Reading other blogs, it seems to me that much of the process of blogging is "thinking out loud". Forgive me then if that is what I do. Hopefully it will help keep me on track & focused on this project.
What got me started on this? I'm in the fortunate position that I don't need to work for a living. I describe myself as a "gentleman historian". In reading Australian history I found that 100 years ago the term gentleman was used to describe what we now call "self funded retiree". People, well ok... men, over a period of years would go from listing their occupation as farmer, shopkeeper etc to gentleman, meaning that they now had sufficient funds to not have to work any more.
I kind of liked the sound of that. Having quit full time work at an age too early to want to refer to myself as "retired" I'm always a little hesitant when people ask me what I do. "Self funded retiree" always makes me think of folk who write grumpy letters to the paper starting "As a self funded retiree....", going on to complain about being the most neglected group in society in some regard and I didn't want to be associated with that.
Gentleman sounded a little more cheerful and optomistic, as well as pretty smooth. A bit wanky I know but I I can be a bit of a wanker at times. Gentleman historian seemed to reflect how I was spending increasing amounts of my time.
However, the down side of being a gentleman is a lack of focus. I'm not looking for sympathy and know I won't get it but not working isn't all its cracked up to be. It's been said that the key to happiness is someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to. I am fortunate to very much have the first in my wife and family. I made an effort to find the second as much as possible but the third was eluding me until I read Edward's diary and was struck with the notion of recreating his trip. It gave me both something to do and something to look forward to. I am happier as a result.
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Edward in a Nutshell
It has occurred to me that I probably need to tell something of Edward's life story because I am going to be referring frequently to various parts of it and while I know it well, others obviously don't.
I figure that the easiest way to do this is via his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography which can be found at adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ogilvie-edward-david-stewart-777
Now remember, I'm a blogging neophyte and my internet skills leave much to be desired so if this link doesn't work, just search for Edward David Stewart Ogilvie in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Biography is pretty dry but sums up all the important dates and events in his life. To me perhaps the most interesting personal events in his life concern the deaths of both Edward and his wife Theodosia.
His trip back to England in 1854 seems in part to be to find a suitable wife. In this he was staggeringly successful because Theodosia was very beautiful and over 20 years his junior. Back at Yulgilbar she then bore Edward 11 children over the next 2 decades. However, life just over a century ago was hard. Giving birth to her last child, Theodosia's hip was broken! The baby died shortly thereafter and Theodosia's health was never the same again. She lived for another 9 years but was never able to walk again.
In Edward's case, tough old bushman that he was, he died after being thrown from a horse that bolted when spooked by a train. If you've ever ridden a horse, you will know that doing so at 81 years of age is no mean feat.
What's that saying about dying an interesting death? They both had that.
I figure that the easiest way to do this is via his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography which can be found at adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ogilvie-edward-david-stewart-777
Now remember, I'm a blogging neophyte and my internet skills leave much to be desired so if this link doesn't work, just search for Edward David Stewart Ogilvie in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Biography is pretty dry but sums up all the important dates and events in his life. To me perhaps the most interesting personal events in his life concern the deaths of both Edward and his wife Theodosia.
His trip back to England in 1854 seems in part to be to find a suitable wife. In this he was staggeringly successful because Theodosia was very beautiful and over 20 years his junior. Back at Yulgilbar she then bore Edward 11 children over the next 2 decades. However, life just over a century ago was hard. Giving birth to her last child, Theodosia's hip was broken! The baby died shortly thereafter and Theodosia's health was never the same again. She lived for another 9 years but was never able to walk again.
In Edward's case, tough old bushman that he was, he died after being thrown from a horse that bolted when spooked by a train. If you've ever ridden a horse, you will know that doing so at 81 years of age is no mean feat.
What's that saying about dying an interesting death? They both had that.
Edward & Me
A very human emotion is to understand where we come from, what made us. Clearly people from all times and races have thought much about their ancestors. I often think that one of the hardest things about being adopted would be a lack of even the most basic knowledge of such things. Knowing something of your past is evidenced by the universal fascination with family history, both your own and other peoples so I don't think I'm an orphan in wondering about my ancestors' actions, thoughts and emotions.
I feel fortunate that Edward's life is quite extensively documented in both his Diary and Squatter's Castle. Reading those works I constantly put myself in his place and wonder how I would have reacted to the world he lived in. I feel an empathy with him that I don't feel with other historical figures. I feel that I'm part of him and he is part of me.
Ego-centric I know because Edward by now has a vast number of descendants, all perhaps very different people but are we. Is there something that connects us all through Edward?
For example Edward was a member of the NSW colonial parliament and clearly a man who wished to see his views hold sway in society. He was dynastic in the way he built his "castle" and then attempted through his will to see it and it's associated "estate", passed on via a form of primogeniture to descendants who continued the name of Ogilvie even through a maternal line. I suspect Edward would be vastly proud of the fact that his descendants include a Deputy Prime Minister, a Supreme Court Judge and other movers and shakers such as politicians and social leaders. So is that for instance a trait that Edward has passed on?
While that is not a characteristic I possess strongly enough to see me in that sort of position, I think that what I do share with Edward is a curiosity about the world that makes me constantly day dream about seeing parts other than home. However, like Edward I'm torn between wanting to see the world but with a love of the familiar and home. Listen to his thoughts as he turns to view his home from the last vantage point as he commences his journey;
I turned away with a sad heart, for although this voyage to Europe had for years been the dearest object of my wishes, and constant theme of my day-dreams ; yet, now that the long-wished-for moment had arrived, I felt reluctant to leave a spot associated with so many remembrances of
successful enterprise and requited toil, endeared too by crowding recollections of joy
and sadness, happiness and sorrow,
I couldn't describe better the emotion I feel every time I set out on a journey from home.
