Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

 Over the years I have had the privilege of being the recipient of family information from people who follow me. Every one of those pieces of information contain pure "gold" and I have shared some of the stories of those people on this page. I'll advise of how to find them towards the end of today's blog. A few months back I heard from a woman who was seeking advice as to where her ancestor was buried in Rookwood and advised me that he died at the ripe old age of 107! Well, I had to go down the rabbit hole on that one. The ancestor was found, and this is his story as passed down and reported upon. RICHARD JAMES SMITH Richard was born on the 10th of December 1796 in Wiltshire England to John Smith and his wife Mary nee Bird. He was the fourth child of a total of nine and by the date of his birth two of his siblings had already died. The family were farmers like many other relatives, however some entered the Army and Richard joined them. He enlisted in the 50th Re...

Last Friday was Australia Day and we are a nation of immigrants, (with the exception of First Nations people the custodians of the island), in a country we call "home". Many immigrants have progressed from rags to riches and there are many to choose from.  Today's blog relates to a man who came to this country and attempted to assimilate and smooth over many of the troubles with his heritage and living in Australia at the time. MEI QUONG TART Mei or Quong as he was widely known was born in in a village of the Guangdong province of China in 1850. At the age of 9 he was sent to Australia to accompany his uncle who was bringing a team of Chinese workers to work in the goldfields in the area of Braidwood and Araluen NSW. In Braidwood he lived with Thomas Forsyth, a Scot, who ran a store at Bell's Creek. Later he was taken in by the wealthy family of Robert Simpson and his wife, Alice, nee Want, who were charmed by the lad's Scottish accent!  Under their tutelage he le...