Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

  I like to keep my blogs relatively topical so as Sydney is hosting World Pride it was decided a gay icon was needed and there were a few candidates. I finally chose a man who was many things: conman, criminal, bushranger as well as a gay icon. ANDREW GEORGE SCOTT aka CAPTAIN MOONLITE Scott was born in Ireland in mid 1842, the son of Thomas Scott, an Anglican man of the cloth, and his wife Bessie. It is written that Scott was a handsome, charismatic and intelligent child who, as a young adult, was known for his impulsive acts of violence. The family, including his younger brother Thomas sailed to Auckland New Zealand on the “Black Eagle”. His father took charge of Christ Church, Coromandel, and his brother was ordained a priest. Scott was a teacher and entered the Auckland Militia in 1864 but in late 1867 he arrived in Australia. In April 1868, he was appointed as a paid lay preacher of the Church of Holy Trinity, Bacchus Marsh. Scott had grandiose plans to be an engineer bu...

  It's film awards season and this week's blog has links to the Oscars... The person we highlight today was, until the last few years, lying in an unmarked grave but now has some recognition. LUCY FARROW Lucy Villiers Savage was born in 1884 in Brunswick Victoria, the daughter of George Savage, a tailor's trimmer, and Emily (nee Piggott) a dressmaker. They lived in Brunswick, a suburb north of Melbourne, which was a fast-growing area populated by a mixture of working class and “new rich”. We next hear of Lucy when she marries Joseph Farrow in Granville, western Sydney, in 1903. A place of tanneries and woollen mills, it was very much a working-class suburb. Lucy Farrow - from Wiki Tree with thanks Their son, John Villiers Farrow was born in February 1904. When he was three years old his mother died whilst an inmate of Callan Park Asylum. Lucy was only 23 years of age. A victim of post-natal depression? In 1873, the government of NSW purchased the Callan Park s...

  This week's blog is not punctuated with injury and death but is one filled with inspiration - and hard work. It is also a tale of displaced migrants making the long journey to Australia to start a new life. JACOB SIMON BLOCH Jacob was born in May 1898 in Lithuania and named Yaacov Shimon, son of Lozer Blochas, painter and cobbler, and his wife Chaja. Shoemaking was in the family's DNA and at the age of 11 Jacob was apprenticed to a shoemaker. Jacob also studied dance until he was 15, when he moved to the larger city of Verniai to work as a cobbler. It was in Varnia that he married Zise Sandler, a bootmaker's daughter, in 1919. Polly, Zise's sister, and her British husband had migrated to Australia in the late 1920's. With their help Jacob arrived in Sydney in 1930, in the middle of the Depression, with the aim to find ample work to allow Zise and his children to follow him here. Determined to make a success of his decision to migrate to these shores, with li...

  As a social media fan, I am a member of a number of Facebook Groups. Last week I noticed a photo of a painting I am very much aware of – “The Fireman’s Funeral 1894” by Arthur Streeton. Of course, I had to comment, and a long, long thread followed. So, today’s blog is about the subject of that painting who lies in Rookwood. EDWARD CHARLES BROWN Edward was born @ 1850 in Norwich England to Charles and Mary Brown. He came to these shores sometime in 1877 and met and married Rebecca Regan and they went on to have 5 children. Edward was listed on the English census in 1871 as a carpenter's apprentice but when he arrived in Australia it wasn't long before he trained as a Fireman. Edward became a member of the United Insurance Brigade and joined the Metropolitan Fire Brigade which was formed by Richard Torning (who also calls Rookwood "home") when it was established in 1884. He rose through the ranks to take charge of the Newtown Branch Station and it was said he wa...

  Sydney is a harbour city and images of the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House are easily recognisable throughout the world. Many ferries transport thousands of people around the harbour to various inner city suburban terminals and as far west as Parramatta. Taking a ferry ride is one of life's little pleasures for locals and visitors alike but there have been a number of tragic disasters on the harbour. On the 13th February 2023 it will be 85 years since the sinking of the "Rodney" with the loss of 19 lives. The youngest victim calls Rookwood "home" THE SINKING OF THE RODNEY FERRY Sydney at the time had a large ferry fleet and there were always new operators looking to find a niche in the market providing more than a simple "port to destination" service. On that fateful day the harbour was awash with ferries and small craft wanting to get as close as possible to the US cruiser "Louisville" as it departed our shores for its ...