I feel fortunate that Edward's life is quite extensively documented in both his Diary and Squatter's Castle. Reading those works I constantly put myself in his place and wonder how I would have reacted to the world he lived in. I feel an empathy with him that I don't feel with other historical figures. I feel that I'm part of him and he is part of me.
Ego-centric I know because Edward by now has a vast number of descendants, all perhaps very different people but are we. Is there something that connects us all through Edward?
For example Edward was a member of the NSW colonial parliament and clearly a man who wished to see his views hold sway in society. He was dynastic in the way he built his "castle" and then attempted through his will to see it and it's associated "estate", passed on via a form of primogeniture to descendants who continued the name of Ogilvie even through a maternal line. I suspect Edward would be vastly proud of the fact that his descendants include a Deputy Prime Minister, a Supreme Court Judge and other movers and shakers such as politicians and social leaders. So is that for instance a trait that Edward has passed on?
While that is not a characteristic I possess strongly enough to see me in that sort of position, I think that what I do share with Edward is a curiosity about the world that makes me constantly day dream about seeing parts other than home. However, like Edward I'm torn between wanting to see the world but with a love of the familiar and home. Listen to his thoughts as he turns to view his home from the last vantage point as he commences his journey;
I turned away with a sad heart, for although this voyage to Europe had for years been the dearest object of my wishes, and constant theme of my day-dreams ; yet, now that the long-wished-for moment had arrived, I felt reluctant to leave a spot associated with so many remembrances of
successful enterprise and requited toil, endeared too by crowding recollections of joy
and sadness, happiness and sorrow,
I couldn't describe better the emotion I feel every time I set out on a journey from home.
Stepping into the Unknown
In 1854, having made his fortune as a squatter from his station Yulgilbar on the upper Clarence in NSW, my great, great grandfather Edward David Stewart Ogilvie, set out to travel back to England. His life story has been ably documented in the book Squatters Castle by George Farwell so I don't intend repeating all of that here but on completing his journey, he vanity published the diary of his travels. In his own words he did so because;
Before leaving my distant home at the Antipodes, many kind friends expressed a wish that I should commit to writing, for their amusement, my impressions of the various scenes and wonders I was about to visit in the course of a pilgrimage which was to lead me over many of the most interesting portions of the Old World.
The following "Diary" has been the result, and, as too frequently happens in like cases, my views having become more ambitious as my task proceeded, I have yielded to the prevalent inclination to print, and now add my Book of Travels to the legion of works of a like character which encumber the shelves of every Book- seller from Bond Street to Paternoster Row.
Whether in this I have acted with wisdom or otherwise, the event will determine ; but should the "Diary" find readers among the public, I trust that the above remarks may be deemed a sufficient excuse, where feelings, or incidents, have been recorded, or dwelt upon, which can possess little
interest for any but the personal friends
of
THE AUTHOR.
I don't know if Edward did find many readers amongst the public but when I went on an internet search of antiquarian book sellers to see if I could find a copy of his "Diary" I couldn't find any. However, thanks again to the wonders of the internet, I did discover that you could access the first volume online and purchase copies of modern prints of both, courtesy of those publishers who reproduce out of copyright works. By this path I was able to read my ancestors words.
Until I did so, I hadn't realised that Edward had been to Albany in Western Australia, my own home for the last three decades. Reading his description of this place, at that time commonly known as King Georges Sound, was so fascinating that the idea came to me that I should follow his tracks, comparing the places he visited then with now.
Perhaps if Edward were alive today, he would have resorted to "the legion of works of a like character" that now appear as blogs so that is the option I chose to document my journey, hopefully for the amusement of my own kind friends.
This then is the opening post in what I hope turns into an adventure for me and a tribute to a remarkable man.
Before leaving my distant home at the Antipodes, many kind friends expressed a wish that I should commit to writing, for their amusement, my impressions of the various scenes and wonders I was about to visit in the course of a pilgrimage which was to lead me over many of the most interesting portions of the Old World.
The following "Diary" has been the result, and, as too frequently happens in like cases, my views having become more ambitious as my task proceeded, I have yielded to the prevalent inclination to print, and now add my Book of Travels to the legion of works of a like character which encumber the shelves of every Book- seller from Bond Street to Paternoster Row.
Whether in this I have acted with wisdom or otherwise, the event will determine ; but should the "Diary" find readers among the public, I trust that the above remarks may be deemed a sufficient excuse, where feelings, or incidents, have been recorded, or dwelt upon, which can possess little
interest for any but the personal friends
of
THE AUTHOR.
 |
| Perhaps the best known image of Edward is this portrait he commissioned from Tom Roberts, forty years after his trip. |
I don't know if Edward did find many readers amongst the public but when I went on an internet search of antiquarian book sellers to see if I could find a copy of his "Diary" I couldn't find any. However, thanks again to the wonders of the internet, I did discover that you could access the first volume online and purchase copies of modern prints of both, courtesy of those publishers who reproduce out of copyright works. By this path I was able to read my ancestors words.
Until I did so, I hadn't realised that Edward had been to Albany in Western Australia, my own home for the last three decades. Reading his description of this place, at that time commonly known as King Georges Sound, was so fascinating that the idea came to me that I should follow his tracks, comparing the places he visited then with now.
Perhaps if Edward were alive today, he would have resorted to "the legion of works of a like character" that now appear as blogs so that is the option I chose to document my journey, hopefully for the amusement of my own kind friends.
This then is the opening post in what I hope turns into an adventure for me and a tribute to a remarkable man.
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