Q720.288

Q720.288

MR

CB Ale:xmzder Foundation, Toea!, Paterson 2421. Phone (0·!') i

Dennis R Aartse11

Fax (049) 385549

C B Alexander Foundation Phone: 049 398888 Fax: 049 385549

\iii' ·;i( H03725

Tocal Homestead

THE BARRACKS

Dennis R Aartsen

1995 Tocal Homestead Paterson NSW 2421

Cedar case located in Homestead where selected artifacts from the Barracks are displayed

Selection of thimbles

-2-

Metal brooch depicting three masted sailing ship

1875 penny

- 10-

Clay pipe bowl - three masted ship

Clay pipe bowl - archer with bow and arrow

- 15-

.&mpA:s PIOJUad 'sad!d A:unJ swng £1 'uosp!J\RQ 'smalS ad!d ARJJ

To cal treasures ~tell of convicts

VALUABLE relics of Aus· tralian history, hidden for rr:ore than 150 years, were uncovered recently during an excavation at the Tocal Barracks on Tocal Home-

1 stead. Australian-made clay pipes

dating from the 1840s, coins dated 1826, ointment jars from the 1870s and many other secrets of Tocal's past were discovered by former caretaker Mr Dennis Aartsen.

Some basic restoration work had been planned for the barracks, to stabilise it, Mr Aartsen said. It was rou­tine to carry out a search of the building before work began and, having experi· ence in archaeology and excavation, he was chosen to do the work.

'I expected to find a few bits and pieces,' he said. But the number of items found and their ages were a sur· prise.

Marbles made of ceramic, miniature ceramic jugs, but· tons, bottles, thimbles, per· sonalised crockery pieces, army badges, buckles, cricket souvenirs, hat badges, slate pencils and a pastry cutter were among the treasures found.

The clay pipes, covered in small pictures, were perhaps the most historically valu­able discovery, Mr Aartsen said.

'They were made in Austra­lia by the Dixson company,' he said.

'They are extremely rare tobacco pipes.'

They were covered in pic· tures of people and animals and although many were bro· ken. they were still in good condition. ·

'We found some rising sun badges - the army's badges,' Mr Aartsen said.

'They were here during the second World War for target

APPENDIX Ill

'

The Newcastle Herald -. ~ ... --~ ·

Relics revisited: Former caretaker of Tocal Homestead Mr Dennis Aartsen with some of the treasures uncovered in his archaelogical dig . -Picture by WAIDE MAGUIRE

practice in the fields. 'That's how the building

got known as the barracks.' The coins and pipes were

probably left behind by con· victs who used the building ·as a type of 'half-way' house, he said.

'It housed ticket-of-leave men. That's the next step up

from being a convict. 'If they did the right thing

as a convict they got their ticket of leave and were able to earn money and get mar­ried. Before that they lived in a timber hut.'

The coins had been found hidden in a corner as if they had been secretly stashed by

a convict for use when freed, Mr Aartsen said.

Cricket memorabilia was also found, including medal­lions and hat badges.

The find will be researched and catalogued and the more valuable items put on display at Toea! Homestead. :\1r Aart· sen said. - Nhada Goodfellow

APPENDIX W

Early photographs of the Barracks

The following photographs are courtesy of the Reynolds family and are held in the Tocal archives. They were made available by Mr Darcie Reynolds.

The exact date of each photograph is not known. Some in the collection depict Mr Frank Reynolds who died in the 1920's.

The photograph below shows it still as a residence with a simple picket fence around it. To the left is the old kitchen with a shingle roof on it. A photograph over the page shows the rear of the old kitchen with an iron roof. Further research will no doubt reveal more information.

The photographs over the page show the results of apparent storm damage which destroyed the rear building. The date of this storm is not known.

