Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

 It's October and Spring has sprung (well it's trying to) and our minds turn to gardens flourishing, spring cleaning and maybe a spot of painting, etc. to spruce the place up! Here are a few people who fit the bill and call Rookwood home. GEORGE KERSLAKE AND NATHANIEL TAUBMAN GEORGE KERSLAKE George's full name was George Henry Tuck (his mother's maiden name) Kerslake and was born @ 1854 in Teignmouth, Devon, England, the eldest son to Robert George Kerslake and Elizabeth (nee Tuck). He was the eldest son of eight. Robert was a gardener and George followed in his footsteps.  George married Hannah Underhay in 1877 and by the 1881 Census he was listed as a market gardener. They made the journey to these shores arriving on the 13th of January 1884 stopping in Adelaide and Melbourne before disembarking in Sydney.  George Kerslake - portrait taken @ 1905 for the Royal Horticultural Society - from Ancestry.com He was employed by Wilheim Von Der Heyde, who with George Todman se

 On the 10th of July 1901, people were astonished to read in their afternoon newspaper edition that a massive fire had broken out at the Hordern's Palace Emporium Haymarket. The main buildings had been destroyed with damages estimated at £1,000,000. The tragic news received was that 5 employees had lost their lives.  *Warning: graphic details are contained herein* THE HORDERN PALACE EMPORIUM FIRE OF 1901 Before I expand on the tragic incident, let me quickly touch on the origins of the firm. It began as a drapery business of Mrs. Ann (Anthony) Hordern in 1823 which eventually moved to Melbourne in 1839 but their sons Anthony II and Lebbeus returned in 1844 to set up their own drapery firm in George Street. The business moved to larger premises in the Haymarket in 1856 and by the time Anthony II's sons, Anthony III and Samuel joined the business in 1869 the firm was called Anthony Hordern & Sons. During the 1870's the company purchased several surrounding buildings and r