Trip to Paradise

 Long the road we drove and looked up the hill. We could see a saddle between two slight hills. That is where the Doe house was situated at Paradise. Several other blocks of land belonged to the family and were owned at different times by other members of Caroline's family.

After all my excitement, a black and white cow, a car body and a hills hoist marked the spot where Ephraim and Caroline had their house. The bright line along the ground is the remains of the cement foundations. This area would have been solid timber when they first moved in and was seen as ideal farm land. It was surrounded by places named Beulah, The Promised Land and other Biblical names. There is even a place called Ephraim's Gate. Many of the local inhabitants joined the Christian Brethren  and meetings were held in various homes. The forest made the district very prone to bushfires and the condition of the roads made transport very difficult. Many families moved on. This is the house where the Doe family lived. The photo was taked many years after they had left. The shingle roof had been covered with iron but just near the front of the house, a missing piece reveals the original shingles.

Living in Paradise.

FOr about 15 years, Caroline and Ephraim the Younger farmed at Paradise. I was informed that the foundations to their house were still there and with map in hand, family in tow, went off to find the historic ruins. Turn left at the Church was the instruction. We stopped to have a closer look before turning and discovered a little wooden building with an outhouse at the back, an original pit toilet and it certainly smelt like it. With handkerchiefs over our noses, we hopped back in the car and puttered on up the hill. Another left turn and we were almost there. I could feel the spirits in the air. It was a historical moment. Again, something was not quite right. Along the ground were vestiges of cement blocks, my ruins. Also marking the spot was a dead car body, a black and white cow and a broken Hills hoist; not the romantic idea I had had in my head. It was hard to believe that my ancestors had lived there under the shadow of Mount Roland, clearing the forest, fighting the elements and gaining spiritual comfort from their membership of the Christian Brethren Church. Ephraim was one of eight signatories to the deeds when a new church was built and was very involved. Caroline's brother William was also living in the district and was a member. Unfortunately, women in their position left very few records other than the endless registrations as thier many children arrived. Caroline gave birth to most of her 12 children in the district. She would have worried, along with her husband over the floods, the crops, the health of the cattle and the fires which ravaged these forest areas. Caroline was busy raising a family, keeping house and simply providing for all. On their property was another small hut, separate from their house. Here lived Ephraim's father after his release from Port Arthur. It seems that he also farmed some of the land as there are entries in his son's diary which show that he did paid work for E Doe. As he would have not paid himself, this is the most likely answer. In the mid nineties, the family decided that Paradise was not all that they wanted. Ephraim was interested in fossicking for minerals and had ventured wider. Perhaps this was the reason for their move to Wilmot where they were among the early settlers. At first they rented land but then built their own home. Ephraim still farmed and Caroline raised more children. Some of her older ones were already married and had children of their own. In 1903, Caroline was again pregnant, this time with her 13th. There are a couple of stories held by different family members. One is that she was kicked in the stomach by a cow, another that she had "kidney fits". A doctor was sent for but could do nothing. On January 6th, 1903, Caroline passed away. Her official cause of death "toxaemia". Ephraim was left on his own with his children, the youngest, not yet a year old.

Mrs Caroline Doe

A fuzzy photo, an obvious copy from a previous version, tells little of this lady, my great grandmother, Caroline Byron. Her life was short, only 43 years, but it was a hard one. Caroline was born in Launceston, the eldest child of Caroline (nee Walker) and John Byron. One of the big mysteries of my research has been the disappearance of John Byron. Three children were born of this union, then John disappeared, just went ............. I have checked every record imaginable but the difficulty is that the name John Byron was used by a few other people, one of them the poet who seems to have hogged the limelight as far as John Byrons go. One thing seems to crop up when distant relatives are asked for any clues. Everyone associates him with the sea. He was in the Navy (did we have one in 1858?). He was a sea captain. He went away to sea and kept other women in other places. John Byron was obviously educated. He confidently signed his name on his marriage certificate but on the birth records of his three children he is listed as a labourer - no mention of the sea. However, young Caroline began her life living at Robin Hood Wells on the banks of the Don River in Northern Tasmania, where her father worked at Don Sawmills. Possibly he worked on the ships which plied the timber trade along the coast and across Bass Strait. Caroline was not to know him for long. By the time she was three or four years old, he was gone. Caroline gained a new father, Frederick Bishop and a brother Henry, but before she could blink, her new father was dead. Ten years later, father number three, George Smith arrived and three more children were added to the family. By this time, Caroline would have been old enough to be thinking about going out to work. In 1878, she became the wife of Ephraim Doe the younger. Together they made a home at Paradise, but how much paradise was it for her? Caroline shows no more expression than the Mona Lisa. It is hard to tell what she was thinking.

