May 29, 1913

Sewed in morning. Called on Mrs.

Bird and Mrs. Grant in afternoon.

Went into town and changed our

books. Read all evening.

May 28, 1913

Our day home. Sewed most of the 

day. Miss Parker called in evening to

see about Hockey. Went to teachers

class at 7.10. Stayed for prayer -

meeting afterwards.

May 27, 1913

Did housework in morning while
Mena ironed. Cold and damp did
not go out in afternoon. Kept house
in evening while Annie and Jim
went up to Mr. Frank Reynolds for a
game of bridge.

May 26, 1913

Got up and got breakfast and did

housework all morning while Mena washed.

Called at Mrs. Abbots in the after-

noon. It was her day at home and

we met quite a few people we knew.

Went into town later on and did

some shopping. Walked home in a

shower of rain but enjoyed it. Talked

to Mrs. Piesse a while. Annie read aloud

in evening. ("NAPOLEON:The Last Phase")

At eight o'clock Jim and I went for a
three mile walk. Its lovely and fine but
rather damp and cool.*

* Remembering Tasmania is in the Southern Hemisphere, average May high temperature would be around 58 degrees F; low would be around 44 degrees F.  May 26 would be a fall day...

May 25, 1913

Went for a long walk with Jim this

morning. Went to the top of Mt. Nelson * 2300

ft. It was very warm but I enjoyed the

walk. The view was simply glorious. Got

such beautiful dark red heath. Home in

time for dinner. Taught class in S.S. in

afternoon. Took baby out in her pram later

on. Mena out. Got supper and washed

 dishes. Jim and Annie at church.

Mr. Massey has been up country for a week

and miss him out of the house very much.

* TripAdvisor has some nice photos that have been posted by travelers....

May 24, 1913

Cleaned morning room. Put in fresh flowers.

Made nut bread* in forenoon.  Took bath

and played Hockey in P.M. Two Miss

Simmonds lately out from England joined 

the club today and are very good players.

Put baby to bed before supper as Mr. and 

Mrs. Geo. Murray were invited  in to tea.

Had a pleasant evening. Mr. and Mrs.

 Murray Annie and Jim had a game

of bridge. Mrs. Murray returns to England

about the middle of June.

* the family nut bread tradition lived on - my older brother remembers that Annie made 

wonderful Banana Nut Bread. She was an older grandmother - 68 when he was 

born, in 1946....

May 23, 1913

Washed my hair and did some mending

in the forenoon. Mena out in afternoon.

Stayed home and sewed. Read in

evening.

May 22, 1913

Sewed all morning. At four Annie went 

to bed and I went to Hockey. Played

the Collegiates and had a jolly good

time.

May 21, 1913

Had four callers. Went for a game 

of Hockey in evening. Kept house later on

while Annie and Jim went to Mrs. Geo.

Murdocks for a game of cards. Mrs. Boyle

called. Read most of the evening.

May 20, 1913

Called on Mrs. Kennedy in her new

home. Glad she had moved nearer us.

Later on went into town. Paid for suit

Got books at Library.

May 18, 19013

Annie and Jim went to church.

Mena had cold so I got breakfast.

Went to S. S. in the afternoon.

May 17, 1913

Hockey in the afternoon. Xxxx lots of

fun out of playing (Miss Fisher and Mr. Massey

in to supper and cards)

hmm....so does this mean that Miss Fisher and Mr. Massey came

 for supper on May 10??? 

Your guess is as good as mine....

May 16, 1913

Annie at Sanatorium. Mena out.

Mrs. Linden called.

May 15, 1913

Went to a sewing party at Mrs. Abbots

had a good time. Went into town later

on.

May 14, 1913

Had five callers. In the evening went

to a party at Medhurst. Knew nobody

so had a rotten time.

What is TROVE?

        TROVE  is part of the National Library of Australia. It is a free search engine for pictures, articles, maps, family data, anything one might search for about Australia, and in my case Tasmania, especially when on the other side of the world!  Newspaper articles have been digitized and then electronically translated.  So there is a good chance one might just have to correct the text manually to actually make it useful. However, in all the internet research I have done on this journal, I've not found any other similar resource anywhere.

The Honorable G. E. Foster, Conservative....

