Dec. 27, 1912

Repertory play on tonight~."Man and

Superman". Annie and Jim went

to see it and were delighted.

Dec. 26, 1912

Mena away for the day. Tired from

yesterdays climb. Mr. Massey asked

me to go to the beach with him in

afternoon but I was too tired. Mr. Massey

Jim Annie and I were invited to

Mr. Butters for evening. Miss Kist visiting 

them Mr. Massey in to dinner.

Dec. 25, 1912

Christmas Day. Mr. Massey had

breakfast with us. We all went up

to The Springs for dinner. Stopped

first at the Ferntree Hotel and walked

up to the Bower. Then finished our 

drive to the Spring's. After dinner Mr.

 Massey rode back to town and Jim 

and I climbed to the top of Mount Wellington.

It was a beautiful day 

and the view was very fine. Got back

to the Hotel in time for afternoon tea.

It was very hot all day but the drive 

back to Hobart in the cool of evening 

was very delightful. Got tea and 

kept house in evening while Annie

and Jim went up to Mr. George Murdocks.

Was dreadfully tired but would not 

have missed the day for anything.

...on the way to The Springs, Christmas Day 1912..

Fern Tree was the gateway to Mount Wellington.  Wellington Park 

and the surrounding area, which included

 FernTree Hotel and The Springs Hotel can be found using this link.

Christmas Dinner 1912 at The Springs Hotel

My grandparents and great aunt had dinner on Christmas Day 1912 at this hotel outside of Hobart, Tasmania.  My great aunt and grandfather followed dinner with a hike to the top of Mount Wellington.  The hotel was destroyed by brush fires in 1967.

Dec 22, 1912

Annie and Jim went to church

and in afternoon walked to Cascades.  **

(**This is just a guess.....)

Dec. 13, 1912

Mr. and Mrs. Murray, Mr. Massey, Catherine

and I went to Broadmarsh for the day.

Left Hobart at eight A.M. Jim came

as far as Brighton with us on his way 

to West Coast. Went from Brighton to

Broadmarsh by coach. Long drive and 

mostly up hill but enjoyed it very

much. Had dinner at Mrs. Baileys.

Washed dishes afterwards then all

went for a walk. Got back to

Hobart about six P.M. The day was

extremely hot but we had a delightful

change. Mr. Massey took tea with

us.

Dec. 8, 1912

Went to church in morning. Mr. Massey

and Mrs. Murray to dinner and after-

noon tea. Mr. Massey and I walked into

town with Mrs. Murray and went for

long walk afterwards. Mrs. Massey came

back to supper.

Dec. 6, 1912

Mr. Massey took Mrs. Murray and

me to see pictures. Mr. Murray and

Jim out of town.

Dec. 1, 1912

Kept baby while Annie and Jim

went to church. Walked to water

works with Jim in afternoon.

Nov. 29, 1912

Now that we have a maid we have

a chance to look around and enjoy

the beauties of the place. Hobart is

a beautiful city with a fine harbour

in front of it and a glorious mount-

ain behind it. Everywhere one

catches fascinating glimpses of 

hills and water - And such flowers.

When we arrived every garden was

a mass of blooms. Geraniums, fuchsias,

species of palms, etc grow out of doors and

hardy vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower,

beans grow all during the winter. We

found the summer colder than we

expected. The people are devoted to

sports of all kinds, horse-racing, yachting,

rowing, swimming, tennis, golf

etc. Tasmania is the play ground

of Australia. Tourists swarm here in 

summer to escape the heat of the

mainland. This is a great country

for fruit - apples, pears, peaches,

apricots and all small fruits.

Its hard to get used to the seasons

being topsy-turvy, to having cold winds

 blow from the South and hot ones from

the North. Also to seeing the "Southern

Cross" instead of "The Dipper" and

the North Star.

Nov. 28, 1912

Had more callers today. In the even-

ing Annie and I were invited up

to Mrs. Murdocks. We took our sewing

along. Mrs. Will Fisher was in. Mr.

Massey called for us and took us 

home. Mrs. Murdock served us

dainty lunch.

Nov. 27, 1912

Not much housework today. Mena

does all right. We are having

callers everyday. People are very kind

and thoughtful. Put fresh flowers

all round the rooms this morning.

Never knew what it was to have as

many flowers as I wanted to work

with but have now. I never saw such

flowers as we have in Hobart. Everybody

that has a house has a garden.

Nov. 26, 1912

The girls trunk has come and we

feel so glad. Got her room ready

this morning. Had three callers to-

day. Mrs. Murdock, Mis Rex and

Mrs. admas. Enjoyed them all.

Mrs. W. J. J. Reynolds has been in

several times. Mena arrived

 this evening and we could have

embraced her. She is small but

neat looking and smart about her

work. Hope she likes us.

Nov. 25, 1912

Housework again today.

