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SSAA Militaria Collectors Tasmania Inc Founded as the Arms and Militaria Association of Tasmania in 1984

Museum Licence 60648

PO Box 350 Glenorchy Tasmania 7010 ABN 19 506 674 593 T17 Website www.ssaamilitariacollectorstasmania.org

Cannon Fire!

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CONTENTS

VICTORIA POWDER MAGAZINE HISTORY

Cover Victoria Powder Magazine 2006 2 Introduction 10 Part 1 - Soldier and Immigrant

14 Part 2 – Gun Maker and Armourer

18 Part 3 – Government Armourer and Free Mason

20 Part 4 – Keeper of Powder Magazine and Military Stores

24 Part 5 – Military Storekeeper, Magazine Keeper and

Inspector of Explosives

25 Part 6 – Magazine and Retired Officer

29 Part 7 – Magazine Keepers Records 1873 – 1894

85 General Instructions for Magazines

86 Abbreviations

This booklet is the work primarily of John Presser and Gillian Winter with input from John Lennox

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INTRODUCTION The Domain powder magazine, situated at the corner of Carriage Drive and Upper Domain Road, Queens Domain, Hobart was first built as a double roofed, solid sandstone building, with "vaulted" inner brick ceilings by Captain John TWISS of the Royal Engineers. Work started in September 1850 and the magazine was in full use by 20th June 18511.

An original boundary marker of the Powder Magazine boundary

Although an earlier single roof plan by J.L. Archer exists, the Royal Engineers (Kelsall) seem to have designed the 1850's double structure, which was capable of storing 1600 whole barrels of powder. The cost estimate in June 1849 was - NEW MAGAZINE £1083-02-07 GUARD HOUSE £ 244-19-032

1 Despatch - Royal Engineer to Insp General of Fortifications, U.K., AOT 30 Sept 1850, W.O. 55/855/3 p1000 Despatch - Ordnance Office to C.S.D. Tasmania 20th June 1851, 24/148 Reel 1095 p240 2 Letter, Royal Engineers to CSO 18/6/49 AOT CSO 24/37 Reel 1095 p407

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The above elevation drawing shows the double vaulted military section on the right and the civilian section on the left which was added in 1857. The 2metre thick walls, the cavity beneath the floor and the vaulted roof would, had there been an explosion absorbed some of the blast. Note the upright wooden posts that supported the racking on which the barrels sat. The Magazine was then named “H. M. Victoria Magazine" by Lt-Governor William T. Dennison on 21st June, 18513.

3 Letter, Royal Engineers to CSO 18/6/49 AOT CSO 24/37 Reel 1095 Pg 2

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Unlike most military magazines, this double magazine served two functions- 1. The powder and ammunition magazine for the Ordnance Dept., British

Army, Tasmania. 2. A powder store for commercial gun-powder and explosives. There was a need for a proper magazine in Hobart by the 1850's. There had been five previous magazines, many temporary and unsuitable4. 1803-1804 Risdon Cove Store Building 1804-1822 Sullivan's Cove Magazine, Brooke Street. 1822-1826 Engineers Building Store. 1825-1830 Hulk "Duke of York" 1830-1851 Temp Magazine at Domain (Old Zoo). 1851-1970 H.M. Victoria Magazine Queens Domain.

4 Thesis, 1987 Ian Cooper Appendix 4, p115

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Despite the addition of the third bay in 1857 to increase the capacity by 800 whole barrels to 2400, hulks were used and anchored by the Domain Gunpowder Jetty, to store the Tasmanian Colonial Governments powder requirements.

The Powder Jetty (behind the right Norfolk Pine tree) Image taken from Carriage Drive with Beaumaris Zoo fence in foreground

1881-1902 Hulk "Aladdin" 1885-1900 Hulk "Emily Downing"5 In 1970, the Domain "Victoria" magazine was replaced by a new explosives magazine, at Tinderbox outside Hobart. The state magazine later moved to Queenstown on the west coast. A return of gunpowder stored at the temporary magazine on 14th August 1845- Merchants 18,825 lbs in 690 casks Ordnance 50,398 lbs in 630 casks Cartridges 216,400 in 273 casks Note that there were three gunpowder barrel sizes as shown in an earlier return of 18 October 1844. "....... 531 whole barrels, 174 half barrels, 24 1/4 barrels, beside merchants powder6,7 5 AMAT journal Cannon Fire Volume 7, No 3, 1990 page 4. Gunpowder hulks "Aladdin" & "Emily Downing" 6 Despatch Wilmot to Lord Stanley-Military 123

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From 1851 to 1870, the "Victoria" magazine was under the control of the British Ordnance Dept., through the Royal Engineers. With the departure of the British Military in 1870, the magazine came under the control of the Colonial Secretary’s Dept of the Tasmanian Government. The regulations governing the operation of the magazine are found in the GUNPOWDER ACT 1875 (Victoria No 8). The magazine-keepers are listed in Walch's Almanacs from 1872. James Chisholm (C.S.) 1872 - 1908 E. P. Pope (C.S.) 1909 - 1914 J. S. Parkiss (Mines) 1915 - 1921 H. Middleton (Mines) 1922 - 1923 E. Rider (Mines) 1924 - 1934 S. W. J. Dean (Mines) 1935 - 1948 R. G .Clark (Mines) 1949 - 1953 J. Goodrick (Mines) 1954 – 1970 The 1857 additions to the 1851 magazine structure consisted of another similar bay, but with its own entrance, and no inside entry into the existing double bay magazine structure. The guard house was added to in 1902, vastly altering the structure to that of a house, which was from then on known as the "Magazine Keepers" residence.

AOT 23 August 1845, CO 280/184 p272-278 7 Despatch Ordnance Officers to Home Office AOT 18th October 1844, CO 1/56 p425

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A Soldier of the 40th Regiment left his Unit No. and Regimental No. in the

stone work of the 1857 addition

There was a "gunpowder" jetty associated with the Domain "Victoria" magazine. Powder shipments to the magazine were unshipped at this jetty. The gunpowder storage hulks were anchored near this jetty. The jetty was demolished some time after 1970 and all that remains are the stone abutments at the waters edge.

The small room opening onto the inner court-yard, in the outer wall of the magazine, is the "shifting house", where all the opening of casks, and shifting of gunpowder from one container to another, after weighing, was carried out. Black powder is an extremely unsafe and The construction of the magazine and the shifting house reflect this danger. The shifting house is away from the magazine proper. The main danger with black powder is from sparks, so all exposed iron and steel was replaced with copper, bronze and brass. In some areas, the floorboards are pegged with wooden dowel, not even copper nails. The doors are sheathed in copper and the vent grill bars of the complex ventilation system in the outer walls, are of copper. This indirect ventilation was to stop the entrance of sparks through the ducts in the event of a bush-fire. The building is still protected from lightning strike, by two copper conducting rods, called "Franklin Rods", after their inventor, Dr Benjamin Franklin, which run down to two separate water reservoirs, acting as an earthing media. Only one other example of a water tank earth is known from New Zealand Ordnance

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letters. Therefore this novel feature of the “Victoria” Powder Magazine is rare and noteworthy8. The tools used in the shifting house were hides for the floor, coopers barrel making tools, rope and wooden pulleys, stilson scales, leather over-shoes, leather buckets, all reflecting the very dangerous nature of black powder redistribution. For the military buffs, the magazine keeper, James Chisholm, on the 16th April 1883 received 80 cases of Martini-Henry cartridges, amounting to 150,000 rounds of ball and 10,000 rounds of blank. Again on the 17th July, 1883 Mr Chisholm received -

"200 zinc cases and thirteen boxes containing 10 battering charges of 90 lbs each pebble B for the eight inch R.M.L. gun, 100 service charges of 65 lbs each, thirteen cases containing bursters for shells and two boxes of fuses."

