Ken Moses' wallet

University of Tasmania course - Image, Place, Object

As part of the Place, Image, Object unit we were asked to write about an object important to our family. The object that I chose was a leather wallet that was one of the possessions of my father during the Second World War. This is a link to the post about the wallet in my Exploring Military History blog.

Todmorden

University of Tasmania Family History course - Writing Family History

Week 2 e-tivity - Painting a picture
In this exercise we were asked to write 'evocative description' and to particularly pay attention to different senses. I chose to write about a settlement near Todmorden on the Yorkshire / Lancashire border around 1780. E-tivities are restricted to no more than 250 words.

Todmorden

The occasional bleating of sheep resounds through the quiet English countryside.

On top of one of the many green hills surrounding the small village of Todmorden, four stone cottages house the families who own and look after the sheep grazing on this hill. The green of the lush grass is the predominant colour though grey stone fences, forming enclosures near the cottages and sheds, also weave a pattern on the hill slopes. From the top of the hill rivers can be seen flowing through the valleys below.

It is 1780 and nine year old Simeon lives with his parents and four brothers and two sisters in one of the cottages. The cottages don’t just provide shelter for the families living in them. They also provide a workspace for the spinning and weaving of yarn, a cottage industry essential to the livelihood of people in this region.

The sound of laughter can be heard as Simeon’s older sister, Mary, looks after the younger children who are playing with a lamb in a small field near the cottage.

Inside the cottage a number of women, assisted by some of the children, weave woollen or the new cotton cloth. Next day a packhorse will carry the finished cloth along the narrow path winding through the fields to the market town.

The smell of soup and freshly cooked bread comes from the cottage stove. Shortly Simeon’s father and older brother will join the family for dinner after spending the day tending the sheep.

Useful references:
Todmorden and Walsden website
 Also posts mentioning Todmorden on this blog
The Fielden Trail: a ramble through Todmorden's past by Jim Jarratt, 1988
Fieldens of Todmorden: a nineteenth century business dynasty by Brian R Law, 1995

Horse racing connections

University of Tasmania Family History course - Writing Family History

Week 3 e-tivity - The past interrupted
In this exercise we were asked to write about one moment in the lives of our ancestors. I chose to write about the first race meeting held in New South Wales in 1810. A great (x3) grandfather and a great (x4) grandfather, who probably did not know each other, both had horses taking part in the the three day racing carnival. E-tivities are restricted to no more than 250 words.

Horse racing connections

As we know, family history research can produce unexpected connections. What are the odds of having a third great grandfather and a fourth great grandfather both entering horses in the first race meeting in New South Wales? 

The race meeting at the new racecourse at Hyde Park was a great success attracting large, enthusiastic crowds who gathered to watch three days of racing. Governor Macquarie’s belief that horse racing would provide a place for all colonists to meet may therefore have indirectly impacted upon my family.

Among this crowd was Simeon Lord, a subscriber to the racecourse, who not only attended the races but also entered his horse, Tipsey, in the Ladies’ Cup. No doubt Simeon would have enjoyed watching his horse win the first two mile heat and being placed in the other two, though this effort was not sufficient to win the Cup. 

At the races Simeon may have met another race goer, George Guest, a resident of Van Diemen’s Land who frequently made prolonged trips to New South Wales. George had entered a horse to run on day three of the race meeting and I am sure would have attended the races on other days.

Simeon and George had different business interests and I doubt that their paths would have crossed prior to the race meeting but they certainly could have met at the races. We do know, however, that twenty years later the two families were permanently connected when Simeon’s son married George’s grand-daughter in Hobart.

References:
Posts on horse racing in this blog

NB Horse racing has continued to be an interest in many lines of the family story.

Newgate Prison

Three of my ancestors, Uriah Moses (1780-1847), Richard Holland (1783-1867) and Mary Bateman (1773-1829) spent time in Newgate Prison in London before being transported to Australia.

When we visited London in 2011 we explored the area where Newgate Prison once stood. The prison buildings were closed in 1902 and demolished to enable the rebuilding of the new Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey).

Part of Google map showing Newgate Street- Old Bailey

Corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey,  former site of  Newgate Prison

Newgate Prison is where the convicts waited to be tried at the Old Bailey and were then kept, often for months or in some cases years, before being taken to the ship that would carry them from England to Australia.

