• Home
  • About
    • Membership
    • First Fleet Website
    • site map
  • First Fleet
    • Junior Fleeters
    • Ships
    • Convicts
    • Marines
    • List of Livestock, Provisions, Plants and Seeds
    • Trades of the First Fleet Convicts
    • First Fleet Cattle
    • Talk on Arthur Phillip
    • Norfolk Island
    • The Voyage
  • Stories
  • First Fleet TV
  • Honouring 1914-1918
  • Events
  • Contact

First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc

Descendants of those who arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 with Captain Arthur Phillip

First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc

Descendants of those who arrived with the First Fleet in 1788
with Captain Arthur Phillip

You are here: Home / Convicts / Christmas in the New Colony

Christmas in the New Colony

October 29, 2019 by Cheryl Timbury

By Anne Gibson.

Watkin Tench, First Fleet Marine, in his Account of the Settlement of Port Jackson, does not mention how the new settlers celebrated their first Christmas in the young colony.  It is probably more correct to say the manner in which Christmas was observed rather than how Christmas was celebrated.

Captain David Collins stated, Christmas-day (1788) was observed with proper ceremony.  Mr Johnson preached a sermon adapted to the occasion, and the major part of the officers of the settlement were afterward entertained at dinner by the Governor.  Mr Johnson also officiated at the baptism of Sarah, daughter of convicts William and Mary Eggleton and at the marriage of Susan Gibbs to John Forrester in the presence of William and Mary Worsdell.

Christmas Day 1790 was again an opportunity for the chaplain to officiate.  William Richards, son of Private Lawrence and Mrs Mary Richards, was christened and there were two weddings, John Anderson was married to Elizabeth Roster, in the presence of William Snaleham and George Clayton.  William Francis and Mary Jones were married, with Elizabeth Snaleham and George Clayton as witnesses.

Through The Heads to Settlement (C Timbury)

John Cobley in Sydney Cove 1789-1790 does not mention if the temperatures were recorded for Christmas Day 1790 but lists the recorded temperatures for Monday 27 December.

             At 9 A.M.                                85º
             At noon                                104
             Half past 12                         107½
             From one P.M. until
               20 minutes past two            108½
             At 20 minutes past two           109
             At sunset                                89
             At 11 P.M.                              78½

In 1791 Collins records.  From the state of the provision stores, the Governor, on Christmas-day, could only give one pound of flour to each women in the settlement.  On that day divine service was performed here and at Parramatta, Mr Blayne, the chaplain of the new corps, assisting Mr Johnson in the religious duties of the morning.  There were some among us, however, by whom even the sanctity of this day was not regarded: for at night the marine store was robbed of two-and-twenty gallons of spirits.  Palmer recorded that 2661 pounds of flour were issued.

Tuesday 25 December 1792

Hot weather.

There were two baptisms at Parramatta.  The son of James and Sarah Bradley was named James, the son of Robert Robinson, mariner and Mary Cassity, was named Robert Robinson.  The Reverend Richard Johnson conducted two marriage ceremonies at Parramatta.  Edward Smith and Ann Griffiths were married by special permission, in the presence of John Hughes and Luke Jones.  William Redhout and Mary Parsons were married by banns, in the presence of Richard John Robinson and Luke Jones.
William Edwards, a convict, was buried.

Article featured in the First Fleet Folio. Issue 133, December 2007.  Editor Anne Gibson

Filed Under: Convicts, Female Convicts, Male Convicts, Officers

Please Support Us

please help usThe First Fleet Fellowship Website provides an educational resource for up to 20 000 Australian students per month. We have one volunteer who researches and writes the articles and one artist providing sketches for us. Our researcher needs your support to be pay for the upkeep and technical support they need to maintain this site. Please help us by making a donation through Give Now.

Categories

  • Convicts (94)
    • Child Convicts (7)
    • Children of Convicts (5)
    • Descendants (32)
    • Female Convicts (54)
    • Male Convicts (52)
  • Events (8)
  • First Fleet (10)
  • First Fleet Fellowship (6)
  • Honouring 1914-1918 (34)
    • Doctors (2)
    • European Conflict (22)
    • Gallipoli (8)
    • KIA (18)
    • Light Horse (4)
    • Middle East Conflict (4)
    • Military Awards (10)
    • New Zealander (3)
    • Nurses (7)
    • Returned Home (28)
  • Junior Fleeters (12)
  • Marines (45)
    • Child (1)
    • Children of Marines (3)
    • Non Commissioned Officers (6)
    • Officers (25)
    • Privates (11)
  • Miscellaneous (1)
  • Seaman (8)
  • Senior Officials (8)
  • Ships (15)
    • Borrowdale (1)
  • Stories (56)
  • Uncategory (8)
  • Wives (4)
  • Wives of Marines (3)

Recent Posts

  • The Shoemaker (Cordwainer)
  • EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF WATKIN TENCH, A CAPTAIN OF THE MARINES
  • Colonial Vessel ‘Francis’
  • Sullivan Bay to Port Dalrymple
  • FIRST FLEET CONVICT CLAIMS DISCOVERY OF A GOLDMINE

Finding your way around this site

Please use our search function to find specific information, if not click on one of the categories below to find the articles you want.

Categories

Copyright © 2023 First Fleet Fellowship Victoria, SOME RIGHTS RESERVED · Website built and maintained by 13th Beach Marketing

Copyright © 2023 · Zen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in