Newsletter 43 December 2022

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Seasons Greetings from the Friends of the Orphan Schools Committee!

The ‘Exuberant Mirth of Childhood’?
A Christmas Treat for the Orphans

[Mercury (Hobart) 30 December 1864, p.3]

THEATRE ROYAL.

The pantomime of Jack the Giant Killer was performed twice, and on the second occasion for the last time by Mr. Greville's company in Hobart Town on Saturday. The first performance took place as previously announced at 2.30 p.m., and the house was quite filled in all parts, His Excellency Col. Gore Browne and Mrs. Browne honouring the representation with their presence. The children of the Queens' Orphan Asylum to the number of upwards of 400 were also present by invitation from Mr. Greville, and there was besides a large attendance of children brought by their parents to witness the representation of the traditional Christmas piece. Under such circumstances the aspect of the theatre could not but afford an unwonted pleasure to visitors whose minds were at all open to the genial influences of the season and the gratification derivable from a contemplation of the exuberant mirth of childhood witnessing in many instances on this occasion at least the time honoured pleasantries of Clown and Pantaloon for the first time.

At the close of the midday entertainment the Orphan School children as they left the Theatre, were, by the liberality of the management, supplemented to some small extent by voluntary contributions from the public regaled with profuse supplies of cakes, "lollies," fruit, and "ginger" cordial. These refreshments were dispensed by Mr. B. N. Nathan assisted by some few subordinate auxiliaries, and were accepted by their recipients with manifestly surprised gratification. The final production of the pantomime in the evening passed off as successfully as any of its previous representations, and was witnessed by a numerously and respectably attended house.

[Mercury (Hobart) 2 January 1865 p. 2]

Thanks to Richard Watson for these items from TROVE.

The Denison Medals and The Fox’s Medals

Sir William Denison was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land from 1847 to 1855. He introduced silver prize medals, presented on an annual basis, to deserving Orphan School children. Irish-born Bridget Wheelan (Whelan) was one of the first recipients. Admitted to the Orphan School when she was 7, she received her award from Lady Denison ‘in token of her natural superiority in educational acquirements’.
[Courier (Hobart) 14 April 1849 p.2]

Darby M’Daid received the boys silver medal from His Excellency Sir William Denison. Darby had arrived from Ireland with his convict father and younger brother in 1843 and was admitted to the Orphan School when he was 9.
[Courier (Hobart) 14 April 1849 p.2]

In 1850, a newspaper report provided a detailed description of the Denison medals:

MEDALS.—The three medals presented at the late examination at the Queen’s Orphan Schools, by Sir William and Lady Denison, were manufactured by Mr. C. Jones, of Liverpool-street. That of Sir William Denison has on the obverse a boy engraved as sitting upon a bench, with the anchor and beehive —the emblems of Hope and Industry on either side, underneath which is the following inscription, ‘Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right’. Round the inscription and engraving of the plate the words, ‘Sir William Denison’s Prize’, the whole being surrounded with a neatly-chased border of laurel leaves. The reverse contains the following—‘For meritorious conduct. To John Woodward, 1850’. The two presented by Lady Denison to Louisa Edwards and Catherine Devlin, have a girl engraved, with similar emblems. The inscription is as follows:—‘A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, loving favour rather than silver and gold’. The rest of the appointments are similar.

[Cornwall Chronicle 24 July 1850 p.284 quoting Colonial Times]

After Sir William and Lady Denison left the colony, the silver medals were no longer presented. In March 1856, His Excellency Governor Sir Henry Young substituted the medals with ‘a handsome writing desk as a reward of good conduct’ for a boy and girl. John Smith received the boys’ award, but the girl was not named in newspaper reports of the event.
 [Courier (Hobart) 27 March 1856 p.2]

In the early 1860s, silver medals known as Fox’s Medals were awarded. They were funded from the bequest of John Fox and included a cash prize of £10 to be placed in a bank account for each prize-winner. The Fox’s medals were ‘of silver, larger than a crown piece, and surrounded by an outer rim of flowers, chased. Each medal had the name of the recipient, and the year, engraved thereon’.
[Hobart Town Advertiser 24 December 1864 p.1]

Another description noted:

The medals, which were made by Mr. C. Gaylor, of Hobart Town, are of burnished silver, surrounded by a scroll of frosted silver. On one side is the following inscription:

QUEEN’S ORPHAN
ASYLUM.
FOX’S MEDAL.
TASMANIA.

The other side bears the words ‘Good Conduct’, together with the names of the recipient and the year given.
[Mercury (Hobart) 7 January 1863 p.2.]

In 1863, the medals were presented to Joseph Fennell and Emily Cuddy.

Can You Help?