Mary was arrested on 19 April 1788 and tried at the Old Bailey 7 May 1788. She then returned to Newgate until 12 March 1789 when 108 female prisoners were transferred to the transport ship, Lady Juliana.

Uriah waited in Newgate from 8 December 1787 until his trial on 10 January 1788. He then returned to Newgate until 14 February 1799 when he was removed to a prison hulk, Lion, in Portsmouth.

Richard was arrested on 24 May 1806 and was tried at the Old Bailey on 2 July 1806. On 2 January 1807 he was transferred to the prison hulk, Captivity, at Portsmouth.

 Newgate Prison building was situated on corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey. The original prison was built in the Newgate, the fifth gate built into the wall around London. The prison was rebuilt and extended many times from the end of the twelfth century.

Old Newgate - Wikimedia Commons

In 1666 the prison was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. It was rebuilt and extended in 1672 but the conditions for the prisoners remained appalling. The water supply to the prison was poor, there was inadequate ventilation and there were frequent outbreaks of disease within the prison. New prisoners were put in chains where the weight of the chains depended on what the prisoner could pay the jail keeper. The conditions in which the prisoners lived depended on what they could pay for bedding and food.

Between 1770 and 1778 a new, larger prison designed by George Dance the Younger was built. However, during the Gordon Riots in June 1780, the rioters stoned and set fire to the new prison allowing prisoners to escape. The prison was rebuilt between 1780 and 1783.

Newgate Prison end of nineteenth century - Historic Prisons

The new prison was therefore only a few years old when Uriah was imprisoned there in December 1787 and Mary in April 1788.

During the later years of the 1770s there was a movement to improve conditions in prisons. John Howard (1726-1790) worked for prison reform. He visited prisons throughout England and was not impressed with the conditions. In 1774 he gave evidence to a select committee in the House of Commons before the Gaol Act was passed. The Act was to abolish the payment of fees by prisoners to jailers as well as improve sanitary conditions in jails.

Conditions within English prisons improved but were still not good. Although Newgate Prison was designed to look impressive on the outside conditions inside were basic as prisons were still designed primarily as a detriment to crime.  It was not long before Newgate Prison once again became overcrowded.

The new prison was divided into sections and had three exercise yards. Common prisoners were housed in a different area from those who could afford to pay for better food and conditions. Female convicts were housed in a separate area.

Plan of Newgate Prison - Wikimedia Commons

Within the prison was the chapel. There was also a passage that led to the courtroom where prisoners were tried at the Old Bailey. Another passage led to the place of execution. There was also a burial ground for executed prisoners. The prison structure was altered again in the 1850s.

Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) worked to improve conditions for female prisoners.

During the nineteenth century authors such as Charles Dickens wrote about conditions at Newgate as well as including descriptions of the prison in some of their books.

A quick search in Google provides a number of sites providing information about Newgate Prison. A sample appears below.

Wikipedia article on Newgate Prison

There is also a short article in Wikipedia on the Newgate.

Last Mile Tours - Newgate Prison

While many of the prisoners were in the prison awaiting trial, others were waiting to be executed. Many prisoners were hanged at Newgate.

Images of Newgate Prison in the 1890s.

Historic UK has an article on Newgate Prison including images of part of the remaining wall.

Knowledge of London includes a photo of the only part of a prison wall that remains. The wall can be viewed in Amen Court at the back of the current Old Bailey building. 

London Lives 1690-1800 has an article about prisons including Newgate Prison.

British History online includes pages from the book, Old and New London (volume 2 published in 1878) about Newgate Prison.

The State Library of Victoria also has a number of titles on Newgate Prison which I will check.
The English Bastille: a history of Newgate Gaol and prison conditions in Britain. 1188-1902 by Anthony Babington 1971.
The gaol: the story of Newgate - London's most notorious prison by Kelly Grovier 2008.
Newgate: London's prototype of hell by Stephen Halliday 2006.
The Old Bailey and Newgate by Charles Gordon 1902.

The London Journal: a review of Metropolitan Society Past & Present vol. 9 (1) 1983 has an article 'Reconstruction of London's Prisons 1770-1799 an aspect of growth of Georgian London.This is also available in the State Library of Victoria.

Challenge: researching Jewish family in England

Uriah Moses (1780-1847) was transported from England to Australia in 1800. Fortunately his trial for theft was at The Old Bailey and the detailed trial notes are available online. Uriah's life, initially as a convict and then as an emancipist in Australia, is relatively easy to trace however searching for information about his life and that of his family in England is more of a challenge.

