Bluestone Genealogy

Boy enjoying the flood waters, c.1950s, Copyright Beard Family, sourced from pictureaustralia Melbourne is famous (or perhaps infamous?) for experiencing all four seasons in one day. As a born and bred Melburnian, it's something that I often joke about to tourists. We can go from a balmy 19 degrees one day, to a whopping 41 degrees Celsius the next (that's 105 Fahrenheit to you Northern folks!). In fact the highest temperature in Australia (ever recorded) was 50.7 degrees Celsius in Oodnadatta, South Australia in 1960. So for part 2 of my 'ancestors and adverse weather' series (which I write from my comfortably air conditioned house), I will explore another heat wave in South Australia, and the devastating effects it had on one family.  William Henry Shorten was the last child of Goymer and Jane Shorten (nee Duce). While his eight siblings were all born in the Longford / Launceston area of Tasmania, William was the first Shorten to be born in Victoria....

Boy enjoying the flood waters, c.1950s, Copyright Beard Family, sourced from pictureaustralia Today, as we battle the devastating effects of climate change and global warming (often cursing the weatherman for getting it wrong) it's difficult to imagine our ancestors living in the past, where they didn't have the benefit of satellite imagery or the Bureau of Meteorology. They were all constantly subject to the ebb and flow of the Seasons, and lived at the mercy of Mother Nature.  From river floods to epic heat waves, the next two blog posts will explore the catastrophic effects that extreme weather conditions has had on two families, ranging from a loss of property and livelihood, to the loss of life. On Wednesday 16 June 1875 at the Footscray Police Court, James Logan applied for a transfer of license for the Ship Inn - a hotel he and his family had operated for the past six years (1869 - 1875) to Patrick Stack. Ship Inn, c.1890. Operated by James Loga...