Sergeant Thomas Henry Dawson (1832.......1914)
- Back to . . . 12th
Foot East Suffolk Regiment
Born :
1832
Where Born :
Parish of St
Mary's, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Occupation : Soldier
Date Arrived :
6th November 1854
(in Melbourne)
Ship Arrived on : "Empress Eugenie"
Rank on Discharge : Sergeant
Regimental # : 2870
Date of Enlistment : 17 June 1850
Where Enlisted : Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Date of Discharge :
18 July 1862
Where Discharged : Sydney
Enlistment Mounted Police : Sergeant Mounted
Police 31/1/1857 Hobart
Died :
5 April 1914
Where Died /
Buried : Royal North Shore Hospital, St
Leonards/ Gore Hill Cemetery
Parents Names : Thomas Dawson
Spouse's Name : Harriett Bilney Holmes
Date Married : 20 October 1859
Where Married : St David's Cathedral,
Hobart
Born :
12 October 1834
(baptism)
Where Born :
Stowmarket,
Suffolk
Occupation : Homeduties
Date Arrived : 18 September 1859 (in
Hobart)
Ship Arrived on : "City of
Hobart"
Died :
23 August
1923
Where
Died / Buried : Gore Hill Cemetery
Parents Names : : Henry and Mary Ann Holmes
-
Descendants
- Area Settled :
- Sydney
- Children :
-
- History &
Achievements :
- Thomas Henry Dawson, my great
great grandfather, was in the 12th Suffolk and would've
been at the Eureka Stockade. I checked the regimental records
at the Mitchell Library several years ago and confirmed
this.
After
Ballarat, he was posted to Hobart, where he was the
Sergeant of Orderlies. Family tradition says he was the
Aide de Camp to the Governor during his time there (about
1855 to 1860), but I checked that in the Hobart
public library and found it wasn't true. Perhaps he
occupied a lesser post at some stage, or acted in the
role briefly.
He married another
Suffolk person there in October 1859 - Harriett Bilney
Holmes - at St David's Cathedral. When he left the
regiment in the early 1860s, he settled in
Sydney. They had several children. He
was manager of the Civil Service Club in Macquarie Street
during the 1860s. He received a fine clock in 1867
when he resigned, which is still in the family. He
worked at a couple of other city clubs after that,
finishing his working life as a "tide waiter"
with His Majesty's Customs. His wife ran high class
boarding houses through the 1860s to 1880s in Bent Street
and surrounds. Family tradition is that the
boarders were often parliamentarians. Thomas and
Harriett's children are supposed to have attended
balls at Government House. Thomas
came from a military family. His father served in
the Royal Navy on several ships between 1817 to 1845,
including the HMS Asia at the Battle of Navarino off the
coast of present day Greece in the 1820s or 30s. Thomas
eventually died at his residence in Lavendar Bay,
Sydney in 1914. He's buried in the C of E section at
Gore Hill Cemetery. Family tradition says he had an
extensive military library, which unfortunately was
thrown out after his death.
- © Copyright B & M Chapman
(QLD) Australia
- Last revised: February 17, 2007.
