In February 2022, my cousin Judy alerted me to a real estate advertisement that she had seen in the local Ipswich newspaper concerning the sale of “Berry House.”
The photographs from the real estate listing show that the house has been stunningly renovated.
The history contained on the Queensland Heritage Register citation indicates that William Berry arrived in the colony by 1843, but my research indicates that this is unlikely, and suggests that this may be a conflation of two William Berrys, but that’s the subject of a future post.
In my post “Van Cooten Jail Keeper”, I talk about finding a reference to H. Van Cooten, Keeper of the County Prison in Berbice, in the application of Alexander Cameron for a position in the Public Service of Queensland.
Who was Alexander Cameron? From the letters he implies that he was born in Berbice, and arrived in Australia in 1854. He had worked as a clerk and book-keeper in an extensive mercantile enterprise, eventually becoming a partner. He held a number of official positions in the colony, before moving to Moreton Bay (Queensland) upon the advice of his father. He initially was engaged in farming at Redbank, but this ultimately was unsuccessful.
His obituary of June 18, 1881 says:
Mr. Alexander Cameron, an old resident of this town, died on Thursday morning last. Though he had been ailing for some considerable time, and was confined to his bed, his death was rather sudden. He had for many years, suffered from chronic rheumatism, particularly at intervals during the past eight years ; but for the last fifteen months he has been confined to his bed, and suffered very much. The deceased gentleman held the post of secretary to the Ipswich Hospital for over thirteen years, and evidently stood high in the estimation of the committee, as we ourselves are in a position to testify. With this exception of attending committee meetings at which his son Mr. C. C. Cameron, took his place the work of the office was performed by him up to the day of his death—in fact, he did a little clerical work only a few hours before he passed away. Mr. Cameron was sixty-nine years of age, and had been in the colony twenty-seven years, most of which time he spent in Ipswich. He commanded the respect of a large circle of friends and acquaintances, many of whom followed his remains to the cemetery yesterday morning.2
A photo and pen portrait of Alexander’s son Charles Christopher, says:
The above is a portrait of Cr. Charles Christopher Cameron, who, on Wednesday last, was unanimously re-elected chairman of the Ipswich Traffic Board. Cr. Cameron is well and favourably known in Ipswich business circles, and in connection with local government. He is a native of New Amsterdam, Berbice, British Guiana, South America, where he was born on the 13th September, 1840. His father was Mr. Alexander Cameron (eldest son of Mr. John Cameron, of Glen Nevis and Ben Nevis in the highlands of Scotland), and his mother a daughter of Count Matthias von Rodder, of Bavaria. Five or six years of his early life Cr. Cameron spent in England, Jersey, and France, at school, and when still a boy, came with his parents to Australia, arriving in Ipswich, via Sydney, in July, 1854. Ipswich was then in its infancy, and did not possess a single school!3
The obituary of Alexander Cameron’s son Glen gives further information:
Mr. GLEN CAMERON died at his residence, Eagle-terrace, Sandgate, on June 1, in his 78th year. He was born at British Guiana, South America, in 1849, his father being Mr. Alexander Cameron, the eldest son of Mr. John Cameron, of Glen Nevis and Ben Nevis, in the Highlands of Scotland, and his mother a daughter of Count Matthias von Rodder, of Bavaria. With his family, Mr. Glen Cameron came to Queensland in the ship Panthea, landing in Brisbane on July 25, 1854, he being then five years of age.
His uncle, Mr. D. Cameron, was on what was then Tarampa station, but the family settled at Ipswich. Mr. Glen Cameron was educated there at the Grammar School, and having been intended for the Bar was preparing to go to the Sydney University, but the smash of the old Queensland Bank occurred, and his father was a heavy loser.4
Fox’s History of Queensland5 contains similar information in the biographical sketch of Pearson Welsby Cameron, first mayor of Greater Ipswich, and his father, Charles Christopher Cameron, son of Alexander.
