I’ve always been interested in family history. Sometimes a snippet received from a relative leads to an intriguing and in this case, very sad story. My maternal grandmother Nora was an Upston, from the rural district of Reedy Marsh, in north-west Tasmania. The family emigrated from Attleborough,
Read more →
My great grandfather William Larcombe arrived in Launceston, Tasmania in December 1856 aboard the ship Alice Walton. William was then aged 25. He was accompanied by his 20 year old wife Sarah (nee Parker) and their two small children; Leah and Thomas. The family were from Devon,
Read more →
A SMALL PIECE OF WOOD Apparently wooden ‘dolly pegs’ were originally hand made by Gypsies in the UK, who sold them door to door. Sometimes they were carved from hedgerow wood, sometimes they were just a couple of sticks bound together with strips of tin. In Tasmania
Read more →
Christmas in Australia🎄🎅🎁🤶 means……CRICKET! 🏏🏏 Our games were probably more Big Bash than Test Matches. DEMON BOWLING OR DREADFUL BATTING? I recently came across the newspaper report of an 1893 cricket match between the rural communities of Exton and Reedy Marsh, in northern Tasmania. EXTON V REEDY
Read more →
Let me say at the outset that my darling mother was the most gentle, kind hearted person you could hope to meet. However, she did have a penchant for filling our heads with the most terrifying information imaginable. We kids were both fascinated and appalled. Her stories
Read more →
THOUGHTS ON THE BUNNY… Rabbits had begun to breed in plague proportions in Tasmania as early as 1827. The Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser reported: ‘…the common rabbit is becoming so numerous throughout the colony, that they are running about on some large estates by the thousands.
Read more →
Christmas is a time for reflection and family memories of times gone by. My maternal grandparents James and Nora Larcombe raised a large family on a sheep farm at Reedy Marsh, seven miles from the small town of Deloraine in northern Tasmania. The pair married in the
Read more →