The History of Calder House

Thomas Calder was bom on May 18th 1832 in County Cheshire in the parish of Bowdon. This parish adjoins the neighbouring County of Lancashire and is situated about ten miles from Manchester and close to Liverpool. Some evidence suggests that Thomas's place of birth was Bowdon. Manchester however, was probably the place of baptism of Thomas and his sister Elizabeth and some of his brothers. The cathedral records show the following entries for the children of John and Mary Calder:

David christened September 9th 1827
John christened November 11 th 1829
Thomas christened July 15th 1832
Elizabeth christened September 6th 1835
Charles christened June 28th 1837

Discrepancies of documentation

Although no entry appears for Thomas's brother, James Calder who came to Australia, but his death certificate shows that he was bom in Scotland about 1825.

There are some inconsistencies between the above records and particulars we know of the Calders who came to Australia. Thomas's father's name appears as John above and as Thomas in the Australian records (perhaps his name was John Thomas or Thomas John Calder.) The stated occupation of Thomas's father above was given as Silk Weaver on the Baptismal record and as Merchant on Australian records.

1. The date of Baptism above and the date of birth of Elizabeth Calder, believed to be August 18th 1836 do not match.
2. The stated occupation of Thomas's father above was given as Silk Weaver on the Baptismal record and as Merchant on Australian records.
3. The date of Baptism above and the date of birth of Elizabeth Calder, believed to be August 18th 1836 do not match.

Thomas's family, it would seem, probably had some association with a place called Silverlands, in the Parish of Bowdon, but it is not known whether this was on the basis of friendship or family relationship - perhaps on either the Calder or Johnson side of the family. Elizabeth Calder stayed there when she went to England. During her voyage between London and Melbourne she wrote on October 22nd 1873, "On Thursday I left Silverlands, that delightful happy home, for London, to take my passage in the 'Lincolnshire'... I had been asked by Annie to make her home mine".
On a page of verse which Lizzie had written to the memory of Mary, she has the date and address - April 25th 1873, Silverlands.

Bowdon Parish - extract Pigott's, 1830's

Here are some of the manufacturers of thread, wool, yam, and bobbins, but agriculture is the chief employment of the labouiing class here. There are many delightful residences possessed by opulent individuals whose gardens are laid out with great taste. Market day is Tuesday. The population in 1831 was 2708. Villages include Bowdon, Carrington, Dunham, Partington, Timperley and Warburton.

At least three members of the Calder family came to Australia. Thomas Calder was probably the first to come to Victoria, followed soon after by his brother James who came in February 1854, and Elizabeth a year later. Thomas and Elizabeth went first to Castlemaine before moving to Maldon. Little is known about their brother James who died six years after his arrival here.
The exact date of arrival of Thomas Calder in Victoria has not been positively established as there is some slight variation in the data in the records. The informant, Roger Nankivell, on the Death Certificate of Thomas Calder dated December 26th, 1906, indicates that the deceased was bom in Manchester England and resided six months in Tasmania and 54 years in Victoria, suggesting an arrival date early 1852. Evidence from the obituary of Thomas Calder indicated his coming to Maldon in 1855 having first spent a couple of years in Castlemaine - thus his possible arrival in Victoria about 1853.

A search of the Victorian shipping records reveals no Thomas Calder arriving between 1850 and 1853 but there appears an entry for a Mr. Calder, a British subject, arriving at the port of Melbourne on January 25th 1854 aboard the steamer "Queen", a vessel of 130 tons having arrived from Glasgow, Scotland. Mr. Calder, whose age was given as 28, (not our Thomas Calder if age given was correct, but such a variation, ie. 6 years is not unusual) was the only passenger aboard.
Presumably the "Queen" was a cargo vessel, perhaps carrying cargo for Mr. Calder from Glasgow. Could it have been mining or building equipment for the goldfields?

The arrival of Thomas Calder's brother James and his sister Elizabeth (left) is more positively identified. James Calder is listed amongst the 51 passengers as a joiner aboard the ship "Brevet", a vessel of 1279 tons which departed Liverpool on the 17th February 1854 and arrived in Melbourne June 1854. The Captain was Duncan Robertson.
Elizabeth Calder's voyage to Australia is well documented in her diary which tells of her adventures on her trip from Liverpool to Melbourne aboard the "Blanch Moore". While on that voyage she met a gentleman by the name of Mr. Joseph Bonney. The ship dropped anchor on Sunday June 10th at 4 0 'clock and landed at Melbourne on June 12th. Elizabeth set out for Castlemaine on Monday June 18th at 6 am.

