JOHN WINTERBOTTOM – CONVICT TOWN CLERK

JOHN WINTERBOTTOM - CONVICT TOWN CLERK

John Winterbottom, born 1789, was a solicitor, town clerk and much respected Mayor of Stockport, Cheshire. He was also a founding partner in Stockport’s first bank. However, in 1839 he faced bankruptcy after a series of failed investments. His desperation led him to defraud a client, the

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STAMPS OF VAN DIEMEN’S LAND

STAMPS OF VAN DIEMEN'S LAND

By the 1850s Tasmania (still known as Van Dieman’s Land) was in need of its own, official postage system and legislation was duly passed. It was intended that the first stamps would be printed in England, but as the deadline of a November 1 1853 issue date

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THE ‘MAYDA’ – ILL-FATED CONVICT TRANSPORT

THE 'MAYDA' - ILL-FATED CONVICT TRANSPORT

MAYDA….just one letter short of an S.O.S. THE MAYDA’S LAST PORT OF CALL WAS LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA. SHE SAILED ON APRIL 23 1846, RETURNING TO LONDON AFTER MAKING HER FIRST AND ONLY DELIVERY OF CONVICTS. EMBARKING WITH A HUMAN CARGO LONDON – On August 19 1845 the Morning

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JOHN OSBORNE, TASMANIA’S ‘MR PINEAPPLE’

JOHN OSBORNE, TASMANIA'S  'MR PINEAPPLE'

In 1938 the Tasmanian newspaper The Mercury published the following, circa 1840s portrait of Mr John Osborne, one of the State’s pioneering horticulturalists. It’s impossible to make out from the reproduction, but he is holding….a pineapple! Osborne was born in Staffordshire England, on Christmas Day 1804. He

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THE TASMANIAN TIGER OF PENGUIN

THE TASMANIAN TIGER OF PENGUIN

Before Covid19 hit, my partner Rob and I were in Kakadu (Northern Territory). looking at indigenous rock art. For me, the most exciting image was of a thylacine, thought to be over 4,000 years old. How wonderful is that? 😍 A TASSIE TIGER IN PENGUIN TOWN! For

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