Family

GEORGE HULL was born on 13 Aug 1787 in Parish of Iwerne, Dorset, England. He died on 23 Jun 1879 in “Royston Cottage”, Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He married Anna MUNRO, daughter of Lieutenant Hugh MUNRO and Jane DAVIS on 27 Aug 1815 in St Pancras Church, Middlesex, England, UK. She was born on 09 Feb 1800 in St Marys, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, England. She died on 27 Jan 1877 in “Tolosa”, O’Brian’s Bridge, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. 

George HULL and Anna MUNRO had the following children: 

1. GEORGINA ROSE HULL was born on 23 Aug 1816 in Westminster, London, England. She died on 20 Jul 1886 in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia. She married Philip George EMMETT on 17 Jan 1837 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He was born on 22 Oct 1810 in Parish of St. James Westminster London England. He died on 15 Jul 1871 in Corop, Victoria, Australia. 

2. HUGH MUNRO HULL was born on 19 Apr 1818 in Romney Terrace, Westminster, London, England. He died on 03 Apr 1882 in 197 Macquarie St, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He married (1) ANTOINETTE MARTHA AITKEN, daughter of James AITKEN and Jane SYNNOT on 31 Oct 1844 in ‘Glen Esk’ Launceston, Tasmania. She was born on 12 May 1825 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She died on 23 Jul 1852 in “Tolosa”, Glenorchy, Hobart, Australia. He married (2) MARGARET BASSETT TREMLETT, daughter of William TREMLETT and Margaret AITKEN on 03 Jan 1854 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, Australia. She was born on 05 Nov 1835 in “Glen Esk”, Cleveland, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. She died on 02 Dec 1891 in ‘Dunstanville’ Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. 

3. FREDERICK GEORGE HULL was born on 19 Dec 1819 in Launceston, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 11 Apr 1876 in Buninyong, Victoria, Australia. He married Sophia Louisa TURRELL, daughter of Charles TURRELL and Ann WALLACE on 14 Feb 1844 in New Town, St Johns Church, Van Diemans Land. She was born about 1816 in Verdun, Meuse, Lorraine, France. She died on 03 Feb 1889 at “Glen Lyndon”, Lyons Street, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 

4. ROBERT EDWARD HULL was born on 02 Jun 1821 in Hobart, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 18 Jul 1841 in Hobart, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. 

5. HARRIET JANE HULL was born on 05 May 1823 in “Tolosa”, Glenorchy, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. She died on 10 Jan 1912 in “Royston Cottage”, Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She married Frederick Arundel DOWNING on 01 Jun 1844 in New Town, St John’s Church, Van Dieman’s Land. He was born on 16 Jan 1809. He died on 03 Jan 1895 at “Royston Cottage”, Colville Street, Battery Point, Tasmania. 

6. GEORGE THOMAS WILLIAM HULL was born on 08 Oct 1825 in Launceston, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 25 Mar 1914 in Clunes, Victoria, Australia. He married Caroline Robart ROBERT, daughter of John ROBERT and Elizabeth Ann Pritchard PERKINS on 23 Dec 1857 in Amherst, Victoria, Australia. She was born on 26 Aug 1839 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She died on 16 Jun 1905 in Dunach, Victoria, Australia. 

7. TEMPLE PEARSON BARNES HULL was born on 22 Aug 1827 in Launceston, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 11 Sep 1888 in Ararat, Victoria, Australia. 

8. HENRY JOCELYN HULL was born on 16 Jul 1829 in Launceston, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 03 Sep 1893 in “Glen Lynden”, Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. He married Mary Jane WILKINSON, daughter of John Norton WILKINSON and Sarah Anne WARE on 22 Nov 1861 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She was born on 27 Dec 1836 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She died on 10 Dec 1920 in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. 

9. ANNA MUNRO HULL was born on 19 Jun 1831 in “Tolosa”, Glenorchy, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. She died on 05 Dec 1887 in Campbelltown, Tasmania. She married Thomas Henry POWER on 10 Aug 1850 in New Town, AUSTRALIA, St John’s Church, Van Dieman’s Land. He was born in 1828 in Ireland. He died on 19 Apr 1901 in Campbelltown, Tasmania, Australia. 

10. JAMES DOUGLAS HULL was born on 21 Jul 1833 in “Tolosa”, Glenorchy, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 05 Nov 1881 in “Glen Lynden”, Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. He married Eliza Ann CLOTHIER, daughter of John Edward CLOTHIER and Anne ALDEN on 25 Oct 1855 in Holy Trinity Church, Hobart, Van Dieman’s Land. She was born on 13 Sep 1835 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She died on 25 Apr 1873 in New Norfolk, Tasmania, Australia. 

11. JOHN FRANKLIN OCTAVIUS HULL was born on 08 Apr 1836 in “Tolosa”, Glenorchy, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 17 Mar 1874 in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. He married MARY ANN LESTER. She died in 1874. 

12. ALFRED ARTHUR HULL was born on 16 Feb 1839 in “Tolosa”, Glenorchy, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. He died on 18 Nov 1890 in Robert Street, Toowong, Queensland, Australia. He married Mary Anna (Minnie) BARNS, daughter of William BARNS and Sarah BROWN on 27 Jun 1865 in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. She was born on 25 Apr 1849 in Dudley, Staffordshire, England. She died on 12 Dec 1884 in Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. 

