A man who packed a punch!!
Melbourne Cup was to be the theme of my Rookwood blog this week, but I received a call for help via a Facebook message from the person who set up a group I have joined - Australian Headstone Images - regarding clarification. The name on the headstone in Rookwood came up with another alias and she wanted to know who this person actually was, so I decided to have a quick look. Well, what a find this man turned out to be. I've always maintained that Rookwood is full of wonderful people, many of whom lie under unassuming standard issue headstones - this man is one of them. WILLIAM "FIGHTING BILL SPARKES" PARKES William was born in April 1818 at the Cooks River in an area known at the time as Parkes Run. He was one of 12 children born to John Parkes and his wife Margaret Southern, both convicts. John had been granted 50 acres of land in October 1831 and the land was known with several versions of the name Parkes until it was renamed Earlwood which it is known by today.