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THIS TEXT IS FROM THE
BOOK "THE YOUNGS OF ROKEBY
AND THEIR FRIENDS>" WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR
REG WRIGHT PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN OWN
A COPY OF THIS LIMITED EDITION BOOK.
THIS CHAPTER RELATES THE FAMILY HISTORY OF JAMES BELBIN 1803-1884 (THE
SON OF JAMES BELBIN THE EMANCIPIST) WHO WAS INTERVIEWED
BY JAMES CALDER OF THE HOBART MERCURY IN 1880. ONE OF HIS
NINE CHILDREN, WILLIAM BELBIN (B.1825) WAS MAYOR OF HOBART, TASMANIA
AS WELL AS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR 19 YEARS.
OTHER CHAPTERS INCLUDE THE BELBIN
LETTERS WHICH ARE A SERIES OF EXCHANGES BETWEEN JAMES BELBIN
AND ADMIRAL BLIGH WHO FOR THOSE INTERESTED WAS THE SAME WILLIAM
BLIGH AS THE INFAMOUS CAPTAIN OF "H.M.S. BOUNTY>" WHOSE CREW
MUTINIED AGAINST HIM ON 28 APRIL 1789. ANOTHER CHAPTER FROM THE YOUNGS
OF ROKEBY INCLUDES THE STORY OF JAMES BELBIN
THE EMANCIPIST 1771-1848 |
James Belbin (Jun)
was born on Norfolk Island, 29 August 1803, and, at the age of five
years, arrived at the Derwent in October 1808 as the youngest of the
five motherless children who came with their father on City of Edinburgh.
Three years later, when only eight years old, he left Hobart to travel
with his father, first to Port Jackson and then to England, returning
to Van Diemans Land in April 1814. In the period between November 1811
and April 1814, he spent over 12 months at sea on the various oceans
of the world and lived some 10 months in London and 6 months in Sydney.
In London he acquired a new step-mother; earlier, in 1809, he had witnessed
the abuse received by his father at Hobart. With such a background of
change and uncertainty one would not have been too surprised if James
became a wanderer who sought out distant places. The opposite seems
to have been the case, and James Belbin (Jun) apparently spent the whole
of his adult life in the Derwent area.
In February 1824, at age 24, he married Caroline Nichols, who gave her
age as 20 and was a daughter of William Nichols, the carpenter and early
Superintendent of Convicts. As James Belbin (Jun) also became a carpenter,
he may have worked for or with William Nichols before the Belbin/Nichols
marriage. The official death certificate issued by the Registrar of
Births, Deaths and Marriages will show that Caroline died of consumption
at Hobart, 11 May 1854, when she was 56 years of age, although William
Nichols arrived at Port Phillip on Ocean in 1803 and the Derwent in
1804, with only three children, not including Caroline. One has to question
the official death record; it seems that Caroline was born at the Derwent
early in 1805, and was more likely about
|
Elizabeth |
b.27 October 1829 |
d. 25 June 1880 |
George Herbert |
b. 13 December 1831 |
|
Eliza Jane |
b. 3 April 1833 |
d. 19 October 1917 |
Fanny Maria |
b. 5 October 1834 |
d. 3 October 1867 |
Marie |
b. 10 October 1836 |
|
William James |
b. 30 July 1838 |
d. 13 October 1895 |
James |
b.13 November 1839 |
|
Edward |
b. 19 November 1844 |
d. 10 November 1907 |
Henry Frederick |
b. 25 January 1848 |
d. 30 September 1921 |
|
Two of the Belbin/Nichols
daughters married into the Young family at Rokeby, while two sons wed
Joseph sisters who were grand daughters of Samuel and Elizabeth Free
from Norfolk Island. James Belbin (Sen) and Samuel Free both reached
Norfolk island on Salamander in 1791, and then came to the Derwent
as free settlers in 1808.
In 1880, James Belbin (Jun) was living on his farm at Cambridge, where
James Calder visited him while collecting information on Belbin (sen)
for the article the journalist would write in the Mercury of
April 1880. Some of the incorrect information about Belbin (sen) enshrined
in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) may well have
been provided by his son James (Jun), as the Calder
article appears to have been used as a primary document for the
ADB.
