This association would shape his destiny – his
career choice, where he would live, and who he would marry.
Harry’s father, Anthony, who worked as a Clerk in
the British Museum, died when the boy was 12. His godfather (and Anthony’s good
friend) took him into his care. Little is known about Harry’s mother, Mary Ann
Nesbitt, but she may well have found it hard to cope after her husband’s death.
Spelling
book, used by Harry Nesbitt when attending school in London,
annotated ‘born
London 1853, died Hamilton 5/7/18 (1918)’[1]
It was natural, then, that Harry would be
encouraged to look to the sea for a career. He enlisted as a trainee officer in
the British Royal Navy. Later he transferred to the Merchant Navy. Apprenticed
to work on deep sea vessels, Harry sailed on ships such as ‘Ranee’, ‘Agnes Edgell’,
‘GG Anjee’, ‘Cowan’, and the ‘Casablanca’. On occasion, Harry was on board
ships berthing at Newcastle Harbour, in Australia.
Fate took a hand. Through Captain John William
Carpenter, who was living in Denison Street, Hamilton NSW, Harry was introduced
to Katherine (Catherine) Moy, Carpenter’s sister-in-law. Harry and Katherine
married in 1878, but she accepted him on condition that he left the sea, and
found a land job.
A later
photograph of Harry Frank and Katherine Nesbitt, 1916
While Harry had gained his 2nd
Mate’s Certificate and later his Master’s Certificate, he left the Navy without
ever taking command of a ship. His last on-water job was on the Newcastle tug
boats. What would he do now?
Harry joined the government railway service, in
Newcastle, starting ‘from the bottom’ as a porter in the goods shed at
Newcastle Station. During his time there, a son Anthony (1898), and a daughter Mary
Ann (1882) were born. Two more sons and a daughter died soon after birth. In all, the couple had 9 surviving children.
When Harry was promoted to Teralba Station as
Officer in Charge, the post office was on the platform, and Harry’s job
involved operating that too.
Harry Nesbitt
(sixth from left) and staff on Teralba Railway Station
Harry and Katharine lived in an unused railway carriage until the station master’s house was built.
Harry and
Katherine Nesbitt with their 8 of their 9 children,
in front of the heritage listed
station master’s cottage at Teralba, n.d.
Their
first born, Anthony, had gone to the WA goldfields
During their decade in Teralba, they were able
to put down roots, and become involved in the community. Katharine embroidered
altar cloths for St David’s Anglican Church and gave generously to miners when
they were down on their luck.
Harry Nesbitt went on to serve as Station
Master at Quirindi, Murrurundi, and Singleton until in 1909, he was transferred
to Hamilton.
The neat
Victorian buildings that we see today at Hamilton Station were not actually
built until 1898. From the 1860s, the community had agitated, on and off, for a
station at Hamilton, with two platforms, and proper access from both Hamilton
and Islington. I wrote about some of this early history in my blog post on the
Sydney Junction Hotel.
Railway Station Masters had considerable
authority, being responsible for their staff, signal operation and the smooth
running of the trains through their station.
Harry Nesbitt
on Hamilton Station – the arrow identifies him
Harry Nesbitt would have been one of the
earliest Station Masters at Hamilton, although not the first.
Dressed smartly
for work on the NSW state railways – Harry Nesbitt (left)
and railway staff at
Hamilton Station
The Station Master was usually well respected
in the community, and provided with a house near the station.
Hamilton
Station Master’s Cottage, Hamilton NSW (n.d.)
The
people in this photograph have previously not been identified.
However, they
are believed to be Harry Nesbitt, his wife Katherine,
and one of their
daughters
Photograph
by Ralph Snowball, courtesy of Cultural Collections,
University of Newcastle, Australia
Harry Nesbitt became a member of the Protestant
Alliance Friendly Society of Australasia, Perseverance Lodge No. 40, in
Hamilton. This Friendly Society provided medical and financial support for
members and their families when the breadwinner was unable to work.
A
skilled woodworker, Harry built furniture such as desks and stools as well as
model ships, and frames for oil paintings done by daughter Mary Ann. His pieces
were expertly joined with perfectly formed dovetailed joints. The timber came
from Hely Brothers, a large manufacturing business conveniently nearby in
Hudson Street, Hamilton.
He retired from the railways in 1916.
Harry Nesbitt,
third from left, with crew of Locomotive 361, Teralba, NSW, 20 March 1895
Photograph by Ralph Snowball, part of the
Norm Barney Photographic Collection,
courtesy of Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle, Australia
courtesy of Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle, Australia
After Harry retired, the Nesbitt family lived at
39 Beaumont Street, in what was said to be ‘a beautiful house’.[3]
Tucked behind a brick frontage that is now a Mexican restaurant, the
weatherboard house is still there today.
The
Nesbitt family home, 39 Beaumont Street, Hamilton
Frank
and Katharine’s son and youngest child George (born 1894) had worked
for a time in McIntyre's flour mill, another Hudson Street business. George enlisted for service
in what became the first World War.
Postcard
from George Nesbitt to his father, postmarked France, February 24th,
1917
It is
signed ‘With fondest love from your loving son, George’
George sustained a severe gunshot wound to his
face. He was one of many who received extensive plastic surgery in England at
what was then the Queen’s Hospital, Sidcup,
In 1918, while George was undergoing treatment, Harry Nesbitt died of bronchial pneumonia, aged 65. Two years of retirement
would not have been enough for this keen fisherman and wood craftsman.
The
grave of Harry Frank Nesbitt, 1853-1918
After Harry died, Katharine moved to a house in
Hudson Street, where she lived until her death in 1935.
A large and loyal staff served the NSW
government railways in its hey-day. The bare facts of their employment have
been preserved in NSW State Records, along with something of the history of NSW
Rail.[4]
Yet it is stories like this one, of a young ship’s mate who found himself on
the other side of the world, fell in love and married, and had to find a new
career that reveal the pain, the pride, and joy in the everyday lives of people
just like us – people who became part of railway history.
Hamilton
Station, 2015
The
station has heritage significance at a state level, as part of the wider
Hamilton and Woodville Junction railway precinct,
Acknowledgement
My thanks to Brian Archer, great grandson of
Harry Frank Nesbitt, for sharing information and photographs, thus providing a personal
insight into the life of one of Hamilton’s earliest Station Masters. All
photographs, unless otherwise attributed, are from Brian Archer’s family
collection.
Related post
Related post
Search for the station master‘s house
http://hiddenhamilton.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/search-for-station-masters-house.html
[1] All photographs, unless otherwise attributed,
are from the family collection of Brian Archer, great grandson of Harry Frank
Nesbitt.
[2] Harry and Katharine’s
surviving children were Anthony William, Mary Ann, Harry Frank, Margaret Culmer
(Maggie), Edward J., Irene (Renee), Katherine, Edith, and George. Deceased
children were Edward, Harry Frank (junior), and Flora.
[5]http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=4801020
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