Morning! I bet one thing you didn’t you needed on a Monday morning {or Sunday evening for those playing elsewhere in the world} is a little history lesson. But here’s one for you.
On a ship 100 years ago this week, making their way from merry England to Australia, was my great grandmother and great grandfather. I imagine them sailing the seas for days on end in their fancy olden-day clothes, for a new life. I don’t know what they left behind or what they expected in Australia. I wonder if they found what they were looking for.
I hated history and geography in school. I was more of a commerce and economics freak. So I don’t even know how many days it would take to get here, or what direction they traveled. I don’t even know when or why people came to Australia from England. And I confess, up until yesterday, I didn’t even know that my family came from England. Well, I guess we all did. But you know what I mean, right?
My Ma’s family arranged a family reunion picnic to celebrate our family being in Australia for 100 years. I heard the word picnic and said yes, not thinking about the history behind it all. We arrived and some of the more flamboyant members of my family were dressed in 1912 attire. Fancy stuff. As I walked back from the swings I heard another park-goer speaking to a friend on the phone, “We’re behind the people in the crazy clothes. Some of them are dressed like Charlie Chaplin. Who knows why?”
I giggled.
There was cake. There were people I hadn’t seen since I was twelve. There were decorations and people as old as 93 {Hi Aunty May. Have you got the internet? Do you read my blog?}. There were shenanigans. My sister and I may have made up a W gangsta sign to represent our family. You can see her rocking it in the photo below while wearing a 1912 hat we found hanging around. Yep. We’re those kids.
My Ma trekked to the toilets half-way through the day and came back in fits of laughter. Someone {not from our family} had put a $20 note on a fishing line and sat it right outside the ladies. Who do you think chased that money through the bush? My Ma, that’s who. Hilarious.
Families are funny things. They’ve got their good and their bads, and their crazy. I love the crazy. I love my family.
It would be amiss of me not to thank my great grandparents for making the big trek {do you have the internet in Heaven?}. I love it here, and obviously wouldn’t have existed if they hadn’t sailed those seas so many, many years ago.
We left the day with a personalised family tree that my Ma’s cousin’s wife had put together for all of us. It was so up-to-date that it even included Hubby and Lacey. Such effort. Such a great gift.
Do you know your family’s history? When was the last time you had a get together? Who’s the crazy one in your clan?
oh i love this 🙂
How exciting for you all. My family never moved from the same small town until my generation, and then only to Europe for a few years, back to live in Southern England for 20 years, and now I'm back – albeit the next little town along! 🙂 My son is about to move to the USA though, so I guess, in 100 years, his descendants could be holding a picnic in his memory; what a cute thought. 🙂 And how lovely that someone went to all that time and trouble to do a family tree for you all.
And LOL at your Ma – that wold be me too….. I'm always picking up money off the ground; it always goes into the next charity box I see, but I do embarrass my family doing it! 😉
TFS your lovely day.
Jude.x
I loved the excitement in this story about your family picnic, it prompted me to write. We had a small family BBQ here on Saturday, 39 of the 61 immediate rellos from my mothers side of the family who can be traced back to the First Fleet. The barn that our Convict ancestor built is still standing in Wilberforce almost 224 years later. My dad's side of the family can go back to 1066, they are in the doomsday book and arrived in Sydney in 1820 as free Settlers, there is an Island in Sydney Harbour named after them. I love knowing where I came from, I love the stories handed down from Generation to Generation. I, like you had no interest in History at school but just love it now and feel very comfortable knowing of the deeds and misdeeds of family members long gone. I feel you may have a lot more to learn… so enjoy!
P.S. also thanks for the Photo a Day, I'm loving it.
Im an only child so when I got presented with my family tree which they traced back to the 1500's there is branch after branch cousin after cousin I was out of my mind..its crazy fun..turns out dads family was the only branch that left jolly old england the rest stayed behind to be basket makers(?)wonder how that all worked out..our tree is right to current day its amazing and so damn intresting..pleased to see you had such a great day xxD
Oh that is so fascinating. I come from a large family who prides themselves on NOT being Catholic, really, when they left Ireland they left the Catholics behind too, but not the hatred for them. My parents have 14 grandchildren so there is quite the bulge in the tree now, not bad seeing my father was an only child (due to losing a sibling to polio & his parents were too heart broken to have more children) so he's pretty chuffed with how it's worked out with all of us breeders.
My husband's family tree is amazing, also Irish but with the Italian streak came a great grandfather who had a 2nd family – as in, the other wife & children rocked up to his funeral & there was a showdown, imagine that, LORDY no!! So Great Nono Pascquale was a player. I giggle at family trees when you see in black at white your grandmother's older sisters were actually NOT 10 years younger than her, the facts are amazing.
