Innehållsförteckning för Edition 33, 2025 från Traces

Hello and welcome to Edition 33 of Traces! In reflecting on the year that draws to a close, the team and I realised that December 2025 marks eight years since the first edition of Traces was launched! In that time, we’ve since seen some landmark historical developments and discoveries that have changed the way Australia’s past is viewed. From the discovery of ancient pottery and fossil remains, to new insights into convict lives and shipwreck sites, each discovery has reminded us that the past is not fixed – it continues to unfold, surprise and reshape us. As always, this edition celebrates that ongoing process of discovery, whether through groundbreaking research or uncovering the small details of family history. Dive in on page 8, where Stuart Scott reveals the life story…

One morning, after several sleepless nights in lice‑ and flea-infested bedding, the order came that the newcomers were to form a large half-circle in the open prison yard, enclosed by the high stone walls of the Hobart Convict Penitentiary. Presently, a portly and balding gentleman of about 50 years of age stepped out in front of his audience. His full-dress costume marked him as a ranking figure: a Royal Naval uniform of white trousers and a dark blue tunic with gold epaulets, topped by a cocked hat with feather plumes. At first, his message was stern and accusatory: ‘You have been sent here by the laws of your country as bad men, dangerous to the peace of society and to the security of property. You have been sent here for…

In August 1830, Gilbert Mort Smith, a former sergeant of the 48th Regiment of Foot, lay dying in the Parramatta home of Mary and Robert Armstrong. Gilbert had served in the Spanish Peninsular War and resigned from the army in Sydney after serving out his seven years. Gilbert’s life had been ebbing away for 15 months from arsenic that had poisoned the soup served in his own pub, The Globe Tavern. Rumours swirled that the poisoning was murder, not accident, but what Gilbert felt on his deathbed was the agony of not knowing the future fate of his five-year-old son, the only family member to survive him. PORT MACQUARIE BOUND Gilbert had married a stoic woman, Sarah Hunter, in 1811 near Manchester, England. Within a year of arriving in Sydney…

Answer: A witch ball This intriguing glass witch ball with a stand was created between 1850 and 1870, and once had both decorative and superstitious functions. A witch ball is a hollow glass sphere, sometimes brightly coloured, that was traditionally hung in the window of a home, where it would protect the occupants from evil spirits or curses. They have also been found in the walls of old Australian houses, sometimes alongside other protective talismans like shoes and bones. The idea was that a witch’s reflection (or spell) would be captured inside the ball, where it could do no harm. In the 1930s, witch balls enjoyed commercial popularity as items of decor that could bring quaint Victorian charm to one’s home.…

Spend time ‘world building’: learn as much about your subject’s time and place as possible. Be alert to small details that can lead to important discoveries. In Townsend’s case, a single comment by Thomas Mitchell that Townsend was ‘bred in a surveyor’s office in England’ was an important clue to the identity of his family. When reading official correspondence, always check for marginal notes. The letters sent to and received from Townsend, as well as being entertaining, shed important light on what was happening behind the scenes. Reach out to local historical societies in search of information. Local historians are often brilliant scholars who have knowledge of little‑known source material that can be invaluable. Think laterally. Generate hypotheses about a subject – even some wild ones – and set out…

The gold rushes that occurred across the globe over the course of the 19th century played a significant role in shaping the modern world. The Victorian Goldfields is recognised as being at the heart of this transformational period of history. Considered by experts to be the most extensive, coherent, and best-surviving 19th-century gold rush landscape anywhere in the world, the Victorian Goldfields encompasses Central and Eastern Victoria. More than 35 years ago, local communities came together to pursue recognition of this important story. The Victorian Goldfields World Heritage bid is a partnership led by Heritage Victoria, 15 local governments, DJAARA (Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation) and other participating Registered Aboriginal Parties and Traditional Owner groups, with former Victorian Premiers the Hon. John Brumby AO and the Hon. Dr Denis…

