Monday 31 July 2017

John Bassett’s final resting place in Australia

Article - 8 John Bassett of Madron (1790- 1868) 


John Bassett lived for seven years in the colony of Victoria before he died in Sailors Gully, in the borough of Eaglehawk.[i]  He arrived in Victoria in 1861 on the SS Great Britain with his wife and some of his extended family.[ii]  The first location I can confirm was in  1866 when he was living in his own weatherboard home in Eaglehawk.[iii]   His widow Martha continued to live at the property on Lester Street in 1869 after his death until her own death in 1882.[iv]  

Memorial Marker on Burial Plot # 34G, Eaglehawk Cemetery, Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia

John Bassett Snr’s Residence (rates books)

Yr 1866, #169, Bassett, John;  Sailors Gully, Weatherboard and Land, Valued at £17.[v]
Yr 1867, #175, Bassett, John; Sailors Gully, Weatherboard house and Land, £4. [vi]
Yr 1868, #166, Bassett, John; Miner; Lester St; Weatherboard house and Land, £6.[vii]
Yr 1869, #479; Bassett, Martha;          Widow Lester St;  wood house and Land, £20.[viii]
Yr 1881, Bassett, Martha; Lester St; £13.[ix]
Yr 1882, Bassett, Martha; Lester St; £13.[x]

After arriving in the colonies John Bassett (Snr) was an active lay preacher in the California Gully Wesleyan Church.
The “Wesleyan Methodist church did not have a residential minister until seventeen years after its beginning. This fact, combined with the pre-existing Methodist emphasis on lay ministry, meant that Eaglehawk soon established a tradition of a very active laity" which our research indicates includes such people as John Bassett Snr.  It was noted in The Methodist History of Victoria and Tasmania that he was known as Grandfather Bassett.

“Mr John Bassett, known as Grandfather Bassett, was a much-loved and esteemed local preacher and class-leader; also was Mr T. Featonby and others, whose names cannot be erased by time, as their works follow them. Mr Bassett was called Home at  80 years of age in 1869”[xi]
He performed the burial ceremony for a John Holman of Eaglehawk who died at the age of 18 months on the 25/3/1866[xii]  The founder of the Methodist church, John Wesley, "advocated open air preaching and encouraged the laity to perform tasks traditionally belonging to the clergy".[xiii]  Several “ministers” were usually appointed in a circuit (area) to preach itinerantly and to conduct some church rites, of which funerals would have been one.  This also helps to explain why there were no Clergy present at his own burial.[xiv]

Active in the local church, he was surrounded by family who was also living in Sailors Gully according to the rates books. 

Timeline of Family Events between 1861 and 1868

1861

John Bassett  arrives in Australia on Christmas Eve 1861

1862

The first major event after arriving was his youngest son, James, getting married within two weeks of arrival.  John had personally escorted his son’s bride from Cornwall to Australia ensuring that everything went smoothly.[xv]  Ten months later James Bassett had a son James born on 6 Nov 1862 in Eaglehawk, Victoria but he lived only 11 days dying on 17 November in Sailors Gully, Victoria, Australia.[xvi]
In the same year, Catherine Davey the child of Anne Bassett & Stephen Davey also died, at the tender age of 5.[xvii]

1863

Anne Bassett Davey daughter of Stephen Davey and Anne Bassett was born; she was one of two grandchildren born in Australia to survive to adulthood. Elizabeth Davey Bassett also died in 1863 on 4 March in Eaglehawk.[xviii]  Six days later Elizabeth Rowe was born on 10 March 1863 in Sailors Gully and died 4 weeks later on 7 April 1863 (she was the daughter of James Rowe and Martha Bassett).[xix]

1864

The second son of James Bassett and Eleanor Symons, James Bassett is born on 23 May 1864 in Sailors Gully although he lived 11 days; he died after a ten-week inflammation of the brain at 21 months on 31 Jan 1866 the following year.[xx]

Jane Bassett Trerise nee Davey (Cir 1843-1864) daughter of Ann Bassett & Stephen Davey, died at the age of 21 in childbirth with her third child.[xxi] Her two previous children had also died: John born 14 April 1863 and died 9 February 1864 at the age of 9 months, and John Davey born May 1864 and died the following year in 1865 at the age of 8 months.[xxii] 

Mary Bassett daughter of William Bassett & Martha Moffatt also died in 1864 on 14 April at the age of 24.[xxiii]