A good place to start is FamilySearch which provides a detailed section in their wiki on researching English Jewish Records. This includes a useful summary on the history of Jews in England.

The Jewish section of Cyndi's List also has links that may be useful. Searching by location (England) within this list leads to the British Jewry website.

Further complications occur when trying to trace Jewish ancestors is the naming patterns used. This is discussed in the article Jewish Personal Names in a Wikipedia article.

In the trial notes Kitty Jacobs is called as a character witness for Uriah. Online searching suggests that Kitty Jacobs was Kitty Moses before her marriage. A general Google search for Kitty Moses and Henry Jacobs provides links to a variety of sources which may, or may not, be helpful. One link is to a section of a book, Wealth and Notoriety: the extraordinary families of Lawrence Levy and Charles Levy,  by Robert Ward which includes information about Rebecca, a daughter of Kitty and Henry, marrying Lawrence Levy. Searching for information on other children may also be useful. An entry in WikiTree provides some information about Kitty and her family.

The website, Synagogue Scribes, provides a database of London Ashkenazi Synagogue records, with the emphasis on pre-UK civil registration. In this database is a record of the marriage of Kitty Moses to Henry Jacobs at the Great Synagogue in 1793.

British Genealogy and Family History Forums has a section on queries about the name Moses Cohen / Moshe Cohen. There is also discussion on this family on this forum page (towards the bottom of the page). References in these notes are made to Jacobs Tree website.

Another British Genealogy forum with relevant posts.

Cemetery Scribes could also be a useful resource.

What was it like to be Jewish in London at the end of the eighteenth century?

The Great Synagogue was the place of worship for Ashkenazi Jews in London. Synagogue Scribes has some brief information plus an image of the Great Synagogue. Further information about the synagogue can be found in Family Search. There is also information about the Great Synagogue in the Susser Archive.

The Great Synagogue was founded by Ashkenazi Jews. Recent research using DNA suggest that these were largely from European families who had converted to Jewish religion (Live Science 8 October 2013). Many were from Germany and other Western European countries. Additional information can be located in another article in The Scientist 8 October 2013.

There are a number of online sites which may provide useful background information about the Jewish community in London at the end of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.
The Jewish Virtual Library has an article on Ashkenazim and another on Jews in the UK.
Old Bailey Online has an article on Jewish communities and also on London from 1760-1815.

As it is believed that Uriah was born in Exeter in Devon it is necessary to look at the Jewish community in that region.  

Wikipedia has an article about the history of the synagogue in Exeter which was consecrated in 1764. The synagogue is located in Synagogue Place, Exeter.

A book by Helen Fry - The Jews of Exeter - has been written about the history of the synagogue and was published in 2013.

A paper on Multi-Cultural Exeter 1500-1800 is also available online. It also includes a reference to the book - The Jews of Devon and Cornwall published in 2000. Lists of the names of Jewish families from Exeter appearing in the 1841 and 1851 census are included.

Exeter Memories has a page on the Jewish Cemetery in Exeter. There is also a page on the Exeter Synagogue.

Rabbi Bernard Susser wrote a thesis on Jews of South West England (1977) which is available online on the JCR-UK website.

Social Acclimatisation of Jews in 18th and 19th Century Devon is an article by Bernard Susser also available online.

As I work through these resources no doubt other useful links will also be located. It is unlikely that the links will provide answers to all the questions that will arise but at least they should help in providing a better understanding of the life that Uriah may have had as a Jew living in England.

Christmas trees - place for memories

A family member recently remarked how much history was attached to the decorations on our family Christmas tree.

Our first Christmas tree, when we moved to Bayswater forty years ago, was a branch from the pine tree that grew in our back garden. This continued until the tree had to be removed during a severe drought. Since then we have had this small synthetic tree which stands on a table in the corner of the lounge room. At the end of Christmas every year I say that next year I will purchase a new Christmas tree, however this tree has character even though I may need to add a little wire from time to time to hold branches in place.

The tree has a variety of decorations which are always on the tree each year. Some are macrame and fabric decorations that I made in the 1970s. There are also decorations that the grandchildren have made as well as decorations acquired when our sons were small.

