A guest post by Neville Rowland
Acknowledgments & Introduction
When I first began exploring our family heritage, I had little idea of how captivating—and time-consuming—this venture would become. As is often the case, the romanticized narrative of one’s family history tends to differ significantly from reality.
Initially, gathering information was a challenge; those in my lineage with active memories could only reach back a generation or two. Fortunately, through online connections, I eventually met fellow researchers Nell Rowland and Jan Andrews, who have spent over three decades delving into the Rowland family history. I have also drawn from the published works of other family members, including Neville Rowland Taylor (Via the 19th Hole) and Vincent Ernest Squires (Our Pioneering Ancestors). Much of our contemporary understanding is thanks to their dedication.
I still vividly remember visiting my grandparents, Arthur and Eva Rowland, at their residence, ‘Tranquility,’ on Dandenong Road in East Malvern. While those were joyous occasions, family tales were rarely shared. One exception was a story my grandfather Arthur told about an incident involving “Squizzy” Taylor, the notorious 1920s gangster, and a shooting at a billiard parlour above Arthur’s drapery shop in Glenhuntly. Recently, my uncle Darryl shared further insights into ‘The Professor’ (Leonard James Rowland), as passed down by Arthur. It became clear that while the exploits of our ancestors were known, they were rarely discussed in detail.
Bound for South Australia is my attempt to narrate our story using authentic records accumulated over the last 35 years. I hope that present and future generations find this account a valuable resource. In writing this, I believe I have paid a modest tribute to our pioneering forebears, William and Frances Rowland, and their enduring contributions to our nation.
— Neville Rowland
Chapter 1: Cornish Roots and Rural Life (1776–1839)
The story of the Rowland family begins in the 18th century in Cornwall. Richard Rowland was born in 1776, and on December 6, 1799, at the age of 23, he married Rebecca Launder in Antony, Cornwall. Rebecca was born in August 1776 to William Launder and Elizabeth (née [Unknown]). While Elizabeth was a local, William hailed from Botus Fleming, a village further inland along the Tamar River.
Richard and Rebecca settled in the Antony region, where they raised six children amidst the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars. By 1844, Richard’s will identified him as a “Yeoman Landholder and Farmer,” indicating he was a man of some standing who owned multiple dwellings and parcels of land.
The children of Richard and Rebecca were:
- Richard (b. 1800): A garden laborer who eventually moved to Devonport.
- Rebecca (1803–1803): Passed away in infancy.
- Mary Ann (b. 1805): Married John White.
- John (1806–1836): Died young in South Wilcove.
- William Richard (b. 1807): Our direct ancestor, who married Frances Corney Budge.
- Elizabeth (b. 1811): Married John Bone.
- William Kelley (b. 1816): Married Ann Rebecca Hicks. In a move that was unusual for the time, Richard’s will passed the bulk of the family farm and wealth to this youngest son, rather than the eldest.
William Richard Rowland, our pioneer, grew up in Antony and trained as a butcher and a turner. On June 2, 1835, he married Frances Corney Budge at St. George’s Church in East Stonehouse. Frances came from a farming family; her father, George Budge, had also served as an innkeeper.
A cherished family heirloom from this era is a brooch originally belonging to Frances’s mother, Jane Budge. In a remarkable turn of events, the brooch was lost in an Australian farm paddock around 1900. Fifty years later, it was rediscovered by children looking for doorstop rocks; the brooch had been encased in a “fusion” of two rocks, likely caught in a plough decades earlier, preserving it in near-perfect condition.
By the late 1830s, the Industrial Revolution and poor harvests had plunged rural England into a deep recession. Facing limited opportunities, William and Frances—now with three young sons: George, William Anderton, and Richmond Easto—began looking toward the new colony of South Australia. Unlike New South Wales, South Australia was advertised as a “convict-free” province, offering a fresh start for hardworking families.
Chapter 2: The Voyage of the Warrior (1839–1840)
On October 9, 1839, while living in Saltash, William applied for emigration. The family was assigned embarkation number 3871. On November 26, 1839, they boarded the SS Warrior at Plymouth.
The five-month journey was grueling. As steerage passengers, the Rowlands lived in cramped quarters with only six feet of headroom. Privacy was non-existent, and sanitation was poor; while women had access to water closets, men performed their ablutions on the upper deck. Disease was a constant threat, and the ship’s doctor relied on primitive remedies, such as belladonna for scarlet fever and rum-soaked figs for seasickness.
The Warrior arrived at Port Adelaide on April 17, 1840. The “Port” was then a mosquito-infested mangrove swamp nicknamed “Port Misery.” Passengers had to be carried to a mud-bank shore by longshoremen, only to find their belongings scattered and damaged.
A letter from fellow passenger James Sawle highlights the disillusionment many felt:
“The emigrants are the subjects of plunder… you reach the land of promise… your floor is nothing but the earth and dust… your dear children crying with hunger and cold.”