My family were the traditional convicts, yet came good & were land granted The Rocks in Sydney, wish we had that land now!! Love Posie
I can't stop laughing at the thought of your Ma chasing that money.
My niece is currently tracing her family tree for history at school. My dad came here on a boat from England just over 50 years ago and he has a journal that his father (who passed years before my folks met) wrote. Dad had to interpret pretty much all of it, hard to understand old people's writing and we learnt something that I'd never know before, that we had a great Uncle that came over on the boat at the same time, but caused a bit of trouble and was arrested and imprisoned on various occasions before moving to Tassie and causing a ruckus over there as well. She is just starting on my mum's side and needs about 5 cards of poster paper just for the immediate family. Mum comes from a family of 8, there are 22 grandkids, 33 great grandchildren and the first great great grandchild is due to arrive at the end of this year. And it only just occurred to me I don't even know how long Ma's side of the family have been here.
Earlier this year my eldest cousin passed away, and a few of us were saying how shitty it is that we only see each other at weddings or lately, funerals so we have decided to start an annual AC/DC – Annual Cousin's Day Celebration. Now to just find a venue big enough for us all!!!
I love family – crazy families at that! My family (Mum, Dad and my two sisters) arrived in Australia from The Netherlands in 1971 when I was 3. Growing up I didn't have an extended family to play with, have fun with, be crazy with – so when I met my husband I instantly adopted his huge irish/english/australian family as my own. In the 25 years I have been with him we have indulged in many a crazy meal but never have we come across money on a fishing line!!
Me thinks you have given me an idea for our next get together 😉
(Love your blog and am taking up the Photo-a-day challenge for May – my first time! Eeek)
It's so lovely that you all go together to remember your roots, and how amazing that someone organised personalised family trees, up to date and all. A very special family you have, but you knew that 🙂
FUN! My dad is a genealogist so we are pretty up to date on our family history and my 16 year old is genuinely interested in the stories his grandfather has to tell especially the bootlegging one's :-D. Sounds like a great day was had by all.
It's so lovely that you know your history and celebrate it. On my dad's side, we know a fair bit. On mum's side we barely know anything other than when they arrived in Australia – they were poor, running from anti-Semitic pogroms in Eastern Europe and didn't speak or write any English. I wish I knew more about it and plan to look into it more.
I am a history freak, I love it. I did economics and commerce at school but my heart was in history and the arts ♥
That is so sweet. I believe family history is so important. I think it helps to keep one grounded. I unfortunately do not know much(and I feel much like a cloud because of it)… The little that I do know is considered scandalous (not now days but back in those they were) so it is hard to get any information from any one because they don't want to talk about it. I see it differently (perhaps because I am living in a more liberal time)….I see it as a story of hardship, loss and betrayal… I also see it as a story of deep love and of high character (enough to leave the “family fortune” for love). I would like to know even more but I have hit a stone wall… I am quite tempted to hire someone to help but I have no idea where to find someone and I don't even know if I will be able to afford it lol! My husbands surname suggests links to royalty but weather it's a distant connection or something closer…Who knows! Well I guess I can add it to the bucket list! You are so fortunate to have all that info… Keep it safe…
I hated geography & history in high school too & now I wish I could go back & learn about all of those things! I know some of my ancestors were amongst the early convicts but their stories are long lost now. Quite sad really. What an awesome family you have getting together to celebrate like that 🙂
I was the opposite at school – I loved history [and still do]. I think it is fascinating. Your day sounds fun, wish my family would get up to such crazy adventures.
What a beautiful story lovely! I know a bit about my side of the family but family history on Mr's side is so hazy. I would love to do a family tree for my boys one day.
One of my great grandfathers came out from Scotland in the late 1890s – Mum has just found one of his diaries in the state library in Melbourne, and I now have a copy of his handwritten account of one of his journeys. He was a sailmaker and worked on the ships for years before he married an Australian woman. My Grandma was one of 9 children. Every year or so we get together with one lot (mainly) of Mum's cousins, and when its a big one we have over 100 descendants of Alex and Kate. Yes, it is fun. The last one was a smaller gathering – just about 40 of us! No-one dresses up though! Your lot are cards!!
I LOVE this post!! I love a good family reunion. The picture of your Ma chasing the $20 note will stick with me for many days .. hilarious!
That sounds like so much fun! We are from England as well, but I dont know the details..not even sure who my Grandma Dad was 🙂 Our history was not shared, wished i had asked more about our family when my late Grandma was alive. I do know that she was raised by Aunty and Uncles as her Mum was too busy to raise children!
Love the idea of a family picnic.
Cute story. I started doing a family tree online, but I haven't worked on it in like 2 years. Someday when I have more time.
That's wonderful! Celebrating 100 years of one's own family in Australia is just as important as celebrating the country itself. That was definitely blog worthy! Congratulations.
This publication has inspired me to start focusing on my own blog