Thomas Ritchie
Bendigo Goldfields Petition Cover, August 1853. State Library of Victoria (MS 12440) and Condemned them to hard labor on the Public Roads of the Colony - A proceeding Your Petitioners maintain to be contrary to the spirit of the British Law which does not recognise the principle of the Subject being a Criminal because he is indebted to the State
That the impost of Thirty Shillings a Month is unjust because the successful and unsuccessful Digger are assessed in the same ratio
For these reasons and others which could be enumerated Your Petitioners pray Your Excellency to Grant the following Petition
* First. To direct that the Licence Fee be reduced to Ten Shillings a Month
* Secondly To direct that Monthly or Quarterly Licenses be issued at the option of the Applicants
* Thirdly To direct that new arrivals or invalids be allowed on registering their names at the Commissioners Office fifteen clear days residence on the Gold Fields before the License be enforced
* Fourthly To afford greater facility to Diggers and others resident on the Gold Fields who wish to engage in Agricultural Pursuits for investing their earnings in small allotments of land
* Fifthly To direct that the Penalty of Five Pounds for non-possession of License be reduced to One Pound
* Sixthly To direct that (as the Diggers and other residents on the Gold Fields of the Colony have uniformly developed a love of law and order) the sending of an Armed Force to enforce the License Tax be discontinued.
Your Petitioners would respectfully submit to Your Excellency's consideration in favour of the reduction of the License Fee that many Diggers and other residents on the Gold-fields who are debarred from taking a License under the present System would if the Tax were reduced to Ten Shillings a Month cheerfully comply with the Law so that the License Fund instead of being diminished would be increased
Your Petitioners would also remind your Excellency that a Petition is the only mode by which they can submit their wants to your Excellency's consideration as although they contribute more to the Exchequer that half the Revenue of the Colony they are the largest class of Her Majesty's Subjects in the Colony unrepresented
And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray etc.
That the impost of Thirty Shillings a Month is unjust because the successful and unsuccessful Digger are assessed in the same ratio
For these reasons and others which could be enumerated Your Petitioners pray Your Excellency to Grant the following Petition
* First. To direct that the Licence Fee be reduced to Ten Shillings a Month
* Secondly To direct that Monthly or Quarterly Licenses be issued at the option of the Applicants
* Thirdly To direct that new arrivals or invalids be allowed on registering their names at the Commissioners Office fifteen clear days residence on the Gold Fields before the License be enforced
* Fourthly To afford greater facility to Diggers and others resident on the Gold Fields who wish to engage in Agricultural Pursuits for investing their earnings in small allotments of land
* Fifthly To direct that the Penalty of Five Pounds for non-possession of License be reduced to One Pound
* Sixthly To direct that (as the Diggers and other residents on the Gold Fields of the Colony have uniformly developed a love of law and order) the sending of an Armed Force to enforce the License Tax be discontinued.
Your Petitioners would respectfully submit to Your Excellency's consideration in favour of the reduction of the License Fee that many Diggers and other residents on the Gold-fields who are debarred from taking a License under the present System would if the Tax were reduced to Ten Shillings a Month cheerfully comply with the Law so that the License Fund instead of being diminished would be increased
Your Petitioners would also remind your Excellency that a Petition is the only mode by which they can submit their wants to your Excellency's consideration as although they contribute more to the Exchequer that half the Revenue of the Colony they are the largest class of Her Majesty's Subjects in the Colony unrepresented
And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray etc.