The Research Committee of the Friends of the Orphan Schools is keen to hear from anyone who might have one of the medals in their possession. If you can help, please email us :

Myths and Mysteries of the Orphan Schools Site

Dr Dianne Snowden AM,
Presentation to the AGM of the Friends of the Orphan Schools
21 August 2022

My presentation today is in part prompted by two recent YouTube videos about the St John’s Park site as well as an article published recently in the free magazine, The Hobart Magazine. It is true to say, however, that there have been several persistent myths and mysteries about the site, and I will also talk about some of these.

The first YouTube video was created by a former employee of St John’s Park who worked on site. The second series of videos have been produced by someone with an interest in local history. Neither cite their sources and acknowledgements of the research undertaken by others are rare. There are common but easily made mistakes: the first video, for example, refers to the Friends of the Orphan Schools as ‘a group called the Friends of St John’s Park’.

One of the most common misconceptions is that the Orphan Schools at New Town were church schools, operated by the Church of England. The Orphan Schools, however, were a purpose-built, government-run institution. It is true that some of the Masters, like Rev. Ewing, were Church of England Ministers. After Rev. Ewing was embroiled in controversy involving one of the Orphan School girls, however, the positions of Master and Minister were split. [1]

Another common misconception concerns the name of the institution which is often incorrectly referred to as ‘St John’s Orphanage’ (because of the association with St John’s Church), or ‘St John’s Park Orphanage’. The original name of the institution was the King’s Orphan Schools, after George IV and then William IV. From 1837, when Queen Victoria came to the throne, it was known as the Queen’s Orphan Schools. From 1861, it was known as the Queen’s Asylum for Destitute Children.

The name St John’s Park was not used until 1937, when the name of the New Town Rest Home (1934-1937), formerly the New Town Infirmary (1912-1934), changed its name. [2] Before that, it was the New Town Charitable Institution (1874-1912). The recent magazine article suggests:

In 1879, the Orphan Schools closed its doors. The buildings still remain to this day and have most recently been used as an aged care facility. A sculpture by Rowan Gillespie now lies on the Hobart Waterfront in front of MACq01, in remembrance of the plight of convict women and children who were transported to Van Diemen’s Land. [3]

In fact, Rowan Gillespie’s recent sculptures of orphan school children, part of the From the Shadows project, are situated on the Orphan Schools site. Another two, of convict women, are at the Cascades Female Factory site in South Hobart.

 
Rowan Gillespie with models Viktor and Estelle Gordon. From the Shadows sculptures, Orphan Schools.
Mercury 22 February 2022, photo Chris Kidd

Interestingly, two pages over, the same writer has an article about a program run by Kickstart Arts in the former Girls Orphan School building. [4] The author obviously hasn’t made the connection.

Author’s Note : in the October 2022 edition of The Hobart Magazine, the following letter to the editor appeared under the heading, ‘Kickstart correction’:

I would just like to correct a small detail in Lilian Koch’s article on Hobart’s orphan schools (THM, August 22). For the last 12 years, the orphan school buildings have been occupied by Kickstart Arts, of which until recently I was the Chair. They were renovated with funding Australia Council, Catalyst, Arts Tasmania, Tasmanian Community Fund amongst others. To my knowledge they have never been used as an aged care facility. Southern Cross operates a facility further to the west on the St John’s Park site.

The former orphan school buildings, however, were used as an aged care facility and for more than 100 years: in 1874, the Women’s Division of the New Town Charitable Institution moved into the former Infant Orphan School building at the top of the site and, in 1879, the Men’s Division of the New Town Charitable Institution moved into the former Orphan School buildings adjacent to St John’s Church. The women’s facility existed on the site for 120 years, the men’s for 115 years. St John’s Park closed as an aged care facility in 1994, nearly 30 years ago. The former men’s aged care facility is currently leased to Kickstart Arts.

And, of course, another misconception concerns the orphans themselves. Very few of the children were orphans as we would use the term today. Most of the children still had at least one parent living.

Photo Dianne Snowden

The first YouTube video states of our building, the Old Sunday School, that:

This little building was their school [the orphans’ school]. It was called The Hall. It was built by the convicts. The workmanship of the convicts – from the picks – all handmade.

This building was not part of the Orphan School complex. It was built in 1882 as a Sunday School for St John’s Church: previously the Orphan School buildings were used by the Church for Sunday School classes. Once the Orphan Schools closed in 1879, and the buildings were used for the New Town Charitable Institution for the ‘aged poor’, St John’s Church needed another location for its Sunday School.

The building was constructed long after the convict period.

