A recent trip to Tasmania led me to discover a new chapter in the life of William Wall, an 18-year-old groomsman, who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1835. After gaining his freedom in 1840, marrying Mary Long in 1841, William tried tenant farming for the Van Diemen’s Land Company in Emu Bay at a place called Pigeon Hill. Six years later, the Walls left the colony, heading to Port Philip in what was still New South Wales. William and Mary, with their son Joseph who was born in Emu Bay, arrived in Warrnambool in 1847 from Port Philip, as part of the first wave of white settlers. Within three years, according to the 1850 census, Mary had two more sons, one of whom was the first white male born in Warrnambool.

When I began researching my paternal family history, I was starting from a low base. William Wall’s portrait is the first image displayed in the top left-hand corner of 204 photographs on the Warrnambool Pioneers Board. Jacob Wood’s is the second image. On examining the board the first time I saw it, Jacob Wood was just a name next to William Wall, but as I studied a map of land holdings in the Warrnambool district and became aware that William Wall’s land was opposite Jacob Wood’s, I wondered if they knew each other or were friends.

It turns out they were very good friends. William’s eldest son, Joseph Lamb Wall, married Jacob and Mary Ann Wood’s daughter, Jessie Maria in 1866. Jessie was born in England, having immigrated with her family to Australia in 1851, the same year that Victoria separated from New South Wales. The Walls would have considered the marriage a very good match. Jacob Wood had four daughters and no sons. He and Mary Ann lost three sons in England, all in infancy, but he was building a portfolio of business interests. Mary Wall bore ten sons, seven of whom survived to adulthood. William must have considered the potential opportunities for strengthening family ties.

Jacob Wood, an English draper, according to his three times great-grandson, was gifted £1,000 by his father and sent to Australia to make a new life for himself and his family. The gold rush inspired the move, but not long after Jacob arrived, he realised it was easier to make money from the miners than digging for gold himself. Supposedly, Wood had a warehouse of goods to sell on the goldfields. I found this intriguing because William Wall was very entrepreneurial and, for several years, carted produce and other goods to the goldfields, which enabled him to accumulate enough capital to purchase his first farm in 1854. I can’t help wondering if William’s goods came from Jacob Wood’s warehouse and that’s how they first met.

It’s a potential connection between two men from very different walks of life, who possibly developed mutual respect and trust built on a satisfying business arrangement. Jacob Wood built a farm on the Hopkins River, which he named ‘Shipley’ after his hometown in Northumberland, England. Shipley became a highly successful estate, renowned for breeding quality racehorses, including winners of the Melbourne Cup, a race that started in Melbourne in 1861.

Horses—another connection point. Could Jacob have benefitted from William’s expertise with horses? Back in the home country, Jacob’s expertise was in drapery.

In 1854, William purchased 113 acres on the Allansford Road at Pleasant Hill (Stafford’s Road today), not far from Warrnambool. Two years later on the same property, he converted a stone building into a hotel that he named the Bush Inn. Situated on the road that led to the diggings, the Bush Inn boasted a 10-stalled stable and a racetrack. In March 1857, the St. Patrick’s Day race meeting was held at the Bush Inn site. It was advertised as the Pleasant Hill Races with a program that included a hack race for horses that had never raced before and a steeplechase, offering a purse of 20 sovereigns.

Delving into these connections has enriched my understanding of these families and the individuals whose dominant personalities steered and shaped the families’ destiny. If William stayed in Van Diemen’s Land, I doubt he would have got out from under his past despite his driven nature. What a powerful force he must have been, a characteristic that brought him into the orbit of people he might otherwise not have known.

Gold Coast Trotting Club 1972. Stephen Wyer sitting on the cart. Photo provided by S. Wyer.

Throughout his various business ventures, William’s livelihood depended on horses.  Horses continued to play a significant role in subsequent generations, particularly in my line of Queensland Walls. My Dad’s son by his first marriage, who did not grow up with the Walls, chose a career with horses. Stephen trained as a driver in harness racing (Trotting) before becoming a horse trainer and eventually an agent, buying horses on behalf of owners. Knowing this lends an interesting perspective on family history that I find fascinating.

My maternal great-grandmother, Annie Lewis, was a well-known cook in hotels in Central Queensland at the turn of the 20th century. In later life, she cooked on several of the Whitsunday Islands, Daydream and Hayman, in particular. Her daughter, my grandmother, followed in similar occupations in the lead up to WWII and beyond, living in similar areas.

So, what is the significance of such observations? I believe points of connectivity provide clues into people’s lives, how they lived and what influences shaped their destiny. Hints and clues of connectivity can add context and deepen our understanding of not only the era but also the lives of these ancestors. For me, the impression I am forming of these characters is no longer a single-layered, black-and-white historical record, but rather a tapestry enriched by the diversity of personalities and circumstances.