Contents
Background
Goldfields Involvement, 1853-1854
Post 1854 Experiences
Obituary
- Death of Mr. Thomas Ritchie
- We regret having to record the death, at the age of 73 years, of Mr. Thomas Ritchie, senr., one of the old landmarks of Frankston. The deceased gentlemen caught a chill while working in his garden some short time ago, and never recovered, finally passing away last Sunday. His funeral took place last Tuesday, and his body was followed to the grave by a very large number of mourners, the pall-bearers being Messrs. Croskell, Renouf, Box, Parer, Bonnor, and Sherlock. The mortuary arrangements were carried out by Mr. Hector Gamble, of this town. The body was enclosed in a leaden coffin, encased in oak. The hearse was followed by a floral carriage, containing some 50 wreaths, sent by absent friends and old residents of the district. Many were sent from the city, and amongst them was one from the fish salesmen of Melbourne, with whom deceased had been closely associated in the early days of Frankston. Three mourning coaches, lowed, and then came some fifty vehicles, which number was increased at the cemetery. The service was read in an impressive manner by the Rev A. P. McFarlane. The bereaved family were the recipients of a number of letters and telegrams of condolence, among them being one from the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Madden. In the passing away of Mr. Thomas Ritchie a notable figure is removed from Frankston life. In late years he had not, perhaps, been so much in the public eye, but it is safe to say that in the early days he had more to do with the making of Frankston than any other man now living. He always took the deepest interest in the advancement of the town, and spared neither time nor money in furthering its progress. Thomas Ritchie was the youngest son of Capt. Colin Ritchie, of the 10th. West India regiment (George III.), who, in consequence of wounds received in action, retired on half pay. He settled in the Isle of Man, where Mr. T. Ritchie was born in 1834. After finishing his education in Scotland, he decided to try his fortune in Australia, then becoming famous for its gold, and left for Victoria in the Isabella Watson, in 1852, bringing with him a stock of boots, etc., intending to start business on the diggings. Unfortunately, the ill-fated vessel was wrecked on the 21st. March, on the Corsair Reef, at the Heads, and everything he had was lost, he being washed ashore on a mast with another passenger named Verdon, nephew of Sir George Verdon, of Melbourne. 'Upon his arrival, he left for the goldfields at Bendigo, but after some time his brother James arrived from Scotland. and together they opened the first grocer's store at Gardiner's Creek (now called Malvern). Afterwards he married, and in 1854 settled in Frankston, where he has since lived. There he built up his fortunes, and became very pros-perous. He was a man of great enterprise and pushing energy, and in addition to his large interests at Frankston, he speculated largely in mining ventures, among his properties being the Bunninyong gold mine at Ballarat. He held a controlling interest in the Frankston brick works, at one time a very prosperous con-cern, and prior to the opening of the railway to Frankston his firm em-ployed some 40 horses in transporting fish from Hastings to Melbourne. He was also for a number of years a member of the firm of Croskell, Ritchie and Co., general auctioneers, of Melbourne and Frankston. The firm consisted of the late Mr. H. Prosser, and Messrs. T. Ritchie, James Croskell, Phillip Renouf, and J. D. Box. Prospering, he built in 1886 what is now known as Frankston House, but then known as Balla Crane, and later on built what is now known as Balla Crane, as a private residence. At this time Mr. Ritchie was a wealthy man, but like many others he became mixed up in the land boom, and also in the land collapse, and his properties and other interests had to be sacrificed, so that in his latter days he was not nearly so prosperous as he had been. By a curious coincidence two of the passengers saved with Mr. Ritchie from the wreck of the Isabella Watson, died quite recently. One, Mr. Elijah Derrick, of South Yarra, died on the 23rd August, and Mr, Joseph Allen, of Cobden, died on the 13th of the ,same month. Mr. Ritchie, who had a family of 11 had the misfortune to have his res-dence destroyed by fire at Frankston, and four of his children perished in the flames. Two others died, leaving five surviving, viz., Mr. T. Ritchie Mrs. W. Deans, Mrs. Pownahll, Mrs, Ward and Mrs. Minogue. Mr. Ritchie leaves a widow to whom all his real and personal estate is devised as sole legatee and exssetrix.[1]
See also
Ballarat Reform League Inc. Monuments Project
Further Reading
References
- ↑ Mornington Standard, 21 September 1907.
External links
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