The fuses are noted as going to the Military Store and not the magazine Military Store9. Most of this information comes from a thesis in architecture and another member of our Association10. As a result of the interest by STVAS11 members in the Victoria Powder Magazine, the committee have, (with the best wishes of the members of the former Bellerive Bluff Battery Preservation Society), registered the business name "STVAS". We applied to the Dept of Environment and Planning Tasmania for a lease on the "Victoria" Powder Magazine, to be run as a museum associated with black powder technology, and the defences of the Derwent, by STVAS members and a lease was granted12.

8 Despatch New Zealand Ordnance to London AOT 12th August 1848 WO 55/855 Reel 1112, p420 - 423 9 This may be the Ordnance Stores on Castray Esplanade or the magazine at Anglesea Barracks 10 1987 Post Graduate Dip. Thesis on Architecture – Ian Cooper and John Lennox SSAA Militaria Collectors of Tasmania Inc. (previously Arms and Militaria Association of Tasmania) 11 Southern Tasmanian Volunteer Artillery Association 12 See Collections Australia Network under STVAS in Hobart area

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‘A careful and capable officer’:

James Chisholm (1832 - 1910), gunsmith By

Gillian Winter13

Part I SOLDIER AND EMIGRANT:

JAMES WILLIAM CHISHOLM and HIS FAMILY

James Chisholm was born in 1832, at Campbell’s Close, Canongate, Edinburgh, the son of James William and Janet Dewar Chisholm. His father was, for many years, armourer at Edinburgh Castle and then served with the 1st Royal Scots and the 7th Royal Fusiliers regiments. This included tours of duty in Canada and the West Indies, accompanied by his family14.

The Chisholm family was Norman in origin but acquired chieftainship of a Highland clan through the marriage in the fifteenth century of Alexander de Chisholme to Margaret, Lady of Erchless, daughter and heiress of Weyland of the Aird. Erchless Castle, near Inverness, is still associated with the Chisholm clan15. The cadet branch of James William, however, appears to have taken pride in a tradition of military skills and service rather than landed associations.

In 1852, at the age of fifty, James William Chisholm immigrated to Van Diemen’s Land as a military pensioner. Why the family chose this particular colony is not known but perhaps it is worth observing that army personnel must have been some of the more sophisticated immigrants to the colonies. Direct knowledge gained from their own foreign postings and information gleaned from colleagues’ experiences gave them a better basis than many to assess their likely success in a new country and to choose the one best suited to their circumstances. Following a prolonged period of peace with, therefore, little opportunity for promotion, and in middle life with a family to provide for, James William decided to take advantage of an Imperial government settler scheme. Under this scheme a military pensioner received a free passage to Van Diemen’s Land as a guard on a convict transport ship and could take his family with him. Once in the colony he was granted, in return for twelve days military service per year, a piece of land (up to two hectares in size) and a house which would belong to him after seven years of regular service. It was expected that pensioners would find additional employment to support themselves16. A colonial government inquiry into the success of the scheme 13 This article first published in Cannon Fire Vol 13 No 1,1 Feb 95 14 Mercury 29 September 1910; J Chisholm’s Powder Magazine Diary (1902-1904), 16th December 1902 (mss held by AMAT). 15 F Adam, The Clans, Septs, and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands, 8th ed., Edinburgh, 1970, pp 209-210. 16 Correspondence file under Military Pensioners, Archives Office of Tasmania.

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found that, by 1859, 1620 military pensioners had settled in Tasmania and that £8-£10,00017 had been disbursed annually in the colony by the Imperial government’s War Department. Claims of pauperism among some of the pensioners were not substantiated. Their introduction to the colony, it was said, ‘must ever be looked upon in the light of a boon, rather than as a source of regret and complaint’18.

The Chisholm family arrived in Hobart on 14th August 1852, on board the convict transport the Lord Dalhousie which had sailed from Cork on 30th April19. The voyage could not have been regarded as an auspicious start to their new life in Van Diemen’s Land. During the voyage the Surgeon Superintendent, C. A. Anderson, imposed harsh punishments on two insubordinate pensioner guards, one of whom became quite ill. His treatment of the two men was the subject of two Courts of Inquiry after the arrival of the ship in Hobart. Corporal Chisholm, described as an enrolled pensioner, had, as the non-commissioned officer of the watch on the day, to give evidence on behalf of Private Quirk in the more serious of the cases against Anderson20.

Governor Denison accepted Anderson’s explanations but the Imperial government judged him to be ‘unworthy of being entrusted with the authority conferred by the Queen’s Commission’21. Not that Anderson’s job was a sinecure. Aboard the Lord Dalhousie were 324 male convicts, 30 pensioners, 24 women and 49 children, the captain and crew, a religious instructor and another male passenger22. He was responsible for their health and welfare during a voyage lasting more than three months. Two convicts and two children only, died during the voyage. The Surgeon’s journal ‘refers to the problems Anderson had with the pensioner guards and their families, who were apparently more troublesome than the convicts. He observes that this seems to be because the guards were no longer fit for real military service and knew that once they reached Van Diemen’s Land their last links with the Army would be severed. Apparently, too, many of them had married since leaving regular military service and their wives were not acquainted with the discipline of Army life and demanded too much of their husbands’ time’23.

17 £1 converts to $2 so that, literally, this sum was $16 to 20,000, although the value at that time would have been far greater than simple conversion would suggest 18 Tasmanian Parliamentary Papers, House of Assembly No 43, 1859. 19 Mercury 29 September 1910, I Nicholson, Log of Logs, Yaroomba, Qld, 1990, p.310.

20 CO 280/v.294, pp 298, 306, A/F AOT as AJCP microfilm (R 715). 21 M Austin, The Army in Australia 1840-50, Canberra, AGPS, 1979, p 76. 22 Colonial Times 17 August 1852. 23 I am indebted to Shona Dewar, Manuscripts Collection, LaTrobe Library, State Library of Victoria, who checked Anderson’s journal (AJCP Microfilm M 711) and summarised the contents for me (pers.comm. 25.11.93).

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The arrival of another convict transport was not popular locally. The anti-transportation movement was well established and its vocal campaign to halt the despatch of more convicts was to be successful the following year. In the meantime the arrival of the Lord Dalhousie provoked press condemnation and yet another petition to the authorities in London24. Altogether, the voyage gained a dubious reputation and it is noticeable that in subsequent accounts of the Chisholms’ arrival in the colony only the year, but never the ship, is mentioned.

Part 2 GUNMAKER AND VOLUNTEER ARMOURER:

JAMES CHISHOLM’S EARLY CAREER The first located reference to the family in the colony is the marriage of James’s sister, Elizabeth Chisholm (21 years), to Daniel Scott (22) at the Impression Bay (now Premaydena) Chapel on 20 January 1853. Scott had been appointed an overseer at the Cascades (now Koonya) convict station in October 185225. He may have been the pensioner guard Scott who gave evidence at the Court of Inquiry into Dr Anderson’s activities26. Elizabeth’s father and her sister, Margaret Sharp Chisholm27, were witnesses at the marriage which was performed according to the rites of the Church of England.