When we travel overseas, particularly in Europe, I often purchase a special decoration for the tree. There are also decorations that were on the family tree when I was a child, including a couple of decorations that were on my grandmother's tree.

A selection of decorations on our tree including macrame candy canes, a felt elf from my time in Canberra in 1969, glass angels and wooden decorations from Europe, a metal decoration from Hawaii plus an assortment of decorations purchased from the Oxfam shop. The photo below also includes a hand print Santa.

At the top of the tree are a number of special decorations.

At the very top of the tree is a wooden angel that my son purchased at the Nuremberg Christmas Market when he was an exchange student in Germany. The other angel was one that I always liked on my grandmother's tree. The St Nick below the angels also was one of my grandmother's decorations.

The plastic Nativity scene was given to me when I was a child and it sits at the bottom of the tree. The star seems to have become detached so some repair work will need to be undertaken.

Special decorations do not have to be old. Several years ago when we went on an APT cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam I purchased this Christmas train on the ship. On another trip to Europe I purchased a second train and they are a colourful addition to our collection of Christmas decorations.

My four year old grandson helped me unpack the Christmas decorations this year and when he found the two Christmas wreaths he correctly told me where the wreaths are normally hung. He also supervised me when I attached one wreath to the front door to make sure that I did it properly. This is an example of how family Christmas traditions continue.

Trial of Uriah Moses (part 1)

Old Bailey Online is a great resource for information if you have family who were tried at the Central Criminal Court in London, better known as The Old Bailey. One of the convicts in my family, Uriah Moses, was tried at the Old Bailey on 10 January 1798. Old Bailey Online provides a copy of the original trial document plus a transcript of the trial.

The report of Uriah's trail is detailed, though some statements are contradictory. Like most documents used for family history research it is important to read the document thoroughly as there may be information that could be easily overlooked. I had included the main information provided in the trial in my 52 Ancestors post on Uriah Moses elsewhere in this blog. However since then my brother has been doing some research on Uriah and found a possible lead from the trial proceedings.

Currently I am doing the University of Tasmania Writing Family History course so for the first assignment, which was to be no more than 250 words, I submitted the following piece in the Discovering the Hidden Past discussion group:

Discovering the hidden past – Who was Kitty Jacobs?

At the Old Bailey on 8 December 1797, Kitty Jacobs was called as a character witness at the trial of Uriah Moses. 

Seventeen year old Uriah had been arrested for stealing 7 silk handkerchiefs, 30 yards of lace and 58 yards of calimanco from William Holmes’ Drapers Shop in Whitechapel.  Using a diamond to cut a hole in the shop window, Uriah (probably with the assistance of other boys according to the trial notes) grabbed the goods and took them to the lodging house of Ann Benjamin. During the robbery Uriah cut his hand on broken glass and Ann Benjamin gave him a shawl to wrap around it before he went to Guys Hospital for treatment. Uriah was later arrested at the hospital.

At the trial Kitty Jacobs stated that Uriah worked with her husband at her glass shop in Petticoat-lane for three years, several years previously, and that she considered him honest.  

 I had always accepted this as just a witness statement but recently a transcript of a Great Synagogue record for the marriage of Kitty (Keila) Moses to Henry Jacobs in June 1793 was made available online. Could Kitty Jacobs therefore be related to Uriah? Perhaps she was a sister or an aunt.  This has opened up a new area for investigation which may lead to information about Uriah and his family in England.

A postscript: Uriah was transported to NSW where he successfully ran a number of businesses in the Hawkesbury region.

The next step in this investigation will be to look at the trial notes again more carefully in order to collect all the clues that may provide, not just information about the crime but also about the people who Uriah knew and worked with. This may result in an insight into Uriah's life in London before his arrest and if we are lucky provide information about members of his family.

Synagogue scribes provides a collection of transcripts of Jewish records including some of the  records of the Great Synagogue in London.

Future posts will provide information about the Jewish community in which Uriah was possibly involved.

First race meetings in Australia

Melbourne Cup time again. In the past I have added a number of posts to this blog about family connections with the Melbourne Cup and with horse racing in general. Recently I came across articles mentioning Simeon Lord's connection with the introduction of horse racing in New South Wales.

The website of the State Library of New South Wales includes an archived online exhibition - Day at the races: the horse in Australia. In January 1788 five horses arrived in Australia with the First Fleet and by 1810 it was recorded that there were 203 horses in New South Wales. In the early days of the colony horses were rare and expensive and usually only owned by military officers or by free landholders. In October 1810, shortly after Govenor Macquarie arrived in New South Wales, the first official racing carnival was held at the Sydney racecourse, part of the newly created Hyde Park.

