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The old family home,
"Rosslyn", in rural Grafton, New South Wales.
Grafton is on the Far
North Coast of NSW, located on the mighty Clarence River.
"Rosslyn" was
built in 1862 by a Dutch sea captain named for his wife in Europe.
"Rosslyn" was classified by the Australian National Estate in the 1960's and
from that time on became a right pain in the ass to maintain because of the heavy
maintenance restrictions that go with a historically classified site status. The rolled
metal "bullnose" roofing alone cost nearly $20,000AUD to replace in the late
1960's which was a small fortune back then, and which would have bought an average home in
suburbia. Some scenes from the movie 'The Picture Show Man' were filmed in
"Rosslyn".
The home was only sold a
few years ago after being owned by the Small family for close to one hundred and twenty
five years. Lots of small Small's grew up there chasing fruit bats and frogs in the
backyard. And, of course, eating the fresh ripe mangoes falling from the mango trees out
the back near the good old fashioned outdoors dunny (a.k.a. the Outhouse).
Ancestors on both sides
of my family came to Australia in 1788. John Small came here as a passenger on the
cruise ship R.N. Charlotte which was, in reality, a prison barge. Seven years
later the highwayman John Small was pardoned and married a freeborn settler immigrant Mary
Parker. Eventually the Small's moved to the Clarence River area and became successful
pastoralists and graziers.
I'm proud to be of
convict descent - at least it got us out of gloomy old England !
The above photo is of the
now preserved penal accommodations at Trial Bay near South West Rocks on the north coast of
New South Wales. South West Rocks isn't far from where the family ultimately settled
and became pastoralists on the Clarence River, a bit farther north. A former ancestral
residence maybe ? I suspect not, as John was pardoned before 1800. There
are very few prisons in England with similar views I suspect.
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