All dressed up for the Methodist Sunday School Anniversary in Ulverstone, circa 1959. From left; myself, my brother Laurie and my sister Robyn. Look at that shine on my brother’s shoes. My mother made the dresses on her treadle Singer sewing machine. This was such a credit to her, as she found sewing extremely difficult and stressful.
The story of how we came to be a trio of little Methodists begins in the 1840s.
My three times great-grandfather George Shadbolt was a convict from Datchworth in Hertfordshire. With his father and two cousins he robbed a drapery shop, and in 1845 he was transported for fifteen years. initially to the hellish penal colony of Norfolk Island.
George was christened an Anglican, but converted to the Wesleyan (Methodist) faith after being granted his ticket-of-leave in Tasmania. He became a pioneer farmer in Sassafras, and was appointed as the first superintendent of the Sunday school.
Here is a report on the Anniversary of the Sunday School in 1894. Among the names is George’s granddaughter, Alice Singleton. She came a distant second in her class to Grace Smith. Oh dear me, my proud Grandma would not have liked that one bit. She believed she was superior to everyone! 😍
The next generation included my father Robin. By now the Singleton family had moved to Ulverstone and Grandma Alice had married Newman Allen. My father was 14 in 1931, so I presume the Ist meant first place, not first class. Anyway, he was awarded a book, which is still in my bookcase.
My grandmother remained a very strict Methodist, and was not happy when my siblings and I were whisked off in a job lot to be christened in the Anglican church, I suspect this was an act of defiance by my mother and her sister-in-law (our Godmother). Both were Anglicans, and both were finding their mother-in-law extremely trying!
In a brilliant counter blow, Grandma enrolled us in the Methodist Sunday School. My parents did not oppose this for practical reasons. The neighbours on either side of our South Road farm were Methodists. They were Christians in the best sense of the word, and lay preachers. More to the point, they owned cars at the time, and we didn’t. My non-churchgoing parents were only too happy to send us off with the Dobsons. Let’s face it, any opportunity to reinforce good behaviour in their wild little bunch was a positive. It also strengthened neighbourly bonds….. and appeased our grandmother 😎
There was one problem to be sorted out on our first day. Grandma had enrolled us as Laurie, Robbie and Paulie, so the three of us had been placed in the boys class.
We didn’t really mind going to Sunday School, and Anniversary Day was an exciting occasion for us. We loved getting all dressed up and better still, we were given a book. 📚
