Who was the Tasmanian ancestor of the 1987 Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion? It is hard not to love the blurry line between history fact and romantic myth? During his time as a significant player on the world tennis circuit it became orthodoxy that Pat Cash was a descendant of the famous Tasmanian bushranger, Martin Cash. If he was, then it must have been as a result of an illicit dalliance because Martin Cash married Mary Bennett in 1854, had one child (Martin Jr) who died in 1871, and when he died in 1877 only Mary survived him. So where did Pat come from? Probably not from the loins of Martin, methinks. Anyway the reason I mention Martin is that he supposedly (see how tentative I’ve become) worked as a groom on Bona Vista, the property of Simeon Lord just outside Avoca. It’s plausible. He really did lead the most remarkable life and, in the annals of bushranging, he was a “baddie” (to use a currently ridiculous term) who became a “goodie”. Born in Wexford, Ireland in 1808 he was only 19 when he was convicted for shooting a man (he claimed the victim was misbehaving with his mistress and he duly shot him in the bum – see you could get transported for defending your honour, m’lud) and transported to Sydney for seven years. Seven years for shooting a philanderer in the bum! Anyway he got a ticket of leave and moved to Van Diemen’s Land where he stole some cattle, got caught, was given another seven years, and ended up in Port Arthur. He escaped three times, took to bushranging (on foot rather than on horseback) and specialized in robbing roadside inns, and coaches and houses occupied by wealthy settlers. He never used violence and earned a reputation as a “gentleman bushranger” although when he was recaptured (he went to Hobart to find out about a woman who had deserted him) he was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted and he was sent to Norfolk Island for ten years. The ten years seemed to work because when he returned to Tasmania there is evidence he worked as a milliner, became a constable at the Cascades Agricultural Settlement, a successful farmer and most famously was employed as the Garden Overseer at the Hobart Domain Gardens. We know all this because he wrote (probably gilding the lily) an autobiography with the implausibly long title: “Martin Cash: The Bushranger of Van Diemens Land in 1843-4: A Personal Narrative of His Exploits in the Bush and His Experiences at Port Arthur and Norfolk Island” which was published in 1870. Oh, yes, there are a number of interesting early buildings in Avoca and it is scenically located on the confluence of two small rivers – the South Esk and the St Paul’s. aussietowns.au/town/avoca-tas
Posted on: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:54:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015