-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ....................................................... 1

The Barracks ofTocal Homestead ...................................... 1

Excavation Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Clay pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Thomas Holloway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Tokens ......................................................... 18

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Appendix I Building Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Appendix II Excavation Permit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Appendix III Newspaper Clipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Appendix IV Photographs of Barracks- early this century -pre 1926 ................................... 22

TOCAL HOMESTEAD BARRACI<S

INTRODUCTION

The Tocal barracks were constructed in the 1820's to house the then ticket of leave convicts. These were the convicts who had served their term, but wished to remain or did remain at Tocal following their servitude. Little is known about the overall use and operation of the building but a considerable amount can be discerned from old photographs and remnants as they are found today. A building was located behind the barracks which was also brick and the foundations of it remain. It appears that this building was destroyed in a storm probably early this century. This building was of a similar construction to the barracks and was used as a wash house and store. A kitchen was located to the north-east of the barracks and its foundations can be still seen. Old photographs show each of these buildings.

The design of the barracks is similar to other, now demolished buildings in the Paterson district. It is believed that buildings similar to the barracks construction, were located near Albert Street in Paterson, in King Street, Paterson at Clarendon, Paterson (this is at the comer of Martins Creek Road and Woodville Road near a remnant Moreton Bay fig) and at Tillimby, Paterson. There is photographic evidence of some of these buildings and oral history suggests they were all of a similar design.

The barracks were lived in by people who worked on the Tocal property throughout the 19th century and in the early part of the 20th century. We are unsure as to the time of the last permanent resident at the barracks. However, it is suggested this occurred at the time of the sale of the property to the Alexander family in 1926. The building, through not having a good roof, gradually decayed and by the 1970's the roof had fallen in. This caused considerable weather damage and decay. A new roof and verandah was constructed for the barracks in the 1970's. This halted decay, however, much damage had already been done.

Some time in the past all the internal floors and joinery were removed or decayed to such an extent that they were discarded, so few remnants of the utilisation of the individual rooms remained. Because of the lack of security on the building livestock often ventured into the rooms which by then only had earth floors. The floors were formerly joist timber construction.

In 1994 funds were made available from the New South Wales Department ofPlanning ($15,000) to undertake conservation works on the building. These funds were matched with $30,000 from the bequest of the late Ernest Jacob Klingler and $20,000 from the Homestead's annual grant for maintenance and monies raised through tours. Plans were put in place for conservation works which included the installation of new flooring in each of the units. Because of the heavily disturbed nature of the floors it was not deemed to be a high archaeological excavation and was not deemed to be of high priority. The C B Alexander Foundation did, however, decide to undertake excavation and a permit was sought from the Department of Planning for this work. Mr Dennis Aartsen, former Homestead caretaker and former National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger, who is experienced in the interpretation of significant sites, was enlisted to undertake the excavation.

Mr Aartsen painstakingly investigated all parts of the building's interior ground surface. The results of the excavation are outstanding and we are grateful to Mr Aartsen for this work. I commend this report to you as a fascinating insight into the history of an important Australian building.

ACARCHER Principal Aprill996

- 1 -

THE BARRACKS AT TOCAL HOMESTEAD

Following a request by the Principal ofC B Alexander Agricultural College, Mr Cameron Archer, I conducted an inspection and subsequent examination of the Barracks earthen floors.

The survey system I used was based on the knowledge that thousands of tourists and countless animals had disturbed the deposits over a number of years.

Concentrating on one room at a time, I moved all loose soil and its contents, by first clearing one section of the floor then sieving the soil back onto that space. I paid particular attention to comers, windows and doorways. Each comer was dug to ascertain existence or not of any stable of stratified deposits. The loose soil had the consistency of talcum powder which necessitated the use of a dusk mask for much of the survey. An attempt to 'water- down' had only a nominal effect as the water just beaded off in most rooms.

I collected more material than really necessary, however, considering the area is to be permanently covered with new flooring, I felt it justified as most items could be used for rotational display purposes. This material has been listed and stored in sealable plastic buckets, with room number marked on each bucket.

Two rooms had a large amount of deposit with no layering evident. The added fact that most of the items were broken and/or burnt, indicates they were from a dump elsewhere which was borrowed to fill the floor cavity before a thin layer of gravel was spread as a floor.

I have listed each room separately using the unit numbers as shown in the Conservation Work Site Plan. The suffix F, indicates front room and R indicates rear room. Pertinent comments are with each listing.