Nov. 24, 1912

Annie and Jim went out to church

this mroning. I got dinner. In

the afternoon went for a walk

with Jim.

Nov. 23, 1912

Mena Harris the girl Jim went to 

see came in today and has agreed

 to come to us on Tuesday.

Nov. 22, 1912

Had a washwoman in today and

spent most of the day waiting on

her and carrying tea. Heard of

a maid this afternoon only hope

we get her. Jim and I went up

to Mrs. Tim Murdocks in the evening.

Met Mrs. Will Fisher and Mr. Jack.

Captain Kell and Mr. Murdock.

Jim and Mr. Murdock went to

see about the maid we want while

I sat and talked to the rest. Had

lunch and got home about ten.

Nov. 18, 1912

Did housework most of the day

which will be all I have to write

for a week.

Nov. 17, 1912

Sunday morning but no one even

thought of going to church. With

the children there is no time left

when the house work is done. Mr.

Massey has a room with us and

we certainly enjoy having him.

He takes his meals at the hotel.

Went for a walk with Jim in the

afternoon.

Nov. 16, 1912

Have not done any work for three

months and I certainly feel

clumsy about housework.  Have a

gas stove but hope we will be

fortunate enough to find a maid.

Went uptown with Jim this morning

and did some ordering. The child-

ren are both well and enjoying 

the home. Went to bed tired.

Final Leg of the Journey......

...so here is a map to date, showing the

last ten days or so of their

transit to Hobart, Tasmania.....

recap to follow.

However, this is only the beginning
of the adventure!!!

Nov. 15, 1912

Had breakfast on the Maunganui.

Mr. Massey came down to the wharf.

Catherine went for a little walk

with him before breakfast. Got

a cab and drove out home. Hobart

certainly looked mighty pretty

and we were so glad to bet on

land again. Jim had taken a

house ready furnished. The garden

was a mass of flowers the morning

we arrive and the place certainly

looked well. Jim and Mr. Massey

took dinner uptown. We had dinner

here. Mr. Massey had tea with us.

a foreshadowing.....

Enter the newest character in the story: Mr. Massey.

The tale will definitely get more interesting!!!!

Nov. 14, 1912

A very pleasant quiet day spent

on deck. Had a nap in the after-

noon. Mr. Guthrie a minister

from Vermont had traveled with

us all the way from England going

to his home in Dunedin New Zealand.

He crossed with us on the Maunganui.

Got into Hobart sometime through

the night but did not go on shore

until the morning. Had a pleasant

calm trip.

Nov. 13, 1912

Got up tired this morning. Finished

packing, had breakfast and then

said good bye to the people we

knew. It was such a bustle getting

away from the boat. Drove up to

Melbourne town and while Jim

and Annie went out to see the

town I stayed with the children

and rested up a bit. Had dinner

at the hotel and then went to the

wharf and took passage on the 

Maunganui for Hobart. We were

delighted with the boat. It was new

clean and up to date in every way.

Nov. 12, 1912

Have been busy this morning getting

our suitcases and cabin trunks packed

as we reach Melbourne sometime

tonight. It hardly seems possible

that we have been six weeks on

the water. Have had such a jolly

time. Talked to Mr. Connel for a 

long time this afternoon. Sat out on

deck for a while. Wore my blue

linen suit to dinner. The Captain

said we would not reach Melbourne

until eleven but we decided to sit up.

Annie played bridge and I talked 

to Mr. Connel. We went for a walk

and he showed me his fiancee's

picture. She is such a pretty girl

and he seems so proud of her.

Went out on deck about ten thirty

and watch the lights of Melbourne.

They were so pretty from the water.

Everybody was in gay spirits because

they were nearing home. Jim came
down to the boat but it was about
midnight so we did not land as
the children were both asleep. Talked
for a while in the music room
and Jim went back to the hotel.

Nov. 11, 1912

A lovely bright morning and we

are still at Adelaide. Had a long
 letter from Jim. He will meet us

at Melbourne if possible. After

baby went to sleep Mrs. Reid, Annie

and I went for another walk. Got

some tea at a tea room but it cer-

tainly was rank stuff. Sat on deck

and talked to Mr. Smith and Mr.

Connel until lunch time. The

boat left Port Adelaide while

we were at lunch. We have lost

two days since we left Port Said

so will not get into Melbourne

until Wednesday instead of Monday

as we had hoped. It has been

very rough this afternoon. At

three I took baby to the cabin and 

we both had a nap. Got 

up in time for afternoon tea. Read

to the children for a while, went

for a walk. Gave Catherine a

bath and felt so shaky by the 

time I got ready for dinner

that I was glad to get up on

deck. Had such a good time

at dinner. Afterwards in the 

music room Mrs. Maclean Annie

Mrs. Reid and someone else played

brid(g)e and Mr. Connel and I sat

and looked on.