1865

The third son of James Bassett and Eleanor Symons, William Bassett is born on 4 July 1865but died the same year at the age of 10 months on 30 Dec 1865 in Sailors Gully.[xxiv]

Elizabeth Rowe born 20 March 1865 in Eaglehawk Gully, died of whooping cough 18 April 1866 she was the daughter of James Rowe and Martha Bassett.[xxv] 

Catherine Jane Davey daughter of Stephen Davey and Anne Bassett, born on 13 Jul 1865 in Eaglehawk, she was the only other grandchild born in Australia before 1868 who managed to survive to adulthood.[xxvi]

His son John passes away from miner’s complaint after going bankrupt in the same year.[xxvii]

1866

The second son of James Bassett and Eleanor Symons, James Bassett dies. [see 1864 for more details].[xxviii]

1867

Eleanor Bassett is born daughter of James Bassett and Eleanor Symons on 31 Mar 1867 in Sailors Gully their first child who would survive childhood.[xxix]

1868

Stephen Davey and Anne Bassett have a still born child 20 Feb 1868.[xxx]
Mary Bassett is born daughter of James Bassett and Eleanor Symons on 17 November 1868, a few days before John himself dies.[xxxi]  John dies on 24 Nov 1868.[xxxvii]
John and Martha’s death notices as they appeared in the newspapers of the day

The Bendigo Advertiser

25 Nov 1868[xxxiii]
"The Friends of the late Mr John Bassett, of Sailor's Gully, are respectfully invited to follow his remains to the Eaglehawk Cemetery, This Day; funeral to move from his late residence at four o'clock."

Martha died 14 years later.

The Bendigo Advertiser

21 Mar 1882[xxxiv]
The friends of the late Mr. John Barrett are respectfully invited to follow the remains of his widow (Mrs Martha Barrett) from the residence of her son in law Mr. Kitto, Hodgson St, Sailors Gully to the Eaglehawk Cemetery tomorrow (Wednesday)  Funeral to move at four o'clock
E.C.Brown  Undertaker(copied as printed in newspaper) [note Bassett is spelt as Barrett]

Previous Articles in this Series - John Bassett of Madron, (1790-1868)

Article 1 -  Who is John Bassett?




[i] Death Certificate of John Bassett, died 24 Nov 1868, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, 8567 / 1868
[ii] Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com  (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 July 2017) Passenger List of S.S. Great Britain 19 October 1861, marked p.9, Line 14, John Bassett, age 70;[ Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria.]
[iii] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1866.
[iv] Hanson, Bev & Webster, Karolyn , 1996, Borough of Eaglehawk Rate Book 1869, Eaglehawk Heritage Society
[v] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1866.
[vi] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1867
[vii] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1868.
[viii] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1869.
[ix] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1881
[x] Extract from the Borough of Eaglehawk Rates Book 1882.
[xi]The Methodist History of Victoria and Tasmania: Originally published in the Spectator, Volume 2, 1898 onwards
[xii] Register of Burials for John Holman, Eaglehawk Public Cemetery Register of Burials, Register # 142 Grave #28G
[xiii] Marshall, Brendon & Eaglehawk Uniting Church (Eaglehawk, Vic.) 1998, Mining, ministry and miracles : a short history of the Eaglehawk Wesleyan Methodist Church, 1852-1900, Eaglehawk Uniting Church, [Eaglehawk, Vic.]
[xiv] Death Certificate of John Bassett, died 24 Nov 1868, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, 8567 / 1868
[xv], Marriage Certificate James Bassett and Ellenor Symons married 9 January 1862, Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia 399/1962
[xvi] Birth certificate of James Bassett, born 6 November 1862, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, 22760 / 1862; Death certificate James Bassett, died 17 November 1862, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, 9457 / 1862
[xvii] EHPR #1931 p.274
[xviii] VIC BDM 5209/1863;  EHPR#419 p.65
[xix] EHPR #7255 p.1325
[xx] Birth certificate of James Bassett, born 23 May 1864, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia 10651/1864; Death certificate of James Bassett, died 31 January 1866 Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia, 2684/1866
[xxi] EHPR #1931 p.274
[xxii] EHPR #8539 p.1864
[xxiii] EHPR #423 p.66
[xxiv] Birth certificate of William Bassett born on 4 July 1865. Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia 17531/1865; Death certificate of William Bassett died on 30 Dec 1865. Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia. 9609/1865.
[xxv] EHPR Entry #7555James Rowe
[xxvi] EHPR #1931 p.274
[xxvii] VIC BDM 9587/1865
[xxviii] VIC BDM 2684/1866
[xxix] Birth certificate of Eleanor Bassett born 31 Mar 1867, Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia 7910/1867
[xxx] EHPR #6632 p.1104
[xxxi] Birth certificate of Mary Bassett born on 17 November 1868. Registrar of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia. 23053/1868
[xxxii] VIC BDM 8567/1868
[xxxiii]The Bendigo Advertiser, 25 Nov 1868
[xxxiv] Transcription by Robyn Tumney
[note EHPR = Eaglehawk Pioneers Register ]