Interestingly, the St John’s Sunday School building opened 140 years ago last Wednesday, 17 August. There was a large procession from the Church to the new building, led by two boys carrying ‘a neatly worked banner’, with ‘St. John’s Sunday School prettily worked in scarlet and gold letters on a white ground’. There were 100 people in the schoolroom for the opening. The Mercury described the event and the building:

The new Sunday school-house is built on a piece of ground in the St. John’s Church burial-ground, in close proximity to the church. It has been constructed of freestone from the Risdon quarries, by Mr. F. Reynolds, Mr. Rowntree being the architect, and Mr. Hogan doing the carpentering work. The school, which is 40ft. [12 metres] long and 24ft. [7 metres] wide, inside measurement, is neatly fitted up, and well ventilated. The ceiling is of deal, [5] and varnished, and the rafters and principals are of the same material, but are stained as well as varnished. There is a deep wainscoting [6] all round the room of tongued and grooved pine, and a fireplace is situated at either end. The building is a very substantial one; and does credit to the builder. The foundation-stone of the new school was laid on February 10, by His Lordship the Bishop. [7]

The Sunday School building was called The Hall by the Department of Health and was used for meetings.

The burial ground also confuses those exploring the site. The first YouTube video states:

‘I believe it started off Anglican – no, I believe it started off Catholic for a few years and then went to Anglican’. Again, because there is no source provided, it is difficult to work out where this information has come from.

Initially, there was one large burial ground, the St John’s Parish Burial Ground, dating from 1835 and shared between New Town residents and the Orphan Schools. The last burial was in 1938. The burial ground had pathways delineating different sections, but records of this detail have not survived. In 1851, the Churchwardens informed the Comptroller General that ‘the number of graves for the Orphan Children and Prisoners exceeds in a fourfold quantity that of the Parishioners’. [8] A smaller Roman Catholic Burial Ground was established in 1852. Before that, Roman Catholic Orphan School children were buried in St John’s Parish Burial Ground.

The first YouTube video also states:

‘the lumps and bumps and the green patches in the Burial Ground are graves’. The burial ground has been turned over numerous times and it is very unlikely the graves are so close to the surface. The video added: ‘there was a mausoleum here, I don’t know where that’s gone now’. I have found no evidence of a mausoleum but, as always, I am keen to hear more about this.

The first YouTube video adds:

Now, I do know that in the 60s, when they moved the gravestones … there were aboriginals buried in a field over to the right of that tall building and that tall pine tree … I believe they are still there.

This was the area in front of the Infant Orphan School, which, incidentally, I recently heard referred to as ‘the Catholic section’. I have found no evidence that the Aboriginal children were buried separately in any other part of the site.

Both videos refer to the removal of the headstones from the Burial Ground to Cornelian Bay Cemetery (1963). The first video comments:

I just wanted to show you where the cemetery was. Now the stones, as far as I know, most of them [are] at Cornelian Bay … I believe some of the remains that were moved were put in a pit … or a large grave and [were] reburied in consecrated ground … not much to see [here] but no less historical.

The second YouTube video includes a visit to Cornelian Bay Cemetery. The producer points out the locational map is wrong but then goes on to say that the headstones from Queenborough and St John’s are all mixed in together. My understanding is that the headstones in this location are only those from St John’s Burial Ground and that there is simply a memorial boulder for the Queenborough Cemetery, but I may be wrong. As our work with GHD and its ground-penetrating radar has shown, the human remains, for the most part, are still in the St John’s burial ground. [9]

Grave of Captain Charles O’Hara Booth, St John’s Burial Ground
Allport Library & Museum of Fine Arts, State Library of Tasmania

Charles O’Hara Booth’s headstone was removed from New Town to Port Arthur in 1962. He was the former Commandant at Port Arthur and was later appointed to the Queen’s Orphan School. [10] In 1962, the Minister for Lands and Works, Mr Cashion announced that Charles O’Hara Booth’s ‘grave’ would be removed to Port Arthur. [11] It was initially placed near the Model Prison and then relocated to the bank near the steps to the Commandant’s House. In 1964, it was proposed that a notice be put on the grave indicating that Booth’s burial place was at New Town. [12] I think this clearly indicates that, although Booth’s headstone was removed, his human remains were not.

There is some evidence that some human remains were removed. In my archival study, St John’s Burial Ground, New Town, undertaken in 2019 for the planned Health Department development at the top of the burial ground, I only located two documents recording the removal of human remains from St John’s Burial Ground: one was for Henry Hall Baily, who died on 15 June 1896 aged 57, and was reinterred at Cornelian Bay a year later, on 12 June 1897. [13] Baily was a well-known Tasmanian photographer. [14]

The other removal was for three members of the Bannister family, who were buried in St John’s Burial Ground and reinterred in Cornelian Bay Cemetery on 14 December 1947. [15] Thomas died in 1903, Maria in 1908 and Madge Bannister, their youngest daughter aged 11, in 1910. [16]

Although no list of the 1963 headstone removals has been located, Millingtons Cemetery database reveals that James Whyte (d.1882) and John Coverdale (d.1896) were both ‘buried’ on 20 March 1963. [17] George Herbert Bailey, Australian cricketer (d.1926), was also ‘buried’ at Cornelian Bay on 26 March 1963. [18] Archdeacon Frederick Taylor Whitington was relocated to Cornelian Bay on 29 January 1963. [19] It is not clear whether these burials included the removal of human remains.

