H.M.S. Lady Nelson

HM Armed Sloop, rigged as a Brig: 60 tons. Built at Deptford, London in 1799 and purchased in 1800. Dimensions: 52 feet 6 inches feet long, 17 feet 6 inches beam, 6 guns (carronade) and a crew of 15. Fitted with three sliding keels or centreboards - the invention of Captain John Schanck (The draught when the keels were raised was less than 6 feet).

First ship from England to sail through Bass Strait. Arrived in Sydney on 17 December 1800. Sailed from Port Jackson for the Hunter River on 10 June 1801, accompanied by the schooner Francis. Surveyed the Hunter estuary and a flag was raised on the island (now Nobby's Head) to indicate the entrance to the river.

Afterwards the Lady Nelson was used for survey work; accompanying HMS Investigator in 1802, under the command of Matthew Flinders, during coastal explorations along the east coast of Australia. She was sent back to Port Jackson in October 1802, having lost anchors and keels, as well as running aground twice. She played a prominent role in the relocation of the Norfolk Islanders to Hobart Town in 1807 and 1808, and to Port Dalrymple in 1813. Also used for transporting grain from the Hawkesbury and coal from Newcastle to Sydney.

Descriptions of the Lady Nelson appear prominently in Lachlan Macquarie's journal during his tour of inspection to Van Diemen's Land in 1811. In particular he notes her seaworthiness in heavy weather, praising her as 'the best and safest Sea-Boat I ever sailed in'.

In 1819 she was again used in survey work along the New South Wales coast and in April1820, during the establishment of the new settlement at Port Macquarie, she ran aground on the bar near the harbour entrance. When Lachlan Macquarie visited the settlement in November 1821 he commented on the salvage attempts and repairs that were being undertaken to refloat the vessel and return her to government service again. By 1824 she was in commission again and was being used to supply livestock to the new settlement being established on Melville Island (Port Dundas) in northern Australia.

The Lady Nelson was seized by pirates off Timor early in 1825 while attempting to obtain supplies for the recently established settlement on Melville Island. The crew were killed and the vessel scuttled at Babar Island, north-east of Timor.

December 10th The 200th Anniversary of Macquarie Inspecting The 73rd at Foot in Royal Park

Royal Park is central to some of the ways Launcestonians imagine themselves and it is no accident that it might be so. On December 10 2011 it will be the 200th Anniversary of Lachlan Macquarie reviewing the 73rd Regiment garrisoned at Royal Park. The 73rd at Foot sailed with him from Britain and in 1810 and Ensign Alexander Huey reported in his journal that:

   "on 27th [Jan] Major Gordon, Captain Renny and Lieutenant Rose embarked with a detachment of 60 men for Port Dalrymple in Van Deiman’s Land."

So, it seems that Macquarie may have had a particular attachment to the men garrisoned in Royal Park and possibly this may have influenced his ration of spirits to the soldiers to drink the King's health and his apparent overlooking of the lack of cleanliness of their barracks. They had after all had arrived in Sydney with him from Britain just a year before.

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FROM MACQUARIES JOURNAL:M 10th. Decr. 1811.
At 11 a.m. I inspected the Detachment of the 73d. Regt. stationed at Launceston and found them in good order  ... I afterwards proceeded to inspect the Men's Barracks and Hospital; the former I did not find so clean as they ought to be, and the latter fortunately is empty, there being no sick either Military or Civil to occupy ... I then visited the Public Stores, and Military & Civil Officers Barracks ... The latter were clean & neatly kept, but the former in many respects, require improvement and better arrangement.

I issued some Genl. Orders respecting the Inspection of the Troops, and directed Half a Pint of Spirits to be issued to each Soldier to drink the King's Health ... The Officers Civil & Military dined with us today.