Nov. 10, 1912

A beautiful bright morning. Got

up on deck just as we were getting 

to the wharf at Port Adelaide. Its

a bleak looking place. Will not be

 able to leave here until some time

Monday as they cannot get men to

load coal. After we got the baby to

sleep, Annie, Mrs. Reid, Jean, Catherine

and I went for a long walk. The

sun was lovely and bright but the

wind was cold. We were glad to get

back to the boat. Sat in the music

room and read or talked in the

afternoon. Quite a crowd we knew

went to Adelaide but it being Sun-

day everything was closed up and

they came back cold tired and

hungry.

Nov. 9, 1912

Beautifully fine after the storm.

Had a walk on deck and sat out

all morning. Read to Jean and

Catherine in the afternoon and had

a nap. After dinner Mrs. Maclean

Mrs. Reid Miss Howatson Mrs Gardiner

Annie Mr. Connel and I held one

corner of the music room. Read

talked or sat quiet just as we felt

like doing. Went to bed about eleven.

The Australian Bight....

                           ....southern coastline of Australia, their route from Perth to Adelaide.......

keeping me on schedule......

I came home late this afternoon, having made a stop at the office of my internet provider during the day, only to find I needed to re-establish my account.  Oh my.  So I start through the octopus - windows actually - and get stuck.  I call customer service.  This very nice customer service rep turns it into a very simple process but wants to confirm that I can actually surf the web before we disconnect. I tell him I will navigate to my blog.  "oh, you have a blog?"
"yes, my great aunt's journey to Tasmania in 1912"
" my wife's family is from Australia...the capital.....uh"
"you mean Canberra?"
"yes, that's it!"
Wife, maybe you will find this little bit of someone else's family history - in the same country as your own - interesting.  Cheers to your husband!  He was most helpful!!!!

Nov. 8, 1912

Had our trunks taken up today

and got our packing done as this

is the last chance we will have before

reaching Melbourne. Last night

after we went to bed such a terric

storm sprang up. The waves washed

over the top deck and the boat

rocked so we could hardly stay in 

our berths. It was the first time we 

had it rough enough to waken us

I certainly thought our old boat was

going to turn over. The main deck

was flooded.

Nov. 7, 1912

Got into the Australian Bight

this morning. Its very rough and 

much cooler. Annie feeling very

lazy and we miss our table com-

panions. Had a nap in the

afternoon and then kept the

baby while Annie took Catherine

to the barber shop and had her

hair cut. Wore a blue silk at dinner

and enjoyed Mr. Connel so much.

After dinner Mrs. Reid, Mr. C and

I sat in the music room and talked.

Nov. 6, 1912

Have change our seats at table.

I sit by Mr. Connel and Mrs Smith

moved down by Mrs. Reid. Kept our

crowd together and let the strangers

have the other seats. Mr. Connel is

very pleasant and lots of fun. I just

fool the whole time we are at table.

The water is very rough since we

left Fremantle and its much

colder. Have stayed in the music

room reading most of the day.

Nov. 5, 1912

Got up tired this morning. Dressed

to go on shore before breakfast.

Got to Fremantle at noon. Had

planned to go to Perth by river

boat but she was not be found.

Went by rail instead and it 

was so frightfully hot in the

 train that we all lost our tempers.

Went to the "Rose Tearoom" and

had tea, scones, cake and ice

cream but we were too hot to enjoy

it. Got cooled off later on and did

a little shopping and saw some

of the town. Took the ten to six

train back to Fremantle. It was

nice and cool coming back and we

got to the boat in time for dinner.

Went to the music room and talked 

to Mrs. Maclean for a while then

Mrs. Reid and I went out on deck.

Mr. Caris came back to the boat

with Mr. Connel. Went for 

a walk around the deck with Mr.

Caris and said good bye. Enjoyed

knowing him so much and he was

such a pleasant traveling com-

panion. After Mr. Caris left Mr.

Smith, Mrs. Reid, Mr. Connel and

I stayed on deck for an hour.

Nov. 4, 1912

This morning is lovely and fine

but the sea is rough! Had my trunk

up this morning. Spent part of the

morning on the top deck with Mr.

Caris. Read in the afternoon and

had a nap. Wore my black dress at

dinner. Mr. Caris came to dinner

wearing my scarlet tie. There was

a dance on deck later on. Mr. Caris

came down for me shortly before

refreshments were served. Later on

on we had lemon squash in the

dining room. Will miss our Perth

friends very much when they leave

us tomorrow.

Nov. 3, 1912

Went to service this morning and

enjoyed it very much. The stewards

did the singing and seemed to

enjoy it. It is bright and pleasant

and we have enjoyed sitting on on

deck. In the evening we went into

the music room and Mrs. Walter

sang all the songs and hymns we

asked for. Went out afterwards to have

a look at the "Southern Cross" but it

was hidden by the clouds.