Chapter 1 Sailor's Gully

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Chapter 1. Sailors’ Gully March, 1855

“T

his damnable weather”, thought Edmund, as he gazed out from his small tent over the swollen gully, while the muddy water flowed past at a great rate and was

gradually creeping towards the many tents along the river banks. The rain had been falling for days and there seemed to be no end in sight. From two tents away there was the sound of arguing between a male and a female . It was not hard to understand what it was all about !. “I am not staying in this Hell- hole any longer…….I am taking the children and getting out of here. I’m going to live in Melbourne and have a normal life”. “You can’t do that ! You promised when we were married that you would stick with me while we made our fortune, and then we’ll go and live somewhere decent! You know it is all a matter of luck and I feel our’s is just around the corner. Just look at the strike that was made last week”. “Sailor’s Gully certainly is a good name for it. You should have all stayed with your ships and been decent law abiding men instead of the drunken louts that most of you have become”.. came forth from the mouth of the female of the duo. “You know the baby is sick and the ‘doctor’…...if that is what you call him in this godforsaken place….

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says there is so much potential sickness here and no-one seems to care a hoot about trying to clean the place up.. I am taking the baby and Johnny and we will be on the next coach that leaves here. I will stay with Amelia and Robert until I can find some work which has livein facilities and a master who will be sympathetic to the children I am planning to take on washing and cleaning in one of the grand houses that are springing up around the city. I’m not afraid. .I will let you know where I am in case you decide to leave this sort of life I just cannot put up with the flies, the stench and the filth any more… not to mention the fierce sun and bushfires and now the endless rain. I am living in a mud bath! We are no better than pigs!” Edmund winced as he heard the sound of a slap and then heartfelt sobbing…together with apologies from the male . He knew that the two young people were very much in love. It was very evident just by the way

The Diggings

c. 1855

they looked at one another. So…..it was very sad to hear the argument and know that Jemima must be at breaking point. Was it fear for the lives of the children which drove her to it? Had she lost

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all respect for her husband and the way he was content to live ? Jack did live & work hard and was certainly a man’s man. Had he gone a bit too far? All these thoughts were bouncing around in Edmund Blakey’s head as he tried to pull the flap of his tent a bit tighter because the rain was coming through. It was March, 1855 and Marge would be here, in another couple of months. Had he done the right thing in telling his wife that it would soon be alright for her to migrate to this new land of opportunity.? The last letter he had from her said she had made up her mind to come now! He had got used to living on the goldfields in a tent, but what about a girl who had never experienced such a life ?. The small annex to the tent, with a stone fireplace for cooking, which he had hoped to erect in time, was still only half completed. If the rain did not stop, he would not be able to finish it in time. He could not imagine his wife living solely in a tent. Pictures of 22 year old Margery and her early life in Lancashire, which she had previously described to him, came into his mind. Her father, William White was a respectable shoemaker and ran a small shop in Liverpool. His wife Sarah helped attend to and fit the wealthy clients in the area, whilst he made the most ‘ beautiful, comfortable shoes, that have ever been made’ as some of his customers would tell him when returning to order another pair .. Sarah was also very capable with needle and thread. She was an experienced dressmaker and could make beautiful accessories to go with the shoes, such as little dainty reticules ( hold-all bags) and hair pieces. Margery and her brother James would often come into the shop while their mother was in discussion with a customer. This was very handy for them all as they lived above the shop/workshop. The children attended a small school, close by, which was run by Margaret Biggs, one of William’s clients. William and Sarah were both

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adamant that the children learn, at the very least, the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic as they themselves had not had much of an opportunity to do so. When Margaret had offered to take them at a reduced rate, they jumped at the chance. Young James had been going to the school for about 5 years, since they had been living and working in this area and Margery had just started. James Carter White was only a half- brother to Margery and was 7 years older. His mother, William’s first wife Elise, had died giving birth to yet another still born baby. There had been five dead babies besides the one and only ‘little miracle’, James, and William had felt very guilty and depressed after her death.. Sarah was Elise’s cousin, quite a bit younger than William, but they seemed to fit very comfortably when together and this resulted in a second marriage for him. The boy needed a mother and Sarah revelled in the situation. She was ecstatic when young Margery was born although the nine months had been a terrible time for William. When it all worked out well he said ‘Definitely no more children. I will not put either of us through that worry again”. Margery became the ‘apple of his eye’ with her small features, beautiful, alert green eyes and light auburn coloured curly hair…not to mention her wild imagination and love of getting into mischief. She was always greatly at ease with his customers and knew them all by name. Of course, she was often rewarded with little treats by some of the wealthy customers, after she had used her irresistible charm on them. The fast growing lad would spend his spare time in the workshop with William and happily work with strips of leather, cord and buttons. He was about to become officially apprenticed to his father in the trade and was looking forward to leaving school soon. Margery could always be found in the front of the shop, either looking at the finished shoes or just running her hands over them as if she was being transported to another fanciful place. When her mother