Pigeon post works better

Today, it is the computer running at miniscule speed but mostly failing altogether. Yesterday, it was the new mobile phone which drove me insane. Oh for the days when everything was simple. I remember when my Doe grandparents finally moved to an area where they could have a phone. You just picked up the receiver and turned the handle on the phone. The exchange would answer and you would be connected by real people. All down the line, you could hear them passing on your request until finally, the person you had called, would answer. My grandparents number was Wilmot 41. No fancy strings of number that noone would ever remember. When you finished, you simply hung up. At home, we had 4 numbers and unfortunately they were similar to the local taxi company so we had lots of people ringing for taxis. Still, we just dialled a number and it worked. My new phone has a touch screen which just sits there. I touch it and get no reaction, so I try again, and again. The green line moves across and just sits there, then the phone turns off again. I try again and again. I get a call  but 10 seconds later, the call cuts out. This happens time and time again. My messages don't send. This is modern technology. My phone came with an instruction manual, written so small that it is impossible to read comfortably. The page numbers are in the negative, little white numbers in a grey square - impossible to read.
Finally, I went back to the shop and presented the phone. I am told it does not work aand that all these problems are a result of it having too much loaded on it.
 "Do you use all these programs?" I am asked
"No, I don't even know what they all do."
The extra programs are removed and suddenly the phone starts to function reasonably.
Why were all these programs there? I am told that they are automatically on the phone when you buy it. I cannot believe that Mr Samsung is selling a phone which is designed to fail. What is the point of having a phone with all these functions, if it stops the phone from working? And why are they loaded on there? And why is the instruction book so useless?
Bring back the good old days.

The mystery of Amelia

Amelia and Norah

 Amelia and daughter Norah are pictured about 1911. They look content and happy. This is really a very gentle photo. Discovering Amelia's story was not easy. At first I was given a few verbal details: she was born at Paradise, she married young and her husband left her with three tiny children. Fred Elwin was engaged to build a small hut for her and her children on her father's property at Narrawa near Wilmot. She later followed Fred to W A and he possibly married her at some time.
Later I received a written piece from one of her children, which outlined most of this and backed up most of the story. Some of it has turned out to be true, but it is the missing pieces which add mystery and make the family historian's search so interesting. Amelia had a sister Mary Ann also known as Twinnie. She was called Twinnie according to story because (1) she and Amelia looked so alike or (2) they shared one dress, each wearing it on alternate days so that one of them could go to school. It is possible that there were two dresses the same but the basis for these stories can never be truly known.
I discovered through BDM indexes, that Amelia had been married and become a mother at the age of 16, very young by today's standards but quite common at that time.(and earlier than my correspondents had realised).

Amelia and 2 friends

Following up the Chiplin family became my next interest and I found records in BDM indices, newspapers and electoral rolls. They had lived in N W Tasmania and had moved to the West Coast. There were marriage breakups, sad deaths of parents and young children but no more mention of Charles Chiplin, whom, I had been told had gone to W A and had wandered into the desert and (died?) disappeared. The family story was definitely that he had died. Some members of the family were quite sure he had never gone to W A at all. However, electoral rolls from 1910 onwards showed me that Amelia, Charles and some of his relatives had all gone to Western Australia and had lived in close proximity.

Suddenly, in 1910 a newspaper announcement gave news of the separation of Charles and Amelia, shortly after she had given birth to a child to Fred Elwin.(Norah). Fred and Amelia went on to have another 5 children before she divorced Charles on the grounds of desertion many years later. The puzzles which cannot be easily solved are: what happened between the initial separation around 1900 and 1910 when Norah was born and why did she wait so long to divorce him? Why did Amelia and Charles both go to W A if they were separated and did she follow Fred Elwin over there? All we know is that she had arrived before January 1906.

Charles at some time returned to Tasmania and did not die in the desert as I had been told, but in hospital at Latrobe in 1943. Fortunately, his death notice named enough relatives to confirm his identity both in Tasmania and in W A. I thank the person who put the notice together!

Many of the stories historians gather have elements of truth and some creative facts. Amelia's has been one of them.

Norah and Co

Every now and then a picture with real character crops up. For me this is one of them. It is the family of Amelia, daughter of Ephraim the younger and grand daughter of Ephraim the Elder (convict). The trees in the background are so much the essence of the Australian bush. Dressing up in your best clothes and looking good was so important in Australia's past, no matter where you were. I love the little sailor suits too. It is Norah who intrigues me the most. Her black stockings teamed with a white dress, her hat, completely covering her forehead and her stance, arms folded and leaning slightly back, her feet planted slightly apart, give her a certain aura, a bit of mystery.
The brothers at the back look a bit cheeky and confident, Rose seems rather gentle and Gordon and Syd, a couple of imps. These were the second part of Amelia's family; she married twice and had nine children in all. This photo was probably one of several sent back to her family in Tasmania and New Zealand to show how her family was growing.

Bonnet for Eliza

I recently attended a textile workshop where I tried out a few new ideas. One of the items discussed was the use of shellac to seal pens, inks and colours into fabric. This took me back to the days at school when we threw ourselves into the restoration of our desks at the end of the year. The wooden desk top was home to all manner of graffiti. With pen, pencil and ink, designs and pictures were scratched deeply through the varnished surface. Each desk was identifiable by the signature designs of its owner. Come Christmas or sometimes another term end, we were armed with sandpaper and the teacher watched as we obliterated all signs of the boredom which had caused this detriment to the furniture. Dust rose in the air, covered our hands and choked our throats as we sanded deeper and deeper. Finally, we were confronted with a pale smooth, clear and light surface. On went the shellac which soaked into the wood and left a golden and shiny glow. Once dried, we polished till out muscles ached, each student vying with the next to  create the more perfect surface. Finished at last, we knew with satisfaction that there was a clean slate for the new term.


