My great-great-grandfather, Samuel Moses went to Tasmania from London in the late 1830’s, not sent there against his will as a convict, but travelling there with his partner and brother-in-law and their families, as business people. They ran what would now be called an export-import business, or maybe logistics, and they had warehouses, ships, and a shop which sold their goods. They were both very prominent in the small Jewish community in Hobart and contributed greatly to the building of the synagogue which is still there and much-loved and used today.
I knew that Samuel had a beautiful mansion called Boa Vista which now no longer exists; I know that he and his beautiful wife, Rosetta would entertain lavishly there, and it is where their children grew up. I know that when Samuel and Rosetta returned to England in the 1860’s they rented Boa Vista and it was only sold when Rosetta died in 1901 at the age of eighty-five. I had seen pictures of the wonderful mansion, but knew very little about it, apart from the names of some of the other people who had owned it or lived there.
Then last night I came across this wonderful blog, which gives a very detailed account of the property, and even shows some incredible photos of the gatehouse which still exists!
http://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/boa-vista-mansion-gatehouse.html
Boa Vista was built in 1828 for Dr James Scott and had huge, huge grounds; by the time Samuel and Rosetta bought it, the land had been divided into smaller estates, but was still a magnificent place to live. It was actually sold in February 1902, about seven or eight months after Rosetta had died. sadly, this magnificent building began to decline in the 1950’s and was eventually demolished in 1970. I’d like to thank the writer of ‘On the convict trail’ for his/her blog post! I have added the gatehouse to my list of places to go if I ever actually manage to visit Tasmania (I’m saving very hard!)
Lois Elsden 
That must have stirred a few emotions, Lois. I hope you manage to get to Tasmania…
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It did indeed… I’m saving my pennies!!
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How exciting Lois! I noticed that Geoff Roach was very pleased to hear from you too. If I am down that way I could look it up, though it’s not the same as you being there – keep saving!
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I will! Thanks!
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That is fascinating! I recently bought a book about Hobart’s old buildings called “Yesterday’s Hobart Today”, which has been published by Hobart Council. There is actually a reference to Boa Vista in this book and there is a picture of some students standing outside of the old homestead. The caption says “it is thought that [the building] may have been the Leslie House School at the time”. There’s no date on the photo but if Leslie House School became Clemes College in 1922 it must be some time before then – but the school uniforms look like the one my mum wore in the 1950s – then again, school uniforms don’t change very quickly do they!?
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Interesting… School uniforms did seem unchanged for many, many, many years… then they were all got rid of, and now they are bringing them back! All schools near here have shirts, ties and blazers as uniform.
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Hi, Lois. I’m researching the family of Samuel Smith Travers, who rented the mansion from 1870 to 1880. Where did the picture of ‘Miss Debney’s establishment’ come from? Have you found a floor plan?
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See above
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Hello Lois
Thought you might like this, which I am pretty sure is nice photograph of Boa Vista that I found on the Tasmanian Archives website.
https://stors.tas.gov.au/AI/PH30-1-1236
The building must have been renamed Clemes when the school opened, but it looks right and matches other images, such as: https://www.deutscherandhackett.com/auction/lot/pair-portraits-samuel-and-rosetta-moses-children-hobart-town-c1855-1856
there are also these, which were also taken there:
https://stors.tas.gov.au/AI/PH30-1-2432
https://stors.tas.gov.au/PH30-1-2441
https://stors.tas.gov.au/AI/PH30-1-7401
https://stors.tas.gov.au/AI/NS1418-1-9
https://stors.tas.gov.au/NS1418-1-11J2K$init=NS1418-1-11
https://stors.tas.gov.au/NS1418-1-1J2K$init=NS1418-1-1
(interesting ornate french door behind them)
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Hi James, thank you so much! How absolutely wonderful!!! I’d tried researching Boa Vista and also details of my g-g-grandparents life and times in Tasmania, but I barely scratched the surface! So kind of you to have taken so much trouble, I loved the painted portraits, and wonder if my g-grandfather Louis was the boy in the pictures. The information about the school up to the present was also very interesting – we visited Tasmania four years ago and went to see the modern school, only the outside. Our son attended a Friends’ School here in England, so it was rather nice that the site of Boa Vista now has a Friends School too. I will go through this more carefully, but thank you so very much! Lois
PS we hope to visit again, maybe next year or 2023… obviously it’s impossible to plan anything very much at the moment!
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It is indeed Boa Vista. My book on SS Travers and Hobart 1870-1885 has just been publishes, with a Moses reference. Let me know if you would like a copy.
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Hi Richard, yes I would like a copy of your book very much – although my g-g-grandparents left Tasmania in the 1860’s, their son, my g-grandfather stayed there for some time before he too went to England. I am fascinated by the history of the place even after there’s a family connection, and having visited I am even more interested in the place itself and all aspects of the history. So yes, if you could let me have details of how I can pay you I’d be vey grateful!
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When I saw and photographed his grave in the Willesden Jewish Cemetery a couple of weeks ago, I wondered if that as a JP he had been involved in the administration of the Colonial Convict system. (Wrong)
Philip Wharmby
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Are you related to him? Do you know he lived in the wonderful mansion of Boa Vista?
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Not related. I am interested in World Heritage Sites having visited +500. The Convict Sites of Australia are one (including bits in Tasmania). A couple of months ago at the Rochdale Philatelic Society, our President showed us a letter from 1840’s Tasmania, which mentioned the Convict Prisons. No plans to visit Australia. I was on holiday in London a couple of weeks ago, visited the Willesden Cemetery Heritage Centre and then noticed his grave.
I also found a Rothschild, a Cabinet Minister, a Nobel Prize winner, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Spock’s ‘Live long and Prosper’ greeting on a tombstone.
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Apparently he was the first person to be buried in that Jewish part of the cemetery, a great honour. I don’t know if you noticed the graves of some of his sons beside him – including my great-grandfather Louis Frederick Walford né Moses. The family graves has Hebrew on one side and English on the other – except for Louis and the only reason I can think for that is because he did not marry a Jewish woman. He lived with my great-grandma Lois who was not Jewish, and they had five children before he died while they were still quite young. Such a sad tragedy.
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Thanks. He was not the first, there was a plaque to one who was buried there before the cemetery was officially opened. Relatives needed the permission of the Chief Rabbi for this to happen.
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Thanks so much for letting me know – I had no idea, I will try and find the article which made me think this. Fascinating piece of information – thanks!
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