Bittersweet legacy: the Taylor family of Longford

One of the main benefits of amassing a detailed family tree is the insight it can provide into your family medical history. Knowing what genetic conditions run in your family may at least help you to prepare for their impact. (1) I recently solved a long-standing family mystery concerning what happened to a Great Great Uncle (also a Great Great Great Uncle—well I am Tasmanian after all!). The details of his fate have further strengthened my suspicions relating to the reasons for a very high youth mortality rate on a specific branch of my mother's family tree. This theory in turn, may also explain a chronic illness that has had a large impact on my own life. 

While perhaps it wasn't one of the most difficult family mysteries I've had to solve in the last thirty years or more of research, I can now answer the question as to what happened to Arthur Edward Taylor. He was born to a large family in the sleepy Northeastern Tasmanian village of Longford on 3 October 1874. (2)  He was ninth of no less than sixteen children born to William and Mary Taylor who had married there in 1861. (3) They appear to have been an ordinary family for the time and place: religious, hardworking, law abiding, family orientated and therefore well regarded. (4) Mary's parents had been convicts, but they had been trusted and valued servants of a prominent local family. (5) Their likely shared convict roots were also 'ordinary' for the age and Taylors don't appear to have been disadvantaged in any way by that baggage. 

Taken on the occasion of William and Mary Taylor's 50th Wedding Anniversary, 1911. (i)

Above is one of several photos taken on the occasion of their 50th Wedding anniversary in 1911 in the Forrester's Lodge Hall, Longford. Despite the size of the assemblage, Arthur and several other of their children though are missing. (6)

Arthur - like all his siblings - appears to have grown into a well-adjusted young man. He excelled physically it seems and both he and his slightly older brother Ernest were in fact selected on the basis of their performances with the South Esk Football club to play for the city team in August 1894. (7) 

Sketch of Arthur Taylor made in 1894. He died prematurely in 1905 aged 30. (ii)

At some point Arthur relocated to Huonville where he married Ada Elizabeth Crisp at St. James' Church in 1901. Arthur likely moved for employment and may have been employed in the mining industry at Queenstown. That is listed as his usual place of residence on his marriage certificate, giving his occupation as a labourer. (8) Certainly, he was a member of the 'Smelters Football Club' from 1900. (9). All in all, this is a relatively 'low skill' discovery for me but the reason for focusing on it is the mysterious nature of his untimely death. 

On 21 March 1905, Arthur died at his home in Huonville. His decline appears to have been protracted in some way as his wife Elizabeth thanks local physician, Dr. Clark of Franklin for his 'untiring and ever willing assistance' in the local paper. (10) But why would such a healthy young man die so prematurely? It grows stranger still when one considers the fact that of a family of 16 children, only 5 lived past the age of 50 years. It is true of course that life expectancy was lower in the Nineteenth Century than it is today but in reality it was actually improving during that time, at least in Victorian England. The data provided below on premature deaths in this family alone is suggestive that at least one of the four driving factors of mortality in the period (living standards, public sanitation, disease, access to medical science) had an influence on these specific family outcomes. (11)

Table illustrating the circumstances and causes of the premature deaths among 11 of the TAYLOR siblings (1870-1914). Yellowed areas correspond to missing data. (iii)

At least two of the deaths are ordinary: typhoid fever was a very common disease in the period. Lilias May was barely a teen when she died of the disease. (12) Charles also died of typhoid but is noticeably older than the other premature deaths, eclipsing the next longest living in this sub-group by more than a decade. (13) Baby Ada Maud's cause of death is highly suggestive of pneumonia. (14) Again, all but particularly the vulnerable were prone to the epidemic diseases of the age. However, I have heard a story that there was a family malady of some kind that afflicted many of the siblings in that generation. Of the four infant deaths, three are attributed to convulsions. (15) The real clue to the puzzle of the family disease may lie in the premature deaths of the young adults. The eldest son, William Alfred, died of tetanus contracted during his work in a slaughterhouse. (16) I think Rose's death certificate though gives the vital clue as she died of 'heart failure following diabetes'. (17) 

Sketch of Ernest Taylor made in 1894. He died prematurely in 1901 aged 32. (iv)

My theory is that the family affliction was type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia will cause seizures and that may explain the fatal convulsions that killed three Taylor babies. (18) We know now that diabetes comes in many forms and is more complicated than a simple distinction between juvenile diabetes and supposedly 'self-inflicted' insulin resistance. The condition Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) normally occurs in young adulthood when the body has stopped developing and the body suffers a particular immune response to a serious infection, which leads to the destruction of the pancreas. (19) By its nature the condition is sudden and before the development of insulin treatments after 1921, inevitably fatal. (20) As type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, diabetics can be prone to tetanus which killed William Alfred Taylor (21). Furthermore, it exacerbates comorbidities such as hypertension and cholesterol levels, two major contributors to heart disease which was the stated cause of Rose's death (22) I'm personally very relieved I live in an age where insulin is an option as death by insulin deprivation is apparently a horrible way to die. (23) However, this theory needs to be considered in a wider scientific context and it has been found that 85% of those with type 1 diabetes have no family history of the disease. (24) Inversely, this also means that 15% do and the aforementioned oral tradition of a family illness common to one generation, may relate to similar symptoms across multiple cases. 

So, while some of the deaths are typical of the age, the number and nature of the deaths seems highly suggestive of a genetic disorder. My aim in the future is to be able to afford to access the death records of the three outstanding siblings listed above in yellow: Ernest, Arthur and Bertie Claud. Their causes of death may provide further evidence of my theory. I suffer from LADA, exhibiting diabetic symptoms from a young age but virtually becoming a type 1 insulin dependent in a week following a bout of scarlet fever in my early thirties. I can't help wondering if there is some kind of connection (?). The chances of inheriting a recessive disorder may have been increased by the fact that I am descended twice from William and Mary through their children Eardley and Mary, as my mother's parents were second cousins (or more accurately first cousins once removed). Such was the concern that my own sons have been screened for the disorder and they have thankfully been cleared. If I am right in my thesis then, while I thank them for my life, William and Mary's legacy is truly a bittersweet one.