13. MARY EMILY (POLLY) HULL was born on 25 Jun 1841 in Hobart, Van Dieman’s Land, Australia. She died on 13 Jun 1928 in Tambourine Mountain, Queensland. She married William Montgomerie Davenport DAVIDSON, son of Crisp Molyneux (Or Molineux) MONTGOMERIE and Isabella Davenport DAVIDSON on 01 Feb 1860 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He was born on 20 Jun 1830 in Richmond, Surrey, England. He died on 07 May 1909 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

 PENINSULAR SERVICE 
George Hull, born 22-8-1786, entered the army as a Treasury Clerk in the Commissariat Department in 1810, aged 24, through the interest of Sir Marcus Wood, Bart. M.P., at a time when Napoleon was rampant through Europe. He served under the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Fuentos d’Onore on May 5th 1811, and later at the Battles of Albuera, Rodrigo, Salamanca, Vittoria, Orthes, Toulouse, and remained at the seat of war until its termination at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. 

In January 1814 he was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissary General to the Army, having received a commission from Lord Wellington. Of the various hairbreadth escapes and troubles he had to go through, he would often give his sons a most graphic account to their great delight. Unfortunately, through being so close to the scene of action, he suffered great inner-ear damage, so that he was practically deaf by the age of 45, and was troubled by awful dizziness in his old age. 

At the close of the war in 1815 Hull returned to England and was employed for nearly three years in Somerset House in the Commissariat of Accounts, as auditor of accounts of the Penninsular War and the recent war in America. As can be imagined there was no great orderliness in the accounts kept at the scene of battle and it was his job to put chaos into order. Some officers had over-drawn their pay accounts, some were due for pensions, and the War Office was wanting to know what the final cost would be. 

When this task was completed and his duties ended he was given the option of retiring on half-pay or going on Foreign Service. He was given the choice of service in Canada or New South Wales, and he chose the latter. 

Soon after his return to London, on 27th August 1815, he had married Anna Munro, the daughter of Lieutenant Hugh Munro of the Royal Veteran Battalion stationed at the Tower of London. George had just turned 29 and Anna was barely 15. 

On 23-8-1816 their first child, Georgina Rose, was born; (Rose being the family name of Anna’s mother). Nineteen months later on 19th March 1818, at Romney Terrace, Westminster, a little son Hugh Munro Hull was born, and a few weeks after his birth the family was prepared to take up their position in the antipodes. 

THE JOURNEY 
The family packed all their belongings and took possession of their small cabin on board the “TYNE”, a convict ship which first sailed for Cork, in Ireland, to take on 350 convicts destined for N.S.W. Anna was only 18 years old and had scarcely ever been out of London, and the beautiful Irish scenery left an indelible impression on her, but the trip was far from pleasant. With a two year old daughter and a three week old baby, such confined quarters and a journey that took seven months, Anna proved she was a worthy wife for a soldier and pioneer. 

At no port would the gruff old Captain touch for supplies. A mutiny broke out amongst the convicts, and when the plan was discovered by the treachery  of one of the conspirators, it was found that the fellows had determined to murder all on board who were not in the same condition as themselves, and to put the Hull family on shore at the first land they met. To this act of kindness they were moved by some civilities, which had been offered by Hull to some of the convicts who were, in Hull’s opinion, the best behaved men on board. 

Among the sailors the two little children were great favorites and it was pleasing to see the great “sea monsters” all striving to get the baby to nurse. As for the Captain, whenever there was a shark alongside, he, knowing that Anna was very nervous, used to callout to the sailors to bring the baby so that he might bait the ready line for the shark.   
But from the perils of mutiny, and the sea, and of the sharks, they all survived and Sydney was most eagerly looked for by both convicts and freemen alike. 

The “TYNE” arrived at Sydney on January 4th 1819, and Governor Macquarie went down to the wharf to meet George Hull and took the family back to his home until quarters were found for them. 

Anna used to tell a joke against herself, about an event that happened that first day. While the Governor’s boat was coming over to the ship to fetch the family ashore, Anna observed another boat rowed by aborigines and she remarked what a strange livery they wore, being yellow and black. It was the custom in those days to issue to the aborigines yellow jackets and trousers, but the latter article the black gentlemen never would wear, and they could be seen daily going about the streets with nothing on but yellow jackets. This led Anna to suppose that they had yellow coats and black tights, and her remarks were met by roars of laughter by all hands. 

There were only 30,000 people in the whole colony at this time, a greater proportion of them emancipists who had their own cultivated land and own stock, but due to Governor Macquarie’s building policy, and his employment of Greenway, Sydney Town had some beautiful and substantial public buildings, and was taking on the appearance of a permanent settlement. The road had been built across the Blue Mountains only 4 years previous and the explorers and pioneers were pushing westwards searching for the inland sea. 

A second settlement had been established at Parramatta, 15 miles west of Sydney, which has easy access by water and good pasturage, and was so prosperous that it nearly threatened to overtake Sydney. A large convict population with all necessary buildings and offices was well established there by 1819. 

PARRAMATTA 
A few days after Hull disembarked the new Deputy Assistant Commissary Frederick Drennan arrived on the ship “GLOBE”, and was immediately put in charge of the Commissariat Department for the whole colony of N.S.W., which also incorporated Van Diemen’s Land. He set about re-organising the system; he put George Hull in charge of the store at Parramatta and allowed him a free hand. 

Hull commenced duty on January 25th and early in March Drennan wrote a glowing report praising his efforts. 

Drennan told Governor Macquarie that the use of store receipts in the colony was not in accordance with treasury instructions; Macquarie was unconvinced, but agreed to proposals to change the system, store receipts were no longer to be regarded as cash vouchers or as saleable and transferable, and all payments were to be made in silver coin or in Drennan’s own notes drawn on the Treasury. 

Drennan’s relations with the Governor quickly deteriorated and he offered so many criticisms of Macquarie’s rule that by March 24th Macquarie sent a lengthy criticism of Drennan’s conduct to the Treasury in London. 

