figure of Captain Nicholas Rossi, whose brushes with > the > English language delighted the town wits. Rossi, by some inexplicable > means, got > himself appointed Superintendent of Police and magistrate of the Police > Court, > where, on market days, "the poor and ignorant were doomed to penitential > exhibition", and showered with vegetables and rotten eggs. " Ah, you bin > 'ere > vun, two, tree times," the Captain would thunder at old offenders. "1 gif > you > vat you call vun gally-buster! I make you go in ze stocks, by Got !" > > > Nicholas Rossi had arrived in Sydney in 1825, amid a cloud of speculation > about > his earlier history. He was, in fact, a Corsican who had fought in the > rebellion > against Revolutionary France in 1793, and served as an officer in one of > the > Anglo- Corsican regiments during Britain's short-lived occupation of the > island. > Then he went to England, was given a commission in a British regiment, and > served in various parts of the world for the next 28 years. He was > rumoured to > be on the Secret Service payroll. He was even identified, though the story > seems > quite groundless, with a mysterious witness who gave evidence at the > divorce > trial of Queen Caroline, the flighty but ill-used wife of King George IV. > > > Late in 1824, Rossi found himself appointed Superintendent of Police in > New > South Wales at a salary of £600 a year. How he got the job is obscure. His > enemies said that it was a reward for his services to King George in the > unsavoury divorce proceedings, or at least for some undefined secret > service > intrigues for the Tory Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh. At all events, > Rossi > arrived in Sydney in May, 1825. Governor Darling made him Collector of > Customs > at £1,000 a year in 1827 (poor recompense compared with Captain Piper's > noble > rake-off), but a year later he resigned to preside as magistrate over the > Police > Court. > > > Rossi, as a Darling appointee, was one of Edward Smith Hall's favourite > butts. > The Monitor never lost a chance of sniping at the foreigner who conducted > his > court proceedings in a picturesque sort of pidgin English. The actor > Meredith > mimicked his accent at the Theatre Royal. Yet Rossi seems to have been an > efficient and conscientious magistrate. He retired to his country estate > near > Goulburn in 1835. His son (who inherited a French tide of Count) once > claimed > that no fewer than thirteen Governors and Lieutenant-Governors dined at > the > hospitable Rossi table during his own and his father's lifetime. > > Druitt Street now stands on the site of Captain Rossi's stocks. > > > Sources: Sydney's Highways of History by G. Scott > Pictures of Sydney and Strangers Guide in NSW for 1839 by James Maclehose > Sydney Looks Back - Isadore Brodsky > > Regards > > Lesley Uebel > mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au > CLAIM A CONVICT > http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Wayne That's exactly where it comes from. I was tidying up some computer files and that piece was one of the papers I distributed on that George Street Walkies :) The George Street Walker was the one we both tested the week previously. I think that walk was 5 years ago... how times flies. regards Lesley Uebel mailto:ckennedy@bigpond.net.au CLAIM A CONVICT http://users.bigpond.net.au/convicts/index.html -----Original Message----- From: aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-pt-jackson-convicts-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of flora.1 Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 12:37 PM To: aus-pt-jackson-convicts@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station A great read once again Lesley. Thank you. Reminds me so much of those wonderful "walks" you hosted years back, in particular George Street and the Rocks. Happy memories and good friendships struck. Best regards, Wayne Carter flora.1@bigpond.com -

Hi Lesley and list, Thanks very much for the story. Sorry I haven't participated this year, but I do read and appreciate the work you and the list members do to make the list the best. My daughter is 5months old now and it is so much joy being a father that I don't find time for much else at the moment, but will get back to family history soon. May I wish both you and the list a very Merry Xmas and everyone have a Safe and Peaceful New Year. Cheers Les Gover & Family -------Original Message------- From: Lesley Uebel Date: 12/14/08 10:27:40 To: Aus-Pt-Jackson-Convicts@Rootsweb. Com Subject: [PJ] The old Markets and Police Station