 

- Dr. Colin Woollcott Mallett, 20 December 2024. 

Endnotes

(1) National Library of Medicine, 'Diseases that run in the family', A Guide to Genetics and Health, n. d.,  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK115605/, accessed 5 August 2024.

(2) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Birth, RGD 33/1/52, no. 953, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/944244, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(3) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37/1/20, no. 279, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/862432, accessed 5 August 2024.

(4) At the time of his death in 1914, William Taylor had been resident in Longford for six decades. A shoemaker by trade who worked at W. Edwards' boot making manufactory, William also worked as a sexton for the Longford Anglican church until January 1883 and eventually became a municipal caretaker, specifically an 'inspector of slaughterhouses'. He was probably most famous locally for working with local physician Dr. Appleyard to establish a 'biblical garden' in the grounds of Christ Church, Longford. See: 'About People', Examiner 15 October 1914, p 3, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50782819, accessed 5 August 2024; 'Longford Notes', Tasmanian 30 August 1884, p 14, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200330663, accessed 5 August 2024;  & Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37/1/60 , no. 704, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/924926, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(5) Mary had been born in 1845 at Woolmers estate near Longford. See: Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Baptisms, RGD32/1/3, no. 2751,  https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1089592, accessed 6 August 2024. Mary's parents had both been convicts assigned to the Archer family. Her father, Isaac Boxhall, was their coachman/groom and Ann Ball was a trained dairy maid prior to transportation. See: Author Unknown, 'Isaac Boxhall', Convict Records, n. d., https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/boxshall/isaac/6653, accessed 6 August 2024; Author Unknown, 'Ann Ball', Convict Records, n. d., https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/ball/ann/42029, accessed 6 August 2024. 

(6) Photograph of William and Mary Taylor's 50th Wedding anniversary, 1911, original held by Diane Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania. Two siblings in the photos, Charles and Rose Taylor would be deceased within a few years. Uncle Charlie is seated bottom, second from right in cap next to his brother Eardley. He died in 1916. It's highly likely that Aunt Rose is there as well as she lived until 1914.

(7) 'Our Footballers', Daily Telegraph, 25 August 1894, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153448158, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(8) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37/1237/1901. His parents' names are listed and his birthplace given as Longford. I'd found the wedding notice years ago but what had thrown me somewhat is that he was erroneously described as being 'Mr E. Taylor of Hobart'. See: 'The Last Chance', Tasmanian News, 7 September 1901, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/185268476, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(9) 'Deaths', Mercury, 23 March 1905, p 1, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12295862, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(10) 'Bereavement Notices', Mercury, 29 March 1905, p 1, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12296570, accessed 5 August 2024.

(11) Robert Woods & P. R. Andrew Hinde, 'Mortality in Victorian England: Models and Patterns', The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Summer 1987, 18(1):27-54, p 27, https://www.jstor.org/stable/204727, accessed 8 August 2024. Woods and Hinde in this article critque the model presented by Thomas McKeowen in his 1976 book The Modern Rise of Population. They conlcude that all four of McKeown's factors are valid but question the importance he attached to some of them, particularly the nutrition component of the living standards factor. The authors note that infant mortality fell particularly rapidly after 1900 and agree with McKeown that it reflected an improved control over scarlet fever. (pp 52-4). Being part of the British Empire in the period I think it is reasonable to accept that similar factors and patterns influenced mortality rates in Tasmania influenced by our own demographic and socio-economic conditions.

(12) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/60, no. 411, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-60/RGD35-1-60P131, accessed 6 August 2024.

(13) 'About People', Examiner, 25 February 1916, p 6, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50860572, accessed 6 August 2024. While the article mentions there was much sympathy for the young widow left with seven children, the youngest being only three weeks old, there is also sympathy for '...his aged mother, who has lost five grown up sons, a daughter and her husband'. 

(14) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/39, no. 318, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-39/RGD35-1-39P106, accessed 6 August 2024.

(15) The following are the references for the death registrations for three infant Taylor siblings who died of convulsions:  'John Frederick Taylor', Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/48, no. 356, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-48/RGD35-1-48P111, accessed 6 August 2024; 'John Willie Taylor', Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/53, no. 383, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1167380, accessed 6 August 2024; 'Percy Harold Taylor', Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/58, no. 562, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1215149, accessed 6 August 2024. 

(16) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/53, no. 376, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-53/RGD35-1-53P124, accessed 6 August 2024 & The Tasmanian, 30 August 1884, p 14, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200330663, accessed 6 August 2024. His condition was described as having been a severe but recent illness, wherein he had had a cold and was then overcome with tetanus—these might suggest a compromised immune system?

(17) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/556/1914. It is also perhaps significant that in her father's obituary, her recent death is mentioned and it is observed that she had been in 'failing health for some time'. See: 'About People', Examiner, 15 October 1914, p 3. 

(18) Elizabeth Rosenfeld & P. S. Thornton, 'Hypoglycemia in Neonates, Infants and Children', Endotext, National Library of Medicine, 22 August 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594592/#:~:text=Hypoglycemia%20in%20neonates%2C%20infants%20and,primary%20fuel%20for%20brain%20metabolism., accessed on 5 august 2024. 

(19) Maria Prelipcean, 'How do GAD antibodies affect diabetes?', Medical News Today, 25 March 2019, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313764, accessed on 5 August 2024.

(20) Ananya Mandel, 'History of Diabetes', News Medical Life Sciences, 4 July 2023, https://www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-Diabetes.aspx#:~:text=The%20term%20diabetes%20was%20probably,sweet%20taste%20of%20the%20urine., accessed 5 August 2024. 

(21) Zahra Hoseini Tavaasol et al, 'Do Patients with Diabetic foot ulcer need booster dose of tetanus vaccine?', Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, June 2022, 1(1):1023-7, pp 1023-7, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9167406/#:~:text=CDC%20has%20reported%20that%2013,more%20vulnerable%20to%20bacterial%20infections, accessed 5 August 2024. The article states that tetanus infections are higher in diabetic patients as diabetes makes patients more susceptible in general to bacterial infections; according to statistics quoted, one fourth of all killed by tetanus today are diabetics. 