Apart form the above evidence, the first appearance of our Thomas Calder in the records appears in the Post Office Directories and Electoral Rolls. A Thomas Calder is listed in 1856 as carpenter residing in Moyston Street Castlemaine and in the same record there is also a Thomas and E. Calder listed at Market Square as Confectioners and Pastrycooks.
Thomas had probably moved to Maldon by 1857 and worked with a partner, Edward James in a building and undertaker's business. In June 1858 Edward James and Thomas Calder sold the site of that business, now known as Bank Comer, for three hundred and ten pounds. The Bank building was opened for business in March 1859, but unfortunately was demolished in 1958.

In May 1859, he acquired an interest in the present land on which he built the Calder Ironmongery. He advertised the business initially under the name Talbot Timber Yard. This business was on land which Thomas leased with a right to purchase, thus enabling him to proceed with the construction of substantial permanent buildings to house his rapidly expanding trade in timber and iron . At about that same time he acquired also an interest in the adjoining block on which he was later to build "Roseneath" (now “Calder House”).
Thomas was probably involved with the construction of many buildings in the thriving town. These included extensions to the hospital and alterations to Holy Trinity Church - the place of worship for the Calders in years to come. Having established his business soundly, Thomas now aged 27, had more serious plans on his mind that were soon to take him across the waters of Bass Strait.

Anna Maria Harvey was bom on November 9th, 1833 at half past two in the morning. She was baptised by the Rev. John Arthur at Helensburg on January 16th, 1834, in the registered parish of St. George, Glasgow, Scotland. This photo was taken about thirty four years later in Victoria, perhaps at Maldon or Sandhurst. It was enlarged from the centre likeness of a small composite "carte" (photo) called a diamond cameo. Included also on the same card or "cartel" were the photos of her four eldest boys. It is but one of the exciting discoveries, made in recent times during our search for this family history. The above birth particulars for instance were known by Rae Hogg of Launceston - (granddaughter of Anna Maria Harvey), who has a very old book in which this and other family particulars were written in ink. The first such event recorded being the wedding of J. S. Harvey and Anna Maria Jiggs at St. Clement Danes Church in London, on September 9th, 1816.

This book, titled "Meditations and Contemplations" was written by a Rev. James Harvey, but it is not known at this stage,what relationship, if any he had with Anna's family. The particulars it contains have enabled us to track the movements of this family from several locations near London namely - Croydon, Windsor Castle, Ives, and then to Helensburgh near Glasgow in Scotland. Another entry, possibly in a different hand, reads - Anna Maria Harvey, Helensburgh, Glasgow, Dunbartonshire. From the entries shown, together with much research of the later generation Harveys who came to Tasmania, the family tree, has been drawn up and appears on the opposite page. Much assistance was received with this, from Barbara Tenniswood (nee Harvey), grandaughter of Anna's brother Bruce.

The traditions and stories from this family are rich indeed, and and have been kept alive through several generations by such stories, and by the paintings that were done by James Stevenson Harvey. Although the name Harvey as a surname has died out, it has been handed down as the second Christian name to descendants living today - some 130 years after Anna Harvey became Anna Calder.

One story that survives amongst most present day descendants of Anna Maria and immortalised in Henry Handel Richardson's book, "Myself when Young", is the assertion that James S. Harvey, Anna's father, had been Court Painter to Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. The heritage within the family, of eight superb paintings provides us with some tangible evidence but not proof, that he was a royal painter. Seven- of these were almost certainly done by the brush of the same James Harvey who had his second child Bruce, christened at the Royal Chapel of St. George, Windsor Castle on March 25th. 1821. Two of these are fine miniature portraits, one being of Mary Queen of Scots with Mr. Harvey's name clearly and positively shown on the back, the other of the young Queen Victoria. Their possession by Lisbeth Hommel, a Harvey / Calder descendant who knows their story, would seem to confirm the assertion. A painting portraying his wife and himself, was brought to Tasmania, but was destroyed in more recent years.

Another painting by this James tells of hardship and tragedy. It depicts a mother and her baby being taken to heaven by an angel. The accompanying story, that has been handed down for nearly 150 years, is that the baby died shortly after birth and that the mother suffered the same fate, soon afterwards.