Monday 24 July 2017

Bassett Family from Cornwall to Australia

Article - 7 John Bassett of Madron (1790- 1868) 


In today’s world, we travel for work, pleasure and to migrate to new places.  However, when we examine our forebears' lives and search the records we often assume that they only travelled when migrating to a new country.  In my previous post, I discussed the travels that both John Bassett Senior and his son John were involved in before actually deciding to move their families to Australia.

Chadfield, P. (1862). Out at Sea; or, the Emigrant afloat, being a hand book of practical information for the use of passengers on a long sea voyage / by P. B. Chadfield. (3rd ed.). Derby: Chadfield & Son. p.33 accessed 19 July 2017 http://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=IE3710017
In this post, I have attempted to identify when each of John Bassett’s children migrated to Australia. It appears that all living descendants of John & Martha came out to Australia over a thirteen year period beginning in 1857. 

The only children of John and Martha that did not migrate with their families were those that that died in childhood before the family departed. John Bassett (Abt 1814-1815), Francis Bassett (Cir 1823-1839),  James Bassett (Cir 1832-Cir 1833),  Samuel Bassett (1838-1839)

The first group arrived in Australia in 1857

The first to permanently move was John [jnr] and his wife on the Royal Charter which left Liverpool, England on the 16th May 1857.[i]  The ship arrived in Hobson’s Bay, on the 19 July after leaving Liverpool on 15 May 1857 for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[ii] Onboard were John Bassett, 36 yrs, Miner, wife Catherine and children Francis, John. Catherine and Martha.[iii]  Also onboard were William Bassett, 40 yrs, Miner his brother and Stephen Davey,[iv], [v]  William’s wife, Martha and his children followed in 1866 see below for details almost 11 years later. [vi] Stephen Davey’s wife Ann followed 4 years later with her parents John & Martha Bassett. [vii]

1857 'Shipping Intelligence.', The Star (Ballarat, Vic. : 1855 - 1864), 21 July, p. 2. , viewed 19 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66043296

The second group arrived in Australia in 1861

The next lot to arrive travelled with John Bassett[snr] and his wife on the SS Great Britain, which Liverpool on the 21 October 1861 and arrived in Hobson’s Bay, on the Christmas Eve the same year.[viii]   On John Bassett, Snr’s ticket was his wife and a Miss Samions, aged 27 [which should probably have read Miss Symons, the soon to be the wife of James Bassett].

Also travelling on the same voyage on two separate tickets were  Mrs Ann Davey, aged 35 (formerly Bassett, and wife to Stephen Davey) and her children: Elizebeth Davey, aged 16;  Jane Davey, aged 18;  John Davey, aged 12;  and Stephen Davey, aged 9. [ix]  The second ticket was held by  James Rowe, aged 38, Mrs Rowe, aged 32 [formerly Martha Bassett], and children: Julia Rowe, aged 8, Martha Rowe, aged 5, and Nanney Rowe, aged 1. [x]

1861 'SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 26 December, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5707302

The Third Group arrived in Australia in 1866

The final group to arrive in Australia was on the True Briton which departed London on the 7 May arriving on 28 July 1866. Travelling with her children was Martha Bassett, 49 yrs [wife William Bassett] and her children: Mary Bassett, 22, John Bassett, 12, Elizabeth Bassett, 15, Matilda J. Bassett, 17 [according to my musings this is probably Martha Jnr] and Nanny Bassett, 23.[xi]

1866 'SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 30 July, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5769147

In summary, the family migrated to Australia in the following order


1.      William Bassett (Cir 1816-1869) came out in 1857
2.      John Bassett (1820-1865) came out multiple times but looks to have migrated in 1857 when he brought his family out to Australia
3.      Anne Bassett (1826-1904) came out in 1861
4.      Martha Bassett (Cir 1828-1907) came out in 1861
5.      James Bassett (Cir 1833-1879) I have been unable to locate when James my 2x great grandfather came out to Australia