Alexander died in 1881:
DEATH. On the 16th June, at Ipswich, Alexander Cameron, formerly of New Amsterdam, Berbice, British Guiana, aged 69 years.6
Alexander’s wife Ellen died in 1887:
On the 19th June, at her residence, South-street, Ipswich, Ellen, widow of the late Alexander Cameron, formerly of Berbice, British Guiana, aged 74 years.7
Lola Tarnawski’s book on the Cameron family8 (from which the photograph of Alexander and Ellen is taken) makes no mention of Alexander obtaining an appointment to the Public Service, and that he was an accountant. I can find no other mention in the Colonial Secretary’s correspondence of him being appointed, nor to the the circumstances of his appointment as Secretary to the Ipswich Hospital.
Tarnawski, L. U. (1984). Camerons of southeast Queensland: commemorating 130 years of life in Australia (p. 32) [Review of Camerons of southeast Queensland: commemorating 130 years of life in Australia]. Private.
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. (1881, June 18). Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 – 1908), p. 5. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122869112
Death of Mr. Glen Cameron. (1927, June 9). The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 – 1939), p. 4. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25296964
Family Notices (1881, June 23). Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 – 1908), p. 2. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12286900
Family Notices (1887, June 23). Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 – 1908), p. 5. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122820513
Tarnawski, L. U. (1984). Camerons of southeast Queensland: commemorating 130 years of life in Australia (p. 32) [Review of Camerons of southeast Queensland: commemorating 130 years of life in Australia]. Private.
One of the first things on checking out Tim Sherratt’s GLAM workbench was to search for Van Cootens in the name index. I found the expected references to William John Fraser Van Cooten in the Queensland teaching archives, to Van Cooten and Sons store in the Queensland Companies Register, and wills for John Hughes Van Cooten and his wife Elizabeth Van Cooten nee Berry. But I had a little surprise in a reference to H. Van Cooten in the Queensland Colonial Secretary’s Correspondence for 1895—1861 with the note “Application for employment.” As far as I was aware the earliest Van Cootens arriving in Australia were Jane Wilson nee Van Cooten arriving in Melbourne in 1852 with the Wilson family (see First Van Cootens in Australia? for more details), and John Hughes Van Cooten arriving in late 1874.
Examination of Item ITM846746 shows that H Van Cooten is referred to in an application for employment in the public service from Alexander Cameron to the Colonial Secretary.
A transcript of the letters is:
Alexr Cameron 28 Decemb. 60/2440 Application for employment
Redbank near Ipswich
27th December 1860
[[To] The Honorable G. W. Herbert Colonial Secretary]
[Alexr. Cameron Esq.
18th January
Council
[indecipherable signature]
The council advise that Mr. Cameron be informed that his Application has been received and will be taken into consideration.
John Bramston
9/1/61 Clerk of Council
Inform accordingly
A. White
61.1.10]
Sir,
In doing myself the honor to address you I take the liberty to solicit at the hands of His Excellency the Governor, employment in any of the various Public offices for which my previous business habits or avocations may have qualified me.
In youth (1828) I became clerk and book-keeper in an extensive mercantile in Berbice, British Guiana, and (1835) a partner of the same.
On the dissolution of the firm (1840-1) I was employed in the Vendue Office of the County (a patent office under the Crown through which all Judicial and other public sales were effected) until its abolition in, I think 1847, but continued winding up its affairs until 1848.
In July 1848 I became a paid servant of the Colony, under circumstances detailed in the accompanying correspondence, numbered to be 4—Copies of which are respectfully submitted.—when I sailed for Europe on leave of absence, pending which, at the instigation of my Father, I decided on coming to Moreton Bay.
I have now been resident in this district upwards of six years, for five of which I have been engaged in agricultural pursuits, but these, from exhausted means and other untoward causes, I have recently been compelled to relinquish.