In August Hull was offered a transfer to Hobart which he was pleased to accept, as the climate was more to his liking. He had complained in N.S.W. of being burnt by the heat and dreadfully bitten by mosquitoes and was not looking forward to a second summer.

The Commissariat in V.D.L. had been run by Thomas Archer for several years but his commission had never been officiated and it was felt that the growth of Hobart warranted a commissioned officer, Drennan arranged passage for the family on the “ADMIRAL COCKBURN”, commanded by Captain Briggs, and after a voyage of 12 days the ship arrived at Hobart Town on September 18th 1819. Poor Anna was ill the whole voyage and could not eat a thing, and was most thankful to put her feet on land again. 

HOBART TOWN 1819- 1823 
George Hull and his family arrived at Hobart Town three years after Lieutenant-Governor Sorell had taken command of the colony. Sorell immediately arranged for a weatherboard cottage, which stood where the museum now stands, to be placed at Hull’s disposal. Hull began at once to put it in order and make a garden; between the Museum and the Town Hall, in Argyle Street, was his potato patch and for many years two large gum-trees stood at the gate in Macquarie Street, which he had planted on the day his son Frederick George was born, December 28th 1819. He had strolled up the bush to dig the little saplings up, to where the Catholic Church was later built all beyond that being thick scrub of tea-trees and prickly mimosa. 

The old house was later pulled down and made into firewood, and according to Hugh its replacement was not much better. 

On September 25th 1819 George Hull officially took over the running of the Commissariat and all accounts, though still subsidiary to Drennan in Sydney. 

In 1819 Hobart Town consisted of about 100 houses, scarcely one of which was more than one story high; there were perhaps 15-20 dwellings worthy of the name house. But there were a number of fine solid government buildings; the new Barrack building, the new gaol, the Garrison Church, the Commissary store, the Guard House, and the Church of St. David. 

Immigration of free settlers was increasing with the promises of free grants of land, the loan of stock, and seeds, and abundant and cheap labour (convicts). The plough had taken place of the hoe and grain was exported to Sydney; but only two farmers in the whole colony had fences protecting their land. 

Government House was just along Macquarie Street from Hull’s first home, where lower Elizabeth Street now is, between the present Town Hall and Franklin Square. It was built of bricks made in the settlement but was so poorly constructed that Sorell would not move in until repairs had been carried out, and in 1824 Governor Arthur complained that it was totally unfit for occupation. Directly opposite the end of Elizabeth Street were the white wooden gate and the main guardhouse of the Governor’s house. Sentries at the gate stood stiffly in the red coats and shako hats topped with a white woolen ball. A white paling fence enclosed the garden and the area known as the Government Paddock, which usually contained a few Kangaroos and Tasmanian emus; this is now Franklin Square. 

The Church of England was the established church in Tasmania for many years, and grew with government support and finance. Many people attended the services because it was the correct thing to do – fashionable - rather than a matter of conviction, but George Hull’s boyhood upbringing as a Baptist had given him solid foundations and strict morals. A rather scarce commodity in those days. 

The main church in Hobart when the family arrived was St. David’s, which was built on the same block of land as the present Cathedral. The foundation stone of the first St. David’s was laid Feb. 19th 1817 and the first service was held in this building on Christmas Day 1819, although it was still without windows. Little Frederick was baptised here on January 21st 1820, and must be among the first few babies to have this honour. 

In I820 Commissioner Bigge reported, “The new church at Hobart Town is respectable in appearance, but the workmanship, especially the building of the walls, is defective. It is estimated to contain 1,000  persons. The assistance of another clergyman will be desirable, on account of the increasing age and infirmity of the present chaplain”. (Dr. Knopwood). In 1822 a report in Sydney Gazette read, “In Hobart Town is a Church which for beauty and convenience cannot be excelled by any in the Australian Hemisphere; and which, moreover, we are credibly instructed to say, is now better attended than in days of yore.” 

The soldiers sat in the galleries on three sides of the church, whilst on the central floor the “tall mellowed cedar pews with lockable doors, denied glimpses of elegance to the prisoners who crowded the body of the nave. Knopwood preached his last sermon in it on April 1823 before he retired, as his replacement Dr. Bedford had arrived in January. 

From the time of his arrival in Hobart, until he was superseded on 12-5-1821, George Hull was in charge of the Commissariat Department of Van Diemen’s Land. He contracted for supplies of wheat and meat from the settlers, he issued Store Receipts, and he was in charge of the government herds. His predecessor, Thomas Archer, acted as his assistant at Port Dalrymple with Thomas Walker.

The state of the Commissariat in Hobart was far less organised than in Sydney. Every Commissary officer before 1819 was known to have fiddled the books, but Hull was a man of Righteousness and Regulations, if not Tact. 

Lack of coin had meant a proliferation of paper money based on nothing more substantial than some-ones promise to pay, which in turn depended on chance. For a period rum was used as currency and the government used to settle its debts with rum. The usual exchange was: I bottle of rum equals Åí1. The price of tea was 40/- a pound; a large allotment of land in the centre of Hobart cost 5 gallons of rum. 

Hull went to Hobart full of zeal and tried to reorganise affairs there. First he suggested to Lt. Gov. Sorell that some of the oxen in the government herds could be dispensed with and replaced by horses. The oxen were used in all heavy works, ploughing, road making, hauling timber, and carting stone etc. But Sorell, beyond doubting that it was a question that concerned the Commissariat put the issue aside without any commitment until Commissioner Bigge had passed comment. 

Then Hull really offended the Lt Gov. by preaching economy and morals, and questioning the custom of supplying an issue of rum to the constabulary and watchmen at Launceston and Hobart Town. 

