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.