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Gordon Family HistoryGordonville
The naming of Gordonville, a locality on the
upper Bellinger River inland from Coffs Harbour in New South Wales
where grandchildren of Ann Gordon were the first white
settlers, likely had its origin in the history of one of the former
colony of New South Wales’s most important early institutions
- the second Parramatta Female Factory. Ann Gordon was
its longest serving Matron and during the nine years from 1828
to 1836 that she was in charge her name became synonymous with the
institution reaching in public sentiment almost mythic proportions.
Gordon Ville was one of over thirty descriptors of the colony's
female factories that included her name - some others being Mrs
Gordon's Villa, Gordon's Seminary, Gordon's nunnery, Gordon's school
for girls, Mrs Gordon's Country Seat, Gordonized etc. 1, 84, 88. The
function of the Parramatta Female Factory has been described as:
Parramatta Female Factory History
Construction of the above depicted purpose built second Parramatta
Female Factory was commenced in 1818 by Governor Macquarie and
commissioned in February 1821. In Sept. 1820 Macquarie wrote it was
almost complete and work had begun on the enclosure wall. After
completion he described it thus:-
A Large Commodious handsome stone Built Barrack and Factory, three Stories high, with Wings of one Story each for the accomodation and residence of 300 Female Convicts, with all requisite Out-offices including Carding, Weaving and Loom Rooms, Work-Shops, Stores for Wool, Flax etc. etc.; Quarters for the Superintendant, and also a large Kitchen Garden for the use of the Female Convicts, and Bleaching Ground for Bleaching the Cloth and Linen Manufactured; the whole of the Buildings and said Grounds, consisting of about Four acres, being enclosed with a high Stone Wall and Moat or Wet Ditch. 83The factory's Georgian structures were designed by the convict architect Francis Greenway and were surrounded by a 9½ ft. high security wall that about 1828 was extended to around 16 ft. The factory had a river frontage and was located in North Parramatta in what is now Fleet Street between Fennell and Factory Streets and opposite Albert Street. The principal building was demolished in the early 1880's and its' sandstone blocks were used to construct other buildings in what after the closure of the factory at the end of 1847 became the site of the Parramatta Lunatic Asylum . Of the original structures and buildings completed before the factory commissioning in 1821 the only ones extant in 2006 were the southern security wall of the factory compound and the southern and northern range of buildings that once flanked the approach from the entry gate to the principal building - the latter being described on page 2/51 of the 1981 published The Heritage of Australia Register of the National Estate and in the online version at #14 as - "Sandstone buildings, Fleet St ... retaining their basic fabric although altered over the years". Of the buildings constructed during a 27 year period from 1821 to 1847 of usage as a place of confinement for convict women and other women undergoing sentances imposed by the colonial judicary, the only one understood to be extant in 2006 was the two-storey barracks built by Governor Brisbane in 1825 designed to separately house in its own walled compound up to 60 women of the Third (or Penitentary) Class. With six shuttered porthole windows it is visible within the walls in the above c. 1826 Earle watercolor at the far right and highlighted by an added yellow border on the right side of an 1833 drawn ground plan of the female factory. This building was described by a May 2006 vistor to the site as no longer being in use and inside just a "shambles" 85. Of great significance in the early history of both convict and free women of the colony this building is also pictured at #9 on page 2/52 of the 1981 hard-cover edition of the Register of the National Estate where without reference to its' Female Factory history it was just described as the "Former Day Room for Wards 4 and 5" with its' fabric incorrectly stated as probably built c.1840 by the Royal Engineers. The barracks building was added to c. 1828 by Governor Darling by the erection in the same compound of Workshops and a Dining Hall. Measuring the passing of the hours the clock that once graced the facade of the principal factory building was made by Thwaites and Read of London. It was one of the first five public clocks sent to the colony in 1821. In 2006 with a non-original clock face the mechanism, although not then working, had survived in a clock tower atop a building known as Ward 1 that was constructed ca. 1885 from the blocks of the demolished principal building. In 2006 the former female factory buildings and sandstone walls were located within the grounds of Cumberland Hospital and within the NSW government owned North Parramatta Government Precinct. At that time these few remaining relics of the former colony's female convict history were under threat of demolition with the land upon which they stand listed by the State Government for high density housing development. In that regard ten years on nothing much had changed except a World Heritage listing had been sought by persons concerned at the loss of this relic of the early history of Australia and its pioneer families of whom many of the mothers spent time in the instituation and in some even cases met their spouse to be within its walls.
The Female Factory was the destination upon arrival of all convicted
women transported to the colony not immediately assigned as
servants upon arrival in Sydney 20.
For the variety of reasons mentioned above many other colonial women
and their children also spent time at the institution. Figures for the year
1835, said to be within the indicated average for that decade, show
there was a monthly average of 509 women (449-569 variable) and 137 children
(114-166 variable). Records show numbers peaked in July 1842 with 1203
women 6,
11.
Letitia Anne King (1809-1892) was
born 2½ years before Robert Gordon married her mother Ann King.
She was not Robert's daughter. The names of his children Maria,
Sarah and Henry, and that his total issue had included a predeceased
daughter (Caroline) and a son was recorded on his official 1863
death record. Supported by other records the omission of Letitia's
name from this record establishes she was not Robert's issue.
Until the death in 1853 of Letitia's half-sister Caroline, when a
surviving letter says their mother Ann disclosed the truth
to the other children, they had been unaware
Letitia was their half-sister having believed she was their mother's
sister and thus their aunt 40.