When Hull tried to re-organise the system of store receipts Sorell referred the matter to Macquarie in Sydney. The Governor, whose position in the dispute with Drennan had been supported in London, now backed up Sorell in his turn. Which was a good thing for Hull, for by September 1820 Drennan’s system was found sadly wanting by a committee of inquiry, and he was later dismissed with a deficit of over 6,000 pounds on his books. 

Hull must also have had many dealings with that prominent citizen Edward Lord, but it does not seem that he got tangled in any of his schemes. Edward Lord, as well as being the owner of thousands of acres, also owned three trading ships, which imported goods, particularly rum, for his warehouses at Hobart and Launceston. For years he was the largest supplier of grain and meat to the Commissariat, and his relations with the first two Commissaries, Fosbrook and Hogan, were, if not corrupt, certainly open to question and two later Commissaries, Broughton and Moodie, accused him of attempted bribery, At various times he was a magistrate, and a member of the Lieut. Governor’s court, but when Governor Arthur arrived in 1824, he realised he had met his match and bowed out gracefully. 

It was the Commissariat’s responsibility to feed and clothe most of the predominately convict and military population. This meant that the colony’s main industry was the production of grain and meat for sale to the government store. When not enough was produced on the government farm at New Town, the Commissariat had to buy supplies from private settlers. The Commissary could wield strong influence; he could refuse to buy from people he did not like, and was also in a position to commandeer imports off ships.

Also, it was Hull who organised the first comprehensive muster (or census) of all people and stock in the colony in November 1819 and then another in October 1820; previously only convicts had been mustered. In those 11 months there showed an increase of nearly 2,000 persons. 

On February 21st 1820 Commissioner Bigge arrived in Hobart to make his report on the state of the colony, and spent three months collecting information and statements. His final report was to change the convict system, cause much enmity and reveal many anomalies. Hull had left Sydney a few days before the arrival of Bigge on Sep. 26th 1819, and therefore had not met him personally but all people in the colony were aware of his importance. 

Sorell and Hull each presented their version of their differences to Bigge, and although Bigge conceded both men had done a difficult job to the best of their ability, his final recommendation was for the replacement of both men. 

To encourage a self-supporting society Bigge hit upon the idea of promoting the production of fine wool to be sold on the British market. To improve the flocks of Van Diemen’s Land Sorell sought the help and advice of Governor Macquarie. He in turn approached John Macarthur, who had returned to N.S.W. following his years of exile after the Rum Rebellion. Macarthur agreed to supply 300 rams to V.D.L. on the understanding that he would be paid for them in land. Consequently Macarthur received in return 4,368 acres of the Cowpastures to add to his already large property there. 

In forwarding these 300 rams in July 1820 Macquarie left it to Sorell to distribute them among the settlers. More than a third of this shipment of what were in fact Macarthur’s inferior sheep died on board the ship “Eliza” where they were penned up for 19 days on their way from Sydney. The surviving 185 rams were subsequently distributed to those flock owners whom Sorell considered most likely to apply best attention and care to them. 

George Hull was called upon to serve on the committee for the distribution of these rams, but when he learnt that several ex-convicts were also on the committee he withdrew and lodged a complaint. Governor Macquarie in N.S.W. had seen fit to allow ex-convicts to play a part in the order of the colony and Sorell tried to follow his example. But the circumstances in Hobart were much different to Sydney and Hull was not the only colonist to object. 

Commissioner Bigge also supported the colonist’s views and when Sorell threatened to withhold any claim to a land grant in retribution Bigge said Sorell did not have that power and recommended that Hull should have the usual privileges such as a land grant if he settled, and Hull immediately forwarded a claim. 

The first free settlers had been granted land around New Town (then called Stainforth Cove) a settlement two miles north of Hobart where the government farm was already established. A little further along the north bound road the small settlement of O’Brien’s Bridge grew where the road crossed the Humphrey’s Rivulet, and this later became Glenorchy. 

It was at O’Brien’s Bridge that Hull bought several small farms with the intention of building up a large estate and he chose 1,000 acres to the south-west of his purchased land in the heavily timbered hills, with a view to using and selling the timber, opening up a lime kiln, and eventually using the land for sheep pasturage. 

In notifying the Lieut. Gov. of his choice, Hull complained that there was no land available, which could be classified as suitable for agriculture, and indeed, so freely had land been given that Sorell had to call a temporary halt until further outlying districts could be opened up. 

The Lieutenant Governor Sorell could do no more than give Hull a Ticket-of-occupation, dated 1820, by which he was permitted to occupy the land by issuing in general terms a description of the land he chose. When Hull had sailed from England he carried with him a letter from the Under- Secretary-of-State dated May 1818, communicating Lord Bathurst’s decision leaving it to Governor Macquarie’s option to give him a grant of land as was customary. But before he could select his land in  N.S.W. Hull had been sent to Hobart. 

So when Governor Macquarie toured V.D.L. in April 1821 he gave authority to the Lieut. Governor to make Hull a reserve of 2,000 acres, which was as good as a grant, and only subject to good behavior, until such time as Hull retired on half-pay, there having been issued new regulations forbidding granting land to serving military officers. Governor Macquarie and his family had come to V.D.L. for a farewell tour, travelling the way overland from Hobart to Port Dalrymple (Launceston) and thus opening up much of the countryside and establishing a roadway that was many times later traversed by the Hull family, By the time Macquarie returned to Hobart Town in May, Hull had been superseded. 