The death of the baby occured about six o'clock in the evening, on the 17th., January, 1842. This was Anna Maria Harvey's last entry. The story relating to "Why the daughter Anna Maria came to Tasmania" tells of the death of the father as well. These repeated stories have been told without positive evidence being known about the Harvey children's plight, and from separate branches whose contact with one another had been lost, and thus they must have some element of truth. Although minor inconsistencies do exist, the fact is that Stuart and Bruce Harvey came to Tasmania, followed some years later by their sister Anna, in 1849. They probably all went first to Aunt Jessie, their father's sister, who had married Joseph Bonney and resided at "Woodhall" a magnificent home, situated on high ground overlooking the Esk River.

Anna's obituary many years later confirms the story of her having been bom at Helensburgh, and, at about twelve years of age, having gone and lived with her uncle Mr. Bonney at "Woodhall", near Perth in Tasmania. Mr. Bonney has been captured on canvas and is the subject of one of the paintings mentioned above, but almost certainly not by the hand of Mr. James Harvey. Perhaps the artist was Stuart Erskine Harvey, James's son who was also a gifted painter.

Mr. Bonney was the son of a convict Joseph. The latter was transported to Sydney and escaped to Van Diemen's Land. There, Joseph, the father was able to persuade the authorities to have his wife and eventually the remainder of his large family, including the sixteen year old Joseph brought to the colony at His Majesty's expense.

Joseph Bonney junior married Jessie Harvey on May 26th., 1826 at St. John's Church in Launceston. This was the same church where Jessie's niece was to marry later, as also did her great-grand niece Rae Calder in 1937. Joseph was treated favourably by the authorities and granted several large tracts of land including "Woodhall", which was aptly named after the manor house in England from which his father had stolen, to feed a starving family.

Joseph, known affectionately by Anna Maria's grandson, John Calder as Mr. Bonney in the painting on his dining room wall, played an important role in events to come. On June 28th. 1855, he was presented with a silver service for his activities as agent for St. Andrew's Immigration Society in returning to England the previous year and selecting one hundred and thirty seven immigrants for the Colony. On his return trip in 1855, he met a young lady, on her way to Victoria to join her brother who had gone to the goldfields there, the year before. This lady, Miss Calder, whose photo is on Page 5, may have had something in common with Joseph's 6 adopted daughter" Annie, in that probably both their parents had died. Joseph, just six years after that return voyage from England, died on April 10th., 1861. Dominic and Maria Romeo of Calder House discovered the ornate tombstone that marks his grave at Evandale cemetery, during their visit to Tasmania, in 1990.

Thomas and Anna

On July 12th, 1861, Thomas Calder set sail from Melbourne as a cabin passenger aboard the "Royal Shepherd", bound for Launceston. Six days later, he married Anna Maria Harvey at St John's Church of England in that town. Witnesses to the Marriage were Emily Pyke, Bruce R. Harvey and C. Roberts, and the officiating Minister was Alfred Stackhouse. The incumbent Minister at the church at that time was Archdeacon W.H. Brown. The latter's name appears on the original handwritten Marriage Certificate given to the married couple at that time, but not on the official record. This original Certificate' was recently discovered by Lavinia Cuming, a Calder descendant.

It would seem that Thomas Calder went to Tasmania with the intention of marrying Anna, but the big question since the study of this family began has been - "How did Thomas and Anna become acquainted?" One initial theory was that the two families may have known one another back in the old country. Another suggestion was that Anna met Thomas through his business dealings with her brother Bruce, who was a shipping agent and importer. However it seems that the match maker in this happy union was almost certainly through Thomas' sister Elizabeth. The sequence of events that led to the wedding on July 18th., are suggested briefly as follows:

Thomas

Anna

1824 - Joseph Bonney arrived in Tasmania (the previous 6 yrs living in Sydney)
1825 - Jessie Harvey, sister to James Harvey, arrived Tasmania, per "Triton"
1826 - Jessie Harvey and Joseph Bonney marry at St John's Church, Launceston
1838 - Stewart Harvey, Anna's brother went to Tasmania, followed by Bruce in 1839
1842 - Their mother Anna dies in England, after giving birth to a son who also died
1840's The father, Joseph Harvey, also dies, leaving his daughter Anna aged 12 alone
1849 - Anna Maria is sent to Tasmania to be cared for by her Aunt Jessie at Woodhall
1854 - Thomas Calder migrates from Manchester to Victoria.
1854 - Joseph Bonney returns to England as agent for St Andrew's Immigration Society
1855 - Tlomas' sister Elizabeth on her way to Victoria meets,& befriends, Mr. Bonney
1858 - Elizabeth Calder is given "The Coronal", by Mrs Stackhouse of Perth Parsonage
1860 - Annie Harvey is given a book of poetry from Mrs. MacKenzie, Camp Maldon
1861 - Joseph Bonney died on April 10th
1861 - July, Anna Harvey and Thomas Calder are married at St. John's, Launceston