Also confirming Letitia was Ann's but not Robert's daughter is that
the Limerick County Militia in which Robert Gordon was a soldier
was still in Ireland during the years immediately preceding
Letitia's 1809 birth and her 1810 Portsmouth baptism and Limerick
marriage were recorded under the King surname.
Caroline Gordon (1813-1853)
lived in Maitland where her parents moved after they left Parramatta
and is buried in St. Peter's old burial ground at East Maitland
with her parents and grandson Oscar Henry 12. She
never married but had two children from defacto relationships.
Her daughter Jessie also apparently never married. When
in July 1870 Jessie wrote to her aunt Letitia Garmonsway,
advising her of the two years earlier death of Letitia's
mother Ann Gordon, she signed the letter Mrs. Jessie Gordon. This might
suggest she had married a Gordon but there is no BDM index evidence of
any such marriage. Contradictory to her not having married is a 16
January 1887 Ada Gordon letter stating quote "Jessie died four
years ago leaving no family ... she married first a Mr. Smith and
secondly a Mr. Cameron". Such would indicate Jessie Maria either
married or had a defacto relationship with a Mr. Smith, and likely
at the time of her ca. 1883 death was in such a relationship with a
Mr. Cameron. However again there is no apparent BDM index
evidence in NSW or Queensland of either marriage.
See: Caroline Gordon Family Page.
Maria Matilda Gordon (1817-1882) was born during
her parents voyage to Australia on the Matilda in
1817. She died in 1882 having lost husband James Fullford
two years earlier. Prior to her marriage to James Fullford
she had a defacto relationship extending over a five year
period with Captain Frank Adams of the 28th Gloucestershire
Regiment of Foot during which time she had two sons.
About three years after the birth of the second son she
had a daughter whose father is unknown.
Sarah Ann Gordon (1822-1889) was the last born
of the six children. In 1847 she married Scottish born
William Moir in Auckland, New Zealand. He was a career
soldier who had risen rapidly through the ranks from
enlistment as a private in 1831 to become the Sergeant-Major
of in the 58th Regiment in 1840. He arrived in Australia
with the 58th reg't in Sept. 1844 and six months later
moved to New Zealand to deal with a Maori rebellion in
the Bay of Islands area. Promoted to officer rank in 1848,
he retired in July 1858 from active service three months
before the regiment returned to England, remaining with
his family in New Zealand where as a Captain he saw active
service again in the Waikato during the 1860s Second Maori
Wars. A total of 2400 Australians enlisted in the New
Zealand Militia in 1863/64 to serve in these wars. Capt.
William Moir holds the distinction of having led the first
detachment of the Australians to have engaged the enemy.
That action on 13 Oct 1863 is known as the Battle of East
Pukekohe Church. He had a hotel at Mangawhai on the East
Coast of the North Island, and farmed at nearby Te Arai
where he obtained a 380 acre land grant in 1859 it is
said he named Kelvin Grove after the place he
last lived in Scotland. Moir Street in Mangawhai is
named after him, as is the locality of Moir's Point
situated across the river. He was listed in the N.Z.
electoral rolls from 1866 to 1875 with a farm holding
of 586 acres on the Mangawhai River but was not listed
there in the next available roll for 1881. He had moved
to Canada late in 1877 or early 1878 and died there on
1 Dec. 1881 in Toronto, Ontario Province. It has been
said he left his wife Sarah Ann. Such appears confirmed
by him having having spent the last four years of his
life apart from his wife and family living in Canada
with his sister Mrs. Margaret Gartshore, the widow of
Scottish born Canadian industrialist Mr. John Gartshore.
Sarah Ann Gordon and William Moir had six sons named
William, Robert, James, David, John & Leslie, and
a daughter Jacqueline who died in
her birth year. For the full details
of the history and descendants of Sarah Ann Gordon and
William Moir see the Moir Family Page.
Henry
Meldrum Gordon (1820-1910) was born
on 6 March 1820 at Parramatta and from 1832-1836 attended The
King's School at Parramatta - the oldest independent school
in Australia. He was an opening day attendee and at the time of
his death the oldest still living from that school's foundation
year student intake. Henry was the Bailiff of the Court of Requests
at Maitland from 1843 to 1846, by 1857 the Chief Constable
at Dungog, and in 1859 the Clerk of Petty Sessions there and agent
for the sale of Crown lands. At the age of 43 on September 9,
1863 he was appointed Magistrate at Maitland and on September
3, 1875 the Police Magistrate and Clerk of Petty Sessions at
Wollombi and Secretary for Lands. He was
appointed to Gundagai and Jugiong on April 25, 1885 and Albury
in March 1887 as Stipendary Magistrate and Commissioner
of the Supreme Court. Indications are he would have
retired from the bench at 75 years of age in March 1895. The
duration of his legal career with the Justice Department
of the NSW civil service thus exceeded 53 years with the
last 31 spent as a Magistrate.
Two sons of
Henry Meldrum Gordon, Lovell and his older brother Meldrum
Henry, were the first white settlers at a locality in the
Upper Bellinger River Valley on mid-north coast of NSW
and responsible for the bestowing upon the name of Gordonville.
Likely it was more than a co-incidence that Gordonville was
a name by which the Parramatta Female Factory had been
colloquially known during their grandmother Ann's nine year
tenure as Matron. Thus it can be said the upper Bellinger
River locality of Gordonville was likely named after the
Colony's prison for women ! |
Researched and compiled by J. G. Raymond,
Brisbane,
QLD., Australia
created March 2000 - last modified 17 Nov 2011
from February 2024 this page and linked to pages became read only