In April 1821 the Treasury in London had recalled Commissary Drennan from Sydney and replaced him with Deputy Commissar General William Wemyss, and at the same time sent Assistant Commissar General Affleck Moodie to take charge of the Commissariat Department in Hobart. As well as Moodie being Hull’s superior, there was the fact that Sorell had officially complained of Hull’s attempts to “assume unwarranted powers just as Drennan had tried to do in Sydney”. So although there was no direct cause to replace Hull, he was considered Drennan’s prot.g.e, and for the time was out of favour, Hull was now Moodie’ s assistant, and in charge of the Bond store. As King’s Bonding Warehouse Keeper he had charge of all spirits arriving in the colony, and some fees were paid in spirits, which accumulated and were used as money in purchasing some of the little farms of which Tolosa was made up. It was also part of his job to test the proof of the spirits, and several times a year he had to make the journey to Launceston to attend to the Commissariat affairs there. 

Hull’s feelings were undoubtedly put out by the changes but now he had more time to attend to other affairs. He began the building of his home “Tolosa” on one of the small farms he had purchased, expending upwards of 600 pounds on house and land, and started what was to become a long protracted paper battle for the titles to his “grant”. 

The name he chose for his new home, “Tolosa”, comes from a little village in Spain where he stayed awhile during the Peninsular War when he was in Wellington’s entourage. When he had started the building his neighbor Dr Scott told him he thought it far too large, and that he would run to ruin building such a large house, neither men realizing then that the family would grow to 13 children. 

It was made of hand-made pinch brick, the outer walls being triple thickness and the inside walls being double thickness. It was undoubtedly built by convict labour, and the lime for the mortar was burnt on the property. It had cedar floors, doors, shutters, and window ledges. The floorboards were 8 inches wide and great folding doors of cedar went right across the main rooms, each 16 feet square, to be opened when balls were held. When the house was demolished an offer of Åí1,000 was made for the doors alone. There were fourteen rooms altogether, with attics in the roof, which had windows facing the mountains, and there was an eight feet wide passage running right through. 

The fourth child, Robert Edward, was born in June 1821, at Tolosa in the beginnings of the house. Two years later a little daughter Harriet Jane was born in May 1823. 

'Tolosa', Glenorchy, Tasmania

RETURN TO HOBART
The return journey was a weary one. There were now eight children, some of them in the gig, some in the chaise-cart, some on the bullock cart. They were four days travelling, and arrived late at night at Tolosa, weary and bad-tempered. The house was in bad repair in the hands of a drunken tenant, and Hull immediately put in an application for convict servants, and was granted 21, to help put the place back into order and back into production, The assignment of convicts was an essential part of the convict system, but only to gentlemen who could give them a good example to reform. Prisoners were fed and clothed by the settlers, but were not supposed to be paid or offered any other inducements. 

Their first winter at Hobart was very severe, the ground being covered with snow for some days together, and the children made a snowball that lasted a fortnight. Hull and his three eldest sons had to work hard all day cutting down trees and bushes, which they heaped into large piles and set fire to them at night. There were no fences around the paddocks and the pigs and cows had to be herded every night. Hull proposed to turn his sword into a pruning hook, and not figuratively speaking, but actually did so. He was often to be seen cutting and slashing the willow bushes with his sword in a most masterly manner. In the next few years he spent about 1000 pounds in the erection of extra lime kilns and cottages, clearing land, and putting in about a mile of fencing. 

Only a few weeks after their return a third little daughter was born, to be called Anna Munro after her mother. 

They found Hobart Town to be much altered and grown since they had left it eight years previous. Lieut. Gov. Arthur’s influence was to be seen in all directions. Essential community features had been established in the shape of roads, mail and banking services and religious and educational facilities. Arthur preferred military men as government servants and he had dismissed men who had shown an independent spirit. Affleck Moodie was still in charge of the commissariat and had built himself a spacious home at Battery Point. New Town was becoming a pleasant suburb, with brick and stone houses in large gardens surrounded by sweet briar and hawthorn. The pioneering atmosphere had changed for one of prosperity; it was an area of peace and restfulness where wives met for chatter about the inadequacies of domestic servants, whilst husbands commuted on horseback to city offices and warehouses. 

Upon Offering his retirement Hull applied to the Secretary of State for a grant of land, in March l832, to mark his 20 years service, and was looking for something like 1-2,000 acres such as Yoeland, Boyes and Roberts had received being his fellow officers.

He was most disappointed on receiving a reply from the Colonial Secretary when he was only granted 560 acres. The Col. Sec. took into account the 2,000 acres he already held, but Hull considered that as being separate, as a grant for settling in the colony. The figure of 2,560 acres was established by Lord Bathurst in 1825 as the maximum for settlers without capital, those settlers with capital being expected to buy land. This third allotment Hull also took among the wooded hills north of Humphrey Rivulet; at the end or Chapel street. 

In 1834 a new Board Of Inquiry for the Commission of Land Titles was established to settle locations of grants. Hull sent in all relevant letters and details, and his claim was recognised by general description, but as it had never been surveyed, and the problems presented to the surveyors were so great, his application for the deeds was put to the bottom of the pile. 

The Commissioners had a large number of problems and disputes to unravel as much of the conveyancing had been done without legal advice or documents of any kind. On 15th December 1835 Hull wrote a letter to protest strongly against a claim on a farm he had bought from Captain Blythe, which was being claimed by the original grantee who had sold it to Blythe. Hull’s protest was upheld and he was given the titles to the 120 acres after I4 years possession. 

For a while upon their return to Hobart the family attended their old church, St David’s in Hobart, but moves had already been instigated by Gov. Arthur towards the establishment of a new church to be built in conjunction with the new King’s Orphanage at New Town. Arthur was not entirely disinterested in making the proposal since the new proposed Government House was within the area, which would be served by the church. 