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CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Photographs courtesy of the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery

DRAWING THE LINE: Macquarie's 42nd parallel

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Browsing the Internet for information on the 42nd Parallel in Tasmania the Minutes of the Ross Local District Committee of July 26 2011 there was a presentation of a proposal to DRAW THE LINE (42° South) ... " Presentation—42nd Parallel of Latitude—“Drawing the Line" ... Mr Beverage addressed the committee on issues associated with the project. He mentioned that the purpose of the community project was to commemorate and celebrate the historical significance of the line of latitude of 42 degrees South in early European settlement of Van Diemen’s Land. Images for various components of the project were displayed.

Mr Beveridge mentioned that the “Drawing the Line” aimed to capture and communicate important historical and current aspects of Tasmania’s geography, social, political and scientific history including aspects of the history of surveying in Tasmania, the role and impact of political boundaries and the history of the Ross township and the local region.

The project outcomes will be:-

• An artistic installation alongside the Midlands Highway, near the site where 42 degrees south crosses the highway.
• Landscaping, artwork and interpretive material to be located adjacent to the Ross Town Hall-eastern side.
• Educational support material that provides richness to the two commemorative sites.

It was RESOLVED that the appreciation be expressed to Mr Beveridge for his presentation."

This 'line' has figured in so many 'Tasmanian Imaginations'. Somewhat more than jokingly it determined what beer should be drunk north and south of the line and likewise which newspaper had 'THE NEWS' for Northerners and Southerners. The 42° S line is imagined as "the middle" but actually and interestingly it is simultaneously 'the edge' of both 'The North' an 'The South'.

Watch this space for developments. Also if you are reading this, and you have information, stories or  images relevant to 42° S, please email The Launcestonian  Postcolonalists and The Historic Protection Society ... Click here

A toast to the King Dec 10 Royal Park 1811

5 Pint = 0.2365882365 Litres

George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738[1] – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg ("Hanover") in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, but unlike his two Hanoverian predecessors he was born in Britain, spoke English as his first language, and never visited Hanover.

His life and reign, which were longer than those of any previous British monarch, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of its American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence. He played a minor role in the wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793, which concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 ... Click here to read more

George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later. 

George Augustus Frederick, from 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his father's relapse into mental illness.

George IV led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the British Regency. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and Sir Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle. He was instrumental in the foundation of the National Gallery, London and King's College London.

He had a poor relationship with both his father and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, whom he even forbade to attend his coronation. He introduced the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful, attempt to divorce his wife. For most of George's regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister. George's governments ... Click here to read more

Historical Events for Year 1811

• Jan 8th - Louisiana slave revolt by Charles Deslondes at German Coast
• Feb 11th - US Pres Madison prohibits trade with Britain for 3rd time in 4 years
• Feb 20th - Austria declares bankruptcy
• Mar 1st - Egyptian king Muhammad Ali Pasha oversees ceremonial murder of 500
• Mar 1st - French Civil Code of Criminal law accepted by Netherlands Mamelukes in Cairo's Citadel
• Mar 25th - Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for his publication of the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism.
• May 14th - Paraguay gains independence from Spain (Natl Day)
• May 16th - Peninsular War-Allies defeat French at Albuera
• May 18th - Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay lead by Jose Artigas.
• Jul 5th - Venezuela, 1st South American country to gain independence from Spain
• Jul 11th - Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro publishes his memoir about molecular content of gases.
• Jul 30th - Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua, Mexico.
• Sep 18th - English expeditionary army conquerors Dutch Indies
• Oct 6th - French emperor Napoleon visits Utrecht
• Oct 11th - The Juliana, 1st steam-powered ferryboat, begins operation
• Nov 5th - El Salvador's 1st battle against Spain for independence
• Nov 11th - Cartagena Colombia declares independence from Spain

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Van Diemen's Land 1811 Context

Looking at these maps tells something about, and puts in context, the landscapes and the journey that  Macquarie notes in his journal of the time. It is worth noting that Macquarie returned to Van Diemen's Land in 1821.

