The Tailor and the Shipwright

by Robert Westphal

  Eliza and Nicholas were about twenty-seven and twenty-five respectively in 1824. Due to Nicolas Nerney’s convict history it was necessary for Eliza to apply to the Governor for permission to marry him. This she did on 4 February 1824. The approval was given prompt attention and only eleven days later on 15 February they married at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Sydney.

  Following their marriage, Nicholas was assigned to his wife, which Eliza found endlessly funny.

  True to his word Tommy O’Neil when next in town visited a lawyer. A deed poll was drawn up on 22 April 1824 and it read as follows:

  Deed Poll under the name and seal of Thomas O’Neil of Middle Harbour, settler, whereby the said Thomas O’Neil did give unto his daughter Eliza O’Neil and her lawful husband Nicholas Nerney of Sydney, to hold forever three acres of land, part of the Estate of the said Thomas O’Neil, situated at Middle Harbour, the said three acres of land to be chosen by the said Nicholas and his wife in any part of the said land as might most conveniently suit them, excepting the dwelling house and premises of the said Thomas O’Neil, to hold the same unto them, their heirs etc, the gift of the said three acres of land to be no bar to the proportion of the Estate and property of the said Thomas O’Neil to which they will become entitled at the time of his decease, share and share alike with the rest of his surviving family which said Deed Poll is witnessed and was registered 10 o’clock in the forenoon of the 22nd day of April 1824.

  Now married with a child and owners of three acres at Hunters Meadows, the Nerneys settled down in the house they had acquired with Thomas’s gift in Phillip Street.

  Meanwhile Mary Ann Bridget continued to seek a husband. There were men aplenty in the colony but Mary Ann Bridget was going to make a careful decision. Anastasia came to visit from time to time, and Mary Ann Bridget enjoyed her visits.

  It was clear to Mary Ann Bridget that Anastasia had her eye on a man. She was always suspiciously keen to go down to the dockyard area. However, she would not reveal a thing and Mary Ann Bridget could not work out who it was. Each time they ventured down to the Dockyard and The Rocks area, Anastasia would spend ages styling her hair and taking extreme care with her appearance. Mary Ann Bridget was worried as Anastasia was not quite fourteen. While Anastasia was in her care, Bridget did not want her sister courting trouble, so she tried to steer her away from The Rocks area. However, Anastasia made sure they would end up there at some stage of their walk.

  Thomas Brown had arrived in the colony in 1801 as a child, with his Scottish free settler parents, brothers and a sister on the transport ship Earl Cornwallis. He was now a carpenter and joiner. He and Mary Ann Bridget had met and developed a bond.

  Tommy granted approval for the marriage. They were married on 30 November 1824 at St Philips Church by banns.

  Thomas Brown was a free settler and came from a reasonably well off, land-owning family. Consequently Tommy did not see the need to settle a monetary amount with the couple, as he had with Nicholas and Eliza who had no money. Rather, he decided to settle a greater percentage of his acreage at Hunters Meadows with them. Consequently Tommy gave 30 acres of Hunters Meadows to Mary Ann Bridget and Thomas Brown, giving them free choice. The settlement excluded the house and the 7 acres of land surrounding the house. This ensured he kept the right to live in his own house and farm the land, as he had done for the past twelve years. By this second settlement Tommy had settled a total of 33 acres with his two Irishborn daughters, leaving a balance of 7 acres, in due course to be left to Anastasia.

  Tommy was very happy that both his Irish daughters had married good-seeming men and settled down. That left Anastasia, who was only fourteen, and who had plenty of time ahead to find a husband.

  Mary Ann Bridget’s marriage distracted her from her much younger sister. Anastasia used the opportunity to pursue her love. She had been keeping her eye on this man more than twice her age for a number of years, ever since William Foster had rescued her and her father from their leaking boat.

  Anastasia had used the walks with Mary Ann Bridget to gain a better understanding of Foster’s workplace. As she continued her observations, it became clear to her that there was no regular woman in his life. She had followed him home one afternoon and, by keeping a low profile, had discovered where he lived. It was a nice cottage occupying one of the better streets in The Rocks. Anastasia had visited a local grocery store and casually asked about the shipwright living in Cumberland Street.

