Charles J Woodward
| Town/City | Chisholm |
|---|---|
| First name | Charles J |
| Last name | Woodward |
| Country of Origin | Guernsey, Channel Islands |
| Date of Birth | 9th January 1837 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1881 |
| Submitted by | Frank Duggan |
Story
Birth
Charles John Woodward was of Anglo-Irish stock, born January 1837 in Drumbaragh manor house near Kells in co Meath, Ireland. Wider family were landed gentry. His father Edward, MD, seems to have worked himself to death during the potato famine in 1846. Firstborn Charles was aged nine at the time. Widowed mother Charlotte took her four children to live in Dublin. Charles joined a military unit (never identified, could be Irish, British or Indian). Oral history was emphatic about years of military service in India.
Country of Origin
In 1864 his sister Mary married Guernseyman John Hartwell in Town Church, St Peter Port, the ‘capital\’ of Guernsey Bailiwick, Channel Islands. Hartwells ran its oldest music store/warehouse downtown selling/hiring sheet music and musical instruments with pianofortes and harmoniums (pedal organs) top of the range. Charles presumably met Amelia, John\’s only sister, at or about time of this wedding. Romance blossomed but both were wrong side of thirty when they wed in the same church in April 1870. He joined the firm as a ‘piano dealer\’ while prior Army service gave entry to Royal Guernsey Militia with officer rank. There he soon became a prize-winning marksman.
In April 1881 Charles, now father of five daughters and a son, quit the music business and sailed alone to transit port Plymouth. He was heading to the Great South Land to make a new life as a farmer following the example of uncles and great-uncles (one being James Atkinson, grantee of Belfast Special Survey in Victoria). At Plymouth Charles was one of two cabin passengers to join 120 ex London on steam-and-sail CHIMBORAZO, while 25 new steerage passengers bolstered the 150 already lodged there, making 297 overall.
The Journey
Sailing 12th April 1881, Captain Ruthven steered a great-circle route towards Cape of Good Hope, calling at Cape Town where four ostriches were boarded. Early 15th May the ship rounded the cape to brush Antarctic latitudes before reaching Port Adelaide a fortnight later,so 200 nautical miles/day and average speed of 8-knots. Three ostriches did not survive. A full 24 hours was spent discharging cargo, work illuminated by ‘a light equal to 2,000 candles’. (Context suggests this powerful light was part of CHIMBORAZO\’s equipment).
Charles wrote diary-type letters (last posted in Melbourne on 1st June 1881 disembarkation) treating his days and mentioning chilblains that upset his nights. Other travellers such as Mr & Mrs McGregor in 2nd class had theirs upset by the drunken pranks of young men, one of whom (a Mr Davies) was pushed into their cabin after they had retired. Davies was reprimanded by the captain and warned that his liquor would be stopped if he re-offended.
Impressions on Arrival
Charles\’s expected the new homeland to benefit his whole family, who came out a year later (see Amelia\’s story) but shortly after sampling Melbourne, he wanted to abandon the whole idea. McCraes at Shirley counselled him,key influences cannot be identified from modern times. He wrote telling Amelia to sit tight, saying he would be back by the end of September, adding that he was sure of getting a job in Guernsey, even if not in the music store. Oral history says she ignored his letter and came anyway. Commonsense shows there must be more to it. Timeframe for exchanges of letters debarred her dissuading him in time. And she and the children did not leave for six months anyway. Unless undersea cables (two available) carried his command and her reply, the idea that a disobedient wife flew in the face of her husband\’s instruction does not hold water. Similarly, the decision to stay in Victoria, after further short deliberation, must have been his alone unless Amelia again cabled that she was definitely coming.
Within the year he began two farms in Western District, one at Kirkstall ten miles north of Port Fairy and another twelve miles further out at Hawkesdale. A year later he bought both by borrowing £4 000,a true fortune. Though he believed all was well he soon went ‘belly up\’. Creditors seized and sold plant, stock and business assets. Management flaws revealed by selection of land reflect his inexperience. Oral history asserted: ‘He was taken in. The land he bought looked beautiful but it had been spelled.’ To top things off, a severe three-year drought hit. Nothing could save the new-chum.
Further reading
Charles and Amelia\’s full story can be found in a 2008 book (ISBN 9780646493619).