- The Mercury of Saturday 12 July 1884 carried news of James
Belbin's (Jun) death on 10 July.
-
-
Belbin - At his residence, Cambridge, in the 82nd year of his age,
James Belbin. The
-
funeral will leave the "Horse & Jockey", Rokeby, at
2 p.m. on Sunday, July 12.
-
Friends are respectfully invited to attend.
The Personal column of the paper on the same day had the following:
Death of a Wellknown Colonist - Mr James Belbin
who arrived in Tasmania with his parents in the beginning of the present
century, expired at his residence, Cambridge, yesterday, after a residence
in the colony of over 70 years, in the 82nd year of his age. The family
name has been associated with Tasmania from its earliest days, the
father being the first Inspector of Stock in Tasmania, and his youngest
son, the present Mayor of Hobart. In early life the deceased was actively
engaged in business pursuits in this city; but, preferring rural independence,
he settled in the district of Cambridge over a quarter of a century
ago, where, until shortly before his death, he was actively engaged
in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. He was the father of a large
family, and highly esteemed by all who knew him, and few were better
acquainted with the history of Tasmania than the late James Belbin,
to whom the late Mr Calder was in no slight degree indebted for the
valuable information contained in the Historical Records of Tasmania,
which appeared in the columns of the Mercury (until his death)
two years ago. Mr James Belbin adds one more to the many octogenarians
who have died in the last month.
The following comments apply to the family of James (Jun) :
- Daughter Eliza Jane (22) married William Young (25), the
son of James Young of Rokeby, 30 August 1855, at St. George's Church,
Battery Point. At that time James Belbin (Jun) was listed as a "Contractor
of Liverpool St.". Eliza Jane lived her married life at Droughty
Point, and the Claremont property at Rokeby. where she died,
19 October 1917, a mere 10 days after her husband's death. Since
they are considered in some detail elsewhere, her eleven children
are only briefly noted here:
-
- 1. Caroline b. 9 July 1857 d. 16 June
1891 m. 24 July 1884 to John Pearsall
- 2. Isobella b. 20 Feb 1859 m. 4 Dec 1880 to
George Free
- 3. Elizabeth b. 3 Apr 1860 d. 22 Feb 1938
m. 11 Dec 1895 to Ernest Wright
- 4. James b. 29 Aug 1861 d.
22 April 1938 m. c. 1889 to Rosamond Stevens
- 5. William b. 24 May 1863 d. c. 1940 (nm)
- 6. Phillip b. 8 Nov 1864
d. 20 Sept 1946 m. 20 Oct 1891 to Frances Emily
Wright
- 7. Edwin b. 8 July 1866
d. 12 April 1931 m. 9 May 1891 to Margaret Matilda
Free
- 8. Sarah b. 20 Mar 1868
d. 3 June 1960 m. 10 Sep 1890 to
James Hanslow
- 9. Henry b. 29 Jan 1870
d. 1954
m. in New Zealand
- 10 Lewis b. 3 Dec 1871
d. 5 Oct 1876
- 11. Jessie b. 22 June 1876 d. 17 Feb 1929 (n.m.)
James Belbin (Jun)'s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married late
in life on 17 October 1878, when at age 49 she became the second wife
of James Young, the father-in-law of her sister Eliza Jane. She died
in 1880 from burns after falling into an open fire at the Young homestead
at Droughty Point.
At some stage George Herbert moved to New Zealand at Riverton
on the far south coast of the South Island. By 1870 he was listed on
the Riverton electoral roll, with the status of settler, having two
blocks of land at Riverton and another at Jacob's River Hundred. In
1870 he married a fellow Tasmanian, Emma Rachael Rawlings, the daughter
of James and Emma Rawlings of Buckland, Tas., at Riverton. Unfortunately
Emma died in 1873 at age 26 leaving George a widower with two small
children, Herbert James Belbin (2 years) and Henry William Belbin (2
Months). George Herbert remarried in Riverton in 1874 when he wed English-born
Clarabell, but by the 1890's the family had established itself at Strahan
in Tasmania. It is thought that the eldest son, Herbert James, originally
went to Strahan, stayed for a time, then returned across the Tasman
to convince his father and brother to leave Riverton and move to the
West Coast of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Post Office Directory
for 1890-91 showed George Herbert Belbin as a Strahan builder, but merely
listed Herbert Belbin in the Strahan area.