  Anastasia had found out that Foster had a former wife who had moved to Van Diemen’s Land but no one had seen her for many years.

  ‘I believe her name was Maria,’ said the grocer. ‘I have not seen the woman for a long, long, time. I believe it was an agreeable parting. There were no hysterics or that sort of thing. Just one day she left with their son and I’ve not seen her since, miss.’

  The grocer continued, full of information. ‘If you want to find the craic about him, he is best friends with Mr George Atherden who is also a shipwright down at Campbell’s Wharf. Mr Foster owns more than one property, he does. He owns the place he lives in. Yeah, in Cumberland Street, I believe. But also owns a property in Cambridge Street where he used to live.’

  ‘Why thank you, sir. You are very informative. I must be on my way.’ Anastasia paid for a few items and left the shop much the wiser for the discussion. While strolling back to Mary Ann Bridget’s house, Anastasia spent the time thinking of a plan to meet with William Foster. She realised she needed her sister’s help.

  On her return she sat down with Mary Ann, and took both her hands in her own.

  ‘I need to talk about something with you. I need you to keep it a secret. It is just a discussion between us girls. Do you agree?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Well, as I think you are aware I have had an interest in a man for some time.’

  ‘I guessed as much.’

  ‘It is a bit more complicated than you might think. The man is much older than me. He is in his thirties.’ This piqued Mary Ann’s interest. ‘He is a shipwright and works around the area of Campbell’s Wharf.’

  ‘Interesting.’

  Anastasia told Mary Ann the dramatic story of their meeting him. Mary Ann had heard the story many times, but hadn’t ever paid much attention to the hero of the story. Anastasia told Mary Ann about following him and about the conversation with the grocer.

  ‘I learned a great deal about him earlier today. He lives in Cumberland Street. He has been married before and had a child but the wife and child went to Van Diemen’s Land many years ago and have not been seen since. I do not believe he currently has a woman living with him.’

  ‘Well, you have been doing your homework. But do you not think he is too old for you?’

  ‘Possibly, but if he is nice person does that matter?’

  ‘Not really. How can I help you?’

  ‘I need a reason to go and meet him again. I was thinking if we went walking down there and happened to bump into him that might be a good idea. I know he is in town at the moment as I spied him walking back up to his house yesterday at half past three. He would only remember me as a little girl but now I am a woman. If he saw me he might take an interest in me.’

  ‘Well, Hannah, that seems a reasonable plan. When do you want to do this?’

  ‘How about this afternoon if you are free? Nothing like the present to take action.’

  With that, Mary Ann and Anastasia headed down to Cumberland Street. It was only a short walk from Erskine Street. They would be there in plenty of time before Foster knocked off work. Anastasia knew there were many things that could delay him but she had no control over that. The only thing she could control was what she said to him. She had to make a positive impression, an impression that could lead to further discussions. She reasoned the second meeting would be easier. At any time she could back out if she found the going too tough but that was not the plan or what she had in her mind.

  Within fifteen minutes Bridget and Anastasia were
at the corner of Cumberland Street and the street he would need to walk up to get to his house. They pretended to look busy debating the various hat styles at the local milliner’s shop, while all the time keeping a watchful eye down the slope to Sydney Cove for an approaching figure.

  They had been there for thirty minutes and were starting to feel uncomfortable when Anastasia saw him. He looked so handsome.

  ‘Mary Ann, here he comes,’ said Anastasia nudging Mary Ann to get her attention. As he approached Anastasia turned towards him.

  ‘Excuse me, sir, are you Mr Foster?’

  ‘I am and who might you be?’ inquired William.

  ‘I am Anastasia O’Neil and this is my recently married sister Mary Ann Brown. You may remember a few years back you rescued my father and me when our boat started to take on water in the Cove.’

  ‘How do you do, ladies? Ah yes, I do remember. I had to row out and take you both to safety. You were just a girl then and now I see you have grown up.’

  Anastasia considered this a really good start. He thinks I am a woman.

  ‘We were just looking in this shop and I saw you coming up the hill and I instantly recognised you. It has been very nice seeing you again.’