Being unknown to any of the Heads of Department in Brisbane I can only meantime hope for employment in a subordinate capacity, though desirous it should be such, that I may reasonably look forward to preferment according to merit.
Trusting that some suitable opening may be at the disposal of His Excellency’s favorable consideration
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble Servant
Alexr Cameron.
No. 1. (Copy)
Berbice 24th June 1848
[To The Honorable W. B. Wolseley Acting Government Secretary]
Sir,
Having heard from authority which I consider to be quite undoubted, that Mr. H. Van Cooten, the Keeper of the County Prison who has been some time very unwell, is now beyond all hope of recovery, I trust the present application to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor through you will not have the appearance of indelicacy, which in other circumstances I feel persuaded it would have.
It is in a few words that I may, in the absence of any more worthy in His Excellency’s estimation, be appointed successor to Mr. Van Cooten in the event of his decease.
I do not accompany this with any credentials, but for the information of His Excellency I may mention that from His late Excellency, Governor Sir James Carmichael Smyth, I received a Commission in the County Militia, and from his successor in the late Governor (Sir Henry Light) a Commission as a Justice of the peace and a Coroner of the Colony, besides which I have for some time served as a member of Vestry, and an Auditor of Accounts to the Supreme Court, under appointment of the Government.
These several appointments being more honorary than remunerative I am induced to urge upon His Excellency this my first application for remunerative Public Service; and should it be deemed necessary to obtain testimonials from either the resident Officials of the County, or the merchants and principal planters, I have no doubt I could procure such as would be most satisfactory to His Excellency.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient humble Servant
(sgd) Alexr. Cameron.
Note—In the following month the vacancy was conferred upon me, and due notification thusly inserted in the Government Gazette, by Lieutenant Governor W. Wallis.
No. 2 (Copy)
B. Guiana Government Secretary’s Office
October 17th, 1848.
[To His Honor C. R. Whinfield Sheriff of Berbice.]
Sir
I am directed by His Excellency the Lt. Governor to communicate to you for the information of Mr. Cameron the Keeper of the Jail at New Amsterdam, the following extract of a Dispatch received by His Excellency from the Right Honable. The Secretary of State.
“I have to convey to you my confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Cameron, but you will acquaint Mr. Cameron that he must accept it subject to any reductions that the Combined Court may consider it necessary to make in the Annual Estimates.”
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble servant
W. B. Wolseley
Ag. Govt. Secty.
A true Copy (sgd) Charles R. Whinfield, Sheriff.
No. 3. (Copy)
Berbice 30th October 1850
[To The Honorable W. B. Wolseley, Government Secretary]
Sir,
I have the honor through you to approach His Excellency the Governor with an application for preferment to an office in this County, that of Assistant Receiver General, vacant by the decease of the recently appointed incumbent, Mr. Hollingsworth.
Already holding an office under the Government it may be necessary to state what motives impel me to intrude on His Excellency’s notice.
At the time of my appointment as Keeper of the County Gaol in 1848 the salary attached to the situation, twelve hundred dollars, might (with residence) have sufficed for the maintenance of a family, and it was understood a person with a family and possessing the requisite qualifications would be preferred by the Lieutenant Governor.
At the meeting of the next Combined Court however it was moved and affirmed that the salary (with many others) should be reduced by twenty five per cent. That is to only nine hundred dollars per annum, a sum—without reference to the great hardship of having to refund from the reduce stipend, two hundred dollars paid me as salary at the higher rate—so inadequate to the wants of an increasing family as to have caused me to be on the watch for more remunerative employment; and in the absence of anything better presenting itself I have seriously thought of removing from this to one of the distant Colonies in Australia.
A more responsible and at same time more lucrative post would however induce a preference for my native country, and it is with this view and a reliance on my ability satisfactorily to fulfil the duties of such an office as the one under consideration that I take the liberty to trespass on His Excellency’s time and attention.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble Servant.
(sgd) Alexr Cameron.