(22) Oana P. Zaharia et al, 'Comorbidities in Recent-Onset Adult Type 1 Diabetes: A Comparison of German cohorts', Frontiers in Endocrinology, 3 June 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9205191/, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(23) Tessa Lebinger, 'How long can someone live without insulin?', Children with Diabetes, 20 July 2005, https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/question/how-long-can-someone-live-without-insulin/, accessed 5 August 2024. 

(24) Prelipcean, 'How do GAD antibodies affect diabetes?'

 

Figures and Illustrations

 

 

(i) William and Mary Taylor's 50 Wedding Anniversary, photograph, original held by Diane Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania. 

 

(ii) 'Our Footballers'.

 

(iii) Based on research contained in Colin Woollcott Mallett, Taylor Research Folder (1), unpublished genealogical project, F017 TAYLOR Folder (1), accessed 8 August 2024. The following footnotes denote the specific documents relied on.

 

(iv) 'Our Footballers'. 

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Daily Telegraph (Launceston, 1883-1928)

Examiner (Launceston, 1900- )

Mercury (Hobart, 1860- )

The Tasmanian (Launceston, 1881-1895)

Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Baptisms, RGD32.

Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Birth, RGD 33.

Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Death, RGD 35.

Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37.

Tasmanian News (Hobart, 1883-1911)

William and Mary Taylor's 50 Wedding Anniversary, photograph, original held by Diane Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania. 

Secondary Sources

Tavaasol, Zahra Hoseini et al, 'Do Patients with Diabetic foot ulcer need booster dose of tetanus vaccine?', Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, June 2022, 1(1):1023-7, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9167406/#:~:text=CDC%20has%20reported%20that%2013,more%20vulnerable%20to%20bacterial%20infections, accessed 5 August 2024. 

Woods, Robert & Hinde, P. R. Andrew, 'Mortality in Victorian England: Models and Patterns', The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Summer 1987, 18(1):27-54, https://www.jstor.org/stable/204727, accessed 8 August 2024.  

Online Sources

Author Unknown, 'Ann Ball', Convict Records, n. d.,  https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/ball/ann/42029, accessed 6 August 2024.

Author Unknown, 'Isaac Boxhall', Convict Records, n. d.,  https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/boxshall/isaac/6653, accessed 6 August 2024. 

Lebinger, Tessa, 'How long can someone live without insulin?', Children with Diabetes, 20 July 2005, https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/question/how-long-can-someone-live-without-insulin/, accessed 5 August 2024.

 

Mallett, Colin Woollcott, Taylor Research Folder 1, unpublished Genealogical research project, F017 TAYLOR Folder (1), accessed 8 August 2024.

 

Mandel, Ananya, 'History of Diabetes', News Medical Life Sciences, 4 July 2023, https://www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-Diabetes.aspx#:~:text=The%20term%20diabetes%20was%20probably,sweet%20taste%20of%20the%20urine., accessed 5 August 2024.

National Library of Medicine Website, 'Diseases that run in the family', A Guide to Genetics and Health, n. d., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK115605/, accessed 5 August 2024.

Prelipcean, Maria, 'How do GAD antibodies affect diabetes?', Medical News Today, 25 March 2019, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313764, accessed on 5 August 2024.

Rosenfeld, Elizabeth & Thornton, P. S., 'Hypoglycemia in Neonates, Infants and Children', Endotext, National Library of Medicine, 22 August 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594592/#:~:text=Hypoglycemia%20in%20neonates%2C%20infants%20and,primary%20fuel%20for%20brain%20metabolism., accessed on 5 august 2024. 

Zaharia, Oana P. et al, 'Comorbidities in Recent-Onset Adult Type 1 Diabetes: A Comparison of German cohorts', Frontiers in Endocrinology, 3 June 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9205191/, accessed 5 August 2024. 

I'll meet you halfway: the migration of the Presnell family to Van Diemen's Land

In Britain, the period that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 was characterised by widespread unemployment and social unrest. Emigration to the colonies was a convenient solution for many among the poverty stricken, working-class and also for the British government who were wary of the threat of revolution. (1) Subsequently, several branches of the same Presnell family emigrated from England to Van Diemen's Land. John and Eleanor Presnell accompanied by their surviving children arrived on the Midas in Hobart on Friday 12 January 1821. The Midas had taken five months to travel from England with 38 passengers under the command of Captain Watson. (2) No diary or other firsthand account of their migration survives but it's arguable that their subsequent documented life in the colony sheds some light on their specific motivations for migration and provides some measure of their success. (3)

Hobart Town, 1821 Alan Carswell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (i)

The newspaper announcement published the day after their arrival in the Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter, while listing some of the more noteworthy passengers, makes no mention of the Presnell family. (4) The Presnell family are perhaps a type of migrant that Penny Russell has described as historically invisible: a family who like so many of the lower orders of migrant, went on to make a significant but understated contribution to their adopted land. (5) Regardless, the couple were clearly able to secure the letter of introduction from the Home authorities that was necessary at the time to secure a grant of land. (6)

The Presnells belonged to a family of publicans, and they were not the first members of their family to migrate from England to the colony of Van Diemen's Land. John and Eleanor were to enter into a business partnership with William Presnell of Hobart, a brewer and former Norfolk Islander. (7) John and Eleanor's eldest daughter Christiana subsequently married Thomas Presnell junior at New Norfolk in 1826 and the witnesses were 'Thomas Presnell senior' and 'John Presnell senior.' (8) Thomas Presnell senior was the proprietor of the Black Snake Inn at Granton. (9) Therefore, John and Eleanor appear to have been part of a wider family 'chain migration' to the colony: they were able to take advantage of a readymade support system to help them meet the inherent challenges of what was a 'psychological, familial, financial and organisational challenge far greater than most others in the lives of working people.' (10)

Segment of Tasmanian map from 1830s indicating location of Sorrell Springs Inn http://www.geographicus.com/mm5/cartographers/dower.txt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (ii)