On 6th January 1854 Gov Arthur laid the foundation stone, and it was opened for worship on 20th December 1835. The original seating consisted of high box pews in the centre of the church arranged in collegiate fashion facing a central alleyway. There were two galleries, that on the south facing the entrance accommodated the convicts and their guards and was furnished with narrow backless benches with a division to separate male and female prisoners; the north gallery was intended for the orphans, but gradually as the church became more and more fashionable and so well attended the orphans were ousted and rented pews installed. Beneath this gallery were seats raised 3 steps above the floor level for servants and those who did not rent pews. Pew rents were handed over to the government and they in turn paid for all labour and repair work on buildings, mostly by convict labour. The clergymen were also paid by the government. 

Hull insisted that because of his position he had the right to sit in the Lieutenant Governor’s pew in his absence. This was in answer to the church authorities writing that he did not have that right. The vergers also objected to Hull’s habit of allowing various other people to sit in his pew, when they had paid no rent. Hull refused to pay his rent for 12 months and was summonsed by the church authorities, but be must have capitulated because he was always considered a member of the church. 

For most of the ensuing years the family walked to church, nearly two miles across country around the brow of the hill until they joined the Main Road to cross the bridge over New Town Rivulet. Although Hull naturally had several carthorses for farm work, he never kept a carriage, and the chaise was crowded with 3 persons and unsuitable for his large family to travel together to church. On many Sundays a church service was held in their own home, with Hull reading the service, attended by the children, servants, visitors, and sometimes neighbours. 

By 1830 Gov. Arthur’s attitude had begun to make him many enemies. Arthur saw V.D.L. only as a gaol for the punishment and reformation of criminals; his self-imposed role as the improver of mankind exposed him to the hatred of many convicts and also stirred the wrath of free settlers who wanted to secure their land and claimed their British rights to settle their own affairs with an elected legislature. 

There were many unpopular court cases concerning free settlers as opposed to Arthur’s very arbitrary authority. A government decree in June 11th 1831 stated that all land from that date was to be sold at a minimum price of 5/- per acre. The new settlers objected claiming they had been promised free grants, but Gov. Arthur was relieved to be free of the duty of issuing grants which seemed to cause more discontent than gratitude. 

Another decree, issued in May 1832, caused a storm of protest among the settlers already established. Arthur informed all landholders that government proposed to collect all arrears of quitrent. Petitions were signed all around the country claiming it would be unequal, unjust and intolerable. Its collection, they said, would in one fell swoop absorb the labour of years. Payment of quitrent would involve in ruin the prosperity and happiness of every landholder in the country. Quit-rents had been imposed in November 1823 and confirmed in Nov. 1824. All persons receiving grants of land were to be free of quitrent for the first seven years. After that time quitrent of 5% per annum on the estimated value of the land was to be paid. In the redemption of his quitrent the grantee was to have credit for one/ fifth part of the sums he might have saved the government by the employment and maintenance of convicts. 

At the same time it was found that the wording of all grants was illegal, and they had to be re-submitted. Many mistakes and frauds were discovered and many disgruntled landholders were encouraged to consider the idea that both revenue and expenditure should be in the hands of those who paid the taxes. Hull seems to have remained silent on issues where he could not support Governor Arthur, preferring not to censure a man he so respected. 

The year 1832 also marked a great achievement in Hull’s personal career. Gov. Arthur, who knew Hull had the qualities he required of men who served him, placed his name on the roll of the Justices of the Peace in a List published in the “Hobart Town Gazette” on July 27th 1832. ‘The jurisdiction of the Lt. Gov. ‘s court was purely civil, and only extended to pleas where the sum at issue did not exceed Åí50; but no appeal lay from its decision. All causes for a higher amount and all criminal offences beyond the cognizance of the Bench of Magistrates were put before the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Pedder. 

The popular movement, which started with land-rights and moved on to a bid for an elective legislature now turned to the problems of transportation. But this was one area where Hull, and a number of other landowners who looked for cheap labour, found they were in agreement with Arthur. Arthur dashed off thousands of words to the Secretary Of State to prove that transportation was the best secondary punishment ever invented by mankind. To address and convince a wider public of his personal views on the subject he composed a pamphlet entitled “Observations upon Secondary Punishment”, had it printed in Hobart Town, and sent copies off to London to join in the debate in England. 

On October 1836 Gov. Arthur was recalled and temporarily handed over to Lieut.-Colonel Snodgrass. In his unusually long term as Governor the population had increased to 40,000, the revenue from ÅíI7,000 to Åí106,000, the exports from Åí14,500 to Åí320,000, the colonial vessels from I to 17, and the churches from 4 to 18. He received praise for his efforts from London, and from his supporters in V. D. L., and on Saturday 29th October, 500 people assembled at Government House to bid farewell. He walked with Chief Justice Pedder down Murray St to the New Wharf followed by all the public officers and military, and several hundred town’s people, and embarked on the “Elphinstone” amid cheers and a salute from the ships in harbor. 

The new Lieut. Governor who took up duty in January 1837 was the renowned explorer Sir John Franklin, a man who carried his culture and his civilisation with him. Almost the antithesis of Col. Arthur, Franklin considered his duties as Gaol Commander peripheral to his main pre-occupation which was developing scientific research within the colony. 

A census paper filled in on December 31st 1837 shows that Hull still had 7 male and 4 female assigned convicts on his estate, the family was still growing, and the farm developing. Georgina, his eldest child, was married in the June to Phillip Emmett, and therefore does not show on this census. 