Young James Chisholm may have secured employment quickly as it was later stated28 that he had been employed for eight years (until 1860) by John McConnell, a gun-maker of 51 Collins Street, Hobart who had migrated from Ireland in the 1830s29. It is not known, but one may assume, that James was already a qualified gunsmith when he arrived in the colony at the age of twenty. James William, his father, apparently found it more difficult to obtain employment. His letter30 to the Colonial Secretary from the Cascades Station, 21 August 1855, conveys well his anxiety:

Sir, I beg to offer myself to your favourable consideration to fill any situation in any of the New Houses of Correction Established in this Colony you may be pleased to appoint me should this meet

24Colonial Times 20 August 1852. 25 RGD 1853/1444B, AOT; General Index AOT, under Daniel Scott. 26 See note 6, p 308. 27 M S Chisholm’s marriage, Mercury 20 November 1883 28 Mercury 29 September 1910. 29 McPhail’s National directory of Tasmania for 1867-68, Hobart, 1867, p 19; Mercury 21

September 1871

30 CSD 1/62 no 1368, AOT. Punctuation, spelling etc as in the original letter.

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your approval. I beg, Respectfully to Assure you that no Exertions on my part Shall be Spaired to give Satisfaction. I have the Honour to Remain Your Obedient Servant.

J W Chisholm I also beg to State that I have been Bred a Gun Smith and followed that trade in the Army for 18 years as Armourer Serjeant and that I have a general Knowledge of almost all Trades or Professions. I would follow my trade in this Colony but the Want of Funds and an Eligable opening prevent me. I have a Wife and 4 Children which Makes me Anxious for a Situation to Enable me to provide for them.

J W Chisholm The letter is annotated briefly: ‘No situation vacant to which he could be appointed’.

By 1857 the Chisholm family was in Hobart, residing at 47 Melville Street31. The following year they were living at 49 Melville Street32 in a house and shop belonging to T J Crouch, a prominent freemason in the Tasmanian Union Lodge. The Masonic fraternity probably helped the Chisholms at this time. James William received a small sum as janitor’s fees in 1857 and other sums more regularly in 1862 - 1863 from the Tasmanian Union Lodge. He was also Relieving Officer for the Odd Fellows Manchester Unity in 186333.

By 1860 James William Chisholm was the owner and occupier of a house at 70 Brisbane Street, in the block between Elizabeth and Murray Streets. The property had an annual rateable value of £22 in a group of buildings where values ranged from £8 to £2534. It may be inferred that the family was now able to enjoy a measure of security and comfort, James William having presumably satisfied the government requirement of annual military service for seven years.

The younger Chisholm sons would have completed their education in the colony and were then trained for professional careers. Duncan became a teacher and, by 1860, he and a sister were teaching at the Clarence Plains (Rokeby) School. Both then and several years later the Inspector of Schools noted his good work35. Alexander served an apprenticeship as an engineer with

31 The Hobart Town directory, Hobart, 1857, p 71. 32 Hobart Town Gazette 1858, p 299. 33 NS 1361/10, pp 2, 5, AOT; Walch’s Tasmanian almanac, 1863, pp 118, 120. 34 HTG 1860, p 231; 1861, p 278. 35 D Phillips Making more adequate provision: State education ... 1839 - 1985, Hobart

Education Department, 1985, p 31; Tasmanian Mail 10 November 1877, p.15.

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the Hobart firm Easby and Robinson and later, as a marine engineer, travelled widely in the Pacific36.

The establishment of a volunteer army corps provided new opportunities for James William and his eldest son J. W. became Armourer-Sergeant for the 1st Rifles, a corps formed by freemasons in early 186037. It must have been a proud occasion for the family when, on 8th June 1860, James upheld its military tradition with his appointment as Armourer Sergeant for the Manchester Unity (later the 3rd Rifle) corps. In January 1861 he became Armourer Sergeant for the Buckingham Rifles38 and four years later, on 1st January 1865, Chisholm was appointed Armourer Sergeant of the Southern Division of the Tasmanian Volunteers39. With this government appointment he commenced a career as a public servant which spanned forty-three years.

His father did not live to see this appointment. On 3rd July 1863 James William Chisholm, gunsmith, a native of Edinburgh, died of heart disease at the age of 61, at his home. Described as ‘a mason of high standing’ he was buried at St David’s Cemetery (now St David’s Park) with military and Masonic honours40.

The following year, on 1st March 1864, at his mother’s house, James married Frances Elizabeth Nichols (nee McCormack) according to the rites of the Congregational Church. His brother, Duncan, and brother-in-law, Daniel Scott, were two of the witnesses. The bride was the widow of Robert Melmer Nichols, a farmer of Kangaroo Point (Bellerive) who had died of consumption (tuberculosis) on 19th May 186141. The couple settled at ‘Rosetta Cottage’, Kangaroo Point.

36 TM 2 January 1897, pp 8, 24. 37 . D M Wyatt, A Lion in the Colony, Hobart, 1990, p 3;

H M Hull, The Volunteer list, Tasmania, Hobart, 1861, p 7. 38 Hull, p 9; HTG 3 December 1861, p 1816. 39 HTG 17 January 1865, p 226. 40 Mercury 4 and 7 July 1863; RGD 1863/3978; R Lord, Inscriptions in stone: St David’s Burial ground 1804 - 1872, Hobart, 1976, p 175. 41 RGD 1864/197; RGD 1861/383

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Senior NCO’s of the Hobart Town Artillery

Queens Battery circa 1864

70 Pounder RML Gun James Chisholm Junior 2nd from left in front row with Armourers badge on his sleeve

above his rank Chevron Eccleston 4th from left front row

Drawing of Armourers badge

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Part 3

GOVERNMENT ARMOURER AND FREEMASON

The year 1865 started propitiously for Chisholm, with his government appointment and, on 18th February, the birth of his son James Jessie (or Jesse). Sadly, his personal life was soon shattered by the death, on 21st July that year, of his wife from consumption. Aged 36 years (‘she was taken away in the prime of her life’42) she left four children. Their son died from convulsions less than three months later, on 7th October 1865, at his grandmother Chisholm’s house43.

It was as well perhaps that James’s job was a busy and demanding one. The Southern Division of the Tasmanian Volunteers comprised the 2nd and 4th (or Huon) Rifles, the Hobart Town Artillery and the City Guards. He was also armourer for the eight country rifle clubs44. The armourer’s hours had to accommodate the volunteers, most of whom had other employment. Following complaints that they could not get repairs done to their arms and accoutrements because the armourer’s office was closed at ‘dinner time’ (1-2pm) an order was issued that the office had to remain open45.

Some idea of the extent of the armourer’s responsibilities can be obtained by considering the size of the armoury. The Tasmanian government had obtained a 1000-stand of Enfield rifles with the necessary accoutrements and ammunition to issue to the volunteers in 186046. A report to the Legislative Council the following year noted that the Governor, Sir Henry Fox Young, had sought (in October 1860) an additional 500 rifles for the volunteers who now numbered 1500. The report advocated that consideration should be given to transferring control of the Ordnance Buildings on the Hobart Wharf from the Imperial Government, they were ‘most urgently needed for the public uses of the Colonial government’47.

42 Mercury 24 July 1865; RGD 1865/256; HTG 1866, p 666. 43 Mercury 9 October 1865; RGD 1865/234 (birth) and 5904 (death). 44 Walch’s, 1867, pp 108-9. 45 Mercury 11 April 1865. 46 HTG 24 January 1860, p 109 47 TPP, Legislative Council no 26, 1861.

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Pattern 1853 Rifle and bayonet

Following the 1867 Royal Commission48 into the volunteer force in Tasmania, which led to its reorganisation, Chisholm was appointed Armourer-Sergeant to the reconstituted Tasmanian Volunteer Artillery at an annual salary of £100 plus quarters49. The chief of the Royal Engineers was asked if quarters formerly occupied by the Instructor of Musketry to the volunteers could be made available to Chisholm as it was ‘very desirable that he should if possible reside in the immediate neighbourhood of the armoury’50. The request was agreed to. The quarters were in Lower Macquarie Street in the extensive premises of the Royal Engineers, of which one only restored building remains. The Armoury was in the Artificer’s Yard and the Volunteers’ Drill Yard, constructed during 186451 was also part of the complex.