No. 4 (Copy)
B. Guiana.
Government Secretary’s Office
November 6th 1850
Sir
His Excellency the Governor* directs me to acknowledge your letter of the 30th ultimo, and to inform you that should the office of Assistant Receiver General be filled up, the claim of the Gentleman now acting are superior to yours. His Excellency would be sorry however if the colony lost the benefit of your services, and will be glad to promote your views should a proper opportunity offer.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant
(sgd) I. Gardiner Austin
Actg. Asst. Govt. Secretary
[*Mr. now Sir Henry Barkly]
[To Alexr. Cameron Esquire
Berbice.]
Ipswich, 5 March 1861
Dear Sir,
I beg to introduce to you Mr. Alexander Cameron a candidate for office in the Government Service of this colony.
I have much pleasure in stating that I feel certain Mr. Cameron will give every satisfaction in any office he may be appointed to by the Govt.
??fully,
?? Panton.
W. Manning Esq
61/52? Alexander Cameron 6 March
Further application for employment
Ipswich 5th March 1861
[To: A. W. Manning Esquire
Principal Under Secretary]
Sir
I trust you will not deem me importunate in addressing you with reference to my letter to the Executive of 27th December last, soliciting employment in the Public Service of this Colony.
Earnestly desiring active occupation my object in now writing is to state that under existing circumstance, almost any employment would be thankfully be hailed by me as a boon. I fear chiefly that the Executive Council are beset with applications from various quarters, and that parties at a distance have the least likelihood of being considered in the filling of vacant, or creative of new posts, but if zeal and assiduity are essential in a public Servant, I pledge myself in all sincerity they shall not be wanting in any trust, to which I may have the honor to be appointed.
Craving your reference to the accompanying few lines of introduction from Mr. I. Panton of this town.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient servant
Alexr Cameron.
I’m not sure who H. Van Cooten is, but clearly he died in 1848, and was not an arrival in Australia. I suspect he is one of Hendrik Van Cooten’s grandchildren, and most probably his father would have been Nicholas, Anthony, Lucius, or Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus Van Cooten.
Tim Sherratt, historian and hacker, has been devising creative ways of mining and displaying the digital collection of cultural institutions, the majority Australian, for some years. Many of these have explored the Trove collection, but a current project is a collection of tools he calls GLAM workbench intended to to “help you explore and use data from GLAM institutions (that’s galleries, libraries, archives, and museums).”
One of the exciting datasets for a family history researcher is the GLAM Name Index Search which provides a search against, at present, 253 datatsets containing names.
Costa, Emilia. Crowns of glory, tears of blood : the Demerara Slave Rebellion of 1823. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
As a teenager old family letters about the Van Cooten family in Australia triggered my interest in family history. Letters to my great-grandfather John Hughes Van Cooten contained the following tantalising clues:
The other was that our great grandfather went to the West Indies on a royal Commission. What that Commission was I do not recollect, and that having fulfilled the mission of his government he received a [grant?] of land that as much as he could bring under proper cultivation became his own. This was termed an “Unlimited grant”.
He married a Madagascan lady said to be of royal blood (very wealthy) and by her he had a numerous family of sons and daughters (22). being highly educated & no fortune he went to the West Indies, under the auspices of the Dutch Government & surveyed the colony & sent home so excellent a chart of the same and the river Demerara that the government gave him #1000 and an unlimited grant of land, i.e. so much frontages & back west he could clear & put under cultiture annually.
The names of the Estates were “Better Hope, Sheet Anchor, Brides Lust “. I don’t know the date of the year in which my mother and father were married but I believe it was in the November of 1835 or 6.
You ask your Grandfather’s name? Well!! He was “Jan” or John Van, Van Cooten M.D. – formerly of “Brides Lust” , Demerrara – and eldest son of Mr Henrique Van, Van Cooten by his wife Dorothy of the same address.