  ‘Miss O’Neil and Mrs Brown, instead of standing on the corner, why don’t we adjourn to my place just around the corner and have a cup of tea?’

  ‘What an excellent idea,’ said Mary Ann.

  With that they followed William home. Anastasia was keen to see the inside of his house. She noted it was a one-storey stone house with a shingle roof. The front door opened onto the street.

  William opened the door and Mary Ann and Anastasia entered. It had a nice solid floor worked to a very smooth finish. William showed them into the main room. Anastasia noticed it was beautifully furnished, as one would expect given William’s carpentry skills. However, in Anastasia’s opinion the room required a woman’s touch to make it a home.

  ‘Ladies, please make yourselves comfortable. I will make some tea.’

  While William was making the tea Anastasia and Mary Ann could not resist sneaking a peek at the two adjoining rooms. They were both bedrooms.

  They took their seats in the comfortable chairs before William returned with the tea.

  26.

  Anastasia

  SYDNEY TOWN, 1825

  By early 1825 Anastasia had moved in full time with Mary Ann and her husband Thomas Brown. Mary Ann did not mind. She saw it as a sister’s duty. Anastasia assisted her with the housekeeping. Mary Ann reasoned that the girl could not be expected to remain at Hunters Meadows with Barney, Margaret and her father. It was not an exciting prospect. Tommy was disappointed as it separated him from his last unmarried daughter. Anastasia added a lot of merriment around the day. He had also lost a pair of hands. But all the same he understood.

  However, keeping an eye on her was getting harder and harder for Mary Ann. She knew Anastasia was meeting with William Foster on a regular basis. Mary Ann didn’t know whether to tell Tommy about her sister’s activities. How would he react? She didn’t know him well enough. If he reacted badly it might ruin her relationship with Anastasia and force Anastasia into Foster’s arms. For the moment she decided to keep it to herself.

  However, by mid-year, these thoughts were overcome by the reality of the situation when Anastasia told her she was carrying William’s child. It wasn’t what Mary Ann, who was pregnant with her own child, had wanted to hear. The overwhelming difficulty in the whole situation was that Anastasia did not want to tell her father. She assumed he would be livid with her. Mary Ann decided it was her duty to go and tell their father.

  Tommy was pleased to welcome Mary Ann and Thomas to Hunters Meadows. She looked so well and shared the joyful news of her pregnancy.

  After sending Thomas off to talk with Barney, Tommy and Mary Ann sat down with mugs of warm black tea.

  ‘Daddy, I have something to tell you. It is my fault. I have not been keeping a close enough eye on Hannah.’

  ‘Tell me. What has she been up to? It cannot be too bad. She is a good girl,’ said Tommy.

  ‘Well it is like this. Hannah has found a man in the Town. He is a fair bit older than her. In fact, he is thirty-seven years of age. A man you have previously met.’

  ‘Blast. What’s his name?’

  ‘William Foster, a shipwright from The Rocks.’

  ‘I know him. He has been around as long as I have. He helped repair the boat a few years back when Hannah and I were in the Cove and the boat started to take on water. He rescued us.’

  ‘Well, she has sort of moved in with him a few months back. And now she is with child,’ said Mary Ann in a hushed voice. She knew this was not welcome news but it had to be said.

  ‘Say that again.’

  ‘Hannah is with child,’ repeated Mary Ann.

  ‘God have mercy,’ said Tommy.

  ‘I knew you would be upset. She is only fourteen but she is healthy and determined and she is very happy,’ replied Mary Ann, trying to put a positive spin on this difficult explanation.

  ‘Why hasn’t she come to see me herself?’ he demanded.

  ‘She was frightened of what you would say.’

  Tommy knew it was not Mary Ann’s fault. He was furious but realised Hannah was like him; determined and pigheaded at times. At least William Foster wasn’t a ne’er-do-well. He was financially independent and well established. He could afford to look after her and the child. He would catch up with William Foster later.

  ‘Well, Mary Ann, I will need to go and have a talk with Hannah to make sure she has not been taken advantage of and, of course, reacquaint myself with Foster.’