Despite the harsh welcome and the exorbitant costs of food and transport, the Rowlands persevered.
National Library of Australia PIC Solander Box A54 #T1259 NK210
Chapter 3: Pioneering in South Australia and the Victoria Gold Rush (1840–1854)
The Rowlands initially settled in Blakiston, near Mt. Barker. By 1843, records show William was successfully farming wheat, barley, potatoes, and peas, while tending to cattle and pigs. After four years, they moved to the Sturt River settlement, where Frances gave birth to seven more children.
During their final years in South Australia, William worked as a gardener for Captain Ray Boucaut at Sarnia Cottage. Captain Boucaut was a prominent figure whose son later became the Premier of South Australia. It was during this time that William likely contracted “consumption” (tuberculosis), which would eventually lead to his death at age 47.
In 1852, the family’s trajectory changed again with the discovery of gold in Victoria. William’s eldest son, George, then 17, headed to the Avoca goldfields. His journey was not without peril; he survived an attempted robbery in his tent, though a gunshot wound left two of his fingers permanently joined.
Convinced of the opportunities in Victoria, George persuaded the rest of the family to join him. Life in the goldfields was a struggle against inflation; a bag of flour cost a staggering £18, and water was sold by the bucket. The family moved between Avoca and the Simson’s Ranges (now Maryborough), setting up camps and working the “Tucker Bank” and “Blackman’s” leads. By early 1854, the Rowland brothers had begun to see success, marking the beginning of the family’s long history in the Victorian goldfields.
Chapter 4: The Golden Years and Beyond
By mid-1854, the Rowland brothers had firmly established themselves in the Avoca region. While the work was physically grueling, the “Tucker Bank” lead proved to be a fruitful endeavor. This period was characterized by a “rush” mentality; as soon as gold was rumored to be found in a new gully, hundreds of miners would pack up their tents and move overnight.
Following their success at Avoca, the brothers turned their attention to the burgeoning settlement of Maryborough. Unlike the swampy, mosquito-ridden arrival at Port Adelaide fourteen years prior, the Victoria goldfields offered a different kind of hardship: red dust, scorching summers, and the constant threat of “bushrangers” targeting successful miners.
Life on the Diggings
The family base camp on Deep Creek (Carisbrook) became a hub of activity. While the men were at the leads, the women of the family—led by the resilient Frances—managed the domestic front. In a landscape where fresh water cost a shilling a bucket and vegetables were a luxury, maintaining a household required immense ingenuity.
The brothers utilized a “cradle” to wash the gold-bearing earth. It was a repetitive, back-breaking process:
- Digging: Excavating the “pay dirt” from shafts that could be anywhere from a few feet to thirty feet deep.
- Sieving: Passing the earth through a perforated metal plate to remove large rocks.
- Cradling: Rocking the wooden machine while pouring water over the dirt, allowing the heavy gold particles to settle behind wooden “riffles” at the bottom.
A Growing Legacy
Despite the transient nature of mining life, the Rowlands began to integrate into the permanent fabric of the Victorian colony. The children of William and Frances, who had arrived as toddlers or were born in the mud huts of South Australia, were now coming of age.
Tragically, the family patriarch, William Richard, succumbed to consumption (tuberculosis) during this era. Having survived the 18,000-mile journey from Cornwall and the early lean years of the South Australian bush, he passed away at the age of 47. He left behind a legacy of endurance and a family that was now well-positioned to thrive in the “Lucky Country.”
Chapter 5: Into the 20th Century
As the surface gold began to thin out, the family transitioned from prospecting to more stable industries. Following the path of many Cornish mining families, some members moved toward trades—blacksmithing, carpentry, and drapery—while others returned to their ancestral roots in farming and gardening.
The story of “The Professor” (Leonard James Rowland) and the brushes with notorious figures like Squizzy Taylor in the 1920s mark the shift from the pioneering era to modern Australian history. These tales, once hushed or forgotten, serve as the final links in a chain that stretches back to a small cottage in Antony, Cornwall.
Genealogical Summary: The First Generation in Australia
| Name | Born | Spouse | Note |
| George Richard | 1835 | Mary Ann Smith | Earliest prospector in Avoca; injured in a robbery. |
| William Anderton | 1837 | Elizabeth Shaw | Born in Cornwall; pioneer of the Victorian leads. |
| Richmond Easto | 1839 | Elizabeth Sarah Squires | Arrived as a 3-month-old infant on the Warrior. His wife, Elizabeth was bequeathed the brooch depicting the image of Jane Haynes. |
| Rebecca Emma | 1841 | George Burkinshaw | Husband’s father, John was transported to Tasmania 4 Jan 1821 (Treason) |
| Eliza | 1843 | John Thomas Squires | Owners of the Squires General store in Lower Homebush |
| Richard | 1845 | Mary Hill | Contractor, Merchant and Agent |
| Thomas | 1847 | Marie Louisa Courboules | Miner and Farmer |
| James Charles | 1849 | Selina Rowe | Farmer |
| John | 1851 | Jane Lardner | Miner |
| Arthur William | 1853 | Mary Eady Gilsenan | Farmer and Methodist Preacher |
As the gold rush era began to transition into a period of more permanent settlement, the Rowland family’s story moved from the transient life of the diggings to the establishment of deep roots in the Victorian soil.
