Sometimes a friendly email brings unexpected genealogy bonuses. My Delaney (and Simpson) cousins are generous with their information about our ancestors, and one of the people who helped my mother and me with researching our book, A Rebel Hand: Nicholas Delaney of 1798, got in touch recently about a visit he’d made to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney.
Back in December 2011 I asked a question: Did Nicholas build the oldest bridge in Australia? Evidence suggests that the Macquarie Culvert, in the Botanic Gardens, is indeed the oldest surviving bridge. True, it’s a small bridge, part of Mrs Macquarie’s Drive, the road Nicholas and his gang of labourers built around the Government Domain in 1816. But it’s still there, nearly 200 years later, and regarded as ‘significant’.
The bridge – Macquarie Culvert (Jeff Farrar, 2013)
The trouble was, I couldn’t get hold of any pictures to show the bridge after its recent restoration. Then an email arrived from my Delaney cousin Jeff Farrar with some photos of his visit to the Botanic Gardens. “I thought you might enjoy this,” he wrote. Enjoy? I nearly jumped out of my chair with happiness. Jeff kindly gave me permission to post his pictures, so… here are some of them! It goes without saying they are all copyright to him. And wonderfully atmospheric.
Thank you, Jeff!
Macquarie Culvert, further away (Jeff Farrar, 2013)
For information about the Macquarie Culvert’s historical context see Wong, Anna, Colonial Sanitation, Urban Planning and Social Reform in Sydney in Australasian Historical Archaeology, 17, 1999, pp 66-7 (pp 9-10 of PDF)
Another view of Macquarie Culvert (Jeff Farrar, 2013)
I was stunned, honoured and thrilled to find my name (my real one, Frances Owen) on the list of nominations for Genealogy Rockstars 2013, hosted by the excellent John Reid. Thank you! If you’d like to see the true megastars I’m privileged to be listed with, and/or vote, Anglo-Celtic Connections tells you how. But be quick! Polls close on Sunday. Update: John’s publishing the results daily. Several of my top faves are mentioned:
Worldwide gold medallists
Votes from Australia/New Zealand
Votes from the UK and Ireland
Congratulations to all!
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney (Jeff Farrar, 2013)
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Newly discovered cousins sure can be an absolute joy Frances and are often able to share to most amazing of information… well that’s how it’s been for me with my Canadian cousins.
Beautiful pics and many thanks to your cousin Jeff Farrar for his generosity of spirit.
Jeff has always been generous with his help, as have so many rellies. Let’s hear it for cousins!