Charlotte Evans
Contents
Background
Charlotte Evans sailed to Australia as a four year old on the vessel S.S.Ballarat.
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
Charlotte Evans could speak authoritatively on the Eureka Stockade, and the desertion of a number of old soldiers disgusted with the whole business. She also remembered the late Sir Charles Hotham, then Governor of Victoria, who was recalled to England as a result of this disturbance.[1]
Post 1854 Experiences
Obituary
- DEATH OF "GRANNIE" EVANS - Just Missed The Century.
- The last chapter in the life of a fine old lady and Australian pioneer was written at the week end, when Mrs. Charlotte Evans passed away. Mrs Evans would have celebrated her 100th birthday on February 27, 1948.
- Affectionately known as "Grannie," she won the love and respect of all who knew her, and her passing will be deeply mourned. Married 78 years ago, Mrs. Evans reared a family of eight children. There are 22 grandchildren, 30 great grand children, and two great great grand-children. She resided at Cessnock with her son, Mr. Dan Evans, of Hickey Street. Among her grandsons living here are Tom, George, Jack and Ald. Charlie Evans, and grand-daughters Edna and Queenie. The old lady retained a remarkable memory picture of her early life in Australia. She was born at Plymouth in 1848, and first saw the shores of Australia from the sailing ship Ballarat. She was then only 4 years of age. She disembarked at Melbourne, which was then only a collection of tents and a few hastily-built houses. Mrs. Evans was seven years of age when she was initiated into one of the phases of early Australian life. Her father was one of the few qualified mining assayists in the country at the time, and she accompanied him to the woolshed diggings near what is now the thriving town of Beechworth. From here she went to the Indigo diggings on the Murray River, near the towns of Wahgunya and Corowa. It was on these diggings that a successful prospector had a horse shod with shoes of gold. When the family decided to make a move to Forbes (N.S.W.), Mrs. Evans, although then only 14 years of age, demonstrated the spirit and courage of the true pioneer. The journey was made in a dray, with the 14 year old girl walking most of the way, a distance of more than 300 miles, and driving a herd of goats, which were invaluable in those days.
- After a number of years at Forbes and Lithgow, Mrs. Evans, who had married and had four children to care for, moved on to Mt. Hope, in the Far West of N.S.W. Again the journey of some hundreds of miles was done in drays. Her husband had gone on ahead, and this pioneer woman, with the aid of two small boys, had to handle two drays. "Grannie" Evans could also speak authoritatively on the Eureka Stockade, of the wonderful fight of the miners, and the desertion of a number of old soldiers disgusted with the whole business. She also remembered the late Sir Charles Hotham, then Governor of Victoria, who was recalled to England as a result of this disturbance. So another link with the past has been broken, and another of the splendid stock which endured the dangers, hard ships, and heartbreaking toll of pioneering days to build a nation has gone the way of all flesh. The funeral will take place this afternoon at the Beresfield Crematorium. [2]
See also
Further Reading
References
External links
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Caption, Reference.
