MR AND MRS GEORGE WOODWARD
AMONG THE PIONEERS OF THE NORTHWEST
The following is an article published in the Advocate featuring an interview with Ann Carty, wife of George Woodward and third daughter of Michael Carty and Margaret Norton. This article was written in 1927 by Richard Hilder, locally known as an authority on the early history of northwestern Tasmania. Some dates may be incorrect, however, you will find everything recorded exactly as it occurred.
In the month of May 1927, I paid a friendly visit to the above pioneers, a very interesting married couple, doubly interesting to me because of their long married life (nearly 60 years), and from the fact that both of them were born within the bounds of the Emu Bay municipality, one in the year 1841 and the other in the year 1843.
In response to my request, they both gave me a brief outline of their family connections and long life, and listening to them brought to my memory what I had frequently heard in my childhood days from the lips of persons who had come from the Old Country. It was this, that the gum-suckers (native born white children) were a soft lot, unable to bear the rigours of climate or fatigue, and would never live to great ages like the hardier race of men and women from the rural districts of the Motherland. But the two native born pioneers mentioned have lived long enough to discredit any such fallacy and have occupied their protracted lives with hard and strenuous work.
[Note: While preparing this life sketch for publication, Mr George Woodward died at the age of 84 years and is buried at Somerset]
In response to my request, they both gave me a brief outline of their family connections and long life, and listening to them brought to my memory what I had frequently heard in my childhood days from the lips of persons who had come from the Old Country. It was this, that the gum-suckers (native born white children) were a soft lot, unable to bear the rigours of climate or fatigue, and would never live to great ages like the hardier race of men and women from the rural districts of the Motherland. But the two native born pioneers mentioned have lived long enough to discredit any such fallacy and have occupied their protracted lives with hard and strenuous work.
[Note: While preparing this life sketch for publication, Mr George Woodward died at the age of 84 years and is buried at Somerset]
Family History of Mrs Woodward
Mrs Woodward was the third child in a family of nine girls and three boys. In the late thirties of last century, her parents, Mr and Mrs Michael Carty, lived at Bally-Dor, Ireland, and there were born two daughters, Mary and Bridget. Times were bad among the country folk of Ireland and recruiting agents were abroad endeavouring to persuade the rural workers with small families to engage for a term of years with the Van Diemen's Land Company (a strong British company), which had large landed estates on the North-West Coast and hinterlands of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania).
The young Irish couple were smitten by the agent's proposals, nurturing in their minds the possibility of becoming real landed proprietors themselves some day. Michael Carty was well adapted for stock work, and young Mrs Carty was an expert butter maker. The terms of agreement with the VDL Company were similar to those of numbers of others, and this company had a good name for dealing considerately with its servants at that early period of its history. So the Carty family faced the perils of a long sea voyage of many months duration seeking a new home in a new country. They landed at Circular Head in 1839 or 1840.
Editor's Note: The Carty family arrived per barque, Thomas Lawrie, on 6 March 1840. The Thomas Lawrie left Gravesend, England, on 2 October 1839 with 60 passengers for Circular Head and called at St Jago (Cape Verde) on her passage, where she stopped four days. She likewise visited Table Bay (Cape of Good Hope) and remained there 11 days.
The young Irish couple were smitten by the agent's proposals, nurturing in their minds the possibility of becoming real landed proprietors themselves some day. Michael Carty was well adapted for stock work, and young Mrs Carty was an expert butter maker. The terms of agreement with the VDL Company were similar to those of numbers of others, and this company had a good name for dealing considerately with its servants at that early period of its history. So the Carty family faced the perils of a long sea voyage of many months duration seeking a new home in a new country. They landed at Circular Head in 1839 or 1840.
Editor's Note: The Carty family arrived per barque, Thomas Lawrie, on 6 March 1840. The Thomas Lawrie left Gravesend, England, on 2 October 1839 with 60 passengers for Circular Head and called at St Jago (Cape Verde) on her passage, where she stopped four days. She likewise visited Table Bay (Cape of Good Hope) and remained there 11 days.
Annie Carty Born 1841 at Hampshire
Not long after their arrival, Michael Carty and family were transferred from Circular Head to the VDL Company's Hampshire Hills Estate. This was a progressive settlement, brick-making, dairying and cultivation supplying products for the company's further inland estates. A large homestead stood surrounded by a number of cottages and near it was a well laid out orchard enclosed by an English hawthorn hedge. The situation was on the section of land lying between Emu River and the Limestone Creek. It was a picturesque spot, no doubt, but so isolated from all social intercourses!
