The photos in this post are now viewable… I really have learned my lesson about deleting pictures from the library!
My great-grandfather, Louis Frederick Walford, was born in Hobart Tasmania to Samuel and Rosetta Moses. Samuel and Rosetta were Jewish entrepreneurs who had come with the in-laws, Louis and Harriet Nathan, to build a business in the thriving town of Hobart.
When Samuel and Rosetta arrived in Hobart in the early 1840’s with their young children, Rosetta, Alfred and Rachel, the colony had only been in existence just on forty years; it was a very new world! Tasmania had been discovered in 1642 by the Dutchman Abel Tasman, but it was not properly settled until a penal colony was established in 1804.
The first Jewish convict to be brought to what was then a God-forsaken land, was Barnard Walford (note the name!) Barnard was originally from Vienna in Austria but had come to join the large Jewish community in London and had then been arrested, tried, and sentenced for transportation after stealing some underwear… what a petty crime, how harsh the punishment! Barnard had arrived in the…
View original post 1,446 more words
Lois Elsden 
Hi Lois.
Thank you for following my blog. I loved reading about your great grandparents … especially the ‘evening’ at Boa Vista House. It caused me to feel a bit homesick, because I have often driven along Boa Vista Road in New Town on my way to where I used to live in the Southern Beaches area of Southern Tasmania.
Your great grandparents history in and before Tasmania would make a great book and mini series. Given that he was a convict, I wondered if his name is amongst those in Cambell Town. http://www.northernmidlands.tas.gov.au/Page/Page.aspx?Page_Id=344
Your home close to the sea sounds fabulous.
Regards
David
LikeLike