Mysteries: the tunnels and the cells

The first YouTube video states:

‘At St. John’s Park there are tunnels leading down to the Maypole [from] the old Women’s Workhouse in New Town … the tunnels … used to go out to Risdon Bay … unfortunately over the years they flooded’. It also suggests that: ‘There was a tunnel going into the Church … the convicts were brought through this tunnel and had [stocks?] so you can’t see each other. They weren’t allowed to see each other, and they wore slippers’.

We are frequently asked about the tunnel leading from Carolside, the building opposite Hobart City High (formerly Ogilvie High). In our newsletter in September 2010, we sought information about the tunnel. One person, a Labor senator at the time, said she had been down into it, but it was bricked up. We wrote at the time: ‘Our research has not uncovered any evidence of such a tunnel, and we are at a loss to explain why one may have existed’. [20] Most of the stories about tunnels seem to be about secret access, mainly for convicts, but are usually nothing more than drains. It seems that Hobart has an extensive system of drains, some filled in, others still in use, and others that seem to be urban legend. [21] There are also numerous air raid shelters, which might account for some of the stories.

Similarly, the question of cells in the Orphan School buildings remains an unsolved mystery.

The first YouTube video talks about ‘ghosts and spirits and all that sort of thing, quite often you would hear children playing at the little hall here [the Old Sunday School] and so the legend goes … this area is supposedly haunted … there’s a couple of convicts on the main administration building. There’s what they called a grey nun who walks on the verandah, there’s a school teacher who wanders around the hall here. … I was a nurse here, could hear the children on a couple of times, a few occasions while I was having a cup of coffee in the middle of the night … But, yes, you could hear children quite clearly and you kind of got used to it’.

The Facebook page for Tasmania’s Most Haunted features ‘St John’s Park Orphanage’ under the heading ‘Another story of lost souls of children that apparently wander the grounds and certain parts of the buildings’. The grey nurse pops up in the comments section and the page has a link to our website.

Since 2007, the Friends of the Orphan Schools has been committed to researching the history and heritage significance of the Orphan School site and St John’s Park Precinct. Although we have made considerable progress, it seems that we still have a long way to go to ensure that information disseminating in the community is accurate, factual and evidence-based.

Coming Events

Fox’s Feast Sunday 26 February 2023
Old Sunday School, St John’s Park Precinct

Our annual event for descendants of Orphan School children will be held on Sunday 26 February 2023 from 11 am to 2 pm. BYO picnic lunch. We will provide tea and coffee.

Fox’s Feast was an event that brightened the often bleak year of the children of the Orphan Schools. John Fox, a former convict, was a waterman who plied his trade on the River Derwent. When he died in 1859, he left a bequest to the Orphan School children.

Our Guest Speaker will be Lisa Hutton ‘One Irish Orphan’.

For more information, please contact the Secretary

Open Weekend at the Orphan Schools
25-26 March 2023

As part of our 195-years commemoration of the establishment of the Orphan Schools, we will be holding an Open Weekend on 25-26 March 2023 at the Orphan Schools, in partnership with Kickstart Arts. More information will be made available as it comes to hand.

Introducing New Newsletter Editor

A Member of the Friends of the Orphan Schools since 2008 I had the pleasure of serving as a Committee Member for a time before moving overseas in 2012.

My connection to the St John’s Park Precinct is dual, first through my great grandfather Daniel Kenna (3028) who aged four was admitted as an orphan while his mother, Margaret Kenna, was an assigned convict. Daniel was released two years later into his mother’s care once she had obtained her ticket of leave

The second connection is via forebears John and Mary Blackwell. John’s 1820 land grant on the northern side of the New Town Rivulet made him and his family witnesses to the construction of the Orphan Schools and the operation of these institutions over several decades. John and Mary Blackwell and two of their children were laid to rest in St John’s Burial Ground between 1851 and 1912.

Lisa Hutton

2023 Deadlines for Friends of the Orphan Schools newsletter articles

1 February 2023
1 May 2023
1 August 2023
1 November 2023

Editor: Lisa Hutton

Publishing: Andrew Cocker

Contact us

Friends of the Orphan Schools,
PO Box 4659, Bathurst Street PO,
Hobart. TAS 7000

Email: secretary@orphanschool.org.au

Website: https://www.orphanschool.org.au/