Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

  I couldn't let the month of July pass without a tribute to some of those who gave their all on the battlefields on the Western Front in 1916. They never made it home to Australia but are remembered on family headstones scattered throughout Rookwood cemetery. After the horror of the Gallipoli campaign, many were patched up and sailed to France to join British and other Commonwealth nations troops for arguably worse horrors. The name Fromelles reminds many of the battle that caused the single the greatest number of dead Australian troops in the Great War. There were 5,533 casualties, including approximately 1,900 deaths. The number of dead included 15 sets of brothers and one father and son. The British Division suffered 1,547. The Germans around 1,500. All the more shocking when you find that this happened in one 24-hour period; 19th July 1916. If that was not bad enough, those that survived the bloodbath of Fromelles were then subjected to the Battle of Pozieres which ran f...

  Today's blog honours a man whose name was given to a beautiful beach on the South Coast of NSW. This beach has fine white sand made from ground pure quartz and arguably the whitest sand in Australia. It lies south of Vincentia and north of Jervis Bay village and is known as Hyams Beach.   MICHAEL HYAM and his family Michael was born in London England in 1799, the third child of Thomas Peynter Hyam and his wife Sarah. He became a shoemaker and arrived on these shores as a free settler via the "George Canning" in 1828. Michael arrived with a consignment of goods for Walter Jacob Levi, to be paid for upon receipt. Mr. Levi had unfortunately died and his widow was unaware of the goods being delivered. As such Michael was given the goods which he subsequently auctioned, set up a shoemaker's shop in Sydney and made an application for land.   Michael Hyam - image courtesy of Wikitree Michael had his sights set on an area far from the city limits; a place that lies ...

  Today's blog is about an entrepreneur who via marriage, gave his rather ordinary name a touch of class. His name is associated with railways, a tourist resort and one the of most palatial venues for a wedding in Sydney. HARRY “ CURZON” SMITH Harry was the born in Toronto Canada the eldest son of Hugh Thomas Smith and his wife Rebecca. Hugh was an engineer and was extremely successful in the gas and soda water manufacturing business. His improvements to the aerated water machinery in Toronto soon made him the leading manufacturer of soda fountains and dispensing machines in Canada and the USA. In 1877 Hugh moved with his family to Australia and set up a firm in Sydney that secured contracts to install gas lighting in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmanian railway carriages. Harry commenced working with his father as a travelling salesman. Aged 23, in 1884, he married Isabella Curzon Webb. Isabella was related to George Curzon, First Marquess Curzon of Kedlesto...

  I confess I don't mind a bit of shopping - currently though it's more of the “ window” type - so when I was alerted to a person who once was the creator of a department store, I remember from my distant childhood, I had to delve more. There are many store proprietors that call Rookwood "home", and I will publish blogs about them over the coming months, but today's piece pays homage to: - WILLIAM BUCKINGHAM William Buckingham was born in Yorkshire Northern England in 1854 the eldest child of Samuel and his wife Mary nee Moore. The family which included several more children arrived upon these shores in the winter of 1875 when William was about 20 years of age. It didn’t take long before William set up a drapery business. By 1884 his business was listed as Buckingham and Pepper relocating from 180 Pitt Street to 510 George Street. The business continued at that address until 1894 when it was trading only under Buckingham’s name. In March 1894, W. Buckingha...