John and Eleanor's story is closely tied to the early history of the White Hart Inn. On arrival, John received a grant of 300 acres located at Sorell Springs and was granted a liquor licence in 1821. He was a qualified blacksmith and the business provided travellers with accommodation, refreshment and smithing services. However, the main road was realigned in 1830 and this necessitated shifting not only of the business but the entire building to Antill Ponds. This must have been a gargantuan test for both John and Eleanor. At the time the Inn was valued at 500 pounds and was comprised of seven rooms, a six-stall stable and assorted outbuildings. (11) For a century, the Inn remained a public asset and a central feature of travel in the colony. It was renamed the 'Half-way House' reflecting its position midway between Launceston and Hobart in 1842 but was eventually delicensed in the 1930s and demolished in the 1970s; there is a little evidence of its existence today. (12)

Half Way House, Antill Ponds, 1928 John Henry Harvey (1855-1938) photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (iii)

Despite their demonstrated industry in the colony, their success was to some extent frustrated by both adverse fortune and an indifferent colonial administration. John first submitted an application to extend his land grant to the Colonial Secretary in 1826 arguing that his present holdings (which he had expanded, improved, and maintained) were not sufficient to provide for a growing family. (13) He submitted a second application on 13 March 1827. (14) John's third petition dated 11 March 1831 indicated that he held 300 acres by grant, 300 by purchase and had cleared 105 acres of that total. Additionally, he possessed 100 head of cattle and 900 sheep as well as three horses. He owned buildings to the value of 500 pounds, employed eight mechanics or labourers and one convict servant. He also indicated that this time his application was based partly on the inconvenience experienced at having to relocate his hotel due to the road realignment. (15) It appears the Presnells initially attempted to sell the property instead in 1829. (16) While the third application began to gain administrative traction, John passed away before he could present his case to the Land Board on 20 May 1831 aged only 45 years. (17)

Eleanor's trials had only just begun though. Although the Land Board posthumously approved John's application with a 500 acre grant, the Governor refused the application. (18) Eleanor made a second application on 20 January 1832 but this was also refused by which time the family's chief means of support was their stock. (19) Eleanor also appears to have struggled to personally obtain a liquor licence following John's death, finally acquiring one in November 1833. (20) It's possible the stress of life as a widow affected Eleanor's health and she died sometime around or before February 1834. (21) The White Hart Inn was let to David Solomon in 1837 who afterwards purchased it by auction on 6 June 1838 with an accompanying 15 acres of land. (22) Their son John Presnell junior appears to have struggled to maintain the legacy of his parents, declaring bankruptcy in 1837. (23) The White Hart Inn with upwards of 415 acres of land were offered for auction in June 1838. (24)

Perhaps some of the motivations for John and Eleanor Presnell's migration can be gleaned from their subsequent life in the colony of Van Diemen's Land. They were clearly hard working and of good reputation, being able to acquire the letter of introduction necessary for migration in the period and qualify for a grant of 300 acres. It is not clear to what extent their migration was prompted by the economic distress of the post Napoleonic period but their subsequent enterprise certainly castes them as aspirational. However, adverse circumstances gradually shifted their focus from improvement to subsistence. Following John's death, Eleanor appears to have been confronted by a colonial administration indifferent to her plight as a widow with dependent children. The various challenges they both experienced may have contributed to their respective premature deaths. While their physical legacy was not enduring, they were nevertheless able to contribute to the economic life of the colony through their enterprise and in perpetuity through their numerous descendants. 

- Dr. Colin Woollcott Mallett, 22 November 2024.

The ruins of the Half Way house, 2024 (iv)

Endnotes

(1) National Museum of Australia, 'Defining Moments, Assisted Migration, 1832: Introduction of Assisted Migration', National Museum of Australia Website, n.d., https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/assisted-migration, accessed 17 July 2024. 

(2) 'Ship News', Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter (Tasmania), 13 January 1821, p. 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/659222?# , accessed 17 July 2024.

(3) John Presnell's letter to Governor Arthur dated 8 February 1826 confirms that he arrived with his family on the Midas (Master Watson) in January 1821: John Presnell to Colonial Secretary [letter], 8 February 1826, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, Tasmanian Archives, CSO1/79/1760, p. 148.

(4) 'Ship News'.

(5) Penny Russell, 'Travelling steerage: class, commerce, religion and family in colonial Sydney', Journal of Australian Studies, (2014), 38(4):383-395, p 384.

(6) Libraries Tasmania, 'Free Immigration to Tasmania 1803-1946'. Libraries Tasmania Website, n.d., https://libraries.tas.gov.au/family-history/arrivals-immigration-and-departures/immigration-to-tasmania-1803-1946/introduction/#:~:text=After%201820%20many%20more%20people,to%20free%20settlers%20as%20labourers , accessed 17 July 2024.

(7) 'To Be Sold or Let', Hobart Town Courier (Tasmania), 25 May 1829, p. 4, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4216722 , acccessed 17 July 2024; 'Presnell, William (1784-1839(', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/presnell-william-29752/text36829 , accessed 17 July 2024; William Presnell was clearly a close relation (possibly an older brother, Uncle or cousin) to Thomas senior and John Senior. He at least was a native of Chelmsford, Essex. William brought his (?) mother over to the colony where she passed away in 1823 and was observed to have had 'a numerous family both in this colony, and in England...' See: 'Died', Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (New South Wales), 17 April 1823, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2181811 , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(8) Tasmanian Archives: Register General's Department; Registers of Marriages, RGD 36/1/1, 968, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD36-1-1/RGD36-1-1P176 , accessed 17 July 2024.

(9) Geoff Ritchie, 'The Black Snake Inn', 9 October 2013, On the Convict Trail blog, https://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.com/2013/10/black-snake-inn.html , accessed 17 July 2024.