General comments - Most of the physical evidence is from the period 1880's to 1940's. The bricked-up windows and lack of domestic rubbish in Unit 4, could indicate it was used as a store or some other form of secured space where normal living activities did not result.

All non-ferrous articles should be treated with an anti oxidant to slow deterioration, thus prolonging life.

Dennis Aartsen.

- 1 -

ROOM JF

Deposits filled contours with thin layers of gravel over. There was a shallow depression, just to the right of centre of hearth, full of sheet steel offcuts. Some items of crockery were found in line of two doors the same as in IR, so accept that some items dropped during transportation of fill.

3 English pennies I Halfpenny 1 Threepence 7 Marbles all colours Numerous buttons *Small figurine of Spaniel Ointment jar base Brass thimble Door knob and other brass 'bits' I Clay pipe - information on separate sheet Shard of china-brown transfer, lion and unicorn, stone china, Pinder, Bourne & Co, Burslem Small cowrie shell Air gun pellet Numerous nails Piece of green glass with painting (vase) Blue and green beads Parts of door lock in steel and brass

* Denotes items of possible significance

-3-

ROOMJR

Much red-brick rubble with deposit filling undulations in ground. Thin layer of gravel over. Items collected are stored in two buckets, one large and one small.

*Medallion- G Merod Sydney 1st medal, 1875. *Token- I Booth Draper outfitter Melbourne, Victoria.34mm *2 Coins wreathed head Georgi us, 1826 prom. Rim English penny - 1867 Sewing spindle (bone) Cork cover. JT Morton 107, 108 and 109 Leadenhall London Diamond-shaped blood-red stone in setting *3 Holloways ointment jar lids (broken) these are rare *Holloways ointment jar (broken) Coin (11-?) Numerous buttons suspender brass/copper, bone, pearl Shell and china Shotgun cartridge Gingerjar(broken) Round edged dice Animal's tooth Pipette Toy teapot and lid, dolls arm, hand and teacup Earthenware Brunswick black (broken) Broken glass-pigsnout lips, Dimple vinegar, goldfields Oil, Hamilton patent, blue glass vase, stemmed glass, castor oil, cruet vinegar, herringbone oil (lge) Pale blue chemist bottle Steel and copper nails Citrine and blue beads 2 Thimbles, large and small 11 Slate pencils 3 Spoons and numerous brass and copper 'bits' *Bone china shard with "Clarendon" transfer Claypipe bowls and stems (full list of varieties, includes) Numerous marbles, all sizes Brass bearing block Broken Prattware, bulk ink (stoneware), whirly, chutney Steel gate hasp, harness ring Compound rubber ball

* Denotes items of possible significance

-4-

ROOM2F

Deposit filled depressions in natural landform.

*Rising sun hat badge- Australian Commonwealth Military Forces 1 Penny 1 Threepence *BadgeJMedallion - hands holding pen or arrow 21 marbles, all sizes Quantity of nails Sea shell (cone) Clements Tonic bottle (broken) Stoneware bottle (broken) 2 Glass stoppers *Lead ball with facets (bullet?) Lead dished wad Broken spoon Figurine head Slate in shape of spear head Collar stud Doll's leg Doll's eye Broken cast iron bits Animal bone previously broken, but mended wrongly

* Denotes items of possible significance

-5-

ROOM 2R

There was only an average of 4cm deposit in this room.

A few items of stoneware and crockery were found along with some amber and green glass. Also numerous nails.

Most items were found under the window.

3 Beads 2 marbles Numerous buttons (bone, pearlshell and brass) 1 Sea shell Piece of leather strap

-6-

ROOM3F

Very interesting room, as all items were found under the two steps.

1 Ocm depth of deposit.

22 marbles ceramic, glass and some from Codd patent bottle 1 Fluted clay pipe bowl

·1 Cigarette holder Doll's head (broken) Toy sugar bowl lid Slate pencil 4 Glass stoppers Pearlshell stud on hinged ring 8 Beads in dark blue and green English penny- 1877 English threepence - 1891 • Australian penny - 1917 • Australian sixpence - 1911 *Pressed metal sailing ship (brooch?) 30mm high *Cast sailor with telescope (lead?) 2Smm high 2 Seashells cowrie and veletuceta Cogged wheel (clock?) Thimble Spoon Button tudor rose centre motif, copper suspender and pearlshell

• Denotes items of possible significance

-8-

ROOM3R

There appeared to have been a fire tended under window over period of time. The clay pipes were found in that ash. The trench for west wall foundation was very obvious. Old rubbish used as fill to average of20cm deep. Much broken crockery and glass was found. This room took 50% longer to process due to amount of fill. These items are in two containers, one large and one small.