Roses for the Heart, Eliza Downey



At my workshop we explored a couple of different methods of transferring designs onto fabric. It led me to finally finishing off some more bonnets for the Roses from the Heart project. This one is for my great, great grandmother Eliza Downey who married Thomas Smith. Eliza was a nursemaid in Dublin before being transported and was a dressmaker at the time of her marriage to Thomas. The tiny buttons represent the babies she cared for and the clothing her occupation at marriage. The boots represent her children, Thomas and Charles who were shoemakers and the daughters Hannah and Sarah who wore the boots. Thomas was the father of Ivy Smith who became the wife of Roland Doe

On the Road to Matrimony

A hand written note amongst Nan Doe's postcards dated 27 January 1907

"On the Road to Matrimony
12 Nods = 1 smile
12 smiles = 1 meeting
20 meetings= 1 kiss
500 kisses = 1 proposal
2 proposals = 1 engagement
1 engagement = 1 marriage
1 marriage = 30 years misery
30 years misery = 1 funeral
1 funeral = happiest day in a man's life"

Seems to me that it's a long way to the first kiss. Considering that at that time people were married quite young, Ten thousand kisses means that they had to be going at it pretty well to get to the proposal. Just how long does that take? And why is it the happiest day of a man's life? What if she outlives him?
obviously, women's lib was some way in the future.

Arrival in Paradise

“God was their Rock” by Alan Dyer tells the story of the visit by evangelists into Tasmania. Brown and Moyse had come to the Circular Head district in 1872 and in August 1874, they arrived in Sheffield. It was very much a pioneer town. Bullocks with loaded drays would get bogged in the main street. People had to swim to cross rivers. Falling limbs from the many ring barked trees posed a constant threat to safety. The first post office had been built here in 1862 and a general store opened soon after. A school had been established.  Some residents attended the Wesleyan Church but most people lived without the support of any Christian guidance. When Brown (from England) and Moyse (Scotland) began preaching in houses, people listened. Meetings had to be moved to barns and held more often, so great was the interest in the message these preachers were delivering. Whether the message rang true for him, or he was swept up in the general euphoria, on the 7^th July, Ephraim the Younger joined their ranks along with about 90 other people. He had mentioned at his father’s trial several years earlier that he had never been to Church, Chapel or school and did not know what a bible was. The young Ephraim took that book and his formal education began. He learned the stories and at the age of 20, now began to learn to read. The Bible was to be his first “primer.”

Other families also joined the Christian Brethren movement. Among them were members of the Knowles family, including the Walker family. At the age of 23, Ephraim the Younger married Caroline Byron, daughter of Caroline Walker. He was now a farmer, and his address “Paradise.”

Life in the North West

Last time I wrote about Ephraim and Bridget, Ephraim had just been taken off to Port Arthur. Bridget was exonerated, but was she returned to her children or left in Launceston and had to make her way back to them. Ephraim had relinquished his property at Bishopsbourne, so where did they go?
My guess is that they moved further along the coast. Ephraim had been given a 15 year sentence so they would have had to effectively plan a life without him. The most likely jobs for women would have been in housework, laundry or sewing. Unfortunately, houseowners, lessees and men were most likely to leave behind a record of their being, and Bridget was none of these.
Ephraim was released after 7 1/2 years and I have been unable to find any trace of the family for the whole of this time. The place he reappeared after that time was at Sheffield, in the North West, where he purchased a block of land only three months after leaving PA. Had he kept money from the disposal of his Bishopsbourne property? The money earned at Port Arthur was hardly enough. Had he met up with Bridget again? Bridget lived for only eight more years, while Ephraim lived for another nineteen but they left little evidence of their lives.
Three months after the property at Sheffield was purchased, it was transferred into the name of Ephraim the Younger. What was the purpose of this? Did they build a hut or house there/ Did they even live on the property?
The North West Coast was still quite isolated as far as roads were concerned. Transport into the area was mainly by ship and there were wooden ketches travelling all along the area, pulling into wharves built on the numerous rivers. Land was still being cleared for farming and dead forests stood tall, waiting for the timber to die and be felled. Houses were wooden huts, roads mainly just muddy tracks and much of the population ex convicts or their descendants. There were not quite so many sheep in this area, to tempt Ephraim back into his old ways, or perhaps he had learned his lesson. Dairying was more prevalent in this part of the country.
For the next really big influence on the lives of the Doe family it is necessary to look to religion. After all the years of unheeded services while a convict, Ephraim now lived with his son who was swept by the movement of the Christian Brethren.

G J Coles over the fence

I have just returned from a trip to the north of Tasmania where I visited the town of Wilmot yet again. I have had a couple of trips there recently. Although the weather was cool, the day was fine and sunny. Our target was the museum which has been set up in a little church and which proved to be really interesting. Along with displays of rural equipment and household items, there were folders of photos arranged in albums, which made it really easy to search for the ones you might be interested in. I found Auntie Bett in a newspaper article and a school photo which contained May, Roland and Charlie Doe. There was a photo of the original Coles Store with Ephraim the younger just squeezed into the side and a really large photo of Sylvena Carter who married Charlie Doe. There was not nearly enough time for me so I will have to go back again. I will contribute some items to the current stock but it will take a little while.
The Coles Store at Wilmot was the original in Australia. I am not sure how long George J Coles lived in Wilmot but he was Ephraim's next door neighbour and was the witness to his will. I wonder whether the two of them ever sat together and discussed George's vision of budget stores. They certainly would not recognise today's supermarkets and would have little idea how to use the many products.