Herbert James and his eldest son, Cecil, worked the bush seeking timber
around the Strahan region for most of their lives; however his wife,
Rose, left for Sydney taking with her their two youngest sons, Basil
and Vero. Herbert James formed a butchery partnership with Thomas Martin,
and two Martin daughters, Agnes Lillian and Flossy May respectively,
married brother Henry William Belbin and the latter's nephew, Cecil
Belbin.
Henry William was a guard on the Zeehan-Strahan rail line until 1929
when he and his family moved to Moonah. The family consisted of seven
children and included a traditional set of Belbin twins. Thomas, who
did not marry, was the sole surviving male child; he spent many of his
younger years working in the bush with his uncle and cousin at Strahan.
He joined the RAAF during WW2 and received instrumentation training
before being sent to Borneo. Henry William's grandchildren now live
in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania William James
is assumed to have become the labourer of Collins St. (February 1875
and May 1877) who married Irishwoman Nora (Honora) Lynch, and died,
13 October 1895 at the recorded age of 54 (57 ?). It has been suggested
that there were at least eight children in their family. James
Belbin, the grandson of James (sen), has not yet been identified
in the Tasmanian marriage or death records.
The Cambridge United Congregational Churchyard (opposite the old airport)
contains the graves of a number of James Belbin (Jun)'s children. The
most obvious are: Fanny Maria Belbin
who departed this life 3 October 1867 aged 32 years.
This was the spinster daughter of James (Jun). Again,
Henry Frederick Belbin, died 30 September
1921 aged 71 years.
Frederick Henry died at his residence, Larose, York St., Bellerive,
but had previously lived at Riverdale, Cambridge. He was the youngest
son and at age 22 married Margaret Susan Joseph (18), 1 July 1871. A
common grave headstone at the Cambridge cemetery identifies five of
the nine children of Henry Frederick and Margaret.
At age 25, Caroline Joseph, a sister of Margaret Susan Joseph, married
Edward Belbin (28) on 27 June 1874. This wedding may have been
a little unusual in that four witnesses, instead of the more usual two,
found it necessary to sign the marriage document. They were James E
Joseph, Jane Joseph, Amelia Joseph, and Alfred Joseph. One may be pardoned
for thinking that the Joseph family wanted to be quite certain that
Caroline was in fact positively and irrevocably married.
After Caroline Belbin (nee Nichols) died in 1854, James Belbin (Jun),
(52) married, on the 27 February 1855, Eliza Williams (34) at Trinity
Church, Hobart. James outlived his second wife who died 26 June 1882
at the age of 61 years.
James Belbin (Jun) (d.July 1884) and his second wife are buried in a
common grave at the Congregational Churchyard at Rokeby. Alongside are
another two common graves, each holding one of James' daughters, (Elizabeth;
Eliza Jane), her husband (James Young; William Young), and one of James
Belbin's grand-children (Arthur Young; Jessie Young). The two sons-in-law
were of course, to themselves, father and son.
Although the marriages of James Belbin (Jun)'s four sisters Elizabeth
(Hanslow), Sarah (Williams), Catherine (Beacroft/ Brown/Collings), Sussanah
(Hansen), are not discussed in detail here, one cannot ignore his half-brother
William who was a product of Belbin (Sen)'s final marriage.
The children from James Belbin's (Sen) marriage to Elizabeth Poulter
were all Tasmanian born, whereas their older half-siblings from the
Belbin-Meredith union were born on Norfolk Island. As in the first marriage,
there were also five surviving children from the final marriage, with
the youngest the only boy, William, about whom most is known. Brief
details of each of the children in the Poulter/Belbin family are:
Maria was born at Hobart 24 November 1814, baptised 26 December
1814 at St. Davids, and married David Garside. Frances was
born at Hobart 1 February 1817, was baptised 4 March 1817, and married
Richard Flemming. Ann was born at Hobart 11 July 1819, was
baptised 9 August 1819, and married William Henry Smith. Jane
Mary was born at Hobart 3 April 1822, and married William Short.