John’s Grandchildren who did not migrate with their parents

The grandchildren of John and Martha that did not migrate with their families were those that died in childhood before the families departed.  However, the deaths of the grandchildren listed below deaths have not yet been confirmed:

William Bassett & Martha Moffatt [father migrated 1857 rest of family migrated in 1866]
William Bassett b. 1845, Crowan, Cornwall, England

John Bassett & Catherine Davey [parents migrated in 1857]
William Bassett b. Cir 1854
James Bassett b. Cir 1857

Anne Bassett & Stephen Davey [father migrated 1857 rest of family migrated in 1861]
Ann Bassett Davey b. 15 Jan 1854, Crowan, Cornwall, England
Catherine Davey b. 4 Mar 1857, Crowan, Cornwall, England

Martha Bassett & James Rowe [parents migrated in 1861]
Martha Bassett Rowe b. 1852, Breage, Cornwall, England
Henry B Rowe b. 1860

Do you recognise any of these children and know when they died?  If you do please let me know so that I can tidy up these loose ends.

When did John Bassett’s son James (b.1833- 1879) come out to Australia?

James Bassett is the only child of John Bassett that I have been unable to locate in the records to establish which ship he came out on.  It is thought that James probably came out between 1851 and 1861 as he marries Eleanor Symons on the 9 Jan 1862, sixteen days after she arrived with James’ parents on the “Great Britain" in Melbourne on 24 December 1861.[xii]  In the 1851 census, he was living with his parents in Godolphin, Breage, Cornwall.[xiii] By 1861 all of James’ siblings remaining in Cornwall had moved to Gwinear, Cornwall.  It is likely that James also moved to Gwinear before coming out to Australia as this is probably where he met his wife to be, before migrating out to Australia (unless the marriage was arranged by his parents). [xiv]
The following mining lease/application the involves the three Bassett brothers, John Francis and James, plus Stephen Davey applications were made as early as 24 August 1859 indicating that James must have already arrived in the colonies, to join his older brothers.

“Lease No 102 John Bassett, Francis Bassett.   148 yds quartz area 2 acres 1 rood 2 perches applied for 30 August 1859 but included in Lease 103 Bassett Brothers (John Bassett, William Bassett, James Bassett and Stephen Davey) applied for on 24 August 1859 and granted 2 May 1860.  The applicants stated they were working the land as a claim(s).  The areas were adjacent being 2 acres 1 rood 2 perches and 5 acres 25 perches and 5 acres 25 perches respectively and situated in Butcher's Gully at the head of Napoleon Gully and Sailor's Gully.  The applicants worked the land until the 10-year lease expired on 2 May 1870 but did not apply for renewal of the lease.”
This indicates that James Bassett probably migrated to Australia somewhere between 1851 and 1859 but when and how still remains a mystery.

Previous Articles in this Series - John Bassett of Madron, (1790-1868)

Article 1 -  Who is John Bassett?





[i] 1857 'SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 20 July, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7135589
[ii] 1857 'SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 20 July, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7135589
[iii] Passenger List "Royal Charter" 15 May 1857 page 10 No 2 Entry #256 John Bassett and family Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[iv] Passenger List "Royal Charter" 15 May 1857 page 4 No 2 Entry #152 William Bassett (aged 40)  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[v] Passenger List "Royal Charter" 15 May 1857 page 4 No 2 Entry #153 Stephen Davey (aged 36)  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[vi] Passenger List "True Briton" 3 November 1865 page 2 Entry #117532 Martha Bassett  (aged 49) and family.  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[vii] Passenger List "Great Britian" 19 October 1861 page 9 Entry #2759 Mrs Ann Davey (aged 35) and children.  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[viii] 1861 'SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 26 December, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jul 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5707302
[ix] Passenger List "Great Britian" 19 October 1861 page 9 Entry #2759 Mrs Ann Davey (aged 35) and children.  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[x] Passenger List "Great Britian" 19 October 1861 page 9 Entry #2755 James Rowe  (aged 38) and family.  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[xi] Passenger List "True Briton" 3 November 1865 page 2 Entry #117532 Martha Bassett  (aged 49) and family.  Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. citing Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]
[xii] Marriage Certificate of James Bassett and Ellenor Symons, married 9 Jan 1862; Registry of Birth, Death and Marriages, Victoria, Australia,  399/1962.
[xiii] “1851 England Census,” database, Ancestry.com(www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 July 2017). Entry for John Bassett (aged 61), Godolphin Moor Breage, Cornwall; citing PRO HO107/ 1913, Folio: 245; Page: 14, Helston registration district, St Keverne subdistrict, ED 1b, household 48.
[xiv] The Bendigo advertiser [microform] (Began Dec. 9, 1853. Sandhurst, Vic. : R.R. Haverfield, -2003. Newspapers - Microfilm - Select reel(s) from cabinets NM), 10 Jan 1862.  SLV