Fifteen years equals 5479 days



 Ephraim spent a month in the Hospital at Port Arthur



Every now and then, while researching a family history, you come across something which surprises you and totally changes the visions you have had. When I was in primary school, I was given very poorly copied tracings of convicts to colour in and told that all the convicts were sent out for stealing a handkerchief or a loaf of bread. Countless other students in other schools had the same lesson. At one time, it was not fashionable to have a convict in the family and everything was done to hide the digressions of ancestors. Convicts almost seemed like imaginary beings. These lessons on convicts came between a lesson on Greek mythology and “Alfred burnt the cakes.” Tasmania's past was hidden in among many unrelated stories. Obviously schools were into teaching lack of depth, no understanding and irrelevance.

I started learning about convicts again, much later on and discovered that the chain around the leg was not a permanent fixture and that there were different classes of convicts and different systems of dealing with them. When Ephraim was sent off to Port Arthur, there were rules about how he was to be punished and how he was to be imprisoned. First, prisoners were to be held in solitary for a time – unless they were 60 years old or more. By my reckoning, Ephraim was about 50 but he had managed to have his age raised by 10 years so he may have missed out on this little gem. He also was still recovering from his broken arm so could not be put to work in the forests in a hurry.



Model of pig farm, Port Arthur



As time has passed, more and more records have surfaced and been microfilmed and it came to be that these included work books from Port Arthur. Only two of these remain and one of these covers the middle portion of Ephraim’s years at Port Arthur. Suddenly, instead of just placing him at the scene, I was able to see exactly what he was up to while a prisoner there. This document begins in September 1868, so he had already been there for nearly 12 months. At the top of the page, his sentence is given as 5479 days, the unexpired amount being 5057 days. A little bit of addition shows that his sentence has been backdated to the day of his arrest. Ephraim arrived at PA on 4^th November 1867. His first year will remain a mystery but at the end of 1868, he was working in the clearing gang. This would have been heavy work and he may have been grateful to move to the pig farm in December. One of his granddaughters told her family that he was the first man to bring pigs into Tasmania. Well, he certainly worked with pigs but this was a rather grand exaggeration of reality. For five months he tended the pigs before he was moved to the position of wardsman in the penitentiary. A little more research might give me a list of his duties there. October, he was sick in hospital and with no medical benefits, he missed out on his monthly pay of 1/1. That’s about 13 cents a month – not a big income, but I was surprised to find that convicts were paid at all. To get over his illness and get out into the fresh air, Ephraim spent a month looking after no 1 chain gang before moving back to the penitentiary for several more months. He became a private servant for three months before becoming cook at Long Bay which was a logging area just north of Port Arthur. I wonder how he felt on all those occasions that he had to cook lamb.

Building at pig farm Port Arthur

As this folio page ends, Ephraim has 3914 days of his sentence to go and has earned the grand total of £2.2.3. Unfortunately, the folio containing further entries no longer exists, but it is great to have been able to understand a little of his personal story at Port Arthur.



Fifteen years for a sheep

Bridget Doe was not the shy retiring type. When her husband came home to tell her that he had, had an altercation with John Harris, she went immediately into action. She assessed the situation immediately and decided that she needed to put her side of the story to the police first. She demanded a saddle from her neighbour, a neighbour with whom she was not on the best of terms, and pressed till she was given access to check the Dawes bedroom for the presence of Thomas Dawes.

In court, she confidently examined the witnesses and added her own colourful language to the proceedings. She accused the neighbour of “shooking” timber. I can remember this term being used occasionally many years ago but it seems to have disappeared now. Bridget also accused people of trying to “man blot” her husband. She was not going to give in easily. Bridget knew she was fighting for her future and that of her whole family.

The newspapers of the day loved sensation and this “crime” was reported Australia wide. A few years later it was used again in the Tasmanian courts to illustrate the dangers involved when trying to catch criminals. Ephraim Doe had earned himself a real reputation.

Despite the defence put up by the Doe family, Ephraim was found guilty of manslaughter, committed while trying to steal a sheep. It can hardly be imagined how Ephraim and Bridget had spent the two months between the inquest and the trial. Both had been charged and held in custody during that time. Did they see each other during that time? The evidence against Bridget was not strong and she must have had some hope of being found innocent. Ephraim would have known that his chances were poor. He sold his land in preparation of an unknown future.

Where Bridget spent the next few years is a mystery. She most likely stayed around the North West Coast of Tasmania as her children made appearances there several years later. I have found no more references to Bridget until she died 15 years later in Launceston. She would have had to support her two children for a few years until they were old enough to earn a living by themselves. For women, of her status, the only real option was housework. Ephraim was back in prison. What must his feelings have been? Fifteen years was a long sentence and Port Arthur had a reputation as a severe place to be. Were those sheep really worth it?