Packet of 1853 Rifle cartridges

Pattern 1853 paper cartridge

48 TPP Legislative Council no 13, 1867. 49 CSD 4/90 (15 January 1868), AOT; HTG 1868, p 188; Walch’s 1869, pp 101-102. 50 CSD 4/90 (31 January 1868), AOT. 51 TPP House of Assembly no 14, 1866 (expenditure Sept - Dec 1864); Mercury 2 January 1911.

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Chisholm had continued to live at Bellerive52 after his wife’s death and his move to quarters in the Royal Engineers’ complex coincided with a new period in his personal life. On 23rd May 1868 the thirty-six-year-old widower married Catherine Gallaher (26) in a Presbyterian ceremony at her parents’ house, 54 Collins Street53. Her father, Thomas Gallaher, was a tailor who had migrated to the colony in 184354. In contrast to James’s first marriage, his second was long and fruitful: two sons and ten daughters were born between 1869 and 1888, only one of whom died (of whooping cough) in infancy despite the high incidence of child mortality at that time55.

Peter Bolger, in his book Hobart Town, has observed that in the 1860s, when Tasmania was trying to cast off the stigma of its penal past and emancipists were anxious to attain respectability, ‘social success could be found through voluntary army service as well as through wearing the regalia of the lodges ... riflemen met on close terms with their officers and their lodge committees56. The Chisholms, as a professional military family and free emigrants with, probably pre-existing masonic links, did not need such a network to establish their respectability. Yet it seems likely that masonry had facilitated their social contacts and employment opportunities, while the volunteers had established James’s professional credentials leading to his government appointment.

Certainly, no account of his life would be complete without reference to the importance to him of freemasonry. He joined the Tasmanian Union Lodge in August 1863, after the death of his father that year, perhaps so that the family link could be maintained. In 1867 he was appointed secretary and, after 25 years’ service, it was claimed that he had ‘the distinction of holding the same office in any Masonic Lodge for the longest unbroken period’ and was presented with a masonic jewel57.

Part 4

KEEPER OF THE POWDER MAGAZINE, MILITARY STORES AND BATTERIES

The British regular troops were withdrawn from the colony in 1870, at a time when the volunteers were at the lowest ebb of their ten-year existence. A report to the Tasmanian Parliament in 1871 noted that £44,267.13.1 had been spent on the volunteers from 1860 to 1870, including £18,187.11.10 on batteries, guns and carriages, ‘ordnance and warlike stores’, drill yard facilities, freight and travelling expenses58. Yet, as Wyatt has noted, ‘the

52 McPhail’s 1867-68, p 136. 53 RGD 1868/202; Mercury 25 May 1868. 54 Tasmanian Mail 5 January 1878, pp 11, 13. 55 RGD references to the births of Chisholm’s children can be located in the Pioneer Index, AOT. 56 P Bolger, Hobart Town, Canberra, 1973, pp 157, 161. 57 History of the Tasmania Union Lodge ... from 1844 to 1919, p.22. 58 TPP House of Assembly no 90, 1871.

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Hobart Artillery did not attend any drill after November 1870 and practically ceased to exist, although it was not officially disbanded until 1877’59.

In these circumstances James Chisholm must have been glad of a further government appointment in 1872. On 1st June he was formally gazetted as Master Gunner, Sergeant in Charge of the Powder Magazine at Hobart Town at a salary of £10060. He was responsible to the Colonial Secretary61. From 1873 his office was in the Ordnance Building on the New Wharf (Castray Esplanade) which was vacant now that the Imperial troops had left. The Chisholm family lived on the New Wharf and his elder son was born there on 1st August 1873. By 1874 Chisholm appears in the civil list as Master Gunner in Charge of the Military Stores and Batteries, Magazine Storekeeper, Hobart Town, and Inspector of Licensed Magazines. His salary had been increased to £120 p.a. with the valuable perquisites of uniform, quarters, fuel and light. Under his direction were the Assistant at the Launceston Powder Magazine, which Chisholm periodically visited, two assistants in the Hobart stores, and a senior constable and a constable who were magazine guards at the Hobart Town Magazine62.

Frank Martini had been appointed in charge of the Launceston Powder Magazine in 1872 but the following year was described as an Assistant Master Gunner. Henry Button has recorded some details of the Launceston Magazine:

At the Southern extremity of Bourke-street was the Powder Magazine. It was a brick building surrounded by a high wall of similar material, and was perambulated by a sentry day and night. Thirty or forty yards north, a small brick guard-house was erected, in which a corporal’s guard was located, and every day, about noon, an officer would ride up in grand style, his sword swinging and clattering at his side, the guard would turn out, go through some trifling evolution, the officer would return, and the pageant was over63.

The job of ensuring safety at the Powder Magazine was not inconsiderable. R H Eccleston’s Handbook for the Tasmanian Artillery Volunteers (1868) gives explicit instructions for Magazine maintenance, for example:

Magazines should be swept and aired daily (rainy days and Sundays excepted), and never left open without a guard. Persons entering with a cigar, pipe or lucifer match in their possession should be made prisoners of64.

59 Wyatt, p 19. 60 HTG 1 July 1872; Statistics of the Colony of Tasmania for 1872, Part I (Blue Book) Civil Establishment List, p 179; For a history of the Magazine see J Presser, H M “Victoria” Gunpowder Magazine, AMAT, 1992. 61 Walch’s, 1873, p 72. 62 Statistics ... 1874, p 205; As well as the Domain Powder Magazine there were magazines in the Queen’s, Bluff, and Alexandra Batteries and commercial magazines established by city merchants 63 H Button, Flotsam and jetsam, Launceston, 1909, p 137. 64 R H Eccleston, Handbook for the Tasmanian Artillery Volunteers, Hobart, 1868, p.37.

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Staff Sgt. Instructor R H Eccleston Royal Artillery

The few known documents written by Chisholm himself are the Powder Magazine Diaries 1872 - 1879 and 1902-04 which have been transcribed by John Presser65. They give an impression of a man who conscientiously did his duty without fear or favour and who never forgot the potentially hazardous nature of his work. The following vignettes give some idea of this: There was no person at the Powder Jetty to take charge at the landing of this powder. I took charge. (18th September 1873) The Customs Officer W Bateman refused to tell me if he had any matches in his possession when I asked him on the Jetty. Made a report of same. (8th October 1875)

Found on Powder Jetty, 3 cases of Rifle powder. No one in charge of it. I reported the case to Colonial Secretary on 4th July 1877, Master of Starling [a ship] fined £5 for breach of Gunpowder Act. (20th June and 4th July 1877) While powder on jetty, a violent thunderstorm took place. Customs House officer Mr Packer and the 4 draymen found their way into town very quick and left me in charge during storm. (8th January 1879)

In 1882 an accident in an Iowan town which blew up the local powder magazine created anxiety in Hobart because of the proximity of the Powder Magazine to the city. The Mercury claimed:

The keeper of the Magazine is a careful and capable officer, and in the storage and delivery of powder there is perhaps the minimum of danger, but at all other times the only protection is such as may be derived from a constable living in the cottage near by.

65 The mss are held by AMAT. Extracts have been published in AMAT’s journal.

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The Colonial Secretary was quick to respond. On the basis of a comprehensive report on building safety supplied by Chisholm he was able to state: There is a constable on duty all day and all night, and they are visited at uncertain hours by responsible officers of the Government, including the storekeeper, who see that the men are on the alert66.