In September Hull got a medical certificate to prove  that he was fit for full time employment, and for a time from Oct 11, I837 acted as assistant to the Director General of Roads and Bridges, Captain Cheyne. Hull was to superintend the correspondence and the stores and implements required for use in the Department, and received 300 poundsper annum. He had asked Assistant-Commissary-General Moodie to consider his application for full time employment in the Commissariat and when Moodie suddenly died 27-11-1838 Hull petitioned the Governor for Moodie’ s position, pointing out that he was the most senior officer available, but D.A.C.G. Roberts returned from sick-leave and accepted the Advancement. 

The Roads and Bridges Department was reorganized late in 1838 and Cheyne was designated Director Of the Department of Works, and Hull resigned from the position as his assistant. It had not been a very happy relationship and developed into a feud that carried on several years until Cheyne was dismissed in 1841. 

On March 23rd 1839, in response to an advertisement in the Gazette, George Hull submitted a tender to supply unslaked lime to the government in the name of his son Fred, with himself named as bondsman, at 6+3/16 pence an imperial bushel. This was in fact the only tender put forward, but it was not accepted, Cheyne maintaining that the quality or Hull’s lime was uneven, and he re-advertised for tenders and asked Mr Price to put in a quote. Hull objected to this snub, and listed the various buildings around Hobart where his lime had been used, principally the Queen’s Orphan School, St John’s Church, Trinity Church, the penitentiary wall, and the Custom’s House foundations. After much bickering Cheyne allowed Hull to have the contract being sure to write in the terms “to supply lime as required” and then found excuses not to use Hull’s lime as it was not required. Hull and Cheyne were still feuding until the end of 1841 when Montagu, the Colonial Secretary, who also had a great personal dislike of Cheyne, pressed for Cheyne’s dismissal. 

In December 1838 a new Caveat Board under chairman W. T. Champ was established to finalise all claims to grants of land. Once again Hull was asked to forward all papers and certificates concerning his original grant of 2,000 acres, so that a title could be drawn up, and a public advertisement had to be put in the newspapers 26-7-I839 describing the land that was claimed in his name, just in case anyone else also had a claim to that land, the early maps had been so haphazard. In 1834 it had been accepted on the description of Mr Frankland, the Surveyor General, and Hull thought this was sufficient “as the land was too rough for Surveyors to go through”, The titles were finally drawn up on 8-7-1840 but Hull objected to some of the charges the Commissioners claimed against him and the titles were not passed over until the matter was settled in 1841. 

Lady Jane Franklin, like her husband, also believed in advancing the culture of the people. In 1839 she bought 54 acres of land in Lenah Valley from George Hull at from 1 to 3 pounds per acre, to be used as a site for a botanical garden and a museum. In March 1842 Sir John Franklin laid the foundation stone of a new Greek Temple - a natural history museum with simple pediment columned in brown stone, which was called Acanthe. Ronald C. Gunn turned from office duties with the Convict Department to managing Acanthe for Lady Jane and editing the Tasmanian Journal of Natural Science. 

The philanthropic mood also caught Hull, who gave land for St Matthew’s Presbyterian Church at the corner of Tolosa St and Main Rd. It is a small but excellent example of Romanesque Revival architecture designed by convict architect James Blackburn. The foundation stone was laid by Sir John Franklin on December 20th 1839 and dedicated two years later. Years later one of the family gave the family bible to the church, but they first removed the family history entries. 

In 1840 the world traveller and mountain explorer Count Strezlecki visited Van Diemen’s Land. Three miles north of Mount Wellington, in the county of Buckingham is a lofty mountain attaining the altitude of 2,300 feet above sea level; this mount is covered with timber and was named Mount Hull by Strezlecki after George Hull as Hull’s land encompassed the slopes and lower hills. 

The year 1841 also brought great sadness to the family, for shortly after the last and thirteenth baby was born, their third son Robert contracted T.B. and  died aged 20 years. Consumption as it was generally known then, was very prevalent, and incurable, and was no respecter of class or age. 

The 1840s was an era that was rich in cultural activities, unsettled with political agitation for the abolition of transportation, prosperous in trade revenue, yet depressed local prices had a serious effect on employment. After a period or speculation in stock and land payments to bank and other finance companies fell due; cattle bought at 6 guineas a head sold at 7/6; sheep were sold at 6d per head. Bankruptcy became widespread and unemployment and distress common. The situation in Tasmania was worsened by the release of prisoners who had completed their probation to compete for employment. Every branch of business was affected and there was a great falling off in many industries. By now Hull had four sons working as clerks in various Government Departments, but finances were getting harder and harder. For the previous decade he had been buying small lots of land to add to his farm, now he was forced to release them. 

On 19-5-1843 Hull inserted an advertisement in the Mercury offering Tolosa for lease. 

‘TOLOSA’ : - To Let or lease for 7-10 or more years and entered upon immediately, the House and Estate of Tolosa, 4. miles from Hobart Town, together with the lime kilns and sub-tenancies. This Estate contains about 2,000 acres of land and affords an excellent run for a small flock of sheep and is well adapted from its vicinity to market for a dairy. About 70 acres are in crop and preparatory thereto and a considerable additional quantity may at once be ploughed up. The rent will be very moderate to a respectable tenant and further particulars may be known on application to P. G. Emmet.” 

Hull evidently did not get a favorable response for the following year, in February 1844 he mortgaged 1,600 acres to the Commercial Bank to secure a loan of 500 pounds. 

1844 was also a year of change within the family. Fred was married in February, Jane married Fred Downing in June, and in October Hugh was married. George Hull was 58 years old, a grandfather of 4, and considered too old for Government employment except for the position he held as Justice of the Peace. 

In 1839, after seven years in a mainly honorary position, Hull was fulfilling the duties of sitting magistrate on minor cases at Glenorchy. Colonel Arthur had divided the island into Police Districts with a stipendiary magistrate for each, but J.Ps still had a roll to fill. 

