Difference between revisions of "Edward Bissill"

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==Background==
 
==Background==
 
 
 
 
Bissill was born in April, 1808, at Stutterton Grange, near Boston, Lincolnshire.
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Bissill was born in April, 1808, at Stutterton Grange, near Boston, Lincolnshire, England and worked on his family's farm for many years.
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In 1850 he sailed in the ship [[Bengal]] for [[South Australia]]. After 12 months in the sister State, he visited [[New Zealand]], and worked at Auckland for six months. When the gold fever broke out, however, he went to Sydney, and soon afterwards proceeded to [[Melbourne]]. From there he tramped to [[Forest Creek]]. After working in various parts of the district as a gold digger, he opened a small store at [[Spring Gully]], [[Fryers' Creek]]. He did not long continue there, however, as we next find him the owner of a store at [[White Hills]], [[Bendigo]].
  
 
==Goldfields Involvement, 1853-1854==
 
==Goldfields Involvement, 1853-1854==
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For three years he conducted the store, and then retired on an independency. In 1862 he purchased 100 acres of land and a house at Big Hill from the late Judge Skinner, and out of this formed the nucleus of Belvoir Park, which now consists of 700 acres of good park land. In 1856 he visited his old home, and remained in England, until 1860. At this period his income from his Bendigo properties amounted to about £4000 per year, and apparently he enjoyed his trip, as he again returned to England by the same vessel. Having toured Europe, he returned to Victoria, and took up his residence near Melbourne.
 
For three years he conducted the store, and then retired on an independency. In 1862 he purchased 100 acres of land and a house at Big Hill from the late Judge Skinner, and out of this formed the nucleus of Belvoir Park, which now consists of 700 acres of good park land. In 1856 he visited his old home, and remained in England, until 1860. At this period his income from his Bendigo properties amounted to about £4000 per year, and apparently he enjoyed his trip, as he again returned to England by the same vessel. Having toured Europe, he returned to Victoria, and took up his residence near Melbourne.
  
In 1866 he once more returned to Bendigo, and ever since he lived at Belvoir Park. The house is very well known, as it is situated in one of the prettiest spots in the Bendigo district. He continued to amass property, and at the time of his death owned some 24 allotments of land in Bendigo, the rental being very considerable. In 1855 he took part vigorously in an agitation to create a municipality in Bendigo, and was a candidate at the first municipal elections. He lost the election through advocating a shilling rate. It started at sixpence, but his judgment was soon justified, as it was found impracticable to carry on without a shilling rate. After his unsuccessful attempt to enter public life, he lived quietly, merely attending to his own affairs. For many years he regularly drove into Bendigo each Tuesday, and his buggy was a familiar sight in the street on that day. In fact, so regularly did he transact his business on the day mentioned, that he earned the sobriquet of “Tuesday”. About 12 months ago he married for the third time. He enjoyed a good constitution, and only during the last few months did he begin to suffer from ill-health. He was ill a very short time, and was under the care of Dr. Atkinson. Up to the last he managed his own property, and was frequently heard to remark that a man was never done working in this world. He was of a gentlemanly disposition, but rather retiring in his nature, though the friendships he made were always sincere. His only son, Mr. Walter Kirk Bissill, died some years ago, and no other children were born of his marriages. The funeral will take place this afternoon at 3 o’clock from Belvoir Park to the Kangaroo Flat Cemetery. It is understood that his estate will be administered by the Sandhurst and Northern District Trustees, Executors and Agency Co. The firm of Messrs. Quick, Hyett, and Rymer have been his solicitors throughout three generations.<ref>''The Bendigo Independent'', Saturday 31 December 1910, p 2. </ref>
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In 1866 he once more returned to Bendigo, and ever since he lived at Belvoir Park. The house is very well known, as it is situated in one of the prettiest spots in the Bendigo district. He continued to amass property, and at the time of his death owned some 24 allotments of land in Bendigo, the rental being very considerable. In 1855 he took part vigorously in an agitation to create a municipality in Bendigo, and was a candidate at the first municipal elections. He lost the election through advocating a shilling rate. It started at sixpence, but his judgment was soon justified, as it was found impracticable to carry on without a shilling rate. After his unsuccessful attempt to enter public life, he lived quietly, merely attending to his own affairs. For many years he regularly drove into Bendigo each Tuesday, and his buggy was a familiar sight in the street on that day. In fact, so regularly did he transact his business on the day mentioned, that he earned the sobriquet of “Tuesday”. About 12 months ago he married for the third time. He enjoyed a good constitution, and only during the last few months did he begin to suffer from ill-health. He was ill a very short time, and was under the care of Dr. Atkinson. Up to the last he managed his own property, and was frequently heard to remark that a man was never done working in this world. He was of a gentlemanly disposition, but rather retiring in his nature, though the friendships he made were always sincere. His only son, Mr. Walter Kirk Bissill, died some years ago, and no other children were born of his marriages. The funeral will take place this afternoon at 3 o’clock from Belvoir Park to the Kangaroo Flat Cemetery. It is understood that his estate will be administered by the Sandhurst and Northern District Trustees, Executors and Agency Co. The firm of Messrs. Quick, Hyett, and Rymer have been his solicitors throughout three generations.<ref>''Bendigo Advertiser'', Thursday 27 August 1903, p. 3.</ref>
  
 
 
 
 
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==See also==
 
==See also==
 
 
 
 

Latest revision as of 11:17, 25 July 2020

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.

 

Red Ribbon Movement Monument in Rosalind Park, Bendigo [detail], 2013. Ballarat Heritage Services Picture Collection

 

Background

  Bissill was born in April, 1808, at Stutterton Grange, near Boston, Lincolnshire, England and worked on his family's farm for many years.