In 1877 the Hobart Town Volunteer Artillery Corps was disbanded and men were instructed ‘to deliver up to Armourer Sergeant Chisholm, at the Ordnance Stores, New Wharf, the Arms and Accoutrements which have been furnished to them at public expense’. Chisholm, however, continued to be involved in volunteer activities, the Mercury noting that at the Queen’s Birthday shooting competition for the volunteers the following year: Master-Gunner Chisholm acted in a dual capacity as scorer and Magazine Keeper, besides having the general arrangements for safety and order under his management.

He was master of ceremonies at the prize giving which followed as well as at other meetings of the volunteers67.

Chisholm’s salary rose to £130 in 1878 and his increasing responsibilities were acknowledged the following year when they were listed under a separate section of the civil service (Master Gunner’s Department and Powder Magazines) and his salary increased to £150. It was £160 in 1883. In 1881 his title had been simplified to Master Gunner and Armourer and on 25 January he was gazetted an Inspector of Magazines under the Gunpowder Act of 187568.

The Magazines were not totally government funded. They actually produced revenue. In response to a query about the cost of the Magazine guards at Hobart, during a hearing of the Select Committee into Defence held in February 1880, it was noted that about £200 revenue had been received annually from the Magazine69. This would have been derived from the rent paid by local merchants. Later, when the Commonwealth took control of defence departments, it had to pay rent to the State government for use of the Magazine’s facilities70.

On 16 April 1887 Janet Dewar Chisholm, mother of James, died ‘at her own residence, “Bothwick Cottage” 104 Brisbane Street, aged 83 (85, according to the death certificate) of old age’71 and was buried at Queenborough Cemetery,

66 Mercury 13 and 14 January 1882. The latter report provides a good description of the Magazine at that time. 67 HTG 3 April 1877, p 445; Mercury 8 and 24 May, 7 June 1878. 68 Statistics ... 1878, p 20; 1881, pp 22, 25, 1883, p 35; HTG 25 January 1881, p 150. 69 TPP House of Assembly no 104, 1879. 70 Chisholm’s diary, 5 September 1902. 71 Mercury 18 April 1887; Tasmanian Mail 23 April 1887, p 16; RGD 1887/621.

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Sandy Bay. Her house was in the block between Murray and Harrington Streets and she had moved there in the early 1880s.

Her obituary noted that she had,

ended her days in Hobart after an eventful life in other lands. The family she leaves behind her comprises three sons - our well known military storekeeper, a State school teacher, an engineer in Serak, Singapore, and the married daughter in Hobart; and also 18 grand children in this colony and Victoria72.

Part 5

MILITARY STORE KEEPER, MAGAZINE KEEPER and

INSPECTOR OF EXPLOSIVES

In 1886 there was a departmental re-organisation and James Chisholm’s position became (1st July 1886) Military Storekeeper of the Military Stores Branch within the Treasurer’s Department. His salary was £180 plus quarters, fuel and light. It rose to £210 in 1892 and £230 the following year when once again his official title was Military Storekeeper, Magazine Keeper and Inspector of Explosives73.

On 1st January 1897 a further reorganisation of the civil service took place and Chisholm’s post was within the Stores Branch of the Defence Department under the control of the Chief Secretary. His responsibilities appeared to be no fewer than formerly but his salary dropped to £200. It was noted that he was entitled to claim a pension because of his length of service (and, presumably, his age, as he turned 65 that year) and this may have offset the salary reduction74. Possibly, he could not afford to retire, as several of his younger children would still have been at school and there were also unmarried older daughters still at home. By 1899 his salary had dropped to £115 but he continued to acquire additional duties75. On 30th July 1901 he was gazetted Inspector of Explosives for the Southern District and appointed to perform the duties of Chief Inspector in case of the latter’s absence or incapacity. That year his second son, Archibald, was appointed Night Guard at the Magazine76.

72 Mercury 18 April 1887. 73 Statistics ... 1886, p 49; 1892, p 54; 1893, p 54. 74 Statistics ... 1897, p 36; HTG 23 February 1897, p 462. 75 Statistics ... 1899, p 35; HTG 29 Aug 1899, p 1452. 76 HTG 30 July 1901, p 1390; HTG 19 March 1901, p 794.

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Part 6 MAGAZINE KEEPER AND RETIRED OFFICER

On 30th September 1902, at the age of seventy, Warrant Officer Chisholm, Ordnance Stores (part of the Commonwealth Military Department since March 1901) retired. His discharge papers described him as 5’9” [1.7m] with blue eyes, dark complexion and hair turning grey and stated that: ‘His conduct has been exemplary’. He was awarded the Commonwealth Medal for Meritorious Service. His Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was gazetted eighteen months later77.

The Powder Magazine remained a State government facility and Chisholm retained his position as Keeper and Inspector of Explosives at a salary of £150 with quarters. He noted in his diary that, at this time, licensed private magazines in Hobart included those of C Davis, T J Cane and Marsh Bros, all hardware merchants78.

Late in 1902 tenders were called for additions and alterations to the Magazine guard house so that Chisholm and his family could live there. (No guard was to be employed there after the end of the year.) The successful building firm was Stabb Bros with a tender for £36079. According to Chisholm’s diary the family moved into ‘Domain Magazine Cottage’ on 25th April 1903 and it remained their home for the next five years. Chisholm’s diary reflects his continuing interest in military matters. When the Army cadets were exercising (February 1904) on the Domain he noted: ‘The Magazine Keeper was close at hand watching all’. He always retained his respect for the professionalism of others in the defence services and readily paid tribute to it as he did in his diary note (26th March 1904) about the Tasmanian commanding officer Colonel Wallach. He had ‘always found him an Officer and Gentleman and a Friend.’ The respect was reciprocated. On the 15th June 1904 Chisholm recorded in his diary:

Major Hayter Staff Officer and the Master Gunner visited the Magazine ... he expressed his pleasure at the Inspection of such a Well appointed and up to date magazine Especially Stating that it was the Best Built Magazine he had seen in Australia and shewed that the care of same was perfect all tools and material were Complete and thought the Magazine ought to have been secured by Federal Authorities and hoped that the Keeper would be Spared to look after such a place.

Life was not all duty. On 22 May 1903 he records in his diary going to a Military Ball at the Barracks: ‘Very good dance.’ Yet his was generally an

77 Commonwealth Government Gazette, 31 Oct 1902, p 532; 21 May

1904, p 386; J Chisholm’s diary 16 Dec 1902. 78 HTG 31 March 1903, p 339; 4 Aug 1903, p 806; J Chisholm’s diary 24 Dec 1902, July 1903. 79 HTG 25 Nov 1902, p 2483; 16 Dec 1902, p 2666.

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uncompromising temperament. He wanted to secure the job of Magazine Keeper at Strahan for his son Archibald but when the Under Secretary telephoned to say that if Archie would accept £50 per year (rather than the £70 James had suggested) he could have the job at once James noted in his diary (21 October 1903): ‘I replied it was Impossible to be honourable and live on that Sum his rent would be £20 at least leaving only £30 for himself and Wife to live on.’ Chisholm retired at the end of February 1908, his last government listing being Magazine Keeper and Inspector of Explosives for Southern Districts, at a salary of £150 which included quarters, fuel and light valued at £35. He was 76 years of age and his length of government service had been 43 years80. The previous year he had retired as secretary (after 40 years service) of the Tasmanian Union Lodge because of ill-health. He had been elected a Lodge Life member81. Early in 1908 he relinquished his other masonic position Director of Ceremonies for the Tasmanian Lodge of Master Mark Masons. He had joined this body on 13 August 1880 and in 1905 it had been noted that he was the oldest and one of the most active members82. But ill-health finally forced the retirement of ‘our revered and dear old Bro Chisholm’ after more than twenty seven years of ‘unselfish and faithful service’. He was unanimously elected a Life Member of the Lodge, ‘an honour richly deserved’83.