I doubted that I would ever be able to find out the truth behind these statements. As an adult working in IT at a University, I spent two years working for the library. I took the opportunity to explore. The book that was key to opening a vast area of research was “Crowns of Glory, Tears of Blood.” My ancestor wasn’t listed in the index, but showed up upon a quick flick through the contents! I found it very emotional to discover evidence corroborating the clues in old family letters. The “Notes on Sources” provided invaluable pointers to documentary sources, and has led me to making contact with other researchers in the area. Hendrik had a part to play in the events of 1823. He was an old established plantation owner. The actual name of the plantation was Vryheids Lust. He was a slave owner, but more kindly to his slaves than many other owners. He was sympathetic to the cause of the London Missionary Society. Mentions of Hendrik are here. This is a book where I found that as fascinating as the narrative was, the footnotes and citations were more valuable!
Kathleen May Thomas progressed through the examination syllabus of the Trinity College London, and ultimately was awarded an Associate Diploma of the Trinity College of Music, London, in Piano, which qualified her to become a recognised piano teacher.
An article in the Beaudesert Times1 explains the requirements:
… Up to, and including the year 1913, the syllabus required that a candidate who wished to obtain an Associate (A.T.C.L) Diploma was obliged to pass (a) a practical examination before an examiner of the college, and (b) a paperwork examination on rudiments of music. This entitled the candidate to the use of the letters A.T.C.L. This syllabus was then withdrawn, and the standard raised so that a candidate passing in the above subjects would receive a higher grade certificate (without the letters), and if he or she wished to obtain the A.T.C.L Diploma, it would be necessary to take, in addition to the above, a paperwork examination on “Art of Teaching.” …
The table below summarises Kathleen’s progress, culminating in passing the “Art of Teaching Music” examination, and thus qualifying her to teach. This was quite an achievement, the qualification itself being the equivalent of matriculation or first year University level, and quite comparable with the qualifications of many of the school classroom teachers of the day.
Courtesy of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Jerwood Library, Kathleen is is listed in the 1920 Calendar of Trinity College London as having been awarded The Associate Diploma: Pianoforte.
An Explanation of Matters Musical. (1916, August 18). The Beaudesert Times (Qld. : 1908 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article216195181
TRINITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC. (1910, August 3). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148949731
TRINITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC. (1910, September 8). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 3. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148943070
Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 3. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146275671
TRINITY COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS. (1912, August 29). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 5. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146935170
TRINITY COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS. (1913, July 24). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 5. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150584333
TRINITN COLLOUR OF MUSIC (1914, March 5). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 5. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150882813
[?]RINITY COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS. (1914, July 16). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 5. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151026619
MARYBOROUGH AND DISTRICT. (1915, July 13). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 10. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20017571
TRINITY COLLEGE RESULTS. (1917, April 19). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 5. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151488966
TRINITY COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS. (1918, June 15). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 8. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151095826
TRINITY COLLEGE EXAMINATIONS. (1919, May 7). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 6. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151036613
My paternal grandmother (Nana Van) Kathleen May Thomas was born in 1900, and was raised by her grandparents in Maryborough, Queensland, owing to the death of her mother (and baby) following childbirth in 1902. Young Katie was supported and encouraged to learn the piano from an early age. She advanced quite quickly, and gained her qualifications as a piano teacher. She taught piano until she was 79 years old.
Kathleen May Van Cooten (née Thomas) sitting near her piano circa 1964
As a young student she would have had several choices as to the musical syllabus or examination system that she followed.
In colonial/early federation times the options were:
The Trinity College of Music
The London College of Music
Local University conservatoriums of music, later the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB)
The Trinity College examinations were clearly the best established available in Maryborough in during 1900-1920 when Katie was acquiring her musical skills.
Doreen M. Bridges gives an excellent overview of the scene in Australia in her Sydney University PhD Thesis “THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA 1885-1970” submitted in 19701. In it she describes the development of Departments of Music and Conservertoire of Music in Australian Universities, the rivalry between the various examining bodies, as well as the struggle to develop a characteristically Australian music examination and education system.
The Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music was founded in central London in 1872 by the Reverend Henry George Bonavia Hunt to improve the teaching of church music. Trinity College London was founded in 1877 as the external examinations board of Trinity College of Music.
A newspaper article in The Telegraph (Brisbane) on 27 June 18822 announces:
We are informed that the Council of Trinity College, London, have determined upon establishing a local centre in Brisbane for conducting examinations in music. The examinations are open to persons of either sex, and the scheme of instruction embraces — 1. Matriculation ; 2. Students in Music ; 3. Associates in Music ; 4. Licentiates in Music ; and 5. Certificates of Competency in Solo Playing or Singing. There are several Musical Colleges now in London ; Trinity College is the first, however, to found a branch in the colonies, and this is due to our townsman, Mr. W. H. Wilson, who has consented to act as honorary secretary.
Advertisements by Brisbane music teachers in July 1882 indicate that they prepare students for the Trinity College, and an paragraph in the Maryborough Chronicle of 4 December 18963 details a meeting forming a Maryborough centre. Theory examinations were held on 5 June 1897.
An article in the Maryborough Chronicle in 18984 features an article reporting on an interview with Mr. Charles Edwards, the travelling examiner of Trinity College, London. It states that
Mr. Edwards explained that the examinations that he was now conducting throughout Australasia were the first the College had held in the colonies, though it was the fourth year that it had sent out examiners. The general results in Queensland as far as he had gone had been quite equal to those he had found in the best centres in England. In fact, they had been equal to any he had had anywhere except in South Africa, which he visited two years ago, and where the results were really excellent.
LCM Examinations was founded as the external examinations department of the London College of Music (LCM), a music conservatoire which was founded in 1887. In 1991, the LCM and its external examinations board became part of the Polytechnic of West London (which became Thames Valley University in 1992 and was renamed the University of West London in 2011). In 1966 the London College of Music, after a decision of the Council, ceased all operations overseas.
The Brisbane Courier of 27 October 19035 reports that the first examinations in Brisbane had been held.
An advertisement in the Maryborough Chronicle of 2 August 19096 indicated that practical examinations would be held in Maryborough.
Australian Music Examination Board
In 1887 a programme of music examinations was initiated in Australia by the Universities of Adelaide and Melbourne. Subsequently the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) emerged in 1918 as a national body with the purpose of providing graded assessments of the achievements of music students. Later, examinations were also provided for students of speech and drama. Moves in Queensland commenced with the foundation of the University of Queensland in 1910. An article in the Maryborough Chronicle of 15 February 19137 reports the promotion of the establishment of an Australian music examination board, and examinations were to commence in 1913 in centres which included Maryborough8.
Bridges, Doreen M. (1970), THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA 1885-1970 (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia). Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/1109/1/0001%20to%200429.pdf
A SCHOOL OF MUSIC. (1882, June 27). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170214576
GENERAL NEWS (1896, December 4). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146979437
TRINITY COLLEGE, LONDON. (1898, September 16). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 2. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148035164
LONDON COLLEGE OF MUSIC EXAMINATIONS. (1903, October 27). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 4. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19248409
Advertising (1909, August 2). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 3. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150921125
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL EXAMINATIONS, (1913, February 15). Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947), p. 7. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article150802881
University Music Examinations. (1912, October 9). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 7. Retrieved November 18, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19840480
If you walk from Alexandra Fountain in Bendigo today, and head down Pall Mall towards the Law Courts, its a little hard to see where J. B. Edwards Jewellery shop at 3 Pall Mall was.
The picture below shows the scene in possibly the 1920s. J. B. Edward’s shop is the third down from the corner.
ALEXANDRA FOUNTAIN, BENDIGO, VIC. [picture] Rose Stereograph Co [c1920-1954] http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1644169
Here’s another photo showing staff outside the shop in 1911.