(10) Eric Richards, 'How did poor people emigrate from the British Isles to Australia in the Nineteenth Century?', Journal of British Studies, 1993, 32(3), p 253, https://www.jstor.org/stable/176082 , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(11) R. H. Green, 'Antill Ponds and the Half Way House', Occasional Paper (Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania), 1997, 7, pp 2-3,

(12) Mick Roberts, 'The Half Way House, Antill Ponds, Tasmania', Time Gents blog, 14 May 2015, https://timegents.com/2015/05/14/the-half-way-house-antill-ponds-tasmania/ , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(13) John Presnell to Colonial Secretary [letter], 8 February 1826. At the time, John described his family as consisting of four children. Later in 1831, Eleanor described her family as consisting of five young children: Eleanor Presnell to Colonial Secretary [letter], 17 June 1831, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, Tasmanian Archives, CSO1/79/1760, p 154. Eleanor's family is finally described as consisting of three sons and three daughters by the Land Board late that same year: Land Board to Colonial Secretary [Report of the Land Board on the application of John Presnell for an additional Grant], 14 November 1831, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, Tasmanian Archives, CSO1/79/1760, pp 161-2.

(14) John Presnell to Colonial Secretary [letter], 13 March 1827, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, Tasmanian Archives, CSO1/79/1760, pp 151-2.

(15) John Presnell to Colonial Secretary [letter], 11 March 1831, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, Tasmanian Archives, CSO1/79/1760, p 158.

(16) 'To Be Sold or Let'.

(17) 'Died', Hobart Town Courier (Tasmania), 25 June 1831, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4203351 , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(18) Land Board to Colonial Secretary [Report of the Land Board on the application of John Presnell for an additional Grant], 14 November 1831. It's possible that her children were not considered old enough or capable enough to be sufficient support for her. Indeed, Eleanor placed the property on the market in December 1832: 'Farm for Sale', Colonial Times (Hobart), 18 December 1832, p 3, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8646807 , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(19) Eleanor Presnell to Colonial Secretary [letter], 20 January 1832, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, Tasmanian Archives, CSO1/79/1760, p 164.

(20) 'Notice to Publicans', Hobart Town Courier (Tasmania), 22 November 1833, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4188918 , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(21) Her head stone in the old Anglican cemetery in Oatlands was virtually unreadable several years ago and there is no evidence of a death registration. TAMIOT records her death as occurring on 3 February 1831, aged 46 years. See: Tasmanian Family History Society (TFHS), Tombstones and Memorial Inscriptions of Tasmania (TAMIOT) 2nd Edition, TFHS, Rosny Park, June 1999, p 5313. In February 1834, Daniel O'Connor placed a caution notice to trespassers on his land at St. Peter's Pass describing it as a in proximity (among several others) to 'the late Widow Presnell's Grant at Sorell Springs'. See: 'Caution', Tasmanian (Hobart), 21 February 1834, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8647454 , accessed 17 July 2024. It's therefore likely that her correct death date was 3 February 1834.

(22) Green, 'Antill Ponds and the Half Way House', p 3.

(23) 'In the matter of Insolvency of John Pressnell', The True Colonist, Van Diemen's Land Political Dispatch, and Agricultural and Commercial Advertiser (Hobart), 28 July 1837, p 649, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203147634 , accessed 17 July 2024. 

(24) 'Most Important!', Colonial Times (Hobart), 15 May 1838, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8748665 , accessed on 17 July 2024. The Inn (Lot 1) is mentioned as having been let to David Solomon for several years by this time and he was still resident there. Both John Presnell junior (Lot 2) and his brother-in-law Thomas Presnell junior (Lot 3) appear to have been farming allotments on the estate. 

Figures and Illustrations

(i) Alan Carswell, Image of Hobart, 1821, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hobart_Town-Alan_Carswell_(1821).jpg, accessed 8 August, 2024.

(ii) John Dower, Map of Tasmania, 1830, Wikimedia Commons,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1837_Dower_Map_of_Van_Dieman%27s_Land_or_Tasmania_-_Geographicus_-_Tazmania-dower-1837.jpg, accessed 8 August 2024.

(iii) John Henry Harvey, Photograph of the Half Way House, Antill Ponds, Tasmania, 1928, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Half-way_House_at_Antill_Ponds_1928.jpg, accessed 8 August 2024.

(iv) Colin Woollcott Mallett, Photograph of the Half Way House ruins, Antill Ponds, Tasmania, 2024, original held by Colin Woollcott Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania. 

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Colonial Times (Hobart).

Hobart Town Courier (Tasmania).

Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter (Tasmania).

Half Way House ruins, Antill Ponds, Tasmania, 2024, Photograph, original held by Colin Woollcott Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (New South Wales).

Tasmanian (Hobart).

Tasmanian Archives, General Correspondence, Colonial Secretary's Office, CS01.

Tasmanian Archives: Register General's Department; Registers of Marriages, RGD 36/1/1/1.

Tasmanian Family History Society (TFHS), Tombstones and Memorial Inscriptions of Tasmania (TAMIOT) 2nd Edition, TFHS, Rosny Park, June 1999.

True Colonist, Van Diemen's Land Political Dispatch and Agricultural and Commercial Advertiser (Hobart).

Secondary Sources

Green, R. H., 'Antill Ponds and the Half Way House', Occasional Paper (Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania), 1997, 7:1-7.

Richards, Eric, 'How did poor people emigrate from the British Isles to Australia in the Nineteenth Century?', Journal of British Studies, 1993, 32(3):250-279.

Russell, Penny, 'Travelling steerage: class commerce, religion and family in colonial Sydney', Journal of Australian Studies, (2014), 38(4):383-395.

Online Sources

Libraries Tasmania, 'Free Immigration to Tasmania, 1803-1946', Libraries Tasmania Website, n.d., https://libraries.tas.gov.au/family-history/arrivals-immigration-and-departures/immigration-to-tasmania-1803-1946/introduction/#:~:text=After%201820%20many%20more%20people,to%20free%20settlers%20as%20labourers , accessed 17 July 2024. 

National Museum of Australia, 'Defining Moments, Assisted Migration, 1832: Introduction of Assisted Migration', National Museum of Australia Website, n.d., https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/assisted-migration , accessed 17 July 2024. 

