From the 1830s the Quakers made contributions to Tasmanian life out of all proportion to their modest numbers. George Washington Walker remained a moral force. He continued to take an active interest in the welfare of convicts, and was especially concerned about the role played by alcohol in crime and recidivism. Backhouse and Walker had helped to establish the first temperance society in Hobart, and Walker continued this work. He was no mere wowser. There were undeniable problems with alcohol abuse. In his narrative, Mackie expressed concern at the sight of women lying dead drunk in the streets of Hobart. The seven-year-old Esther Ann Mather wisely took the pledge in 1857.

Esther Ann Mather
Esther Ann Mather ( later Esther Robey): University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Temperance pledge
Temperance pledge by Esther Ann Mather, aged 7, 26th May 1857 : Society of Friends' Meeting House Collection

Mather and Walker operated drapery businesses in Liverpool Street, close to Mather’s Lane. Even in this innocuous line of work the Quaker conscience could be troubled. Walker was embarrassed by the rage for fashion among the ladies of the colony. ‘I would never encourage a child of mine to follow the linen drapery, as it is pursued here’, he wrote in 1858, ‘It is bad enough in England, but here a person must keep up every variety of fashion, every thing that panders to the vitiated taste for finery and display’. 23 Joseph Benson Mather (1814-1890) suffered financial loss on account of his refusal to accept contracts for military uniforms.

Walch's Almanac Advertisement
Walch's Almanac Advertisement for J B Mather and Son, in Walsh's Almanac 1876
Joseph Benson Mather
       Joseph Benson Mather (1814-1890) : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collection

To encourage temperance and thrift, G. W. Walker opened a savings facility in his store. From 1845 it traded as the Hobart Savings Bank. It proved successful: he told Mackie in 1852 that he had been obliged to limit deposits, and probably refused as much as £25,000, because of the difficulty of investing the money. 24 Over time the bank developed into the Savings Bank of Tasmania.

First Savings Bank of Tasmania
First Savings Bank of Tasmania founded by George Washington Walker attached to his draper's shop : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

Walker was a pillar of the community, lending his support to a range of worthy ventures. He was a leading light in the establishment, on non-sectarian principles, of Hobart Town High School in 1850. Lady Denison, the Governor’s wife, who enlisted his assistance in the revival of a scheme to found a refuge for prostitutes, paid him a fine tribute: ‘Men of all denominations unite in speaking well of [him]. He is never mentioned but with respect by those who, I fear, are too indifferent on the subject of religion to belong to any party at all; and whatever good is to be done, he is sure to have a hand in it’. 25

Towards the end of his life he and his family lived at Narryna in Battery Point, now a heritage museum, where his grandfather clock and other possessions can be seen.

As in Britain, a number of Quakers made contributions to science. Dr Story was a man in the tradition of Dr Fothergill. A dedicated physician, he developed a strong interest in the natural sciences, especially geology and botany. A member of the Royal Society of Tasmania, he was for a time in charge of their gardens, the future Royal Botanical Gardens, on the Domain. James Backhouse Walker, George’s eldest son, was a polymath whose interests ranged from natural science to history. William Lewis May, the son of William May and Mary Cotton, was a distinguished amateur conchologist, and built up an impressive collection of sea-shells. According to his obituary: ‘It was a wonderful sight to see him in his shell-room at his microscope, his work-worn hands executing the most exquisite drawings of minute shells’. 26

 birth certificate
Deatail of Esther Ann Mather's birth certificate :
University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections


The way to wealth

Bank Book
Hobart Savings Bank Book of J.B. Cotton 1858-83 : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

 Bank Book
Hobart Savings Bank Book of J.B. Cotton 1858-83 : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

Dr George Story
Dr George Story ( 1800 - 1885) : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

 Forest Hill
May family home at Forest Hill, Sandford : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
May Family and friends
May Family and friends at home at Sandford, Back row left to right W. Clemes, Alfred May, William May, Lewis (W.L) May, Mrs L May : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Alfred May
Alfred May : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
William May
William May reading
 Tasmanian Shells,
Plate XLII, from May, W.l. An Illustrated index of Tasmanian Shells, Hobart, Government Printer 1923 : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Dusky Robin
Alfred May painting " Dusky Robin" (Private Collection)
Kelvedon Journal
Kelvedon Farm Journal : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Kelvedon
Kelvedon : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Kelvedon
Kelvedon : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Kelvedon,
"Kelvedon, the residence of Francis Cotton", etching from a sketch by James Backhouse from his book A Narative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies

 wedding
The wedding of Charles Henry Robey and Esther Ann Mather on 23rd of July 1884
Left to right : Robert Andrew Mather, William May ,Ann Maria Mather (bridesmaid, daughter of J.B Mather), J Francis Mather (son of J.B Mather), Charles Henry Robey (groom), Esther Ann Mather (bride, second daughter of J.B. Mather) Emma Elizabeth Mather (bridesmaid, became E Benson, 3rd daughter of J.B. Mather), Thomas B Mather ( son of Robert A Mather) Joseph Benson Mather (brother of R.A. Mather), Ann Pollard Mather ( wife of R.A. Mather) Mary May (nee Cotton, Annie Mather (daughter of John Mather), and Samuel Mather ( brother of J.B. and R.A. Mather. Photograph in University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

 Robey sisters
The Robey sisters, Elinor and Marguerita, with their doll. They were the daughters of Esther and Charles Robey (above): University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections
Doll
Doll which belonged to Louisa May (1863-1945) daughter of William May,(and sister of Alfred and Lewis (W.L.)May), in its original J.B. Mather & Son box : Private Collection

Painted card
Painted card by Alfred May ( Private Collection)

Alf and Lewis May
Alf and Lewis May, standing with Charles Sowden and J.W. Dixon : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

Mr and Mrs Lewis May
Mr and Mrs Lewis (W.L.) May : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

William May
William May : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

Francis and Anna Maria Cotton
Francis and Anna Maria Cotton : University of Tasmania Special and Rare Materials Collections

 detail of buttons
Esther Ann Robey's grey wedding dress detail of buttons: Society of Friends' Meeting House Collection

 dress detail of back
Esther Ann Robey's grey wedding dress detail of back: Society of Friends' Meeting House Collection

 wedding dress
Esther Ann Robey's grey wedding dress : Society of Friends' Meeting House Collection


Footnotes:
23. J. Backhouse and C. Tylor, The Life and Labours of George Washington Walker of Hobart Town, Tasmania. London : A. W. Bennett, 1862, p. 551.
24. Nicholls, Traveller under Concern , p. 38.
25. R. Davis and S. Petrow (ed.), Varieties of Vice-Regal Life ( Van Diemen’s Land Section). Hobart, Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 2004, pp. 86-7.
26. W.N. & M. Oats, Dictionary of Australian Quaker Biography, vol.2, Hobart, Religious Society of Friends, 1989, entry for ‘May, W.L.’ I owe this reference to Caroline Evans.

 

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