In 1841 Hull memorialized the Governor suggesting that he might be appointed visiting magistrate with the purpose of dealing with the misdemeanors of the men in the road gangs, naturally with a slight remuneration to cover costs, to ease the burden of the overworked Police Magistrate, but his suggestion was not followed up. 

In l859 there were 325 names on the Commission of the Peace in Tasmania, and twenty years later when he died, Hull’s name was fifth on the roll, his seniors being Capt. Malcom Laing Smith, Sir Robert Officer, Captain Dumeresq and Mr Thomas Mason. He always considered “Muster Master Mason” a friend and colleague, but never gained that gentleman’s notoriety, possibly because although stern, he was never harsh with those under him. He brought his children up with a compassion for the lower orders of mankind such as convicts, emancipists, and aborigines, while teaching them their duty in upholding the class of free settlers. 

His sons were later to tell their children of the hours they spent being drilled in social etiquette, standing behind a chair and moving it out with just the right amount of deference for a lady to sit upon, etc. 

In February 1848, by which time Hull had repaid 450 pounds of the loan from the bank, he again approached the bank for a further loan and arrangements were made for the sum of 917 pounds. The property was made over to the Commercial Bank, and the Bank was to be permitted to lease the land, or part of it, and receive all income from the lease. The lease of the tenant, Lodder, was effective for ten years from 1st March 1847, and remained in force after Hull repaid the loan, but the lease payments were then payable to Hull. During this time the family retained  the use of the home and the surrounding orchard on the original purchased blocks. 

Hull’s name appears many times in the record books as being involved in land transactions. On 3-8-I854 he sold his grant of 560 acres to Fred Downing, his son-in-law, with another 100 acres. On 10-8-1848 he sold a block to James Aitken who left it to his daughter Nettie (Hugh Hull’s wife) who in turn left it to her two sons Herman and Hugh, who held it many years. The Glen Lynden farm, established on a block in Chapel St was let and leased many times and other blocks re-appear several times as they were leased. Well-known names such as W. Dixon, W. Crowther, R. Grant, T. Grove and Henry Buckland show as having leased the big block of 2,000 acres on which Hull often raised ready cash. 

From now on Hull led a life of a country squire, although without the comfort of an adequate income. 

In August1843 Sir John Franklin was replaced by Sir Eardly Wilmot, and in January 1847 Sir William Denison took over the leadership. Hugh was clerk in Sir William’s office and counseled his father to write a long memorial on the benefits of transportation in the reformation of convicts, in support of views put forward by Denison. Hull, of course, had only to recall the arguments put forward by Colonel Arthur, and in October 1851 presented a very lengthy treatise on the subject. But in the end the Anti-Transportation League won, and landholders such as Hull had to manage without assigned servants. 

After the depression of the 1840s, the gold strikes at California in 1849 and on the mainland in 1850 gave a most welcome boost to trade and money once more circulated freely. The farmers and landholders were given good prices for their produce and Hull could redeem the land he had mortgaged, November 1850. 

Three sons, Fred, George, and Temple, and a daughter Georgina who had married Philip Emmett went to Victoria in search of gold and settled there to start a new life. 

Hobart had been growing and changing all the time but one change that particularly interested Hull was the building of the new museum an 1861 on what had been the site of his first home in Tasmania. The little seedlings be had planted that first December were now fine big gums that had to be lopped so that they did not interfere with the building. 

The little settlement of O’Brien’s Bridge had grown populous and independent of New Town, and in 1864 was declared the Municipality of Glenorchy. George Hull and his old friend William Fletcher were appointed as auditors to the new council and his son John Hull was appointed the first Council Clerk. 

Cooley’s horse-drawn buses provided an hourly service between Albert Rd and central Hobart, a great boon for a family that did not keep a carriage, although up to his 80th birthday Hull could, and sometimes did, walk into Town, a distance of nearly 5 miles. 

Most of the estate was now divided into small farmlets and let to tenants. Hull took great pride in his fairly extensive orchard, he cropped about 50 acres, kept an old horse and cart, and relied on local men for seasonal work. 

The house was big and old and rambling, and several members of the family tried the idea of moving back in with their parents to care for them in their old age but George was too independent. Whenever he or Anna were ill, or in need of a change, they went to Jane and her family at Battery Point, where they always received a sympathetic welcome. 

Anna died at Tolosa on 28th January I877, after a lingering illness and was buried at the New Town cemetery. 

George stayed most of the time after that with Jane, troubled by bouts of dysentery and an awful dizziness as a legacy of his service in Spain. He died on Tuesday, June 24, 1879, at the advanced age of 93, and was buried in the church-yard adjacent to St John’s Church, New Town. 

In George’s will he left instructions that Tolosa and its farms were to be sold and the money divided in  5 parts - one part to each of the four daughters and the fifth part to be divided between the six surviving sons. 

It was all sold in 1880 according to the will and the new owner of the house had a verandah built across the front with a lot of iron lacework. Verandahs did not become fashionable in Tasmania until the 1870s because the summers there are not as severe as in N.S.W. A new driveway was put in from the street which was lined with fir trees, and it branched both ways around a circle before reaching the house. The Owens family lived there some time. 

In 1950 Tolosa was put up for public auction by a Mr Pitt, the owner at that time, and it fetched 5,400 pounds but by then there were only a few acres of land with the house. 

The man who demolished the house in 1968, Mr Molineaux, died two years later and his wife maintained that Tolosa killed him, as he insisted on doing the whole job of wrecking alone. 

The land was all subdivided and incorporated in the suburb of Glenorchy, and the only reminder left now is a street called TOLOSA ST, which used to lead up to the old house. A block of two-story flats is on the site of the old home.