'Presnell, William (1764-1839)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/presnell-william-29752/text36829 , accessed 17 July 2024.

Ritchie, Geoff, 'The Black Snake Inn', 9 October 2013, On the Convict Trail blog, https://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.com/2013/10/black-snake-inn.html, accessed 17 July 2024.

Roberts, Mick, 'The Half Way House, Antill Ponds, Tasmania', Time Gents blog, 14 May 2015, https://timegents.com/2015/05/14/the-half-way-house-antill-ponds-tasmania/ , accessed 17 July 2024. 

Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page, accessed 8 August 2024. 

Ted's story: Edwin Martin (1895-1918)

 

Edwin Martin was born on 8 July 1895, the second son of Edwin and Agnes Martin of Dundas, Tasmania. (1) ‘Ted’ enlisted in November 1916 and was granted the regimental number 3358. At the time he was described as a Methodist, standing 5 foot 7 inches in height, weighing 167 pounds with fair hair and blue eyes. His occupation was listed as a millhand, although he had previously worked as a miner. (2) Ted appears to have been close to his brother Howard who was only two years his senior. (3) Ted’s military career was to last only a little over 16 months, ending with his death from wounds at Etaples, France in early April 1918. (4)

Patriotism was likely the underlying motivation for both the older Martin boys enlisting in the Great War. They were inherently children of the British Empire as their father claimed to be Canadian by birth and their mother was descended from English bounty immigrants on both sides from Cornwall and Somersetshire. (5) Both brothers had skills that recommended them for military service: Howard had three years’ experience with the local rifle club, Ted had trained with the Tasmanian 91^st Infantry based at Zeehan. (6) It was perhaps a statement of both their mutual attachment as well as their resolve to serve their country that the brothers enlisted together at Zeehan on 14 November 1916. (7)

Brothers, Ted and Howard Martin.

All recruits received a minimum of three months training following enlistment at Claremont camp. (8) During his training Ted received vaccinations, inoculations and made a will naming his father as his sole beneficiary. (9) He was eventually assigned to the 8^th Reinforcements for the 40^th Battalion on 9 June 1917. (10) Ted embarked on the Hororata on 14 June from Sydney and arrived in Liverpool on 23 September. Ted was stationed at Sutton Mandeville where he would have received further training and instruction. (11) He proceeded with the 8^th reinforcements to France on 27 December. (12)

Ted Martin arrived at the Australian Infantry Base at Rouelles on 28 December 1917 was taken on strength in the field on 1 January 1918. (13) At the time, the 40^th Battalion were finishing an assignment in the trenches of the Armentieres sector. On 3 January, the Battalion transferred the Armentieres sector over to the 57^th British Division. The men were assigned to lewis gun and signalling schools. In late January following the Russian withdrawal, the 40th relieved the 27^th at Red Lodge (Hill 63) as the reserve battalion to the 10^th Division. They began work on a new defence system that also incorporated Messines, St. Ives and Polegsteert Wood in anticipation of an offensive. Every available man at the time, including Ted, was engaged in building this network of rear defences. Despite a short diversion in the Warneton sector, the support role at Hill 63 continued for several weeks. (14) From the 25 February 1918, the 40^th were regulated to a reserve status at Sedingham, where in addition to training and work on the defences, there were football competitions between the companies and base headquarters as well as target competitions held by the Australian Rifle Association. (15)

By late March a German offensive would place the 40^th Battalion back at the front line of the war. However, Ted Martin was proving deficient as a soldier. He was warned for being absent without leave from his post on 16 February and then caught again on 17 February. Ted was officially admonished by the O. C. on 18 February. (16) Concerns over discipline were understandable: after a full day of heavy machine gun fire, the enemy launched several raids on the night of 21 February, which General Birdwood attributed to a desire to test vulnerabilities along the line. The 40^th were all transferred to Lumbres by 23 March. On 25 March, Major General W. Ramsay McNichol informed his officers at Champangne that the British line had been broken and long-range shelling was now striking Paris. The 40^th were promptly marched to St. Omer and at Mondicourt they encountered both troops and civilians retreating, learning that the enemy were only 10 miles away. The entire Australian 3^rd Division were positioned between Ancre and the Somme. A miscommunication resulted in a withdrawal during the night of 26 March. By the time the orders were reversed the enemy had advanced. During the relatively quiet night of 27 March, there was much anticipation of the engagement expected the next day. (17)

The attack on Morlancourt on 28 March 1918 proved to be Ted’s first and last major battle. Two brigades of Germans were known to be marching on Morlancourt and the 40^th and 41^st Battalions were given orders to proceed at 4 p.m. to take the high ground before the enemy arrived. Assembling on the Amiens Line, the 40^th opened out into sections and came under artillery fire from German artillery as they advanced ‘parade ground style’. They encountered about a hundred men digging machine gun posts and opened fire, targeting only the guns as the enemy retreated. A line was established 400 yards west of Treux-Sailly-Laurette Road. The local topography was level and suited to gunfire and with a single bank that allowed cover for base headquarters. An advance was planned for 7 p.m. and although joined by the 39^th, the 41^st had been delayed and they were ordered to ‘dig in’. Attempts to dislodge a nearby machine gun post that night were unsuccessful. At the end of the day there had been 160 casualties, including Ted Martin. The wounded were transferred 800 yards in borrowed carts to the regimental aid post. From there they were transferred to Heilly Station and from there by ambulances.(18) While the Germans had recaptured all the ground of the Somme they had lost over the previous two years within five days of breaking the lines, it had been Anzac resistance that had secured the area by 31 March. (19)