  It was in December 1825 that Hannah gave birth to a little girl. Both mother and daughter were fit and healthy. William Foster had been through this with the birth of William junior but that was fourteen years ago. He had forgotten most of the experience. This was like learning all over again. He was very proud of his new family and the fact that he now had a daughter. In memory of his mother, the child was named Elizabeth.

  But this was not Tommy’s only granddaughter born that year. Both Eliza and Bridget had given birth to girls. Eliza had a daughter she also named Elizabeth, after her mother, and Mary Ann named her daughter Sarah.

  Tommy went from having one grandchild to four in one twelvemonth period. ‘I knew the Sydney waters would be good for my lassies,’ he liked to say.

  27.

  The Unwelcome Visitor

  SYDNEY TOWN, SEPTEMBER 1825

  Nicholas Nerney plied the trade in the colony that he had learned in Ireland: shoemaking and mending. His business was doing reasonably well. Eliza kept a sharp eye on him. By late 1825 they were still living in Phillip Street, with their new baby Elizabeth.

  In September 1825 they heard a knock on their door. It was a man Nicholas had met in recent days, an indentured convict called George Stanley who worked in a nearby shop.

  ‘Mr Nerney, please let me in. My master has attacked me with a whip. I did nothing wrong. He gets pleasure out of whipping me.’

  With that George Stanley showed Nerney his back. His shirt was torn and he was bleeding profusely from lash wounds, which crisscrossed his back. There were wounds upon wounds. Whipping was clearly a recurrent act that George Stanley had endured from his master.

  ‘Dear heart, do we have any water to wipe down this man’s wounds?’

  Eliza appeared with a bowl of clean water and a cloth. She carefully dabbed Stanley’s wounds to remove the excess blood. Stanley winced with pain at each dab of the cloth. Eliza tried to apply as little pressure as possible but the many wounds were raw and not easily cleansed.

  At that moment an enraged man pushed the front door open and entered the room. Eliza was startled, which only made her press more heavily on Stanley’s back. Stanley screamed in pain and fright.

  ‘Hey! Stanley is my servant. How dare you help him!’

  ‘Sir,’ Nerney replied, ‘he just arrived at our front door. He
is badly injured.’

  ‘Hand him over right now!’

  ‘No, not until we make right his wounds.’

  ‘We will see about that!’ The enraged man stormed off and a minute later arrived back with a police officer in tow.

  ‘Is this your man?’ the officer asked. The man said yes, and the officer addressed the Nerneys.

  ‘I am hereby charging you with harbouring a runaway. Stanley and Nerney, I am arresting you. Mrs Nerney, I am not arresting you but I will see you in Court tomorrow.’

  The following day, 8 September, George Stanley, Nicholas Nerney, prisoners of the Crown, together with Eliza Nerney, free, were placed at the bar. Earlier that morning Eliza had taken the baby to be looked after by her sister. Stanley was charged with being a runaway, Nerney with harbouring him in his house, knowing him to be a runaway, and Eliza with having connived to harbour a runaway.

  The bench sentenced Stanley to the treadmill for twenty-one days and thereafter to be returned to his station. The bench also sentenced Nicholas Nerney to the treadmill for twenty-one days and thereafter, as he was still a convict, to be returned to the government. Eliza Nerney was fined ten holey dollars.

  Fortunately Eliza had the money to pay the fine. A sentence to the treadmill was a very painful ordeal. Nicholas knew what he was in for as he had seen it in operation. The treadmill was used to grind flour for the poor. It consisted of a set of revolving stairs, whereby a group of eight to ten prisoners, for an hour at a time, would walk the treadmill stairs while holding onto a handrail. They were required to go at the same pace or the stair would bruise their ankles.

  After fifteen minutes on the treadmill, Nicholas was sweating profusely. Forty-five minutes to go. Could he last? He had to. Blistered feet and blistered hands were immediate casualties of walking the stairs. The other result of the punishment was swollen legs. Recovery from one hour on the treadmill required a full day. Nicholas had twenty days to go.

  After his twenty-one days on the treadmill Nicholas returned to his home and Eliza. It took many weeks for him to recover and return to his cobbler’s business. Nicholas wanted to forget the whole incident. They had shown an act of kindness but that was not how the Court saw it. They had learned a bitter lesson.