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Central Perth in cardboard
A guide to the diorama of central Perth before 1880 on display in the Museum of Perth
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A Trial on Trial
A man killed his wife. When the powerful find themselves on trial, discussions happen about the justice system that don’t happen when the powerless are similarly ensnared.
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An introduction to the Dysons
“A lot has been written and spoken about the Dyson family, the majority of which was unmitigated bunkum…” wrote a newspaperman back in 1927. So I continue a long and proud tradition.
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Harrenden Unclaimed
There is only one single instance of the name Harrenden being mentioned in the early historical record of Western Australia. That was a time in early 1843 when some unidentified party believed a woman named Fanny Harrenden resided in the locality of the Swan River Colony, for they sent a letter to her there that
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This was him.
Now the only known genuine likeness of James Dyson (1810-1888), Van Diemen’s Land Convict, early free settler to Western Australia, Perth City Councillor, builder, merchant, and general all-round ratbag has absconded, I post an official version, as it were.
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The Male Convict Class System in VDL
The male* convict classification system in Van Diemen’s Land was invented by Colonel George Arthur as part of his mandate to make Australia scary again. It originally applied only to those convicts in Hobart-town not already assigned to live and work for private settlers. That his system had seven classes must have appealed to the
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The point of no return.
This was one panorama you did not want to experience on your visit to Van Diemen’s Land — back when it was Van Diemen’s Land. A small speck of terror amid the rolling canopy of green. Fire has cleansed it of much of it’s horror, so now it is Tasmania’s number one tourist destination once
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Jane Develing no more.
It should be fairly common knowledge by now that Mrs Jane Dyson, before she was Mrs Edwards, was Miss Jane Develing, or Develin, Devlin or Devling… a sixteen year old orphan girl sent to the Colony of Western Australia on the first of the bride ships in 1849. But that was not her name…
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Thompson’s Swamp
I’ve been wading through the history of the Swamp lately. That is — the actual swamp that had Dyson’s name on it — not the metaphorical entity that represents the Dyson family’s life in early colonial Australia. This is the one that is currently known as Lake Jualbup.
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Missing an Allpike link?
Stephen Hallpike (1786-1844) was a convict from Lancashire sent to the Australian colonies. It was in Liverpool that he was finally busted for the most Lancastrian crime it was possible to commit — stealing 100 yards (91.44 metres) of cotton cloth.
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Flame out
The discovery of gold changed everything in Western Australia.
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Shadowy Spouses
Have I uncovered the identity of Emily Bates, the spouses of Jacky and Mabel Dyson, or parents of Mrs Jane Dyson?
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Bio: Edward Hales Taylor
[CONTENT WARNING: This biography contains mentions of clowns]
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I’m sure this is all completely normal
There was nothing particularly unusual about the citizens of Perth suing each other in the civil courts during the 19th Century. It was more out of the ordinary not to be embroiled in some sort of legal action at any given moment.
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The One that Got Away
Much as I would dearly love to visit Tasmania again and wallow amongst the microfilm, that’s not going to be possible any time soon. Then, thanks to a lead not affiliated with any of the “official” sources of knowledge, I learnt that a certain religious sect have in their possession the documents I seek
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Four days with the VDL Establishment
Convict James Dyson was assigned to work for the Van Diemen’s Land Establishment for all of four days between 2 and 5 October 1837. What happened next will not surprise you in the slightest.
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Bio: Samuel McKee
A Vandemonian Maverick (but weren’t they all?)
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Bio: Lt Pearson Foote (RN)
Apart from being an inspiration to future Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi, there must be a whole lot more to the man than is currently understood.
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Bio: David Williams
Van Diemen’s Land settler William Patterson was winding up his affairs in that colony when convict James Dyson was assigned to him about 14 July 1837
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Bio: Henry Nickolls
The Master of Corra Linn On, or just before 7 December 1837, Henry Nickolls, master of the Corra Linn estate on the Patterson Plains, was punched in the head by a newly-assigned employee and warned by him that “there was more where that came from”. Which is something of an inversion of the typical master
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A departure from Van Diemen’s Land
I’m a bit shocked to realise that it’s been six years since that I first posted a transcription of James Dyson’s conduct record as a convict in Van Diemen’s Land. For the past year I’ve been writing up the story of his time on the island. I think I understand now most of what happened
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Unreliable Witness
The Dyson family grave site in East Perth Cemetery.
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Perth City Council Minutes 1858-1875
Transcription of the the minute books of the Perth City Council between 1858-1875
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Tales of the Moffatt
The voyage of the Moffatt, transporting 400 convicts to Van Diemen’s Land in the year 1834, might be unique in that there are no less than two narrative accounts of the same passage, written with considerably more detail than the usual bald official accounts of departure and arrival, and the invariably incomplete manifests of passengers…
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Researching a Convict Ship
Researching a particular convict ship I find more that I expected. This will turn out to be a damn good chapter when everything has been assimilated.
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Locating the United Service Tavern
Wherein, I solve a mystery no-one had ever considered had been a mystery before and correct the historical record on a minor fact that — in the grand scheme of things — is completely irrelevant. This is the earliest dated confirmation in the press that the United Service Tavern in Perth was now under the
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Rank Hypocrisy
The story of the original United Service Hotel & Tavern Perth Allotment L3 in the town of Perth, in the Colony of Western Australia, was originally gifted to colonial merchant and all-round important person George Leake, by virtue of him already having a lot of money. He swiftly on-sold it to a consortium consisting of
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Are you … kidding me?
When I started writing my book on the Dyson family, very little was known about James Dyson’s first wife Fanny nee Hoffingham. They married in 1842, they had four children, the last of whom was an infant daughter who died in 1849, a year before Fanny herself (supposedly) died. The best guess as to the
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Bio: Richard Edwards (jr)
He was born about 1807, probably in the village of English Bicknor, part of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, an ancient western county of England near the border with Wales. He died… well that’s one of the many facts up for debate about his life.
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How 2020 ended…
Restoration of the Dyson Grave in East Perth Cemetery has begun.
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A little bit of war profiteering
Sam Dyson was was among the first to sign up for the Great War and was among the first quota of Western Australians in the AIF. He would be one of the first on the beach at ANZAC cove, and would survive for his Dad to tell that story. His father was Andrew “Drewy” Dyson…
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New Government House
Snarky commentary to come later. Meanwhile, here are the pictures.
The Ratbag Encyclopedia
Family history, Western Australian history, or just history