Creator: W H Robinson Studio Museums Victoria https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/770814
And finally, courtesy of Google streetview, is the scene today:
So it looks like the shop is about the third window from the right, with possibly some original features behind the modern facade, just behind the Aussie Cash logo.
James Benjamin Edwards, jeweller of Bendigo, was a well connected and well respected citizen. He was also my wife’s great-grandfather.
He was a stalwart of the Forest Street Methodist Church, including being a trustee, chairman of the Bendigo Chamber of Commerce, active in the Bendigo Horticultural Society, and an amateur photographer, including being president of the Bendigo Photographic Society.
An article in Trove entitled, “A PRESENTATION FROM BENDIGO.”, (1901, May 2). The Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 – 1918), p. 2. relates:
A PRESENTATION FROM BENDIGO.
VIEWS OF UNDERGROUND MINING.
Mr. J. B. Edwards is an ingenious amateur photographer. For some time he has been experimenting to discover a satisfactory method of photographing underground workings of mines. Recently, by using magnesium, he was able to take some splendid stereoscopic transparencies. The mayor, per the town clerk, wrote to the Governor-General a few days ago suggesting that these views would be a suitable gift to the Duke and Duchess of York. Mr. Honeybone yesterday received the following reply:—“I am directed by His Excellency the Governor-General to request you to be so good as to inform his Worship the mayor of Bendigo that he is of opinion that the presentation of a number of views taken underground by Mr. J. B. Edwards would be a very pleasing gift. The presentation might be made by his worship immediately after the joint municipal address has been given. I may mention that none of the addresses will be read.—Yours, etc., E. W. Wellington, private secretary to His Excellency the Governor-General.” The transparencies include views of the underground workings of the New Chum Railway, Great Northern, Great Southern, New Moon, Garibaldi, and Goldfields mines, and should make an interesting souvenir of the Royal visit when the Duke and Duchess return to England.
This presentation album was sold at Bonhams auction house in May, 2006, for AU$ 1,635, described as follows:
Stereoscopic views: Goldfields: Australia
Six glass views of The Goldfields of Victoria G. M. Bendigo (An English Co.) taken by J. B. Edwards and captioned showing men underground using mining machinery, the views, together with a Holmes type viewer in a fitted velvet lined polished wood presentation box with a plaque ‘Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Views of Underground Mining Bendigo at Victoria Australia By J.B. Edwards, Bendigo 7/5/01’.
This item seems to have been purchased by the Sate Library of Victoria – it appears in their catalogue as http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1800111. The images have been digitised and are freely available at https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE1409431&mode=browse. An example appears below. If you are good at crossing your eyes you can view it without needing the viewer. I think that J. B. would have been amazed that his images had gone around the world, returned to Victoria, and then become available to the world! He would have been fascinated with this technology.
In Britain, in August 1833, the Slave Emancipation Act was passed, giving all slaves in the British empire their freedom, albeit after a set period of years. Plantation owners received compensation for the ‘loss of their slaves’ in the form of a government grant set at £20,000,000. The slaves themselves received no recognition of the injustices done them, no reparations, nor apology.
University College London hosts a website detailing the compensation money paid to slave owners at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/.
Although Hendrik died in 1825, his estates and family received payments.
Hendrik appears in the database, indicating that he had been the owner of plantations Vryheids Lust and Sheet Anchor in Demerara. The plantations had the following slaves:
Year
Males
Females
Total
1817
119
99
218
1826
124
104
228
1832
166
133
299
299 enslaved persons were registered in 1832 to the heirs of the late Hendrick van Cooten, by John L.C. Playter.
On 19th Apr 1836 compensation for 286 enslaved of £14638 18s 6d was issued.
Nicholas Van Cooten received £287 10s 2d (5 enslaved) and British Guiana £98 9s 11s (2 enslaved). This Nicholas is either Hendrik’s son or Hendrik’s grandson.