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was otherwise engaged, the little girl would be drawn towards the pretty accessories, which she was not supposed to touch. The velvet and satin ribbons were her favourites. The feel of the different textures was heaven to her. Her imagination knew no boundaries… she rode in a beautiful carriage; she was side-saddle on a beautiful white horse in a long flowing dress or she was dancing with a handsome stranger. Her favourite one was being rescued by a wonderful man on horseback after she had been kidnapped and held prisoner in a castle. These fancies seemed to appear according to whatever the type of boot or shoe she was admiring, together with whichever story was being read to her at school As Edmund sipped more and more from the bottle between his hands, Margery’s face became more and more vague. Was he beginning to forget what she looked like? It had been 2 years since he had seen her and he had left for Australia just 12 months after their marriage. He had been persuaded by James White to leave, sooner than he had anticipated, with him and get away from the never ending problems caused by the industrialisation of the country and the ensuing squaller and sickness that the people were expected to live in. His beautiful Yorkshire was being overrun by the Irish, fleeing from the effects of the potato famine…all coming to find work in the mills. People were living as sub humans in conclaves. The accommodation was quite often supplied by the mill owners so as to get cheap labour and many different families with their endless children, would be sharing one or two small rooms. Children as young as 5 years old were employed in the factories to do work where their small size was an advantage, like cleaning under and around the machinery. It was becoming intolerable. The middle class were getting so greedy at the expense of the lower class!

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It had been agreed that the two men would start a new life and assess things thoroughly in the New Colony before bringing out their wives. The newspapers were full of advertisements, begging men to come and work in Victoria, which was a new State of Australia having just separated from New South Wales in 1852. The opportunities seemed endless for anyone who was prepared to work hard…not to mention the continuing reports of gold discoveries which added another thrilling dimension for anyone who had a sense of adventure . The roof of the tent started to leak and as Edmund tried to move away from the raindrops , he ended up on the floor after tripping over a pile of half formed tin objects, anvils, shears, firepot and tools that shared his home…that is the important ones that could be stolen if left in the open shelter which was his workshop. He was a tinsmith and supplemented his existence by making & selling utensils to the miners. He was fortunate that he was not solely dependent on the vagaries of fossicking for gold. In his half stupor, he lay where he fell and went to sleep with the image of a young woman in his mind…. ..but… this one was big bosomed and had blonde hair. It was Saturday night and he would normally have been in her arms in Eaglehawk, 2 miles away, if the gully had not flooded and cut the road. Lila had been his ‘comfort’ ever since Rose had left him and returned to Melbourne, 3 months ago.

hut

Panning for gold

The Smithy’s

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He awoke the next morning and felt rather disgusted with himself. The remainder of the bottle had spilled over him when he tripped and fell. He absolutely reeked of alcohol, so he tried to clean himself up. What would Margery think if she could see him? He turned his thoughts once more to the impending arrival of his wife. Of course he wanted her to come. He had begged her to do so and he had painted a much rosier picture of the situation out here on the goldfields than what the reality was. But … there now was Lila , who had come into his life after he had written and asked Margery to come out. He had not counted on how his feelings for his new love would overtake and thoroughly consume his whole being. She was everything a man could wish for and…she understood the life and was ‘one of them’. He admitted to himself that he had a big problem which would have to be sorted out very soon ! Lila was the youngest of 6 children born to a convict couple who had been assigned to a large landholder in Van Dieman’s Land, after having been transported from Ireland in 1820 .Her parents were granted their freedom after serving part of their original sentence, but as trusted servants, they had been begged to stay on and work.

In

1840 the family decided to move to the newer area on the mainland, named Victoria where there appeared more opportunities. Lila had been well brought up, considering the circumstances and her whole family was much thought of. When she turned 21, she left the confines of the family and, with a great sense of adventure and with the blessings of her parents, she found herself assisting the owner of quite a large licensed hotel and accommodation house in Eaglehawk, which was 2 miles from Sailors’ Gully, on the road to Bendigo. Gold had been discovered there in 1852 and the town was growing at a fast pace. She had not been told of Marge’s impending arrival and she was falling hopelessly in love with this charmer from Yorkshire. She knew Edmund was married and that his wife had gone to live with her mother in Scotland after Edmund had left for Australia.

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People in this new land, lived and worked hard. Their philosophy was “take every opportunity as it presents itself for there may not ever be a second chance”. That applied to love, also, and Scotland seemed a million miles away.

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Gold Digger's Wedding