Hats on for Bridget

Convict bonnet for Bridget Doe

Roses from the Heart is a project by Christina Henri to make a bonnet to remember each of 25,000 women convicts who were transported to Tasmania.
Bridget Norton, wife of Ephraim was one of those women. She travelled out on the "Tory" in 1847. During the voyage, the women were kept busy making shirts. As Bridget was described as very industrious, I imagine that she was a very willing participant in this project. As a laundress, she most likely had to repair many a shirt before it was delivered back to its owner.

The bonnet pictured represents Bridget's work. It has been made from a shirt, using the cuff to form the peak.

New style for Bridget

The second design, features a pocket and front placket. Would Bridget appreciate being remembered like this?

Bridget Doe, the mother

It is about to be Mother’s Day and in this family, Bridget was the mother. I am sure that she would have enjoyed a day being looked after by a grateful family but it is unlikely that it ever happened. It seems that she had been married back in Ireland and she came out to Australia as a widow with one child. I have not been able to find any information at all concerning the child. She did not bring any child with her to Australia.

It seems that Bridget had a liking for shoes and this led to her downfall. Her theft seems very brazen as if she wanted to be caught. Ephraim thanked the judge when he was sentenced to transportation and maybe Bridget was just as grateful. It seems that she had been in trouble before. A second or third offence was much more likely to bring a sentence of transportation. Her story was printed in the Liverpool Mercury.

“On Tuesday, a woman named Bridget Norton, of shabby genteel appearance, appeared before the magistrates under the following circumstances. It seemed that on the preceding day, the prisoner walked into a shoe shop in St James Street, and intimated that she wanted some shoes for a friend of hers, who was troubled with swelled legs. Several lots were then shown to her and she chose four pairs, saying that if they could be sent to Sparling Street where she lodged, they would be paid for. The proprietor of the shop accordingly sent the shoes by his daughter who found the prisoner at the place stated. The prisoner with great politeness introduced her to the parlour, and taking the shoes said she would go and fetch the money. The messenger waited upwards of an hour, and her patience being exhausted, she sought the prisoner, when it was ascertained that she had decamped with the shoes. Information was immediately given to the police, which led to her detection shortly afterwards. The prisoner had previously been convicted of similar offences.”

Bridget knew manners! And she was of genteel appearance! She was a laundress from Ireland and described on her indent as being well behaved and industrious. Our Bridget was beginning to sound a bit classy! It was generally accepted that Irish women were rather low creatures, lazy, dirty and ill mannered. Bridget must have had a good upbringing or worked in a home where she picked up some style from the ladies.

It was not to last.  1859 found her sloshed in the bar of the Halfway Hotel at Jerusalem, “not quite drunk and not quite sober.” She had also been convicted of tippling with Edward Hunt, a perpetual drunkard. She had followed her husband in search of work or enjoyment and been found out of her area without a pass, resulting in a stint in the female factory.

Whatever her faults, Bridget was not going to take her husband’s involvement in the death of John Harris and his likely incarceration without a fight.

Norton Bridget Tried: Lancaster 20 Dec 1847 Embarked:                             7 years Arrived: 6 August 1848	Transported for stealing boots and shoes. Widow. Gaol Report: 4th conviction Stated this offence Well behaved, very industrious
Trade  Laundress,  Height  5 ‘2 1/2” Age 30,   Complex Dark, Head Round, Hair Dark brown, Visage oval, Forehead low, Eyebrows L Brown, Eyes grey, Nose medium, Mouth medium, Chin medium, Native place Athlone
Marks: None
Period of Gang Probation: 6 months Services 8/2/53 Station of Gang: Anson Class: 8/2/49 3 rd    Sept 2 /50 Married to Ephraim Doe
Offences and Sentences June 9/51(Married) Absent from her residence and abode 3 months hard labour.(IF) Approved 13/6/51 For Hobart April 19/52 QS Richmond Feloniously stealing of a satin waistcoat-discharged Mar 29/52 Richmond Felony remanded(WN) Mar 30/52 Fully committed to take her trial. Was tried at the QS Richmond on the 19th April 1852 for stealing a waistcoat- discharged T of L 10/8/52 Feb 5/53 Harbouring a prisoner of the crown for the purpose of tippling 6 months hard labour(GF) Appd. 11/2/53 Tried SC Launceston 17 October 1867 Murder,manslaughter-not guilty Con 41/1/6		Remarks 2/7/53 plus Ephraim Doe Notes by JJ See LC/445/2 Ephraim also charged See LC/445/2 Convict was Edward Hunt. He received 10 days solitary See Cornwall Chronicle Launceston Times

A night that changed all

Stringy Bark Forest, Bishopsbourne

When I first visited the land where Ephraim had lived at Stringy Bark Forest, it was all bush with a creek running through. The newspaper had given a thorough description of where the body of John Harris had been found near the saw pits but without knowing where the various huts had been, it was difficult to determine an exact layout. I looked everywhere for signs of sawpits and was told by a man on a neighbouring property that he had seen the remains of some on his property but that was the wrong direction.