One section of the online exhibition states that 'Governor Macquarie inaugurated the first official race meeting at the new Sydney Racecourse. Macquarie saw the racecourse as a perfect neutral meeting place for colonists of all classes: military, convict, emancipist and immigrant.' The racecourse was constructed in August 1810 by members of the 73rd Regiment who came to New South Wales with Macquarie. They 'levelled ground on the eastern edge of the town and marked out the course. The straight commenced at the turn from Park Street into Elizabeth Street, with the grandstand (erected in 1813) and the winning post at the junction of Market and Elizabeth Street, on the present day site of St James Railway Station.' Funding for the project was provided by subscribers.

Searching newpapers in Trove provides details leading up to the first race meeting in Sydney. There is also information about a range of social activities associated with the race meeting.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 21 July 1810 page 1 has a notice about a meeting of the Subscribers to the Sydney Race Course to meet in the Mess Room of the Officers of the 73rd Regiment on Monday at 10 o'clock.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 18 August 1810 page 1 contains a report of a dinner attended by the Subscribers to the Sydney Racecourcse to celebrate the birthday of the Prince of Wales. A number of Toasts were drunk during the evening including to the King, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and the rest of the Royal Family, Lord Mulgrave and the Navy, Sir David Dundass and the Army, His Excellency Governor Macquarie and the Colony, Mrs Macquarie the Patroness of the Races and the Ladies of the Colony, The Turf etc. The comment was made that 'the evening passed with the utmost convivitality and harmony'.
The report continued:

The RACES are fixed for Monday the 15th of October; and three plates of 50 guineas each will be run for during the week; exclusive of several bye-matches, subscriptions, &c.
This Establishment, altogether novel in this Country, bids fair to acquire celebrity and success from the judicious arrangements under which it has been projected, and the distinguished Auspices under which it has been brought forward, besides the advantages which the Country at large is likely to derive from the improvement of the breed of horses, an object, that in a rising Colony may be calculated upon as conducive to its internal interests and prosperity.
Lieutenant Governor O'CONNELL, Lieutenant Wright, and Mr. Williams are the Stewards elect for the present year.         

The following week John Reddington, the Clerk of the Course, issued a warning in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 25 August 1810 page 1:

The Subscribers to the Race Course are requested not to ride the horses over it that they intend to enter for plates or subscriptions at the ensuing races,nor to suffer their servants to train them over it: Any horse that may be seen in training on the Course will not be allowed to start.--By order of the Stewards.

On 19 September a Bachelor's Ball was held by the Subscribers to the Sydney Race Course and was reported to have been a great success. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 22 September 1810 page 2.

The Subscribers to the Sydney Race Course held another meeting in the Mess Room of the Officers of the 73rd Regiment on Monday 1 October. The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 29 September 1810 page 1.

Under the heading, A Card, the following notice appeared in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 6 October 1810 page 3 - 'The Subscribers to the Sydney Race Course are informed, that the Stewards have made Arrangements for two Balls during the Race Week, Tuesday and Friday.--Tickets at 7s. 6d. each to be had at Mr. E. Wills's, George Street.'
On page 4 of the same paper - 'The Public are requested not to bring Dogs on the Sydney Race Course; any found thereon after this Notice will be Shot.'

A week before the racing carnival, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 13 October 1810 page 2 reminded Subscribers about the two balls then added - 

An ORDINARY for the Subscribers and their Friends each Day of the Races at Mr. Wills's.- Dinner on Table at Five o'Clock.
On Monday the Races commence, and continue Wednesday and Friday. Horses to start each day at one. For general information on the subject of these elegant sports, a Racing Kalendar will be in readiness at nine on Monday morning.-Price 6d.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 20 October 1810 page 2 has a detailed  report of the three day carnival held at Sydney racecourse (Hyde Park) on Monday 15, Wednesday 17 and Friday 19 October. The report for the second day of the race meeting read:

A Cup, value 50 guineas, given by the Ladies of the Colony, for horses of all ages belonging to Subscribers of the Sydney Race Course. The best of 3 2-mile heats. Three year olds to carry 7 st. 4 lb. 4 year olds 8 st. 1lb. 5 year olds 9 st. 2 lb. and aged 10st.
Mr Lord's b. g. Tipsy (Tipsey) 2 yrs old          1 3 2
Mr Oven's ch. m. Bessie 2 yrs old                 2 4 drawn
Mr Williams' r. g. Strawberry 5 yrs old            3 2 2
Capt. Ritchie's gr. g. Chase 6 yrs old             4 1 1
Colonel O'Connell's bl. g. Carlo 6 yrs old        6 dr
Capt. Piper'sch. m. Miss Kitty aged               5 4 4
A good race between Chase and Strawberry the last two heats.
Mr. Wentworth'sb. g. Gig rode by Mr. Bayley, beat Mr. Broughton's bl. g. Jerry, rode by Capt. Ritchie, 3 miles, 40gs. - Gig won easy.

Additional information about the Ladies' Cup was provided:
The Ladies' Cup, which was of very superior workmanship, won by Chance, (Chase) was presented to Captain Ritchie by Mrs Macquarie; who accompanied by His Excellency, honoured each day's Races with her presence, and who, with her usual affability, was pleased to preface the donation with the following short address:
"In the name of the Ladies of New South Wales, I have the pleasure to present you with this Cup. Give me leave to congratulate you on being the successful Candidate for it; and to hope that it is a prelude to future success, and lasting prosperity"

Races at the racecourse at Hyde park continued until the early 1820s. However there were problems in maintaining the surface of the racecourse as shown in Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 2 February 1811 page 2.

The Non-Subscribers to the Sydney races are hereby strictly forbid driving or riding Horses on the Course, without Permission of the Stewards. It is hoped the Subscribers will see the necessity of keeping on the outer Edge, when they drive or ride round the Course, as the Damage already done to it by Carriages driving near the Posts must be obvious to every person. ( By Order of the Stewards),

The original number of Subscribers was limited to 50 however in 1813 the suggestion was made to hold a ballot allowing gentlemen who were newcomers to the Colony the opportunity to also become Subscribers. Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 17 July 1813 page 2. Another announcement in this issue of the newspaper stated:

None but Subscribers, or their authorised Servants, being entitled to ride on the Race Course, it is hoped that all other Persons will see the Propriety of avoiding the Course, during the Exercising Season, and thereby do away the Necessity for resorting to other Measures for the preserving the Course to its proper Object.
Gentlemen are requested to instruct their Servants not to ride on the Race Course unless for the Purpose of training, until after the Races, as those who are not in training interrupt the regular Exercise of the Horses destined for the public Amusement of the Race Week.

Simeon Lord's horse, Tipsey, was also entered in the race carnivals held in 1811 and in 1812.

On the first day of the three day race carnival in 1811-  held between 12 August and 16 August - Mr Lord's b. g. Tipsey 4 yrs old came second in the two heats of the Subscription Plate (value 50 gs).
Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 17 August 1811 page 2.

 The following year when the races were held from 17 August to 21 August, Tipsey (now 5 years) was again entered in the Subscription Plate but, along with a number of other horses, was disqualified. The report added that despite the heavy rains experienced from the Monday to the Thursday, "the Course was much crowded".
Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 22 August 1812 page 2.

The newspapers provide additional information about Tipsey.
A newspaper advertisement in February 1811 mentioned that two well known geldings, Strawberry and Tipsey, were available for sale. Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 7 February 1811 page 2.

The following year the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 18 January 1812 page 4 reported:

Strayed from Burn's Farm at Botany Bay, about ten days since, a Bay Gelding, black legs, mane and tail, known by the name of Typsey, late the property of Mr. Lord, but now belonging to Major Geils. Any person finding the same and bringing him to Major Geils, will be handsomely rewarded. 

As Tipsey was being raced again by Mr Lord later in the year it would appear that Simeon repurchased the horse.

The book, Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788-1900) by Keith R Binney (2005) includes several pages about Simeon Lord including his involvement with horse racing. (pp148-150).

The Dictionary of Sydney has a short article on the Hyde Park racecourse.

The Australian Racing Report also includes an article on early days of racing in Sydney.

Note. At the end of the report (in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 20 October 1810 page 2) about the three days of racing at the Sydney Racecourse in October 1810, the following information was also provided:

And afterwards Boshy's Hack ran against G. Guest's (Hack), a three mile heat, for 10gs - A good match, won by Boshy.