William was the youngest and the most
outstanding of James Belbin's (Sen) many children from his different
associations. Click
Here for a picture. William was born at Hobart, 7 Feb 1825, and
was 21 when he made his first marriage, on 13 August 1846, to Rebecca
Dowdell (22), the daughter of his future business partner. The ten children
from this marriage were:
-
- 1. Rositta Victoria b. May 1847; m. 8 Sept 1856 to Tasman Morrisby;
d. 1928
- 2. William Charles b. April 1849; d. 11 June 1853 aged 4 yrs 2
mths.
- 3. Elizabeth Emily b. 15 Jan 1852; m. 15 Nov 1877 to Joseph Morris
- 4. Anne Rebecca b. July 1854; d. after 1892
- 5. Isabella Maria b. April 1856; d. 24 July 1857
- 6. Frederick William b. c. 1858; m. 28 April 1886
- 7. Ada Alice b. 18 Oct 1862; m. 9 April 1884 to Edwin Rogers.
- 8,9 Twins b. 31 Jan 1866; Constance Isabella d.10 Feb 1866; Arthur
Edwin d. 28 Mar 1866.
- 10. Henry Percival b. 21 July 1870; d. 17 Feb 1871
- Thus five of this group did
not survive childhood, and only four were still living when their
father died in 1892.
Rositta Victoria married a Morrisby and is buried at St. Matthew's,
Rokeby. She had a number of children and twin grandchildren. The surviving
twin, a retired N.S.W. Police Officer, lived in Ryde, NSW, in 1982.
William Charles died of Scarlet Fever at the age of 4 years.
Elizabeth Emily (25) married Joseph Henry James Morris (23),
a clerk, 15 November 1877, in the Manse of the Chalmers Free Church,
Hobart. Witnesses were her sister Rositta and husband Tasman Morrisby.
Anne Rebecca does not seem to have married. Frederick
William married Margaret Jane Peacock in the house of George Peacock
on 28 April 1886. Frederick was classed as a merchant of Hunter St.,
Hobart, when daughters Doris and Madge were born, 21 April 1891 and
19 November 1892 respectively. A son, Frederick Bertram, and another
daughter, Irene Margaret, were born earlier, about 1889 and 1890 respectively.
It seems likely that Frederick had his residence in the IXL jam factory,
which was originally owned by the Peacock family. On 21 November 1890,
there was a disastrous fire on the Old Wharf, which rendered ninety
people homeless. In the aftermath of the fire it was reported that for
the victims, "Miss Peacock and Mrs. Belbin, who lived at the jam
factory, provided a meal". Ada Alice Belbin (21), married
Edwin John Rogers (26), a commission agent, at St. George's Church,
Hobart on 9 April 1884.
Young Henry Percival Belbin died at the age of seven months from
"inflammation of the membrane of the brain".
After his wife Rebecca died in 1888, William Belbin remarried. The new
wife was a widow, Mary Angelina Finigan, with the maiden name of McMahon,
so providing William with a relationship to "Mr McMahon of The
Point, North Sydney".
Michael McMahon of McMahon's Point was an Irishman, born in Limerick
in 1831, who gained notoriety as a flamboyant alderman and Mayor of
the tiny Municipality of Victoria, which occupied the Blues Point area
of North Sydney in the 1880's. McMahon was Mayor of Victoria for several
years between 1884 and 1886 and still occupied that position in 1890
when several municipalities amalgamated to form the North Sydney Council.
McMahon then became one of the alderman of the first North Sydney Council.
According to the 27 March 1886 North Shore Times and Manly Press, McMahon
arrived in Australia aboard Coromandel about 1849/50. He commenced a
very a successful business making brooms and brushes which were sold
from his shop in the City at 410 George St. He had a government contract
for brushware and also specialised in the manufacture of brushes made
from exotic Australian timbers, including Huon Pine. At the Intercolonial
Exhibition in Melbourne in 1867, he took the bronze medal with his brushware
exhibits.
Sometime in the 1870's McMahon became bankrupt, with the blame laid
on the peculation of an employee and a fire that destroyed his premises.