Two men, Harris and Dawes, had lain in wait for Ephraim to catch him sheepstealing. They were determined to catch him – no one else. After a struggle with Ephraim, one of the men, Dawes went back to get the owner of the land, James Green. Harris had knocked Ephraim down and had him under his control. Green arrived at the spot at 9 o’clock at night and was still searching 6 hours later, even though, as far as he knew, Harris was in control of the situation. He said it was a clear night and sound was travelling great distances. His calls were not answered yet he kept searching. Surely, he was suspicious that something out of the ordinary had occurred. It took Green 6 hours to decide to go and ask the only man (Dawes) who knew where the altercation had taken place, where to find the spot where it had happened. That is a lot of patience on an August night. Dawes had not wanted to be seen in the matter and had gone home.

There was speculation that Bridget had been out stealing sheep with her husband. When the body of Harris was found, there were three deep wounds to the head and several knife cuts across the back of the hand. Ephraim had sustained a broken arm yet on his own, it was considered that he had caused all these wounds.

Stringy Bark Forest Bishopsbourne

In reading the newspaper articles on this crime, it is apparent that there were quite a few people living in huts in the bush in the forest and that the growth was quite thick. There was distrust between many of them and obviously stealing was common. Bridget used the word “shook” to describe this (The shepherd’s hut was shook). All the witnesses were out to discredit each other and it is quite difficult to discern the truth in any story. Interestingly, Jane Dawes, wife of Thomas Dawes maintained that she was married to her husband. A search of records indicates that she was not, but she married him a couple of weeks later. Morals suddenly became important.

Most of all, the newspapers give in insight into life on the land and the characters who lived there.

The missing years

I had been collecting information on my various families for some time, when I decided that my collection had grown from fitting neatly into a single display book to one bulging with papers sticking out in all directions. I had ten papers filed in each plastic sleeve and needed to organise. A trip to the shop provided me with several folders and a pile of plastic sheets. Gradually I arranged papers under names, dates and events. I thought I was doing really well. In the first year you come a long way when you start collecting. Back in the late 80s, it meant going through microfiche and books or newspapers one at a time but it made you really appreciate what you found and gradually, the file grew thicker. Next step was take one person at a time and put all the information in chronological order. It was then that I realised that there were years for which there was absolutely nothing. Far from having a comprehensive folio, I was missing about 30 years of Ephraim’s life.

Next came a call from my sister whose son had been to Port Arthur (as a visitor, not an inmate!) and asked at a display, whether Ephraim Doe had ever been there. Despite my Aunt having previously written and receiving a reply in the negative, records were now being indexed and the reply was different. Ephraim had spent time at Port Arthur! This was not recorded on his indent, so I returned to the Archives and was given another film on which it was just possible that I might find something. It was a matter of going through and checking everything as there was no order at all. It seems that some convicts who spent time under the assignment system and then the probation system had a second indent and the extra records were on this film. I trailed from one record to the next and suddenly it appeared. Along the bottom was written “October 17 1867, 15 years Port Arthur, manslaughter”. What a find!!!

Next I was off to the newspaper files where I checked all the papers for the relevant dates. I found a report on the trial and then backtracked to the original reports of when the incident had occurred. I ordered copies from two of the papers and a few days later in the mail, I received an A4 photograph of each page of broadsheet. This was a new challenge. The writing was miniscule and I had to find the best of the best in magnifying glasses to read it all. The cost was about $10 per page and now it is available for free over the internet!

This information could have been found years earlier, but for a grave mistake. The date of the offence was also meant to be written on Bridget Doe’s file, but the clerk accidentally inscribed it onto the file of the previous prisoner in the record book. Let us hope that the poor woman never suffered because of it.

Read about the tribulations of Bridget and Ephraim by going to Trove nla newspapers.

Did Ephraim look as dapper as this at Port Arthur?

Is it still a window when it is not there?

Ephraim was a friend in need for James Goss. James ended his days as a bankrupt, who was prone to epileptic fits and in his old age took to drinking rather more than was good for him.

James also built himself a house in Stringy Bark forest. Palings lovingly adzed, a shingle roof and a forest view.  What more could he ask for?  Windows, that’s what. Two empty spaces in the front needed to be filled.  Window sashes were a bit harder to build and glass not procurable from the forest. Wily James approached an empty house, “The Hermitage” and deftly removed a couple of the highly desired items. Unfortunately, when the theft was reported, a check of other buildings revealed that the windows in James Goss’s house exactly matched those missing from the Hermitage, four panes wide and with brass fittings. He was caught. A good lawyer was needed and he found one in person of Mr F R Lees. Witnesses were needed. Among them, who should volunteer other than one Ephraim Doe? Mr Lees read to him all of the depositions made before the committing magistrate and tutored Ephraim to make a statement in James’s defence.  Whether Ephraim’s statement even made it to court is debatable.

Other witnesses stated that James had inherited the sashes when he married a widow. They had belonged to her previous husband. The magistrate was not happy. The witnesses had been trained and in addressing the jury, he commented severely on Mr Lees conduct. Why were the other witnesses statements allowed in court? Maybe Ephraim went a bit too far. Three years later, his family again colluded to give a statement of events, this time in the defence of Ephraim and Bridget. Again, their stories were too similar.