Ted was eventually admitted to the 1^st Canadian General Hospital at Etaples on 1 April with gunshot wounds to his thigh and side. His left femur had been shattered. He died following an attempt to amputate the leg. He was afterwards buried in Etaples cemetery. (20) Bart Ziino has argued that regarding the families ‘distance mediated their attempts to cope with loss’. Their grief was arguably also protracted by the official process as the cemeteries only began to take shape in the 1920s and many memorials were not completed until the mid-1930s. (21) While Ted’s personal effects arrived promptly in late June 1918, it wasn’t until almost a year after his death that his father was sent two photographs of his grave. Edwin senior was posthumously sent a notice listing its location in Etaples cemetery in August 1922. Military bureaucracy also struggled with the dispatch of Ted’s memorial plaque and war medals, complicated by the passing of both his father and stepmother. His brother Howard assumed personal responsibility for liaising with the Department. (22)

The majority of Ted Martin’s military career was spent training or serving in a reserve capacity. The abrupt manner of his death in early April 1918 following his first and only major engagement reflects the precarious nature of any soldier’s life.  But the sacrifice of all the men who died as a result of the attack on Morlancourt appears to have had particular significance to the overall war effort. In his history of the 40^th Battalion published in 1922, Frack C. Green explained:

The result of the day was that we had advanced 1200 yards and the enemy was at least 1200 yards further from Amiens than he would otherwise have been. It does not seem much but that distance was of tremendous importance, as that piece of ground overlooked the whole valley of the Somme toward Amiens. Our unexpected attack had also held up the attack which the enemy was making in strength. He sat down and waited for 40 hours, wondering if the whole of the Australian corps were behind it, and every minute of the 40 hours was precious. It enabled us to get forward more machine-guns, to improve our defensive position and, most important of all, it gave our artillery time to arrive. It is probable that had his attack developed at 5 p.m. on the evening of the 28^th March he would have pushed us back, as ours was a thinly-held line without artillery or trench mortars, and no support of reserve troops behind us; and if he had pushed us back there was practically nothing to stop him reaching his great objective, Amiens. (23)

 

Would this have been any consolation to Ted’s brother Howard or any of his surviving immediate family if they ever read those words? Perhaps, but I certainly suspect Ted himself would have been content. While he was not a model soldier, Ted Martin arguably died a meaningful, patriotic death at a time when devotion to the collective good was highly valued and encouraged. A surviving photo postcard of himself in uniform to his sister appears to suggest an uncomplicated, modest, gentle character. It simply reads: ‘To My Dearly beloved sister Edith with kindest regards from Ted.’(24)

 

- Dr. Colin Woollcott Mallett, 2 February 2024.

Endnotes

---

(1) His father was a miner and later a farmer. Both his parents shared Cornish heritage and had four children who survived infancy. His mother died in 1898 and his father subsequently remarried his housekeeper, Phoebe Parker. Edwin senior had a second family and three of Ted’s half-siblings survived to adulthood. See: Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage, District of Mersey, RGD37/1/49 no. 907; Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Death, District of Zeehan, RGD35/1/67 no. 1194; Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Birth, District of Zeehan, RGD33/1/80 no. 3163; Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage, District of Zeehan, RGD37/1/44, no. 1331.

(2) Service record of Edwin Martin, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, National Archives of Australia, B2455, MARTIN E, pp 1, 9-10. Also see: Edwin Martin, Roll of Honour Cards 1914-1918, War, Army, 441/3, Australian War Memorial, AWM145, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1649498 , accessed 4 September 2023.

(3) Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department; Register of Births, District of Strahan, RGD33/1/76 no. 2663.

(4)  Service record of Edwin Martin, pp 40-41.

(5) Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage, District of Zeehan, RGD37/1/44, no. 1331; Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Birth, District of Morven, RGD33/1/44 no. 962.

(6) Service record of Howard Martin, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, National Archives of Australia, B2455, MARTIN H, p 1 and Service record of Edwin Martin, p 1. Known as the Tasmanian Rangers, the militia were first formed in 1914 and it was ‘B Company’ that was stationed in Zeehan and Waratah. Refer to: ‘Tasmania Military – Infantry 1914’, Australian Military History of the Early 20^th Century,  https://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog/1840846/militia-distribution-in-australia-1914-6th-military-district-part-1/ , accessed 4 September 2023.

(7) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 1 & Service record of Howard Martin, p 1.

(8) F. C. Green, The Fortieth A Record of the 40^th Battalion A.I.F., John Vail, Hobart, 1942, p 2 & Service record of Edwin Martin, p 4. The Claremont training camp which serviced up to 2200 recruits at a time was situated at Triffett’s Point near Hobart. This position was considered ideal as it was close to rail and an embarkation port. Refer to: ‘Claremont Training Camp Remembered’, Centenary of Anzac, https://www.centenaryofanzac.tas.gov.au/grants_and_programs/centenary_of_anzac_grants_program/past_projects/claremont_training_camp_walk_of_remembrance#:~:text=A%20good%20place%20to%20train,housed%20up%20to%202200%20men , accessed 4 September 2023. 

(9) Service record of Edwin Martin, pp 17, 45-6, 49. The will was dated 23 May 1917 and witnessed by Sgt. Urban A. Hanley.

(10) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 4. The 40^th Battalion was the Tasmanian contribution to the Australian Third Division of the 1^st AIF. Notification of the intention to form an exclusively Tasmanian Battalion had been announced early in 1916. After some initial doubts the quote was soon met. See: Marilyn Lake, A Divided Society Tasmanian during World War I, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1975, p 58.

(11) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 4. The camps at Sutton Mandeville were positioned between Fovant and Shallowcliff and included the requisitioned manor house. Refer to: ‘The Camps’, The Sutton Badges, https://suttonbadges.org.uk/the-camps/ , accessed 4 September 2023.

(12) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 4 Statement of Service indicates 24 December but Casualty Form p 9 lists his departure date as 27 December 1917.

(13) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 9. The 40^th Battalion had enjoyed a distinguished career to that date on the front. Originally disembarking at Le Harve on 24 November 1916 they had initially engaged in trench warfare in Armentieres on 9 December for a period of four months. They had then been involved in the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917. The Battalion had gone on to take part in action in the Third Battle of Ypres. Notably in August 1917 when the Battalion was transferred from Armentieres to Ypres, they took 300 prisoners and captured 17 machine gun posts at the price of 50 casualties. See: Green, The Fortieth, pp 59, 62.

