Harriet Eleanor Westbrook1

#1754, (13 April 1824-10 July 1908)
FatherDr. Samuel Westbrook1 (13 Jun 1795-2 Mar 1866)
MotherMary Margaret Mason1 (7 May 1799-15 Aug 1853)
Last Edited3 Sep 2022
WikiTree ID:https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Westbrook-1651.
     NOTE: The information on this page is my research to date and is subject to change as I become better informed. I very much welcome any corrections or additional info you might have - my email address is at the bottom of this page. Whilst historical facts are not copyright, my writing about these facts are. If you wish to use any text from this site on Ancestry or on any other website, please ask me first - Tim Hill.
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Harriet Eleanor Westbrook was born on 13 April 1824 at Tower Hamlets, London.2,3 She was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Westbrook and Mary Margaret Mason.1 Harriet Eleanor Westbrook was baptised at St. George in the East on Friday, 7 May 1824 at London.3

At the age of 4 Harriet emigrated from London on 4 March 1829 on the 'Calista' with her parents and older siblings. They were consigned to Hobart.4,5,6 Harriet arrived at Swan River, Perth, Western Australia, on 31 May 1829 with her parents and older siblings. They came via Rio de Janeiro with 47 passengers.5


However, it seems that the Swan River District was a considerable disappointment:
"On Saturday last the long expected Calista arrived from England, via the new settlement at Swan River. The accounts brought by this ship of that place are far from satisfactory. The proposed colonization would seem to be a total failure ... The entrance to Swan River was found totally inaccessible, even to boats ; there being not more than four feet water upon the bar over which it unceasingly broke. The stores, and every thing else taken from the shipping, was therefore of necessity landed upon the beach, and carried a long distance across the land to the river inside the bar, to be again embarked in boats for conveyance to the proposed settlement, some 8 or 10 miles up the river. But the very worst part of the "Peel Colony," (as Mr. Hume called it in Parliament) is that the country itself seems to be altogether unsuited for the residence of man. The land is barrenness itself. Sand, sandstone, and granite, with- out an acre of good land, as far as observation has gone. The want of water is also most seriously felt; instead of those purling streams, and bubbling springs, which the London papers spoke of, the only bubbling appears to have been that which the Peel folks effected. In a word, the whole scheme seems to be an entire failure of the most unqualified description."7




Further describing the circumstances:
"The expectations of the settlers were somewhat disappointed, the quality of the soil not being near equal to what they had been led to anticipate; several exploring parties had been into various parts of the interior, but all the good land they had met with was reckoned not to exceed 3,000 acres. Two distinct settlements had been formed, one about twelve or thirteen miles up the River, which had been named Perth, and where Captain Stirling had pitched his head-quarters ; the other, close to the mouth of the River, had been called Fremantle. At Perth they were busily engaged in building dwelling-houses and stores, but at Fremantle they were all residing in canteens brought out from England. They were greatly in want of artificers."8


Aparently Samuel thought he might buy some land in the area but he continued on to Hobart. The conditions may have something to do with it, as might of his continuing role as the Calista's doctor. But perhaps the most important consideration might be family; his mother, probably widowed, emigrated to Hobart two years before and had endured a shipwreck.8,9

At the age of 5 Harriet emigrated from Perth, Western Australia, on 21 September 1829 on the 'Calista' with her parents and older siblings.5,8 Harriet arrived at Hobart on 24 October 1829 with her parents and older siblings.5,10
She presumably moved with her parents to Launceston, Tasmania, circa 1830.11 She presumably moved with her parents to Clifton House, in New Norfolk, Tasmania, on 17 February 1835.12

She may have attended the wedding of her sister in the marriage of Rev. Samuel Berjew Fookes and Margaret Sarah Westbrook in a Church of England ceremony at St. John the Baptist on Saturday, 20 February 1847 at Buckland, Tasmania. Samuel and Margaret went on to have four children together, two of whom lived into their adulthood.13,14,15

Harriet Eleanor Westbrook married Joseph William Downward in 1848.16,17

Her father died 2 March 1866 at the age of 70. Harriet was aged 41 when this happened.

Harriet died on 10 July 1908 at East Brunswick, Victoria, at age 84.18,1

Timeline

DateEventPlace
Family
1824BirthTower Hamlets, London2,3
1
1824BaptismSt. George in the East, London3
Married Name16
1848Marriage16,17
1908DeathEast Brunswick, Victoria18,1

Family

Joseph William Downward (10 Oct 1807-3 Mar 1888)
Children

Citations

  1. [S371] GEDCOM file created by Andrew Kemp, 25 March 2011.
  2. [S911] WikiTree (http://www.wikitree.com/) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Westbrook-1651 (for suburb).
  3. [S338] Ancestry.com.au Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com.au/) http://person.ancestry.com.au/tree/61774382/person/…
  4. [S606] Western Australian Genealogical Society Inc. (http://wags.org.au) Settlers Gazette (http://wags.org.au/o/1829-ships/1829-shipping-arrivals/…).
  5. [S338] Ancestry.com.au Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com.au/) Archives Office of Tasmania; Tasmania, Australia; Reports of ships arrivals with lists of passengers; Film Number: SLTX/AO/MB/1; Series Number: MB2/39/1/1 ( http://search.Ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll).
  6. [S638] The Colonial Times (Hobart), Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 1829 'SHIP NEWS.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 30 October, p. 2, viewed 12 October, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8644627 (for departure date).
  7. [S590] The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1829 'SWAN RIVER.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 26 November, p. 3, viewed 8 April, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2193945
  8. [S590] The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1829 'ADVANCE AUSTRALIA SYDNEY GAZETTE AND NEW SOUTH WALES ADVERTISER.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 3 November, p. 2, viewed 8 April, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2193745
  9. [S608] The Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser, Hobart, Tasmania, 1827 'Loss of the Hope.', Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser (Hobart, Tas. : 1825 - 1827), 4 May, p. 2, viewed 9 April, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2450112
  10. [S638] The Colonial Times (Hobart), Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 1829 'SHIP NEWS.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 30 October, p. 2, viewed 12 October, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8644627
  11. [S638] The Colonial Times (Hobart), Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 1831 'Advertising.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 15 June, p. 1, viewed 12 October, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8645911
  12. [S609] The Hobart Town Courier, Hobart, Tasmania, 1835 'Classified Advertising.', The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 - 1839), 20 February, p. 3, viewed 12 October, 2014, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4181622
  13. [S273] Tasmania, Marriage Certificate, 1847#1400 (Index only).
  14. [S728] GEDCOM file created by Donald L. Reid, 17 Feb 2014 (companion to 'Descendents of James MCKENZIE.rtf' p.3) (for exact place and minister).
  15. [S569] Victor Malham,"Descendents of Samuel Brejew Fookes, Rev.PDF," , 23rd March 2012. Currently held by Tim Hill's collection, e-mail address page 1.
  16. [S338] Ancestry.com.au Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com.au/) http://person.ancestry.com.au/tree/61774382/person/…
  17. [S1324] Australian Medial Pioneers Index (http://www.medicalpioneers.com/) http://www.medicalpioneers.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi (for year).
  18. [S911] WikiTree (http://www.wikitree.com/) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Westbrook-1651 (for exact date).