The jury found James Goss guilty

Finders keepers losers weepers

Ephraim had acquired some tools and whether by fair means or foul it is impossible to tell. A witness has given evidence that they were purchased but there were witnesses of doubtful honesty at Stringy Bark Forest. He was very lucky to get away with this, it being only three days after his previous court appearance. These would have been very useful tools for cutting  and smoothing timber and would have been put to good use.
In a remote area, Ephraim had been gaining reputation rather on the shady side. Either the police were being very vigilant or he was on their list for regular surveillance.

Life was not meant to be easy



Ephraim Doe the Elder

 He looks rather content in this photo, probably taken in the late 70s or 80s. Life wasn't always so easy. Meat was not always on the menu though Ephraim knew how to get it. Evidence shows that he was cutting palings, a common source of income at the time and ploughing his land for crops. Did he ever try to run sheep on his land or was it easier to partake of someone else's flock? Having visited the area where he lived, I can see that it was not really sheep friendly, probably a bit wet underfoot and not the sort of land where grass grew freely all year land. Located in the shadow of Black Bluff, which is frequently capped with snow in winter, it would have been a chilly climate. James Green had a large property bordering Ephraim's. This was much hillier and had far better drainage. In fact, James Green was reported in the newspapers as being the first person to bring mechanical irrigation into Tasmania. Green had large flocks and Ephraim would have seen them as a viable target.
Whatever, Ephraim was only just managing to support his family on his farm. They had a little wheat but it needed to be ground into flour. Vegetables would have been seasonal, eggs available from chooks (if the native animals allowed them peace). I have found no evidence that there was a house cow. Shops were many miles away so the family had to be self sufficient. There was no school in the district and they did not attend chuch so socialising was amongst the other neighbours, many of them of dubious background. Altogether, the family lived an isolated life. Bridget would have been busy bringing up the two children but their only education was from chores or what they learned from the bush. Neither parent was able to pass on formal education. Did Bridget pass on sewing skills to MaryAnn? These were necessary in days when most people made their own clothes or purchased second hand articles. Mending and recycling were survival skills. Ephraim the younger would have learned to handle tools from an early age. Some of these also procured from another settler who took Ephraim snr to court to try to retrieve them. Ephraim was no stranger to the insides of the court room and he was to become even more familiar with the sight of the judge and jury.

Lamb Dinner for the Does

From his farm, Ephraim Doe had a view of the Western Tiers. It seems he wasn't all that successful at farming but both he and Bridget certainly had their dogs under control.It was later said at their trial in 1867 that Bridget could handle any dog They used dogs to hunt for kangaroo and to save thenselves from the law as Ephraim did in 1863. A man Oliver Lee had recently been sentenced on a charge of sheep stealing and his sentence was expected to be a deterrent to others. However, information was given to police that Ephraim was stealing sheep. Upon their arrival at his farm, they caught him red handed, carrying out a sheep's head. Quick as a flash, Ephraim tossed it to his dog, being held on its chain. Anybody knows it is not a good idea to disturb a dog when it is eating and this large dog was not going to disprove that idea. How those policemen eventually managed to rob the poor dog of his meal was not explained in the newspapers, but it was too late. The canines had been busy. Chewed and crunched as the sheep's head now was, there were no identifying marks left and when Ephraim was taken to court the lack of evidence led to his aquittal. He had been smart enough to get rid of the sheep skin at an earlier time. Ephraim must have stolen many sheep and he must have been pretty good at it. The amazing fact to be considered is not how often he was caught, but how often he got away with it!
Today, these two would just have to saunter up to the meat section in the supermarket and secrete a couple of packages under their clothes. How much easier things have become.

Alfred Roland Doe, Private



1917 on the way to war



Silver leaves from Capetown

 Alfred Roland Doe left his home town of Wilmot, Tasmania and went to live in a little settlement called Barranganyatti on the Nepean River NSW.  He gave his occupation variously on different documents as a railway employee, slaughterman and horse driver. He joined the war effort by enlisting in the army on 3 Feb 1917.  By this time, he was already at sea, the ship 'Anchises', having left Sydney on 24 January.  En route he stopped at Durban then was at Capetown from 18th till the 24th of February at which time he sent a postcard to his sister MaryAnn Bergan back at Wilmot.  Sticky marks show that it originally held three silver leaves but only one remains.  A fortnight later, the ship called in at Sierra Leone before heading for England where upon arrival at Devonport, Roland entered the isolation hospital for a week to recover from illness.  By the end of April he was transferred from the 63rd battalion to the 34th which was stationed at Windmill Hill. For three months the battalion trained here until they were sent to France on the 23 August to reinforce the 34rd battalion.  They stayed at Vaudringham in billets in old farmhouses. For a month, they waited playing sports, having picnics and cooking competitions among other activities.
September 26 , they marched 21 miles towards the war zone in warm sunny conditions, 27th, 23 miles and it went on until they arrived at Low Farm near menin Gate, Ypres and Railway Wood. Their war had really begun. They were attacked with mustard gas, bombed incessantly and shelled.  Enemy planes were active day and night. Soldiers sent out to prepare roads for artillery were attacked and had to cease operating. However, a bus managed to carry the soldiers to Cavalry Farm eat of Ypres on 10th October.  Here they had to make camp in the open in heavy rain and biting cold. The following day, they rested while the band played. Men sent out to tape the area ready for battle were shelled and the following day there was heavy bombing. And so it continued daily. The ground was pockmarked with bomb holes and many were caught in the mire. Wounded could not be extricated. The ground was an expanse of water and mud. So it went on, as the battallion moved towards Ploegstreet.
Roland had succumbed to trench fever, a condition caused by fleas which lived in the seams of clothing and carried disease. Washing was impossible under the conditions and many became ill, Roland desperately so. He suffered severe swelling all over his body as his kidneys struggled to work.
In mid December, he was transferred to hospital in France, then two weeks later, left for England. On 21 April, he embarked at Devonport on the hospital ship 'Suevic' bound for Australia.
Roland did not fight a long war, but the conditions took their toll on his health. Like many others, he was never really healthy again.