In 1850 he sailed in the ship Bengal for South Australia. After 12 months in the sister State, he visited New Zealand, and worked at Auckland for six months. When the gold fever broke out, however, he went to Sydney, and soon afterwards proceeded to Melbourne. From there he tramped to Forest Creek. After working in various parts of the district as a gold digger, he opened a small store at Spring Gully, Fryers' Creek. He did not long continue there, however, as we next find him the owner of a store at White Hills, Bendigo.

Goldfields Involvement, 1853-1854

Bissill signed the 1853 Bendigo Goldfields Petition and his name has been transcribed as E. Bissill or Bissile. Agitation of the Victorian goldfields started with the Forest Creek Monster Meeting in 1851, but what became known as the Red Ribbon Movement was centred around the Bendigo goldfields in 1853. The Anti-Gold License Association was formed at Bendigo in June 1853, led by George Thomson, Dr D.G. Jones and 'Captain' Edward Browne. The association focused its attention on the 30 shillings monthly licence fee miners were required to pay to the government. They drew up a petition outlining digger grievances and called for a reduced licence fee, improved law and order, the right to vote and the right to buy land. The petition was signed by diggers at Bendigo, Ballarat, Castlemaine, McIvor (Heathcote), Mount Alexander (Harcourt) and other diggings. The 13 metre long petition was presented to Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe in Melbourne on the 01 August 1853, but their call for a reduction in monthly licence fees and land reform for diggers was rejected. The diggers dissatisfaction erupted into the Red Ribbon Rebellion where agitators wore red ribbons on their hats symbolising their defiance of the law and prohibitive licence fees.  

Post 1854 Experiences

Obituary

Obituary: DEATH OF MR. EDWARD BISSILL A VETERAN OF NINETY-FIVE YEARS. A resident of the Bendigo district, whose life furnishes a striking example of longevity, in the person of Mr. Edward Bissill, of Belvoir Park, Big Hill, passed away on Tuesday evening last. Edward Bissill (continued) He was born in April, 1808, at Stutterton Grange, near Boston, Lincolnshire, and had consequently passed his 95th year. His father was a landed proprietor in the county, and came of a family of large farmers in the county mentioned. The deceased during his early life assisted in the management of his father’s estate. He married at 33 years of age, and continued his association with agricultural pursuits until the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. All those familiar with this great free trade movement know that it had a depressing effect on the English farmers, and the estates were let at a rental of £700 per year, the subject of this notice having decided to journey to Australia.

In 1850 he sailed in the ship Bengal for South Australia. After 12 months in the sister State, he visited New Zealand, and worked at Auckland for six months. When the gold fever broke out, however, he went to Sydney, and soon afterwards proceeded to Melbourne. From there he tramped to Forest Creek. After working in various parts of the district as a gold digger, he opened a small store at Spring Gully, Fryers’ Creek. He did not long continue there, however, as we next find him the owner of a store at White Hills, Bendigo.

He soon made money, and at the first land sales held in Bendigo, in 1854, he purchased property at the corner of Hargreaves and Mundy streets. He afterwards purchased considerable property at Epsom, and when gold was discovered there, he found that the lead went right through it. Already he had made money, and this stroke of fortune added considerably to his profits.

For three years he conducted the store, and then retired on an independency. In 1862 he purchased 100 acres of land and a house at Big Hill from the late Judge Skinner, and out of this formed the nucleus of Belvoir Park, which now consists of 700 acres of good park land. In 1856 he visited his old home, and remained in England, until 1860. At this period his income from his Bendigo properties amounted to about £4000 per year, and apparently he enjoyed his trip, as he again returned to England by the same vessel. Having toured Europe, he returned to Victoria, and took up his residence near Melbourne.

In 1866 he once more returned to Bendigo, and ever since he lived at Belvoir Park. The house is very well known, as it is situated in one of the prettiest spots in the Bendigo district. He continued to amass property, and at the time of his death owned some 24 allotments of land in Bendigo, the rental being very considerable. In 1855 he took part vigorously in an agitation to create a municipality in Bendigo, and was a candidate at the first municipal elections. He lost the election through advocating a shilling rate. It started at sixpence, but his judgment was soon justified, as it was found impracticable to carry on without a shilling rate. After his unsuccessful attempt to enter public life, he lived quietly, merely attending to his own affairs. For many years he regularly drove into Bendigo each Tuesday, and his buggy was a familiar sight in the street on that day. In fact, so regularly did he transact his business on the day mentioned, that he earned the sobriquet of “Tuesday”. About 12 months ago he married for the third time. He enjoyed a good constitution, and only during the last few months did he begin to suffer from ill-health. He was ill a very short time, and was under the care of Dr. Atkinson. Up to the last he managed his own property, and was frequently heard to remark that a man was never done working in this world. He was of a gentlemanly disposition, but rather retiring in his nature, though the friendships he made were always sincere. His only son, Mr. Walter Kirk Bissill, died some years ago, and no other children were born of his marriages. The funeral will take place this afternoon at 3 o’clock from Belvoir Park to the Kangaroo Flat Cemetery. It is understood that his estate will be administered by the Sandhurst and Northern District Trustees, Executors and Agency Co. The firm of Messrs. Quick, Hyett, and Rymer have been his solicitors throughout three generations.[1]

 

See also

  Bendigo Goldfields Petition   Ballarat Reform League Inc. Monuments Project  

Further Reading

 

References

  1. Bendigo Advertiser, Thursday 27 August 1903, p. 3.

 

External links

  https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/family-matters/collections/did-you-ancestor-sign-the-bendigo-goldfields-petition/  


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