EDWARD and HANNAH DESCENDANT NEWSLETTER
Issue No 6/13
November Meeting: As we all know the November meeting at Pugh’s Lagoon at Richmond was
cancelled due to the weather; there was some very heavy rain around and every one driving to
Richmond would have had to deal with it. So a good move to cancel it. Also it would have been very
wet under foot.
“Edward & Hannah Corner” As we are approaching Christmas you would have to think of
Edward and Hannah having 1lb of flour stolen. Losing the 1lb of flour then would be like us today
losing all our Christmas food supply on Christmas Eve.
“History in Edward & Hannah’s time” On 3rd December 1797 explorer George Bass and six
oarsmen left Sydney in a 28ft whaleboat to explore the south coast of NSW. He sighted the blowhole
at Kiama, the Shoalhaven River, Jervis Bay and Twofold Bay before continuing south to try to prove
the existence of a strait between Van Diemen’s Land and the mainland. (This would have resulted in
a quicker journey time for ships from England as they were going around the bottom of Van
Diemen’s Land)
On the 8th December 1810 the town of Green Hills changed its name to Windsor. The town was
established in about 1791 on the banks of the Hawkesbury River, surrounded by fertile
farmland. Windsor was officially proclaimed on 15 December 1810. Governor Macquarie had laid
out the town with churches, schools, courts, gaols and inns. In 1822 Rev Samuel Marsden
consecrated St Matthew's Anglican Church on the same day (that was the Church still standing and
used today).
On 21st December 1817 Governor Macquarie recommended the use of the name 'Australia' instead
of New Holland for the continent. Matthew Flinders first suggested the name Australia and
Macquarie started using it in official despatches in 1817
“Quiz”
The monument at right looks very similar to the
one featured in Issue 3 in 12, April 2012 that is
at Spithead near Plymouth in England,
The question is
“Do you know where this one is?
“Social Corner” From Narelle in NZ
This is our new granddaughter, an addition to the Pugh Family Tree,
Hannah Rose Bishop born 6th September 2013, 7lb 10oz.
I had 4 days with Emma, Dan, Charlotte and new baby Hannah; we
had no power for 3 days!! They live near Ashburton, 7 hours in a bus
from here.
No more earthquakes for us thank goodness, however extreme
200kph winds roared through last Tuesday and uprooted many
mature trees and wrecked 800 irrigators on the Canterbury Plains.
SPRING is lovely over here; my Waratah tree is in full bloom. We
now have 35 lambs from 18 ewes. I must go into town this morning,
to Picton 25km over the mountain!!! A 40 minute drive for mail and
to deliver the eggs.
Hannah at 9 days old with a
proud Grandmother Narelle
We live at 1973 Port Underwood Rd, if you want to Google Earth us.
Apology to Narelle but her story got lost in cyber space and it was received just after issue 5 in 13
was sent.
“Introducing”
John Dun entry into this world
In the later years of her life, I spent quite a bit of time talking to my mother about family history. She
had lots of interesting stories about life in the years of the Great Depression and Second World War.
My parents married in 1938, just before the war, but with my father away on active service, I wasn’t
born until 1946, when my parents were 35 – very old for first-time parents at that time.
During the war, and for a short time after, mum and dad were living in Uralla, near Armidale on the
northern tablelands of NSW. One of mum’s most interesting stories was of my birth, which featured
a crescendo of complicating mini-dramas.
The family doctor, Dr Armstrong, lived next door to my parents in Uralla. Mum was booked into
Armidale Hospital for my birth, but soon before the big day, the maternity section closed temporarily
for remodelling. Dr Armstrong then advised mum to use the little hospital in Uralla, where there was
a good obstetrics sister. Unfortunately, this sister resigned a week before the birth. The hospital
matron was in a flap because she now had no one with an obstetrics certificate. She hunted round and
found a long-retired former midwife to assist at the birth.
Doctor Armstrong knew it would be a difficult birth and that he would need additional help. There
was a second doctor in Uralla, but he was an alcoholic. So Dr Armstrong organised a Dr Austin to
come out from Armidale to assist.
With the two GPs and the midwife in attendance, the birth was a terrible affair, lasting from 9pm
Thursday until 1am Sunday. The doctors didn’t dare use instruments for fear of causing permanent
damage, but manipulated with their hands to try to get the baby into position. Apparently, they were
still concerned the child could have brain damage as a result. (I wonder if they were right?) They
ultimately succeeded in separating child from mother by tugging on a leg and hoping for the best.
And the best ensued!
But the dramas were still not over. When Dr Austin went outside, his car was missing from the front
of the little hospital. Casting his eyes about, he spotted it well down the hill. Nobody locked their
cars in Uralla in those days, and the second Uralla doctor, he of the fondness for the tipple, irate at
having been overlooked in his own town, had let the car run down the hill, where its progress had
eventually been halted by a telegraph pole.
A couple of nights later, with mother and son still in the hospital “nursery” (which was actually the
lounge with a bassinet in it) there was a big snowstorm. The hospital was one narrow wing with
doors on either side. During the night a gust of wind blew open a door and snow whipped in all over
mother’s bed. She had to ring frantically for someone to come and wedge the door shut.
But despite all these trials, I survived. And the Sunday on which I was born was Father’s Day. What
a great present!
Thank you John for sharing your story
“Quiz Answer”: It is in a park called Jessie Street Gardens, Loftus St, Circular Quay. It was unveiled
by the Governor General Sir Zelman Cowen on 17th September 1980.
I did not know it was there until I alighted from a bus that terminated in Loftus St and I was walking
to Circular Quay.
“Next Meeting”
Is planned again for Pugh’s Lagoon with the date to be advised, let’s hope that the rain stays away then again, perhaps we could do with some more rain.
Merry Christmas to everyone from Ann and myself and may the New Year brings all you hope for…
Regards Ray (December 2013)