Chisholm’s links with masonry in Tasmania were upheld by James Duncan Walter Chisholm, his nephew, the son of Duncan Chisholm, the school teacher who had married Mary Walter of Wattle Grove, also a teacher84. J D W also carried on the family’s military tradition, serving with the volunteers and earning a distinguished record during World War 1 after which he remained in the regular Army85. The Chisholm’s had made provision for James’s retirement. In October 1902 James noted in his Magazine diary that he was entitled to compensation (superannuation) for 37 years and six months service, valued at £456.5.0. In 1903 Catherine Chisholm, his wife, is listed in the valuation rolls for Hobart as the owner of house and land at 255 Bathurst Street (the block above Molle Street) with a capital value at £525 and an annual rateable value of £3386. It was to this house the Chisholms moved in 1908. ‘Bow Bells’ is an attractive, National Trust-recorded, brick Victorian cottage with notable cast-iron lacework on the verandah.

80 Weekly Courier 27 Feb 1908, p 18; Tas’n Government Gazette 18 Feb 1908, p 200; 24 Mar 1908, p 334; 5 May 1908, pp 483-4. 81 History of Freemasonry in Tasmania, Launceston, 1935, p 150. 82 Tasmanian Lodge of Master Mark Masons, Report ... 1905. 83 ibid 1908. 84 ED 2/2 no 370, AOT. 85 Mercury 17 Nov 1936. 86 HTG 2 Nov 1903, p 1557.

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Since his arrival in the colony in 1852 James Chisholm’s life had centred on inner city Hobart, except for the few years in the mid - 1860s when he lived at Bellerive. His work had encompassed a narrow geographical area: lower Collins Street where he worked for John McConnell, gunsmith; the Royal Engineers complex in lower Macquarie Street when he was armourer for the volunteers; the Ordnance Building on Castray Esplanade when he was Military Storekeeper and the Powder Magazine on the Domain. In retirement he lived in West Hobart, just up the hill from his parents’ central city, Brisbane Street homes, and could overlook that part of the city which had been familiar to him for nearly 60 years.

Royal Engineers Complex lower Macquarie Street

James Chisholm died at home on 28 September 1910 of pneumonia and was buried at Cornelian Bay, ‘a large number of mourners’ following the hearse. The Very Reverend Dean Kite conducted the Anglican burial service87. His obituary noted that ‘he was a well known figure in the community, and the news of his death will be received with

87 Mercury 29 Sept, 3 Oct 1910

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regret’88. He had probably been too punctilious in carrying out his duties to attract a warmer tribute. The Masonic notice more accurately reflects the man as distinct from the public officer. ‘He had endeared himself to all by his faithfulness to duty and his unvarying kindness.’89 Catherine Chisholm lived at least several years after her husband. She is listed in Wise’s Post Office Directory until 1917. Thereafter the Misses Chisholm are listed at 255 Bathurst Street90.

In 1914 the Mines Department took control of the Magazines and Explosives inspectorate, previously the responsibility of the Chief Secretary’s Department91.

12 Pounders Howitzers at the Royal Hobart Regatta

These guns are now at Anglesea Barracks and were used to start Races at the Hobart Regatta

James CHISHOLM late Government Armourer and Magazine Keeper (L)

and Gunner H COLLIS (R)

Note Image mentions the Late J Chisholm which would indicate taken prior to his death in 1910

(Image Courtesy Dennison Heritage Collection)

88 Mercury 29 Sept 1910; Tasmanian Mail 29 Sept 1910, pp 23, 26. 89 History of Freemasonry, p 151. 90 Wise’s Tasmania Post Office Directory, 1917, p 72, 1918, p 72. 91 R L Wettenhall, A Guide to Tasmanian government administration, Hobart, 1968, p 57.

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Part 7

MAGAZINE KEEPERS RECORD BOOK

1873 - 189492

May 15th 1873. received into Magazine this day- 400 1/4 Barrels of gunpowder of sorts and 23 cases of sorts 340 for Railway Company (Tas) 83 for Crosby & Co 423 Total packages of sorts. J. Chisholm Inspected the above Powder and Packages and about 50 of the barrels were slightly damaged with water. J. Chisholm, Sergt in charge Forwarded statement of the above to Colonial Secretary 16th May 1873. July 15th 1873 Received from the Ship Corrido from Melbourne in good order 240 1/4 Barrels LGB Clark Punchard & Reeves 60 1/4 Barrels LGB Marsh & Co 300 Total with the following exceptions 15 with hoops loose and 4 heads loose. July 28th 1873 Received from Brig Pakeha from Melbourne - 42 1/4 Barrels LGB in good order 2 1/4 Barrels & 1 half in good order

J. Chisholm Also reported at this date (28th July) the impassable state of the roads from the Powder Jetty to magazine.

J. Chisholm Also reported that the front reservoir for the Lightning Conductor is leaking and thus dangerous as there is only 2 inches of water in it.

September 18th 1873 Received into magazine 400 1/4 kegs of blasting powder "Curtis & Harvey” for Clark, Punchard and Reeves, duty free. Also- 80 1/4 kegs for Reeves & Co "Hall & Sons" There was no person at the Powder Jetty to take charge at the landing of this powder. I took charge. No road made yet from the Jetty across the line (railway?) The powder had to be carted to the fence and handed over to the 92 J Chisholm’s Powder Magazine Diary (1902-1904), 16th December 1902 (mss held by AMAT).

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other side and then put onto another cart. Great delay caused by this sort of work. James Chisholm October 13th 1873 Received from Ship Wagoola 100 kegs LGB Crosby & Co 100 kegs FFF Crosby & Co 50 Boxes fine powder Crosby & Co 10 Boxes fine powder Marsh & Co 25 kegs LGB MacFarlane Bros 21 kegs fine of sorts MacFarlane Bros 6 kegs FFF MacFarlane Bros Wet and Showery Day J. Chisholm October 17th 1873 Friday Fine Day Landed from schooner Dianella from Melbourne 400 kegs LGB for Railway Co 100 kegs LGB Marsh & Co all in good order James Chisholm Sergt in charge. December 15th 1873 Received in top magazine 476 kegs or boxes all in good order Per Ship Helen from London. James Chisholm Sergt in charge. January 26th 1874 Received from Ship "Agnes &Jessie" from Melbourne- 748 LGB in kegs 30 Fine powder in Boxes 778 packages of powder A great number of the kegs were un-hooped and had to be repaired, one keg came here empty, LGB, Wise Drayman. All the LGB is one brand. This barrel was un-headed on the road up to the magazine on account of no tarpaulin on the dray.

March 14th 1874

Received into magazine 500 1/4 barrels of blasting powder Reeves & Co Duty free for Main Line Railway. The barrels were not as good as Hall & Sons. These are from Raines mills - very large grain, the top and bottom hoops are fastened with wooden pegs. James Chisholm, Sergt in charge. April 21st 1874 Received into the magazine from Ship Pet from Melbourne in good order - 700 1/4 barrels LG Blasting for Reeve & Co, Duty free for Railway purposes. J. Chisholm Sergt in charge

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May 4th 1874 Received into magazine in good order per schooner Halley Bayley from Melbourne- Harriet? 400 kegs LGB for Reeve & Co 100 kegs LGB for Marsh & Co Rather wet day James Chisholm Sergt in charge July 31st 1874 Friday Received from the Ship Alchymist from London - 258 1/4 barrels 2 of 1/4 barrels empty - 256 52 1/4 boxes 310 Total packages. More or less damaged by water J. Chisholm This vessel sprang a leak and had to repair at Mauritius before arrival here.