By 1886, he had been a member of the NSW Parliament and was then considered
a speculator in property in the North Sydney area.
Michael McMahon was a fervent Catholic and on one occasion in October
1889, he chartered a steamer, the Jenny Lind, to entertain the clergy
from the Marist Brothers School, the convent, the sisters of St. Joseph
and other institutions in the North Sydney area. He took an active part
in the intensive lobbying of the 1880's to have the harbour bridged
to North Sydney; his enterprise in obtaining an amazing 11,500 signatures
on a petition for a North Shore Bridge may well have been stimulated
by the general belief that, when built, the bridge would come through
McMahon's Point and cause property values to skyrocket. Residents of
the North Shore had to wait another 50 years before the bridge was eventually
available at Milson's Point.
It seems that Michael McMahon and his wife Angelina may have had two
children called Mary Angelina. Presumably the girl born in 1850 died,
allowing the name to be reused for another born in 1851. Mary would
have been 38 when she married William Belbin in 1889.
Although William Belbin married in North Sydney about 1889 when he was
roughly 64 years of age, he continued to live in Hobart where a son,
Francis Aubrey, was born 17 October 1889. In 1862, William's
address was Battery Point, and in 1889 it was given as 5 Battery Square.
In April 1891 he moved to N.S.W. to retire in North Sydney with his
new family. At William's death in 1892, it was noted that only 5 of
his 11 children were alive. One son, the 2-year-old Francis, was then
living in Middle St., North Sydney, while the other, 34-year-old Frederick
William, resided in Hunter St., Hobart. William seems to have had a
varied career, but certainly earned the title of the most distinguished
member of the Belbin family. Although classed as a joiner in 1847, soon
afterwards he became the licensee of the City of London Arms, a pub
in lower Campbell St., directly opposite the City Hall or the old vegetable
markets. The City of London Arms had disappeared from view by about
1867. Sometime between 1847 and 1852, William Belbin swapped licences
with Joseph Oakley and so became the licensee of the Victoria pub, which
is more readily remembered by its 1870's name of the Terminus. The Terminus
was in Lower Collins St. directly opposite Sun St.
The January 1852 birth certificate for daughter Elizabeth Emily notes
that William is a Licensed Victualler of Collins Street. His period
as a publican may have lasted no more than five years, for In 1852 Belbin
became a Timber Dealer with his father-in-law, Charles Dowdell, and
was still classed as such when he was nominated as an executor of the
will of Thomas Hudson who died in 1868. The new Dowdell/Belbin family
partnership may have been a complicated arrangement, as for a short
time William Dowdell, the son of Charles Dowdell, became the licensee
of the Terminus pub. Later on, William Belbin was considered an importer
and ship owner, with at least one ship called Mary Blair.
William Belbin appears to have lived for a time in the Wapping area
of central Hobart, as did several other Belbin families. The family
was living in Collins St. when William (Sen), still a joiner, reported
his father's (James Belbin (Sen)) death in 1847, and was still there
when the first son, young William, died of scarlet fever in 1853. However,
from 1862 onwards, birth certificates for the children give William's
address as Battery Point. The McPhails Directory shows that in 1867,
William's home was in Battery Square, only a short distance from his
New Wharf business at the timber yard. Walch's Tasmanian Almanacs give
further information, stating that in 1865 William was an auditor for
the Hobart Town Municipality. In 1882 and 1877, he is shown as an Alderman
due to retire in 1883, and is also listed as the South Hobart member
of the House of Assembly since 1872. Although he was a City Alderman,
a member of parliament for 19 years, and Mayor of Hobart for 1880, 1883,
and 1884, his NSW death certificate acknowledged him as a "retired
merchant" only.
William had the distinction of having several death notices and obituaries
in the papers of two colonies. Thus: Sydney
Morning Herald - Tues. 28 June 1892.
Belbin -June 26 at his residence, Maude Ville, North Sydney, William
Belbin (Late MHA for Hobart for 19 years), aged 68 years - "Rest
in Peace".
Sydney Morning Herald - Wed 29 June 1892.