         So who was he?  Anyone of importance?  According to The Mercury on May 12, 1913,  he was the  Minister of Trade and Commerce of Canada and part of a delegation exploring preferential trade with Australia.  He was particularly interested in Tasmanian fruit production.  It is amazing to think that 100 years ago, Canadians might be interested in importing fruit from Tasmania that could only be traveling by boat - how long would that take??

         On another note, Mr. Foster seemed to be complimentary of universal training for Australian men.  According to the National Archives of Australia, the Defense Act of 1909 required that men aged 18 to 60 were required to perform militia service within Australia and its territories between 1911 and 1929.

                                                     The entire article can be found here .

May 12, 1913

Hon. G. E. Foster lectured on Empire in

the town hall. Jim away at Bothwell.

Annie and I went. Enjoyed him very

much. Had a handshake afterwards.

Were glad to see a fellow Canadian

even if he was a Conservative.

May 11, 1913

Annie, Jim, Mr. and Mrs. Butters

motored to Bothwell. Kept baby. Went

 to Sunday School in the afternoon. Mr.

Massey and Mr. Black kept baby for me.

May 10, 1913

(Last part May 17.) *

Had a good game of Hockey. Enjoy playing

very much (all invited to party at Miss Fishers. Good time)

* ...another clue from her entries that she is going back, filling gaps, or 

transcribing from some other journal or papers.....

...this entry is actually 2 pages prior, at the bottom of a page, between

May 7 and May 11.  I debated whether it might not be

May 18 rather than May 10; however, there is a May 18

entry....

Temperance????

Temperance Hall according to the Hobart Mercury was a local entertainment venue.  It was erected in 1888 and would seat 800.  Here is a photograph (click here) from about 1890.  A Mrs. Fisher and a Mrs. Arnold, both local widows, contributed corner stones.  Were they related to Fishers and Arnolds  mentioned in this journal?  Who knows.

 This information was found in connection with the 1800s Temperance movement, of which I feel sure none of my relatives, past or present have been a member ......

May 7, 1913

Stayed home in the afternoon had four

callers. In the evening had a game of

Hockey. Mr. Massey came in from the

country. Took Annie and me to see

"The Dandies". Enjoyed the evening.

(Click on The Dandies to read a review in the Hobart newspaper...)

May 4, 1913

Motored to Browns River. A beautiful

day and I enjoyed it very much.

April 27, 1913

Mena still away. Did housework in the

morning. Gave Catherine a bath. Taught

my S. S. class in the afternoon. Went for a

walk.

April 26, 1913

Went to Hockey in the afternoon. Had a 

good game but it rained in torrents be-

fore we got home. Mena away so I got

supper when I came home.

April 25, 1913

Mena's afternoon out. Annie went to

Brown's River with Mrs. Webster. Had four

callers. In the evening I kept house while

Annie and Jim went to Mrs. Frank

Reynolds for a game of cards. Mr. Massey

came in early and kept me company.

...and just what did she mend with? A Dorcas Thimble?

The monogram on the thimble  my mother gave to me is

 GGM.

It looks exactly like the one in the

picture, dated 1880. It also has the Pat.6 on it. I think we

can guess where it might have been

in 1913.....Georgie must have

either given to my mother, Henryetta, 

or family gave it to her after Georgie's

death in 1954.  Both were living in Charlotte, NC

at the time.

April 24, 1913

Mended in the morning. Went into town

with Jim in the afternoon. Had Mrs. and 

Mr. Giblin Miss Xxxxxx and Mr. Massey

for dinner in the evening.

Tasmanian Electoral Roll from 1913 - 1914......

Electoral Roll from Ancestry.com, showing Georgie MacGillivray living in Hobart. 

 Hers is the third name down from the top of the left hand page. Georgie was a British citizen, living in

Canada prior to coming to Tasmania.  Guess she was allowed to vote?  Never could

find James or Annie Fraser listed.

April 23, 1913

Our day home. Miss Wolfhagen called.

I missed Hockey practice she stayed so late.

Annie and Jim went to Parliament

so I missed my teachers class. Mrs Boyle

and Miss Hall called to get our names on 

the Electoral Roll.

(This link will take you to the article in the Australian TROVE Newspaper archives......)

April 20, 1913

Did housework in the morning. In the 

evening, Annie, Jim Mr. Massey and I

went up to Mr. Murdocks to say good

bye as they were going to England. Walked

to the boat with them.

April 15, 1913

Invited party Mrs. Murray Murdocks.