J. Chisholm. At request of Messrs Crosby & W. Knight examined the powder per ship Alchymist and found for Mr Crosby 41 FFF damaged, Mr Knight 8 LGB August 10th 1874 Messrs Knight, Crosby, Marsh & Collectors Customs inspected the damaged powder per ship Alchymist and condemned one LGB for Crosby and one LGB for Knight. September 2nd 1874 A sale was held here by Burn & Co of damaged powder by Alchymist.

J. Chisholm. December 21st 1874 Received from Ship "Victoria" from London in good order - 69 packages of gunpowder 19 for Moir & Co 50 for C. Davis

J. Chisholm, Sergt in charge February 2nd 1875 Received per Alfred Hawley 32 packages of gunpowder for Moir & Co In good order. Duty paid. J. Chisholm Sergt in charge

April 23rd 1875 Received per Spirit of South 25 cases of Gunpowder for Marsh & Co Duty Paid All in good order J. Chisholm Sergt in charge Received on Powder Jetty per Spirit of South for Crosby & Co - 2 cases of Fire Works and handed them over to the Customs Dept.

J. Chisholm Sergt in charge

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June 4th 1875 Received from the ship Adelaide from London 26 cases of Fine Powder for J. Moir & Son 3 kegs blasting Powder for J. Moir & Son 10 kegs of fine powder for J. Moir & Son 3 of the cases wet when received, otherwise in good order.

J. Chisholm Sergt in charge

July 29th 1875. District Constable McQuire told me at a quarter to 9am that a large quantity of Gunpowder was kept in the railway station all night of the 28th July 1875, and wanted to know if I had received any intimation of this powder being brought into town. I told him that I had known nothing about such powder and the railway authorities had not acquainted me with such. Powder is required to be put into the Powder magazine. At 9am 29th July, the railway people (Blakeney) said the powder was now on the line opposite the Powder Jetty and carts were ordered to take it up at once. I proceeded to the place where the powder was and examined some of the barrels at half past 10 am, and gave directions for its safe cartage to the magazine where it was received and stored by me. 249 1/4 barrels L.G.B. Ten of the above were more or less damaged by removing and damp where they have been stored up the country. Two of the above heads stove in! The Inspector of Police visited me at the place where the powder was being taken from railway car onto the drays and told me he intended to seize all the powder for being unlawfully removed without a permit. The Tasmanian Main Line Railway Co were summoned to Police Office Hobarton to show cause for 249 1/4 barrels of blasting powder in their possession on the night of 28th July 1875. Pleaded guilty & fined 40/- and costs. J. Chisholm Attended above as sergt in charge magazine. August 9th 1875 Received per Ship Harriet McGregor in very good order 152 packages of gunpowder 104 of these packages marked M & Co are fastened with iron nails and cannot be put into main magazine - stored in making up room. Also recd 182 packages re-entered for rent from Marsh & Co this day August 9th 1875, all in good order. J. Chisholm August 17th 1875 Recd from Main Line Railway Co 3 1/4 barrels of L.G.B. at 8pm J. Chisholm

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Sept 2nd 1875. The 104 boxes mentioned above as having iron nails in them, these nails have been taken out and copper nails put in their place, and the powder stored in the magazine. J. Chisholm

November 11th 1875 Received per ship Ethel from London 23 cases of gunpowder marked "A.M.& J.B.H." No notice of sending of this powder was sent to me until 8 am this day. I immediately went to the magazine and on my way saw a cart laden with the above powder coming from the Powder Jetty. No Customs, or anyone in authority to see the landing and inspection J. Chisholm Sergt in charge

October 8th 1875 Received per ship Lufra from London - 50 kegs L.G.B. Crosby 10 kegs FFF Davis 10 Boxes <-> in 2 lb lots Davis 25 Boxes FFF in 2 lb lots Davis 15 Boxes Glass in 2 lb lots Davis 25 Boxes FFF in 2 lb lots Crosby 135 Total all in good order. The Customs Officer W Bateman refused to tell me if he had any matches in his possession when I asked him on the Jetty. Made a report of same.

J. Chisholm Sergt in charge

November 20th 1875 Received from Ship Wayoola from London 10 1/4 barrels Blasting for Huyhus & Hammond 30 packages of fine powder Huyhus & Hammond and 20 1/4 barrels FFF in 2 lb lots - Marsh & Co 10 cases of fine powder Marsh & Co 2 packages of each importer are more or less damaged by salt water.

James Chisholm Storekeeper in charge

January 8th 1876 Huyhus & Hammond took out today 29 packages of gunpowder for Mr Jones, storekeeper at Oatlands. No licence to receive has been taken out for a Proprietors magazine to keep this in. Mr Jones fined 5 for having the above in possession without licence. Drayman George Scott also borrowed 1 small Tilt J Chisholm

Names of persons etc who have received copies of the new Powder Magazine Act & Regulations 1875 as per Col. Sec order 1st Dec 1875 Marsh & Co 1 Crosby & Co 1 Knight & Co 1

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Belbin & Dowdell 1 Macfarlane Bros 1 Mr Wise (Carter) 1 Main Line Railway office 1 A McGregor (shipowner) 1 Huyhus & Hammond 1 Moir & Co (ironmonger) 1 Harrower (iron monger) 1 Harcourt (ironmonger) 1 Barker (drayman) 1 C. Davis (ironmonger) 1 Domain Magazine 1 Office of Master Gunner 1 Markham (overseer) 1 Jacobs (boatman) 1 Storekeeper at Lton for dist 32 Capt Wise (Monarch) 1 Dillon (boatman) 1 W Rout (ironmonger) 1 Weir (boatman) 1 Col. Storekeeper 1 Collector of Customs 1 Customs offices 3 Capt Anderson (Harriett) 1 G Salier (merchant) 1 Capt Hopwood (Guiding Star)1 Capt Lucas (Venus) 1 Warden Spring Bay 1 Warden Campbell Twn1 Mr Jones (storekeeper Oatlands)1 Inspector Police Tas 1 Office of Police Tas 1 Names of persons etc who have received copies of the new Powder Magazine Act & Regulations 1875 as per Col. Sec order 1st Dec 1875. Warden of Clarence 1 Warden of Fingal 1 Domain Magazine 4 Master schooner (R Burns) 1 Robertson (carter) 1 Queens Battery 1 Mr. Cuthbert dealer (Liverpool St) 1 Mr R Rex (shipchandler) 1 Harcourt (foreman) 1

March 16th 1876 Received from Mr Jones Oatlands 26 Packages of Powder in good order, being part of gunpowder kept at Oatlands contrary to Same for which he was fined £5 by the magistrates. J. Chisholm

April 1st 1876 Received one case of Powder to Marsh & Co. per ship Grassmere from London. This was landed at Stone Steps Ordnance Stores. Duty Paid. J. Chisholm, storekeeper.

April 7th 1876 Received per ship Britomart 212 packages of Gunpowder in good order. For Crosby & Co 65 fine 50 L G B 4 of cartridges. Total 119 For Harcourt 25 L G B 68 fine Total 93 Grand total 212 James Chisholm, Storekeeper

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April 20th 1876 Colonial storekeepers clerk taking and checking stock of his department - found all correct. J. Chisholm, storekeeper.

June 29th 1876 Received from ship Hazel Holme, from London- 29 packaged for Marsh & Co. 45 packages for C Davis 1 box cartridges (Ball) Covil & Co. Some 4 of the kegs and 4 cases slightly damaged by salt water, the rest all in good order. James Chisholm, Storekeeper During the months of November and December 1876 348 filled cartridges were examined, and hooped and marked for 8 inch Gun 10 lbs. These were received from the Imperial Govt as filled but through the neglect of the Imperial Govt, were never hooped and their nature marked on them when they were handed over to the Tasmanian Govt.