Monday 17 July 2017

When did John Bassett come out to Australia?

Article - 7 John Bassett of Madron (1790- 1868) 

After initial research, it appeared that John Bassett first came out to Australia in 1861 as part of a large family group on the SS Great Britain (Voyage 21) which arrived in Hobson’s Bay, Williamstown, Victoria on the 23rd Dec 1861.[i] 

SS Great Britain

Artist unknown, SS Great Britain in 1853, showing her four-masted sail plan following her refit from five masts. She was later refitted again, to a traditional three-masted, square-rigged pattern. From Maginnis, Arthur J. (1900): The Atlantic Ferry: Its Ships, Men and Working, Whittaker and Co., London and New York. Wikipeda Commons Accessed 14 July 2017 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SS_Great_Britain_with_four_masts_1853.jpg [out of copyright]

Travelling with him were his wife Martha, and daughters Ann Davey and Martha Rowe, their husbands and children and soon to be daughter-in-law Eleanor Symons.

Previous visits to Australia

More research, however, revealed that John Bassett (Snr) may have made several trips between Australia and England before he moved permanently with the rest of the extended family in 1861.  This is supported by a reference to John Bassett in “The Methodist History of Victoria and Tasmania: Originally published in the Spectator, Volume 2, 1989 onwards”  
"Mr John Bassett, known as Grandfather Bassett, was a much-loved and esteemed local preacher and class-leader; also was Mr. T. Featonby and others, whose names cannot be erased by time, as their works follow them. Mr. Bassett was called Home at 80 years of age in 1869".   
Professor Ian Breward the archivist at the Uniting Church archives in Victoria Australia, felt that such terms of endearment "much-loved and esteemed local preacher" indicated that John Bassett (Snr) must have arrived earlier than 1861.

Research further afield found a John Bassett on the Marco Polo 1853 which may have been our John Bassett accompanied by his John Bassett (Jnr). (The ages match perfectly).  Listed on the passenger list were John Bassett, aged 53 & John Bassett, aged 32.

The Marco Polo

 Llithograph artist unknown,  The celebrated clipper ship Marco Polo, as she appeared in the Mersey after the completion of her two unparalleled voyages from Liverpool to Melbourne and back in 11 months and 21 days, including detention in Australia, Liverpool : W. H. Hammond and Co. Lith. ; [ca.1860]  http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137247182. [out of copyright]

A  notation on a mining lease application made in Victoria, Australia for ground in Specimen Hill, Sailors Gully on the 4th February 1861 which included the following special remarks that 
“The applicant had been in possession of the ground for 5 years”( Bendigo Lease Register, Department of  Energy and ……. Registry of Applications) indicating that John Bassett [probably John Bassett Junior] was already mining in the area on this site in 1855.  

It is likely that John’s second eldest son was involved in mining activities for English mining investors and may have travelled back and forth to organize funding and arrangements for future mining operations, his father may have accompanied him on several of these trips, perhaps to help with some of the details and laying the groundwork for the eventual arrival of other family members.  John Bassett Snr may have also been the courier of important correspondence between the Australian operations and the British investors for his son. 

Photographer Alexander Fox,  Miners wearing their best clothes near Bendigo, 1853, digital image, Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/769693, Accessed 17 July 2017 (CC BY 4.0)
The links between British investors and John Bassett Jnr still need to be explored.

Next week I hope to trace the rest of the Bassett Family coming over from Cornwall to Australia. 


Previous Articles in this Series - John Bassett of Madron, (1790-1868)

Article 1 -  Who is John Bassett?



Sources


[i] Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com  (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 July 2017) Passenger List of S.S. Great Britain 19 October 1861, marked p.9, Line 14, John Bassett, age 70;[ Series: VPRS 7666; Series Title: Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria.]