Mr William Belbin, a native of Hobart, Tasmania, died on Sunday at
North Sydney, after a Public career of 66 years. For 19 years he was
a member of the House of Assembly in Tasmania, and for three years
he held the position of Mayor of Hobart. Mr Belbin was related to
Mr McMahon of The Point, North Sydney. The remains were forwarded
yesterday by steamer for burial in the family vault, Cornelian Bay,
Hobart.
The Mercury - Tues 28 June 1892.
On Sunday at his late residence North Sydney, William Belbin, formerly
of Hobart aged 67.
Obituary.
News has been received that Mr William Belbin, late of Hobart, died
on Sunday last at Maudeville, North Sydney, and amongst his many old
friends and acquaintances, the news was received with regret. The
deceased has been identified for many years with this port and his
name as a timber merchant and shipowner was well known throughout
Tasmania and the Australian Colonies, including New Zealand. He was
born in 1825 and educated in the late Mr Cowle's school, entered business
with the late Mr Charles Dowdell in 1852, and dissolved partnership
in 1879. For many years he represented South Hobart in the House of
Assembly. He was first elected in September 1871, re-elected in August
1872; June 1877; May 1882; and July 1886, and only retired from active
legislative service at the last election on account of failing health.
He was a Territorial Magistrate, having been appointed in December
1882 and was an alderman of the city from 1867 to 1875, and again
from 1881 to 1886. He filled the Mayoral chair in 1883 and 1884. He
also held the position of member of the Central Board of Health, and
was a trustee of the Hobart Cemetery. As an active business man he
held his own for many years in Hobart, and only recently retired to
Sydney to enjoy a well-earned repose. He was twice married, and was
the father of 11 children, five of whom survive him. His son, Mr F
Belbin, is now in Sydney, and was probably present at his father's
demise. He will be buried on Friday next, at 2 O'clock, from the residence
of his son, Hunter Street, the body being brought to Hobart per S.S.
Oonah.
The Mercury - 1 July 1892
On Sunday June 26 at his late residence North Sydney NSW, William
Belbin formerly of Hobart aged 67. The funeral will leave the residence
of his son, Hunter St., this day Friday at 2.30 p.m.
Today the property Maudeville cannot be found in Middle St.,
North Sydney, and was no doubt demolished many years ago to make way
for some of the flats overlooking Lavender Bay. Few residences now appear
to accept a Middle St. address, and prefer to be known as "Back
of No. ... Blues Point Rd.", or "Back of No ... East Circuit".
Middle St. is less than 250 metres long, but at its lower end it provides
truly spectacular views of the harbour from Gladesville to the Opera
House. From the Sands Directory and the Council Rate Book, it appears
that Maudeville may have been on the corner of Parker and Middle Streets.
James Belbin (Sen) would have been very proud of his son William. The
Belbin saga appears as a "Log Cabin to White House" promotion,
or more realistically, from convict to community Leader in one generation.
One wonders if William occasionally looked out across the water from
his North Sydney home, to the spot where the Salamander, with father
James Belbin aboard as a convict, would have swung at anchor 100 years
earlier.
The various Sands Directories reveal a little more information about
the McMahon and Belbin families. Michael McMahon, J.P., was shown at
his home, McMahon's Point, East Crescent Rd. in the 1892, 1893 and 1894
editions, but ceased to be an alderman of North Sydney Council in 1893,
and had disappeared from the register by 1895. The 1892 Directory showed
William Belbin at Middle St., North Sydney, however a Mrs Belbin was
also listed in Blues Point Rd. between East Crescent Rd. and Parker
St. By 1893, the Middle St. home of William Belbin was listed under
the name of Mrs Belbin, but Mrs Belbin still remained as an addressee
in Blues Point Rd.
By 1894, William Belbin's widow had moved from McMahon's Point and resided
at Point Piper Rd., Woollahra. She was again listed at Point Piper in
1895 before dropping from the records.
Some time after his father's death, Frederick William Belbin moved from
Hobart to Sydney. The 1900 Sands Directory shows him residing at 52
Gordon Crescent, Petersham, while a Mrs L Belbin lived at Park Avenue,
Drummoyne. In 1905, Mrs Belbin was still at her old address in Drummoyne,
but Mr F.W.Belbin now lived at George St., Manly, and filled the position
of Manager for the Federal Val-de-Tavers Asphalte Co. of 16 Jamison
St. F W Belbin was still at George St. in 1910, but by 1914 he had moved
to 68 Raglan St. Manly where he remained until sometime after 1916.