A Christmas Gift

Brass tin, a gift from Princess Mary



Belgium impressed into corner



As it is Anzac day this week, I thought I would bring out this interesting little brass tin, a gift to troops at Christmas time in December 1914. It is pressed metal and has the words Imperium Britain Nigum at the top and in the corners Japan, Monte Negro, Servia and Belgium. The two circles at the sides hold the words France and Russia. Inside, there is a cardboard holder which at one time held a gift and it is accompanied by a card: With Best Wishes for a Victorius New Year from The Princess Mary and Friends at Home. No one in our family was fighting in the war on this date and it is not a family momento, but interesting nevertheless. The only one of the Doe family to go to World War 1 was my grandfather, Roland Doe. He enlisted in NSW and not until 1916.



Christmas and New Year Wishes



How many of the recipients of these little tins managed to fight right through the war. They would not have imagined that it was going to last for four whole years at Christmas time 1914

Coleman Iron

Blue Coleman Iron made 1936

It  must have been an exciting day when the gas iron arrived in the post. It would have been all shiny then. A recent adventure in a linen press where the hot water cylinder leaked and left it damp has discoloured and rusted it a little. The can is for measuring the fuel which is deposited in the tank at the rear. Adjustments can be madeby moving the little wheel at the back. The flames burn horizontally just above the lower plate. The only part missing is a thin needle which is used to poke into the fuel line to unblock it. I have been given the instructions, the fuel and the iron and I have been asked several times by the donor whether I have lit it yet. Somehow, with the little bits of rust and an unknown thickness of metal in places I have not yet quite found the courage.

Instructions for Coleman Iron

 It is now 76 years old, having been manufactured on January 14 1936 as number  67296. Where are the other 67295 irons. Are their owners daring to light them?

Old house new house

Roland and Ivy Doe, Wilmot

 Part of the Lower Wilmot house was brought in from Waratah in 1931 and a couple of rooms were added but it was very small. The verandah was added in the 1950s but the Doe family moved out in 1957. There was never electricity or running water. When we visited, we cleaned our teeth using tooth powder and a bakelite mug of water. I came across one of those mugs a couple of years ago when preparing items for sale. I hadn't seen it in all that time.

Outdoor Laundry

 At the back of the house Nan stands beside the washing machine and the wringer. In my mind I can still see that washing billowing on the line. It seemed to be miles up in the air. Pop's long flannel underwear was fascinating, neatly hung up with dolly pegs. The cream colour of the fabric and bindings, revealing that it was made from woollen flannel. How uncomfortable and prickly it must have been to wear. I am so grateful for modern fabrics. It must have had to be washed by hand or it would have matted and shrunk. I am much more in favour of the push button on my machine.
All the ironing was done with flat irons heated by the fire until Nan purchased a Coleman gas iron. It sputtered but at least it didn't leave dirty marks on the clothes. I now have the iron, along with the instructions containing the serial number and date of manufacture.

Shopping instructions

Page 2 of a letter sent to me July 3 1957 when I had measles. She has just moved to a new house at Wilmot and mentions that she no longer has to climb the hill to go to the road. I used to love climbing that hill! We would make our way up the muddy track, trying to step on tufts of grass to keep our shoes clean. At the gate, we would collect the mail bag and present the mail man with letters and parcels for post.
She mentions the proximity of shops in Wilmot. There were several, the only remaining one being the original Coles Store.

The garden marks the spot

Kids on the stump

 Beyond the gate was a mud track which led to my grandparents house, a small wooden abode, unpainted, with hessian interior walls. At night we used lanterns and candles as there was no electricity. Long grass paved the way to the long drop which would have been amongst the trees at the right of this photo. The natural forset had all gone by the time these photos were taken in September 1992. I know it was September as the daffodils were blooming luxuriantly through the paddock, showing where the original house had been. Mum was with us and pointed out a position on the next rise where there was more evidence of a garden. Until then, I had not known that Ephraim the younger had lived there. We were once taken on a walk to the orchard to see baby birds in their nests and I then realised that the few remaining trees that we had seen in the mid fifties had been his orchard. The small shed was built by my grandfather after the family had moved from the property and that too has now disappeared.

Treasures from the garden

 The size of the original trees can be estimated by this large stump being used as a vantage point by Ephraim's descendants. Although this property was partially cleared and farmed, it was not very handled well and the crops produced were very meagre.



Lower Wilmot



It is amazing to see just how much of the past was spirited away when the land was cleared. With the trees now being grown here, I hope that it will sometime soon feel like a special place again.