Chapter 6: The Shift from Gold to Growth
By the late 1850s, the “easy gold” on the surface leads of Avoca and Maryborough had largely been exhausted. The era of the individual “puddler” and his cradle was being replaced by large-scale company mining. For the Rowland brothers, this marked a pivotal moment of choice: to follow the new rushes further inland or to settle and build a life in the burgeoning townships.
George Rowland, still bearing the physical scars of his early days on the goldfields, became a figure of some local renown. Having been one of the very first to break ground in Avoca, his knowledge of the “Tucker Bank” and “Blackman’s” leads made him an informal authority for newcomers. However, the high costs of living that had once plagued the family—where water was a shilling a bucket—slowly stabilized as bullock teams were replaced by more reliable transport and established local shops.
Community and Resilience
The family’s relocation to the area near the present-day Maryborough Hospital was not just a move for mining; it was a move toward community. While the men worked the deeper shafts, the family became part of the social fabric of Carisbrook and Maryborough.
Frances Rowland, now a widow following William Richard’s passing, remained the cornerstone of the family. Her resilience, forged in the cramped steerage of the Warrior and the mud-banks of “Port Misery,” ensured that the younger children received the stability their father had worked so hard to provide. The stories passed down through the generations suggest a household of quiet discipline and deep Cornish pride.
Chapter 7: The Dawn of the 20th Century and ‘Tranquility’
As the 1800s drew to a close, the pioneering grit of the first generation began to manifest in the professional successes of the second and third. The family moved from the rural ruggedness of the goldfields toward the growing suburbs of Melbourne.
The Glenhuntly Connection
Arthur Leonard Rowland, the grandson of the original pioneers, established himself as a draper in Glenhuntly. It was here that the family narrative took a colourful turn into the “Roaring Twenties.” Arthur’s drapery shop, with its billiard parlour situated above, became the setting for one of the few stories he chose to share: the shooting incident involving the infamous gangster Squizzy Taylor.
While Arthur was a man of quiet respectability, the fact that his premises were even tangentially linked to the Melbourne underworld provides a stark contrast to the rural, Methodist-influenced upbringing of his Cornish ancestors. It was a sign of the times—the “New World” had become a place of bustling commerce, urban legends, and modern drama.
‘Tranquility’ and Leonard James Rowland
The residence known as ‘Tranquility’ on Dandenong Road, East Malvern, became the heart of the family in the mid-20th century. It was here that my grandparents, Arthur and Eva, hosted the joyous gatherings I remember so well.
It was also the era of Leonard James Rowland, affectionately known as ‘The Professor.’ Though his exploits were well-known among the elders, they were often discussed in hushed tones, perhaps reflecting the lingering Victorian-era sensibilities of his parents. Recently shared insights from my Uncle Darryl have helped fill these gaps, painting a picture of a man whose intellect and character left a lasting impression on all who knew him.
Conclusion: A Legacy Secured
From the estuaries of the Tamar River in Cornwall to the dusty leads of Avoca and the leafy streets of East Malvern, the Rowland family has traversed a vast distance—not just in miles, but in circumstance.
The discovery of the Jane Budge brooch in a ploughed paddock fifty years after it was lost serves as a perfect metaphor for our family history. Like that brooch, our stories were once buried, hidden by time and the silence of previous generations. By prying apart the “rocks” of forgotten records and fragmented memories, we have recovered a history that remains in remarkably good condition.
William Richard and Frances Rowland arrived in a land that offered them nothing but a mud bank and a challenge. Through their endurance, they transformed “Port Misery” into a portal of opportunity, leaving behind a nation and a family that continues to honour their name.
Wikitree:
- William Richard Rowland (1807-1855)
- Frances Corney (Budge) Rowland (1813-1900)
Their children
- George Richard Rowland (1835-1928)
- William Anderton Rowland (1837-1923)
- Richmond Easto Rowland (1839-1892)
- Rebecca Emma (Rowland) Burkinshaw (1841-1892)
- Eliza (Rowland) Squires (1843-1914): see post Obituary for Mrs Eliza Squires
- Richard Rowland (1845-1923)
- Thomas Rowland (1847-1914)
- James Charles Rowland (1849-1928)
- John Rowland (1851-1918)
- Arthur Rowland (1853-1933)
A grandson
- Leonard James Rowland (1869-1960); son of Richmond Easto Rowland and Elizabeth Sarah Squires. He was married three times.
A great grandson
- Arthur Leonard Rowland (1899-1986) son of George Arthur Rowland (1871-1942); grandson of William Anderton Rowland (1837-1923)