Numerous marbles, buttons, copper, brass 'bits' and clay pipes- described on separate page Glass 'bits' free blown base "B & Co"

Hex. Base aqua Medicine measure glass Udolfo wolfes schnapps Tooths beer Sarsparilla British registration mark- 28th May, 1880

Bottles Hexagonal pickles chipped

Milk glass jar seal Conical sharpening stone 3 Thimbles Wooden pipe bowl 2 Slate pencils Teapot lid

Large whirly chipped Castor oil- medium Eucalyptus oil Brandy flask Green essence Square base medicine - E.Rimmel Desk top ink chipped 2 Penny inks (stoneware) Brunswick black (stoneware)

Glass stoppers- Worcestershire, bulk, blue (broken), and Whybrow Bath plug (brass) Pearlshell tie pin Dolly clothes peg Napkin clasp *Brass hat badges and buckles *Oval with stumps and bat - 60mm x 49mm *Rectangle with raised centre - 50mm x 38mm *Buckle with tall ship - 70mm x 55mm *Batsman with wicket keeper - 40mm x 60mm (broken) *Round with stylised word "cricket" - 50mm diameter *Oval with patterened recess badge missing - 52mm x 42mm *Oblong with two sets of stumps and balls oval centre badge missing- 56mm x 38mm *Figure ofbatsman with bat and stumps- 32mm x 16mm *Army or scouts buckle (wreath)- 60mm x 50mm Brooch with roped edge 6 Spoons, one with ornate handle Tie bar with empty jewel clasp

-9-

ROOM 3R CONTINUED. • •

*Brass cone with handle (candle snuffer?) *Pictorial souvenir plate, California diggings, broken but complete Brass box steel lined -70mm x 35mm x 12mm (wax matches?) Broken Spur Red brick with green glaze Brass scales weight *Bird leg ring, numbers 141 SS 45 Lead dome and lead cylindrical plug Seashells oyster, limpet, veletuceta and pencil shell Glass brick - 125mm x 1 OOmm x 1 Omm Cabochon of black obsidian? Piece of mouth organ Heads of ornaments one single head and one double head Doll's eye Fine grain whetting stone Grinding stone bottle shaped with flat side Steel chopper with curved blade 4 Pennies? 2 Florins? (These coins hard to identify) 2 Halfpennies? 2 Bracelet charms?

* Denotes items of possible significance

- 11-

ROOM4F

There was a shallow depression adjacent to centre of East wall filled with broken window glass. Deposit was approximately 1 Ocm deep with no stratification.

4 Slate pencils 2 Australian pennies - 1911 and 1917 Dice Core of dry cell battery Door jamb lock cover Green glass - beer and case gin Aqua glass - patent medicine? Mauve glass - vase Toothbrush handle 2 Collar studs Crockery - brown pattern, blue pattern, green pattern, grey pattern and pink pattern Button - bone? Tie stud with jewel

- 12-

ROOM 4R

Deposit was approximately 1 Ocm deep with no stratification.

Glass - case gin circa, 1890 Broken glass stopper Crockery - part handle of jug Buttons - bone?, pearlshell, copper Collar stud Pearlshell stud on chain Handmade nail Seashell - limpet Piece of glazed brick Part of brooch? Non-ferrous Toothbrush (bone?) Small screw top bottle- brown (1950's) Clinton William Pty Ltd.

- 13-

CLAY PIPES

Most clay pipes found in Australia are ofEnglish origin, however, Australian pipes are in evidence in the artifacts found in the Barracks dig. The Australian pipes are quite rare when compared to pipes from other countries.

The pipe bowls displayed a sailing ship on one side and anchor on the other were made by the Australian Firm, Dixson & Sons Tobacco Works.