(14) Green, The Fortieth, pp 106-108. The makeup of the Battalion at this stage consisted of the four companies headed by: Captain G. S. Bisdee (A Company), Lieut. G. L. MacIntyre (B Company), Capt. W. C. G. Ruddock (C Company), Maj. L. F. Giblin MC (D Company). There’s no indication in his war file to which specific company Ted belonged.

(15) Following the Battle of Riga in early September 1917, the Russians lost six divisions and left the Entente. Consequently, there followed a massive redeployment of German troops to the Western front. See: C. E. W. Bean, The Australian Imperial Force in France: during the main German Offensive, 1918, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1937, p 93.  See also: Green, The Fortieth, p 109-111.

(16) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 9. There is no more information on the incident in his file. In contrast, his brother Howard received no black marks on his war record. Refer to Service Record of Howard Martin, pp. 1-30.

(17) This was to be the start of a new period of attrition warfare in the Somme for the 1^st AIF. Between 27 March and 7 May 1918, as a result of the German offensive, the Australians suffered 15,000 casualties. Green, The Fortieth, pp 109-112.  The first and main offensive was known as Operation Michael, after St. Michael the patron saint of Germany. It was also called ‘kaiserschlact’ or the Emperor’s battle. The line was broken at the southern end of the front against the British 5^th Army. See: Christopher Mick, ‘1918:Endgame’ in Jay Winter (ed), The Cambridge History of the First World War Vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013, pp 147-148.

(18) Green, The Fortieth, pp 116-120. The ‘disposition of the Battalion’ that day: Capt. J. D. Chisholm (A Company), Capt. G. S. Bisdee (B Company), Lieut. C. H. O. Whitaker (C Company), Lieut. C. H. Cane (D Company). Lieutenant A. P. Brown led Platoon 7 on two attempts to eradicate the machine gun post positioned in the ‘problem copse’ from the left flank but had to withdraw when it was reduced to only five men.

(19) Bill Gammage, The Broken Years Australian Soldiers in the Great War, Australian University Press, Canberra, 1974, p 195-196. The regimental aid post was under the command of Captain W. I. Clark MC.

(20) Service record of Edwin Martin, p 10 His death and circumstances were reported in the Mercury 12 April 1918, p 6, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11389176 accessed 16 August 2023.

(21) No remains were repatriated and only 38,000 of 60,000 casualties were buried in identified graves. As early as 1917, the Imperial War Graves Commission were given a mandate to operate on behalf of the bereaved constructing 1,850 cemeteries with uniform monuments. Although families were provided with photographs and could provide a personalised inscription at their own cost, few could afford to visit in person, and this impacted the mourning process. See: Bart Ziino, A Distant Grief, Australians, War Graves and the Great War, University of Western Australia Press, Crawley, 2007, pp 1-3, 125, 130.

(22) Edwin’s personal effects were returned 11 June 1918 to Australia via Barunga arriving 20 June 1918 in case no. 1223 and addressed to his father. They included: two Discs, two fountain pens, a Knife, a key ring and chain, a metal watch damaged and strap, an electric torch, a matchbox cover, writing pad cover, photos, two letters, a wallet. The photographs were sent on 18 March 1919. It was around the same time on the 22 March 1919 his father received Ted’s bank book. Regarding his listing on the Roll of Honour at the newly minted Australian War Memorial, Edwin senior wrote to the Secretary of the Department of Defence on 15 February 1920 explaining that due to old age and poverty he could not afford the fee and had forwarded the letter to his son Howard for his consideration. The letter describing the position of Ted’s grave as Plot 32 Row a grave 5A was sent 14 August 1922. Edwin senior himself had died on 5 July 1921. See: Service record of Edwin Martin, pp 18-53 & Tasmanian Archives, Register General’s Department, Registers of Death, District of Hobart, RGD35/1/1921 no. 1957.

(23) Green, The Fortieth, p 120.

(24) Photograph of Edwin Martin, c.1917, original held by Colin Woollcott Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania.

Bibliography

 

Primary Sources

 

Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour Cards 1914-1918, War, Army, AWM145.

 

Edwin Martin, Photograph, c. 1917, original held by Colin Woollcott Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania.

 

Mercury (Hobart 1860-1954).

 

National Archives of Australia, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, B2455.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Births, District of Morven, RGD33.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Births, District of Strahan, RGD33.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Births, District of Zeehan, RGD33.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Deaths, District of Hobart, RGD35.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department; Registers of Deaths, District of Zeehan, RGD35.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage, District of

Mersey, RGD37.

 

Tasmanian Archives: Register General’s Department, Registers of Marriage, District of Zeehan, RGD37.

 

 

Secondary Sources

 

Bean, C. E. W., The Australian Imperial Force in France: during the main German offensive, 1918, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1937.

 

Gammage, Bill, The Broken Years Australian Soldiers in the Great War, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1974.

 

Green, F. C., The Fortieth A Record of the 40^th Battalion A. I. F., John Vail Government Printer, Hobart, 1942.

 

Lake, Marilyn, A Divided Society Tasmania during World War I, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1975.

 

Mick, Christopher, ‘Endgame:1918’ in Jay Winter, The Cambridge History of the First World War Vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013, pp. 133-171.

 

Ziino, Bart, A Distant Grief Australians, War Graves and the Great War, University of Western Australia Press, Crawley, 2007.

 

 

Online Sources

 

‘The Camps’, The Sutton Badges, https://suttonbadges.org.uk/the-camps/ , accessed on 4 September 2023.

 

‘Claremont Training Camp Remembered’, Centenary of Anzac, https://www.centenaryofanzac.tas.gov.au/grants_and_programs/centenary_of_anzac_grants_program/past_projects/claremont_training_camp_walk_of_remembrance#:~:text=A%20good%20place%20to%20train,housed%20up%20to%202200%20men , accessed 4 September 2023.

 

‘Tasmanian Militia – Infantry 1914’, Australian Military History of the Early 20^th Century,  https://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog/1840846/militia-distribution-in-australia-1914-6th-military-district-part-1/ , accessed 4 September 2023.