Going early, as I kept baby and Annie

went. Good time.

(...another one of her entries written out of order; more accurately stated, transcribed out of order; as the blogger, I need to be more careful at catching these things....)

April 16, 1913

Afternoon home. Mr. and Mrs. F. Reynolds in for

cards in evening. I went to teachers meeting 7.30.

April 12, 1913

Went round to Hockey in the 

afternoon. Enjoyed the game very

much.

April 11, 1913

Mena's afternoon out. Annie at party Mrs.

Henleys. Ben took me to skating rink and picture

show in evening.

April 10, 1913

Went to call on Mrs. Darling. Annie

and I went to a reception at Mrs.

Tom Murdocks. Nice crowd. Well

dressed.

April 9, 1913

Letters from home.

Our afternoon at home. Had quite a

few callers. Played Hockey at 4 P.M. Church social

in evening. Good.

April 7, 1913

Mr. Massey and I invited to join

crowd going to Mount St.[?]

Nice crowd, pleasant evening. Farewell

to Mr. and Mrs. T. Murdock.

[looked through local maps, tourist attractions at the time, could not find a reference that would help me with her handwriting - by this time, you would think I could figure it out; maybe later....]

April 6, 1913

Annie went to church and I put

the baby to bed. Studied my S.S. lesson.

Taught my class in the afternoon.

Mr. Massey and Mr. Black came in for

tea. Finished reading "Candles in the Wind."

(Could find no reference to literature by this name.)

March 31, 1913

Did housework all morning while

Mena washed. Annie and I went 

into town in the afternoon.

April 5, 1913

Went to the opening of the Hockey Club

with Annie and Mr. Massey. There

did not seem to be much to the game

that we saw today. Had afternoon tea

at the grounds. Met quite a number of

people.

April 4, 1913

Mongolia boat by which we came from

England in Hobart. Mr. Massey took

me down to wharf to see if our stewardess

Miss Lisbusan (sp) could come to house

for afternoon tea. Went for long walk

with Mr. Massey afterwards. Back to

boat for Miss Lisbusan (sp) in afternoon.

Mr. Massey in for afternoon tea.

March 30, 1913

Annie, Jim, and I went to St. Johns

Church this morning. I have taken

a class in Sunday School there. Girls 

about sixteen. Enjoy them very much

even if it does take up all my afternoon.

March 29, 1913

Went out on the harbour yachting today

It was lovely and Jim and I enjoyed 

it very much. Just got home in time

for supper.

March 28, 1913

Annie, Jim, Mr. Massey and I

went for a train ride to the Cascades.

Had afternoon tea there went for a 

walk afterwards, and home again by train.

March 27, 1913

Mr. Massey Jim Annie and I invited

to a dance given in honor of Mrs.

Sam Murdoch who is going to London.

Mr. Massey and I did not go.

March 26, 1913

Mrs. Darling President of S.B.L.H.C.

was one of our callers today. Came to

see if I would join the club.  Informal

meeting on 29th but I am going yachting

instead.

(Hmmm this is just a guess, but since I've read ahead, I'm wondering if SBLHC is the SB Ladies Hockey Club)

Stranded in Time.....

Poor Georgie!  She is stranded in time! Two months now.  It is all her brother-in-law's fault, just because I don't want to unravel the politics surrounding the Hydroelectric Plant in Tasmania.  However, my relatives will never truly appreciate the story if I don't.  So I must get back to it. Meanwhile, I have learned of another Fraser, possible relative living in Tampa, with whom I am about to share the family tree.  I wonder if this might be another connection??  Several siblings, two generations back, and they literally live from shore to shore!

March 19, 1913

Jim and Annie both in bed with

bad colds.  Baby all day.

March 18, 1913

Mrs. Linden and Miss Fitzgeralds also

Mr. Massey in for afternoon tea. Miss

Jean Gibson and Mrs. Gibson called.

March 15, 1913

Mr. Massey and I invited to dinner

Mrs. Lindens. Friends visiting her very

pleasant. Cards in evening. Good time.

March 12, 1913

Annie and Jim invited dinner

at Mrs. Lindens.

March 11, 1913

Busy all day. Gave Jim and Mr.

Massey a birthday dinner. Eight men

in all. Everything went all right.

(Note: JWF's actual birthday was March 6 - in 1913,

he would have 39.)