Hugh Dixson was a Sydney Tobacconist and worked out of George Street from the early 1840's before moving to York Street in 1862. Another move was made in 1875.

On his death in 1880, his son (Hugh Junior) took over and it was only a few years later that the company changed name to Conqueror Tobacco Works and it is a safe guess that these pipes were imported directly from the United Kingdom in an endeavour to increase profit margins.

Listing of the more notable clay pipes stems and bowls located during inspection. I have grouped them under room number headings.

ROOM IF

* Bowl with three-masted ship - anchor on obverse

ROOMlR

* 13 Bums cutty pipe * Davidson Glasgow * C. Crop London, knurled bowl rim, straight stem. Also stems with rim to denote mouthpiece * Penfold Sydney, bent and straight stems * Saywell ..... ? Enslander * Tudor style with sleeved hand holding strapped bowl * Bowl - Three-masted ship with anchor on obverse * Birds talon stem * Bent stem - C. Crop London * Bowl with hatched pattern - Tulip? *Bowl with archer one side, hand with sun?, symbolic?

ROOM3R

* Beehive bowl * Bowl - raised pimples with ribbon spiral * Bowl- man's head * Davidson Glasgow * Possibly Robinson Crusoe smoking near palm tree with two natives on obverse * Glazed Mouthpiece

- 14-

THOMAS HOLLOWAY

The pots and jars of Thomas Holloway are sought after items by collectors of chemist memorabilia. Complete examples of the large pot lids are quite rare.

Holloway was born in 1800, and learnt his selling skills in his parents bakery in Cornwall, England. He moved to London about 1828, to set up business on his own, however, failed and eventually moved to France for a number of years.

It is reputed that a leech seller from Turin approached Thomas Holloway and asked for him to arrange a testimonial from a notable hospital to enable him to sell an ointment he (Mr Albinolo) had developed. Holloway may have purchased the fonnula patent from Albinolo or saw the merits of it and developed his own, which he patented.

By 1842 he was spending thousand of pounds on advertising and had offices in The Strand and advertised in countries such as India and China.

He also moved into the USA market sometime during the 1850's.

In the 1870's he donated close to one million pounds for the construction of a sanitorium in Sydney and a womens college at Egham, which he dedicated to his wife. This college was apparently opened by Queen Victoria in the 1880's.

There were no laws governing the claims made by advertisements of the time so some quite outlandish promises were made on his behalf.

Thomas Holloway died in 1883 leaving an estate of over 5 million pounds.

- 17-

TOKENS

In the mid 1800's a population explosion due mainly to the gold rushes, created a deficiency in the supply of copper coins. To cope with this shortage on a local level, tradesmen started to issue their own coins as change. These were not legal, however, the authorities turned a blind eye to the practice.

In the 1860's, large volumes of tokens were being produced and it was this situation that caused the declaration of illegality being made. Victoria started action to outlaw them in about 1863 with New South Wales following 5 years later. It took a further 10 years before Western Australia did likewise.

CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated the diversity of items that can be recovered from what may initially seem to be an unlikely location. The degraded state of the site caused all involved to be sceptical as to what could be yielded from the excavation.

The recovered items will form an outstanding record for interpretation of the Tocal Barracks.

- 18-

pp

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Dear Mr Martin,

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Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney 2000 Box 3927 G.P.O. Sydney 2001 OX 15 Sydney

Telephone :(02) 391 2000 Ext:

Fax No. :(02) 391 2111

Contact 2ost Our Reference :

T. Ireland Your Reference:

s90/1798/007

EXCAVATION PERMIT: Tocal Homestead, Barracks

I refer to your application under section 140 of the Heritage Act 1977, to underta.ke archaeological excavation and monitoring on the above land.

Under delegated authority approval is given for the issue ~f an excavation permit subject to the standard conditions identified on the reverse of the approved application form, enclosed.

Enquires on this matter may be directed to T. Ireland or C. Snelgrove on the telephone number given above.

Yours sincerely

~/_ {/(_) /(./11 ~ /

for Secretary.

cc Council

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2 2 JtHJ 1995 . 1 I

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