Lachlan Macquarie’s Military Career

Lachlan Macquarie's military career was a long and distinguished one. He began his military career in 1776 at the age of fifteen, with a posting to North America at the beginning of the American War of Independence. It was followed by extensive army service in India and Ceylon (1788-1807), as well as military action against the French in Egypt (1801-1802). He served in five regiments during his career:

• 84th Regiment of Foot (1776-1781)
• The 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot (1781-1784)
• The 77th Regiment of Foot (1787-1801)
• The 86th Regiment of Foot (1801-1805)
• The 73rd Regiment of Foot (1805-1810) – Macquarie reviewed the 73rd at Royal Park Launceston December 10 1811 at 11 am and  presented new colours

There were many financial opportunities and inducements available to him as a British army officer and his participation in various military campaigns also allowed him to earn valuable prize money. Eventually this provided him with sufficient capital to purchase the estate on the Isle of Mull that would become his eventual home and burial place, Jarvisfield. CLICK HERE TO GO TO SOURCE

NOW  HOW ABOUT THIS!

Lachlan Macquarie was a Freemason. He became a Freemason in January 1793 at Bombay, India, in Lodge No. 1 (No. 139 on the register of the English "Moderns" Grand Lodge). ... CLICK HERE TO GO TO SOURCE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT EVENTS 2011: North of the 42nd parallel

Thursday Dec 8 @ 5pm

Commemorating the arrival of Governor Macquarie in Launceston 

City Park Launceston – Journal Reading
Tasmanian Historic Protection Society

Saturday Dec 10 @ 11 am

Journal Reading, Tea and Dundee Cake

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Wellington St Launceston
Launcestonian Postcolonialists

Sunday Dec 11 – 9.30 am to 12 midday

George Town and District Historical Society 

Bus Tour of the historic North Esk farming areas.

Leave from QVMAG Inveresk car park.

Members $10 Non Members $15

Monday Dec 12 @ 3. 30 pm 

Journal reading in the Gorge

Near the Kiosk

Cataract Gorge, Launceston.

George Town and District Historical Society

Monday Dec 12 @ 10. 45 am 

Visit the Norfolk Plains Heritage Centre 

Enjoy morning Tea. 

Governor’s tour featuring information and items of Norfolk Plains history.

Norfolk Plains Heritage Centre, 11 William St, Longford.

Gold coin donation
George Town and District Historical Society

Monday Dec 12 @ 12. 30 am

George Town and District Historical Society Bus Tour Pateena Rd.

Leaves from Norfolk Plains Heritage Centre,

11 William St, Longford

Members $10 Non Members $15

Monday Dec 16 @ 5.00 pm

Walk along the Tamar Wetlands boardwalk to Tamar Island for a journal reading.

Tamar Island Wetlands, West Tamar Highway.

Normal Visitor Centre Fees apply

Saturday Dec 17 

Macquarie’s Picnic. Re-enactment and speech by Governor Macquarie.

Local group picnic and journal reading

Local Residents. Deviot on private property.

By invitation only

Sunday Dec 18 10. 30 to 1 pm 

York Town guided tour and BBQ picnic.

West Tamar Historical Society.

York Town Historic Site

Free and BYO picnic lunch.

Monday Dec 19 @ 3 pm to 4 pm 

George Town’s Macquarie Bicentenary

celebrations in the presence of the Governor of Tasmania.

George Town Council

Memorial Hall & Regent Square, George Town

Free
George Town and District Historical Society

Monday Dec 19 @ 9 am to 4 pm 

Macquarie’s George Town Historic Walk.

George Town and District Historical Society.

Leaves from the Watch House, Macquarie St, George Town

Free
George Town and District Historical Society

Monday Dec 19 @ 3 pm 

Journal reading and farewell to Governor Macquarie

followed by afternoon tea at the historic Pilot Station.

Low Head Pilot Station,

399 Low Head Road, Low Head

Small charge for afternoon tea.
George Town and District Historical Society

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