Reports in the Sydney Gazettee and New South Wales Advertiser show that George Guest was in Sydney for at least parts of 1810. It is therefore probable that he was the G. Guest whose horse raced Boshy's horse.

Olympic Games Melbourne, 1956 - memories

This afternoon, as part of History Week,  I spoke at Ivanhoe Library about the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956, particularly the involvement of my father, Ken Moses, who was a sports journalist on The Argus at the time.

Opening Ceremony ticket

During and after the talk a number of those present shared their memories and experiences of the Olympic Games. Some members of the audience brought along their mementoes of the 1956 Olympics - books plus a ticket to see events on the 23 November. This ticket cost 11/- compared to the £1 / 1/- for the Opening Ceremony ticket shown above.

I had brought one of my father's scrap books plus copies of The Argus published during the games, a copy of the Australian Women's Weekly from December 1956, a selection of programs prepared for individual events for each day of competition and the Official report of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956.

I have a partial collection of copies of The Argus published during the Melbourne Olympic Games but one gentleman brought in a full set of this newspaper published during the games period that his mother had kept.

As the Olympic Village was constructed in neighbouring Heidelberg a number of audience members had memories of growing up near the village.

Raymond Morris Collection, National Museum of Australia

Comments were made about the Olympic Rings which were displayed near the entrance to the village. Apparently these rings are now back on display in the area.

Raymond Morris Collection, National Museum of Australia

One gentleman remembered watching the construction of the village and he used to play on the foundations of the buildings - once the builders went home -  during the early stages of construction. There were also memories of wandering through the village after school - security wasn't a major concern - and waving to and / or chatting to athletes. I was also told that a number of athletes stayed with families in private houses and that the families drove those athletes to the venues to participate in their events.

Winner's medal

One of the ladies in the audience told me that her mother was a seamstress who made the cushions used for the medal presentations at the Olympic Games in 1956.

The Olympic Torch Relay is an important event in the build up to an Olympic Games and I met one gentleman who told me that he had been one of the torch bearers in the 1956 Torch Relay.

This was a great session to share experiences and memories of events that occurred 60 years ago as we remembered the 1956 Olympic Games - an important event in the history of Melbourne.

Other posts on this topic:
Olympic Games Melbourne, 1956 - Media
Olympic Games Melbourne, 1956 - Challenges for host city
Sepia Saturday 316 - Movie cameras
Olympic Games Melbourne 1956 - view post

Olympic Games, Melbourne 1956 - Media

The organisers of the 1956 Olympic Games faced a number of challenges not faced by the organisers of  previous games. Suitable facilities for the general press needed to be organised however the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne was the first to be extensively covered by film, along with some limited television coverage. This created new logistical problems for the organisers.

Press facilities at the MCG

Press covering events needed space for their typewriters or room to take notes using pen and paper. Telephones were provided and some journalists used tape recorders. Reports on the Olympic Games were also presented on radio. The press stand at the MCG was the largest used for the games but temporary press stands also had to be provided at other venues.

Television
Television was launched in Australia just before the Olympic Games. A subcommittee was therefore established to oversee conditions for providing television coverage.
Local television stations in Melbourne could televise events at venues where seating was sold out such as events at the main stadium. Each evening a 16mm film was sent to television stations in Sydney.
Each night was despatched each night to various overseas destinations. Six half hour television programs were made for American syndicated television. Arrangements with airlines were made for quick transportation of film.
A major discussion point was the charges asked for by the Olympic Committee to televise Olympic Games events.

National Museum Australia has this page on TV and the Melbourne Olympics

Film
As described in a previous post restrictions were placed on the use of movie cameras by non-accredited persons as the Australian Olympic Committee had commissioned a French company to make an official film of the Olympic Games. However the restrictions were relaxed as a number of films of the Olympic Games taken by individuals exist. Three of these home movies taken by Bruce Beresford, Mile Leyland and Sir Robert Menzies can be viewed online via the National Film and Sound Archive website.

Camerman from French film company on right

The official film was released in May 1957. The Australian Women's Weekly attended the launch and reported on the event in the 20 May 1957 issue. Members of the Australian Olympic Team attended the premier.

The staging of the Olympic Games in Melbourne was also seen as an opportunity to promote Melbourne, Victoria and Australia to the rest of the world.

The black and white images in this post are from the the Official report of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956. This publication is available online.