The Surrey Hills headquarters were 20 miles further inland and connected with nothing than a bullock-dray track. Emu Bay (on the coast) was a struggling settlement with no pretension to a village and was 20 miles away by the same kind of track. Then the headquarters of Circular Head were 60 to 70 miles westward and almost impossible to reach by road. The general method of covering this journey was by a whaleboat. It was not uncommon to find traces of the aboriginals, but they rarely visited Hampshire Hills settlement. In one of the small cottages mentioned, Annie Carty was born on 7 October 1841 and there she remained with scores of other children till the second year of age.
The Surrey Hills headquarters were 20 miles further inland and connected with nothing than a bullock-dray track. Emu Bay (on the coast) was a struggling settlement with no pretension to a village and was 20 miles away by the same kind of track. Then the headquarters of Circular Head were 60 to 70 miles westward and almost impossible to reach by road. The general method of covering this journey was by a whaleboat. It was not uncommon to find traces of the aboriginals, but they rarely visited Hampshire Hills settlement. In one of the small cottages mentioned, Annie Carty was born on 7 October 1841 and there she remained with scores of other children till the second year of age.
Further Family Removals
With the waning of the fortunes of the Van Diemen's Land Company's in land estates during the early forties, Michael Carty and his young family were again transferred to Circular Head, where he was appointed dairyman at the Green Hills, and his expert wife distinguished herself at butter-making. There were no mechanical utensils for the butter making in those days. All milk was set up in dishes until the cream rose sufficiently and was then skimmed by hand, and all churning and butter-working were done by hand. The Carty family continued to reside at Circular Head for a number of years. Several daughters and a son were born there, and Annie had a brief time at school. In the early fifties Michael Carty and his good wife got the desire of their hearts, for through the policy of land selling adopted by the company they became possessors of a fair sized farm of good land that was partly cleared. It was situated on the main coast road not far east of the Cam River. Here there were further additions to the family till it became a round dozen. Here also the courageous and expert Mrs Carty died at the early age of 49 years, and the large family grew up and moved off to homes of their own. Michael Carty Snr lived to advanced years and left his farm lands to his youngest sons, John and James Carty.
Editor's Note: In 1834, there were around 400 people employed on the company's estate, half of whom were convicts. When assigned convict labour was withdrawn in the early 1840s, the company sought ways to cut costs and began leasing land to tenant farmers (source: The Van Diemen's Land Company by Rosalind Stirling and published in Heritage Australia).
A Bonny Family of Girls
The Carty girls were a bonny lot and early in life there were suitors in plenty after them. At the age of 18 Bridget died and at a later period Katherine died. The other sisters in the course of time married and became Mrs Alfred Deayton, Mrs John Castles, Mrs George Woodward, Mrs Joseph Goodall, Mrs Jonathan Bugg, Mrs James Armstrong and Mrs Thomas Thorpe.
Mrs Woodward tells with much animation the story of her sister Margaret's wedding of 60 or more years ago to Mr John Castles of Dimboola. He was in business in that far inland township of Victoria. So it was arranged that his bride elect should meet him in Melbourne, and they should be married in that city. The only method of reaching Melbourne in this far away period was by taking passage in one of the trading schooners. So the bride elect and her sister, Annie, secured a passage in the Water Lily with Captain James Gibson in command, and after three weeks of sailing from the River Cam they arrived safely at Melbourne. After the wedding was over, Annie returned by the schooner, Margaret Chisel, with Captain John Jones in Command. It was a shorter voyage and she landed at the River Inglis. Michael Carty Jnr married Miss Dodd and settled in Tasmania. The younger brothers removed years ago to Victoria and settled (I think) in Gippsland.
Mrs Woodward tells with much animation the story of her sister Margaret's wedding of 60 or more years ago to Mr John Castles of Dimboola. He was in business in that far inland township of Victoria. So it was arranged that his bride elect should meet him in Melbourne, and they should be married in that city. The only method of reaching Melbourne in this far away period was by taking passage in one of the trading schooners. So the bride elect and her sister, Annie, secured a passage in the Water Lily with Captain James Gibson in command, and after three weeks of sailing from the River Cam they arrived safely at Melbourne. After the wedding was over, Annie returned by the schooner, Margaret Chisel, with Captain John Jones in Command. It was a shorter voyage and she landed at the River Inglis. Michael Carty Jnr married Miss Dodd and settled in Tasmania. The younger brothers removed years ago to Victoria and settled (I think) in Gippsland.