Although he then disappeared from the Sands directory, in 1928 a Mr
F W Belbin was again noted, first in Copeland Rd, Beecroft, and then
from 1929 to 1933, in Lane Cove Rd., Chatswood. In 1914, the address
of the Asphalte Company had changed to Hudson St. Redfern.
The first of the pre-1900 Belbin deaths noted by the NSW Index was that
of the ex-Tasmanian parliamentarian, William Belbin, in 1892. In more
recent times the following deaths occurred in Sydney:
Frederick Bertram Belbin d. 10 Jan 1926 at Beecroft.
Margaret Jane Belbin d. 25 Jan 1948 at Cremorne.
These two were Tasmanians, and mother and son. Frederick Bertram was
born in Hobart with parents Frederick William Belbin and Margaret Peacock,
and was the grandson of parliamentarian William Belbin. He married Brenda
Johnstone in Sydney about 1916, and in 1917 was living at 19 Raglan
St., Manly, only a short distance from his parents' home.
Brenda Johnstone was a direct descendent of Major George Johnstone,
the man who in 1808 led the party to arrest and depose Governor Bligh,
and who for a short time became the acting Lieutenant-Governor of New
South Wales. Thus a descendent of James Belbin, who gained some notoriety
as an ardent supporter of the exiled Governor Bligh, married a descendent
of the person who acted as `front man' in the coup against Bligh.
Margaret Jane, the mother of Frederick Bertram Belbin, was living at
Redleaf, Leura, in the Blue Mountains in 1926, but she was at residing
in Cremorne prior to her death in January 1948. Margaret's NSW death
certificate gave an age of 83 years, while confirming her Tasmanian
origin and her Hobart marriage at "about 22 years".
In 1925/26, Frederick Bertram was living in Malton Rd., Beecroft; when
he died in Beecroft, at the early age of 37, he left a family of:
- Doris b. 1918
- Noel b. 1921
- Phillip b. 1925
According to the Northern Herald, 12 October 1989, which is published
for the northern part of Sydney, Phillip Belbin had standing in Sydney
as an artist, but was also internationally acclaimed as an illustrator.
Phillip was a railway enthusiast and, with David Burke, was co-author
of two books, Changing Trains and Full Steam across the Mountains.
One of the most recent Belbin deaths noted in N.S.W. was that of
Francis Aubrey Belbin, the youngest son of William the politician,
who spent the first few years of his life in Hobart before moving to
McMahon's Pt., North Sydney. His death certificate reveals that his
mother was Angelina McMahon, and that he married Ethel May Hannah at
Ryde about 1923 when the bridegroom was 33 years of age. There were
no children.
At the age of 21, on 23 November 1915, Francis enlisted in the A.I.F.
He served the 2nd. Machine Gun Squad, but was discharged on 21 November
1916. After his marriage, he was shown in the 1925 Sands Directory as
living at North Sydney. When he died at the Repatriation Hospital, Concord,
N.S.W., at the age of 72 years, 31 January 1961, Francis' home was at
Bondi Beach. The following notice appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald
of 2 February 1961. The relatives and friends of the
late Francis Aubrey Belbin of 19 Francis St., Bondi Beach, are invited
to attend his funeral, to leave St. Michael's Church, High St., Meadowbank,
this day Thursday, on conclusion of prayers commencing at 11.30 am.
for the Field of Mars Catholic Cemetery. Requiem Mass 6.45 am.
The Field of Mars Cemetery is in Ryde, across the Parramatta River,
barely 4 Kms. from Concord Hospital. Meadowbank is the first suburb
over the River on the way North to the Cemetery; Bondi Beach is some
25 Kms. and a thirty five minute drive from Concord to the Eastern Suburbs.
One can not help comparing the funeral arrangements for William Belbin's
elaborate protestant burial, which required the remains to be transported
by sea from North Sydney to Tasmania, and the seeming simple Catholic
burial arrangements for his youngest son Francis Aubrey Belbin.
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