The deaths of Anna's parents has been dealt with earlier, and the friendship of Elizabeth Calder with Joseph Bonney is very well established in her diary of her voyage to Australia. The gifts of books in 1858 and 1860 suggest that: 1. Elizabeth Calder went to Tasmania, to see her friend Joseph Bonney and to meet his family, which would have included Anna Harvey, whom the family 'adopted'. She probably was invited to stay at Woodhall, near Perth (a few miles south of Launceston) and it would have been at that time that she became friends with the Rev. Stackhouse and his wife. The full title of the book is "The Coronal or Prose Poetry and Art", published in London, 1858. The original inscription on the inside of the front cover, and a further notation in the back respectively read as follows:

To Lizzie Calder, with much affection, from her friend at Perth Parsonage, September 29th, 1858. To Lizzie,from Mrs. Stackhouse, Perth Parsonage

This Mrs. Stackhouse is almost certainly the wife of the Rev. Alfred Stackhouse, who married Thomas and Anna, and it is further suggested that the likeness of that couple appears as photo Number 130 in Elizabeth Calder's Photo Album. That photo was taken by Dowling Studios in Launceston.

With further speculation we can imagine that Joseph and Jessie Bonney and their ward Anna Harvey were invited to Maldon, and that such a visit took place perhaps during 1860, on which occasion she and Marion L. MacKenzie became friends. The gift of a book titled "The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Longfellow" has the following inscription on the inside cover:

To dear Annie Harvey from her affectionate friend Marion L. MacKenzie, Camp Maldon, 24th Oct., '60. (the word camp in front of Maldon is still a puzzle)

It doesn't take much imagination to speculate further that Anna and Thomas met in Maldon, fell immediately in love with one another, and married nine months later.

After their marriage in July 1861, Thomas returned to Maldon with his new bride Anna to live first in the residential quarters at the rear of the ironmongery, until their new home "Roseneath" was ready to be occupied. Their new home would have been named by Anna after the picturesque village situated on the banks of the Firth of Clyde, in Scotland, close to the town of Helensburgh, where Anna had been bom. The date of completion of "Roseneath" is not known exactly but it would have been in the early 1860's. The building as we know it today was built in several stages, with the last addition being the two front rooms on High Street, which were built prior to the Governor General's visit to the house, in 1884, as Thomas's guest.

The next important date however is April 19th., 1862, when their first baby boy was born and named Melville. Over the next fifteen years, Anna gave birth to a further eight children. The story of the children is told in the following chapters, with brief mention of the tragic loss of two of them in 1872.
The photos at the beginning of this chapter are enlargements made from a Calder family photo taken just one hundred years ago. The original measures 19cm. x 14cm., and is owned by Elizabeth Morgan.

The account of the famidy in Henry Handel Richardson's book "Myself When Young" is from the evidence to date not a fair one but typical of many such accounts which caused such an outcry when the book was published.

"Roseneath", was a happy home for the Calders and despite their being what we might call a large family, their door seemed always open for friends or relations to stay the night. Such occasions would have often been associated with games of Whist, or with singing around the piano or harrnonium. One of Elizabeth Calder's favourite games was chess so no doubt this also would have been played on occasions. Members of the Richardson family including Ethel, (Henry Handel), were close neighbours and frequent visitors, and other noted visitors beside the afore mentioned Governor General, would have included Sir John McIntyre, Colonel Bain, Dr. Grey and members of that well-known doctoring family in Bendigo, the Eadie family. It seems likely that the Earl and Countess of Meath may have also paid a visit to see their friend Elizabeth Calder during their three week visit to Victoria in April 1892. Their visit was aimed at spreading the good news of the work of the Ministering Children's League throughout the new colonies, and to this end Elizabeth became Organizing Secretary for all Australasia. Additional evidence for the closeness of this relationship has emerged recently and involves the Empress Elizabeth of Austria.

"Roseneath" (now Calder House) today is being returned to its former glory, and forms an important part of the history of Maldon. The national trust regards this particular town as perhaps the most remarkable gold-mining town surviving and worthy of preservation because of its excellent nineteenth century buildings, including "Roseneath," in good order, and its winding streets with plantings of European trees.