Subscribe before 31 December 2025 andgo into the draw to win ahistory‑themed book pack! See below for full termsand conditions. a 10-book prize pack! Traces Subscription Prize Draw – Terms & Conditions 1. Eligibility: Open to Australian residents aged 16 years and over. Employees of Traces and their immediate families are not eligible to enter. 2. How to Enter: Subscribe to Traces before 11:59 PM AEDT on 31 December 2025 to automatically enter the draw. Only one entry per person is permitted. 3. Prize: One history book pack will be awarded, comprising 10 books. The prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash. 4. Winner Selection & Notification: The winner will be chosen at random on 23 January 2026 and notified via email within 5 business days. The prize will be sent to…

I foundmy grandfather, Frank Herbert Stacey, on a passenger list setting sail for Canada on the SS Canada from Liverpool, dated 18 May 1912. His destination was Toronto. He had seen many newspaper articles advertising that Canada was in need of farmers and domestic help, so he seized the opportunity to make a better life for himself. I next found him on the 1911 census working at Bowshaw farm in Derbyshire, then, using his middle name shortened as ‘Bert Stacey’, working as a cowman’s assistant. When World War I broke out in 1914, it was only a matter of time before he enlisted, and in December 1915, he signed on the dotted line to serve and fight for king and country in the Canadian 123rd Royal Grenadiers. Library and Archives…

First published in 1921, Strathalbyn Cookery Book combined the domestic expertise of Myra Bateman Edgar with the charitable aims of the Braille and Advancement Society for the Blind. What began as one woman’s lifelong recipe collection became a remarkable fundraising success, and an enduring piece of Western Australia’s social and culinary history. While exploring the history of Strathalbyn Cookery Book, two interesting stories came to light. The first one begins with Myra Bateman, who was born in Fremantle on 22 August 1861. She was part of a wealthy merchant family and grew up in the port town. Over time, she learnt how to bake and make preserves, and began collecting recipes. At age 28, Myra married station manager Alexander (Alex) Edgar in Fremantle. Shortly after their wedding, Myra joined him…

Christopher Morgan moved into Abercrombie House with his family (his parents and two siblings) when he was six years old. Today, he shares the house with his wife, Xanthe, and their two adult children, Julia and Henry. But Abercrombie House is more than the Morgans’ family home – it is also a beloved heritage treasure of the Bathurst region that is open to the public all year round. The estate was established on the western edge of the Bathurst Plains in March 1827 by Lieutenant Colonel William Stewart, Lieutenantt Governor of New South Wales. By 1832, his family had joined him from Caithness, in the Scottish Highlands, and by the 1850s, the estate comprised an impressive 15,000 acres ‘The prosperity of the gold rush and the wool boom led to…

In late 1871, six newly appointed junior officers of HMS Blanche made their way along George Street, Sydney, stopping at the photography studios of John Yates, the Freeman Brothers, and Mr and Mrs Oswald Allen to sit for their portraits. They wore crisp uniforms, their poses demure and hopeful. The photographs – albumen carte de visites, like the Instagram of the Victorian era – were designed to be exchanged among friends or sent home to loved ones abroad. After all, a midshipman might be stationed in Australia or the Pacific for five years before coming home. Sadly, not all of these new junior officers would see the end of the voyage. Lieutenant Thomas Smith, one of the six, died within a year and was buried on a distant island after…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries across the globe, and genealogy is no exception. The technology is being used to speed up the process of digitising and indexing historical records, and is providing new ways for people to connect with their heritage. Traces spoke with Hunter Cannon, Family History Expert at Ancestry, to learn how cutting‑edge AI tools are reshaping the search for ancestors, making information more accessible, and helping families preserve their stories for generations to come. Traces (T): AI is reshaping so many industries, including genealogy. Can you share some examples of how it’s making family history research faster or easier for people? Hunter Cannon (HC): First and foremost, it has increased our ability to index and extract information from historical records. A great example of this was…