Rookwood Cemetery Discoveries

Allez, Allez Australie - as we chase those medals and what special medals they are. Designed by LVMH jeweller, Chaumet, each contains a small piece of the original iron from the Eiffel Tower in its centre with the colour of the medal radiating out from that point in a hexagonal style. Tres magnifique et elegant! We are at the halfway point of the Games and this week's blog, the second in French related ones, highlights another French man who made Australia his home. EDMOND MARIE MARIN DE LA MESLEE Edmond was briefly mentioned in the blog published on the 24th of June, but this piece will go into more detail and also highlight his wife and her ancestors. Edmond was born on the 8th of November 1853 to Colonel Edmond la Meslee and his wife Amelie in Nantes, a city on the Loire River in Upper Brittany, a region of Western France. Nantes is considered to be the birthplace of the Surrealist art movement and the third highest ranking city in France after Paris and Lyon. It is also the lar...

 It was a post on another Facebook group of which I am a member, that reminded me of something I had written about elsewhere. Today I will elaborate on that incident and mention those that were involved who now call Rookwood "home". THE BOATING TRAGEDY IN SYDNEY HARBOUR IN DECEMBER 1893 The tragedy occurred on 17th of December 1893 and involved a party of a dozen people who were sailing off South Head at Port Jackson on Sydney Harbour resulting in the drowning of seven. The yacht “Ripple” had left Lane Cove early in the morning in the charge of its owner, Mr. Isaac Phizackerley, a well-known bicycle agent of Sydney. Accompanying him was Bertha Hilton and Arthur Alexander who lived nearby. They proceeded to the North Shore, where they picked up a party of ten others. The Ripple was engaged to sail to Middle Harbour, and they were to land at Clontarf for a picnic lunch. Vintage photo of Clontarf - Dictionary of Sydney  Everything went well and just after 3pm a course ...