From Plenty to Poverty
William and Margaret Blay are my great, great, great grandparents. This story is based on the facts gleaned from years of research.
Both William and Margaret were children of convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land on the same vessel – Indefatigable ― arriving in October 1812. Margaret’s maternal grandparents were also convicts. Her maternal grandfather was on the First Fleet aboard Scarborough.
New Norfolk, Van Diemen’s Land, November, 1839
The news from England about the falling price of wool had put an arrow of terror through William’s heart. His sheep were as good as worthless, and the farm was drying up in one of the worst droughts since Van Diemen’s Land was colonised.
New Norfolk, 1840
William sat in the waiting area of the auctioneer’s office…before the auctioneer called him into the office. ‘How much is my farm worth?’ William harangued the fellow before pleasantries were completed.
‘If you were to sell the property at this time,’ the auctioneer said, ‘I value it between £1800 and £2000.’
William announced to Margaret that ‘I am selling the farm and we are moving to Port Phillip. I want to go before the end of the year.’
William secured his pregnant wife and his three daughters onto the steamer and stowed their bags.
‘I sold it.’ ‘I am declared insolvent.’ He let the words settle. ‘I sold the farm for much less than it is worth, so I could secure the funds for our escape to Port Phillip. We will start again.’
Margaret stared at the dirty floor of the steamer as it chuffed up the Derwent River.
William had sold his farm in New Norfolk, but two years after absconding to Port Phillip, the court in Hobart Town found he was not in fact insolvent at the time of the sale.
Greenhills 1841-1842
The children were cranky and hungry by the time the horse and buggy William had bought, and on which the family travelled, arrived on his 160-acre allotment at Greenhills on the River Plenty.
‘… the baby, Elizabeth, was born in Melbourne a few months ago, standing beside the buggy, William could see Margaret taking in the estate on the River Plenty. The front of the house had a small verandah and faced north, ideal for the colder months.
‘I have kept aside some of the money from the sale of the farm in New Norfolk for supplies and workers. I used the rest as a deposit on this land. The bank will provide the balance.’
‘… Elizabeth … was just over two-years-old when Margaret gave birth to her next child a boy, William James Blay.’
A fall from the horse ruined William’s life. ‘With the splints removed from his broken leg, the doctor provided a pair of crutches. Moving around the house, the vegetable garden and orchards was manageable, and William coped with getting to, and cleaning out the stable. Working on the paddocks: ploughing, sowing, harvesting, were beyond him. His farm trickled into decline … and sent William into a spiral of despair.’
Margaret wiped tears as they drove away from Greenhills. The bank had taken possession; and left them with nothing.
They rented a house in Collingwood where John Douglas Blay was born … in November 1845. Frances Amy Blay was born … in April 1848.
Collingwood, November 1848
Margaret answered the doctor’s questions and watched as he wrote the letter to Superintendent Charles La Trobe asking that William be admitted to the Yarra Bend Insane Asylum. Unable to cope with her husband’s deteriorating mental state, caring for him, for children, and taking in dressmaking to feed the family and pay the rent, Margaret began the proceedings to have William taken away.
He didn’t resist when they came to collect him. He didn’t acknowledge he was being removed from their home. Margaret kissed his forehead as two attendants took William under the arms and lifted him out of his chair. His refusal, or his inability to walk, Margaret wasn’t sure which, meant he was placed on a hospital stretcher and taken outside to the transport. The neighbours gathered to peer and gossip. Margaret closed the front door.
There were no tears to wipe from her eyes. There was no flood of relief to lift the weight of the last three years from her shoulders. The body of her husband had been taken away; but his mind, spirit, and person, had left long ago.
He lost the farm at Green Hills, and died in the Yarra Bend Insane Asylum on 9 February 1849, three months after being admitted. He was forty-two.
Contributed by Janeen O’Connell PPPG Member no. 1513
Janeen has five historical fiction novels published: four traditionally and one self-published. Her first mystery was published at the end of March. She is studying a Graduate Diploma of Creative Writing at Deakin University.