J Chisholm, Master Gunner, 9th January 1877

January 18th 1877 Received this day per ship Shawfell into magazine 244 packages of gunpowder, two of above slightly damaged by salt water, marked FFF I P M. No article of iron or steel fastens any of the packages. Crosby & Co 31 barrels Fine Grain, Crosby & Co 53 boxes Fine Grain, J. Moir 20 barrels Blasting, J. Moir 60 Packages Fine Grain C Davis 24 barrels Loose Fine C Davis 56 Packages Fine Grain Total 244 J. Chisholm, Storekeeper

June 20th 1877 Found on the Powder jetty, 3 cases of Rifle Powder. No-one in charge of it. Consigned to C. Davis, ironmonger. Came by schooner Starling from Launceston. I reported the case to Colonial Secretary. James Chisholm, Storekeeper

June 21st 1877 Received Permit from Customs for the landing of 3 packages Ex Starling via Launceston. Duty paid. J. Chisholm, Storekeeper

July 4th 1877 Master of the schooner Starling fined £5 for breach of Gunpowder Act. J. Chisholm.

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July 12th 1877 Shipped per Guiding Star 12 kegs of LL G B for Spring Bay. J. Chisholm

September 1st 1877 Received from Barque Thomas Brown from Launceston - 20 Packaged of Gunpowder In good order -for Charles Davis J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper September 6th 1877 Found this day on Powder Jetty - 10 cases of Lithofractem 1 case of detonating tubes Landed by Captain Bowden from Lady Emma from Melbourne. Put the 10 cases in Left Flank Magazine at Queens Battery and sent case of tubes to Mr Harcourt to whom this shipment came. No permit to land received by me up to 1 PM this day. James Chisholm, Storekeeper Received a permit 46 hours after the Lithofractem was stored in the Queens Battery magazine. The same reported to the Colonial Secretary who referred it to the Colonial treasurer who referred it to Collection of Customs who states that for the future such an ??? will not occur again.

J. Chisholm, Storekeeper

December 6th 1877 Received from Wayoola this day- 38 Cases & 20 Kegs for Marsh & Co. 125 kegs & 40 cases for W Crosby & Co. A good many of the kegs were wet outside, the weather been very stormy and difficult for boats to come from the ships. Total packages received into magazine - 223 One package of ammunition for Marsh & Co was sent to Marsh & Co shop 3 cases of ammunition for C. Davis - no Customs entry - was stored in the Queens Battery. James Chisholm, Magazine Storekeeper A great delay in the landing on account of bad weather. The shipment of loose and blasting were in bags specially made and put in Kegs to prevent Leakage - new Regulations in England for Export of Gunpowder per Wagoola James Chisholm, Storekeeper And I certify that no article of Iron or Steel fastens any of the packages by ship Wagoola. James Chisholm, Storekeeper NB Fill Snider per Palestine 18 April.

April 13th 1878 (Saturday) Received 15,000 rounds ball snider, 6000 rounds blank snider per Tasman - steamer from Sydney, shipped and landed by special authority of Govt on

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cattle jetty for the use of Volunteers - placed the above in Centre Magazine of Queens Battery, received in good order. J. Chisholm, Keeper

Snider /Martini Henry Blank Cartridges L-R Mk III, MkIII, MkII, MkIV, MkIV, MkIV

April 18th 1878 Received 178 Packages of Gunpowder per Ship Palestine from London, in good order 168 C Davis 10 McFarlane & Co. 178 Total

April 20th 1878 Magazine inspected by Colonel Scratchley R.E. and Rifle Gun filled cartridges were examined satisfactory to the Colonel and Colonial Secretary present. James Chisholm, Magazine Keeper.

May 3rd 1878 Received 120,000 rounds of snider ball & placed same in Magazine Queens Battery. All appeared in good order. James Chisholm, Keeper

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June 28th 1878 Took out of Left Flank Queens Battery the Lithofractem stored there and placed it in shell recess Left Flank Queens Battery. J C

July 12th 1878 Sent by Guiding Star to Spring Bay, 24 kegs of L G B J C

August 26th 1878 Barque Alexandra from London. Gunpowder landed on the Jetty at 6 P.M., too late to receive it into Magazine. As the wind was High and the Boats leaking - allowed the boatman to land Powder on jetty, the same covered over with Sail Cloths and I placed for safety (only) Hooper as Guard from 6 to 10 P.M. Mr C.D.C. Quodling allowed the night Watchman of magazine to take his turn on Jetty from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. Curtis on from 6 A.M. to 7:30 A.M. when I arrived and the carts being in attendance, carted to magazine the following for H Marsh & Co 10 Kegs H Marsh & Co 30 Boxes Crosby & Co 260 Kegs Crosby & Cp 90 Boxes Total 390 Permits for landing same and stored same in Magazine and found 12 kegs discoloured with salt water - opened 4 and found them all right. Found 9 Boxes of Pigon & Wicks Gunpowder with iron nails. Kept them in making-up Room (Shifting House). Not to be allowed in main Magazine. J W Chisholm, Magazine Keeper

August 31st 1878 20 kegs L G B to Spring Bay per Venus

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December 20th 1878 Received 25 Boxes of Lithofractem from Melbourne ex schooner Zephyr and stored same in Prince of Wales Magazine - no other place available. J Chisholm, M Keeper

January 8th 1879 Gunpowder ex Helen landed this day. While powder on jetty a violent thunderstorm too place. Customs House Officer Mr Packer and 4 draymen found their way into Town very quick and left me in charge during the storm. Weather cleared up and stored the Gunpowder in Making-up Room as follows - Crosby & Co 165 Packages Marsh & Co 76 ” C Davis 100 “ J G Moir 58 “ H Cane 10 “ Total 409 Packages. Over 100 cases of this Gunpowder are fastened with Iron nails and reported same to Colonial Secretary. J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

January 13th 1879 A Board of Survey consisting of Capt Boddam Staff Office and Mr H Smith, late Ordnance Store Department assembled at Magazine this day to report on the nature of the nails fastening the cases as reported. Messrs Pigon Wicks & Lawrence Gunpowder viz- W Crosby & Co 40 cases Charles Davis 60 cases Total 100 cases J C

January 24th 1879

Received a letter from the Col. Secty that Board of Officers had not been unanimous as to the nature of the nails fastening the Cases. Mr Lewald the Government Analytical Chemist was requested to test same. When he reported that they were Iron nails and that I must Cost Extra to the Importers of the same to have the nails removed and replaced with copper nails and placed in the Magazine at as early a Date as possible. J Chisholm, Keeper January 25th 1879 Sent letters to W Crosby & Co and C Davis to have nails taken out and replace same with copper nails.

J C

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January 27th 1879 Received memo from Crosby & Co to have his Boxes done & charge him with same.

J C March 3rd 1879 Received from Master of the Barque Rocket - 2 Kegs of Fine Powder for safety as ships stores - no duty paid - but if sold duty will be paid. A letter stating this was received by me from Colonial Treasurer this day. J Chisholm, M Keeper

April 21st 1879 Received 10 Packages Boxes of Dynamite for J Harcourt ex Venus from Melbourne and stored in Magazine Prince of Wales Battery. They weigh 50 lbs each. James Chisholm, Magazine Keeper

May 2nd 1879 Received 512 packages ex Star of China from London (79 days) W Crosby & Co 410 Packages C Davis 50 “ H Cane 20 “ For safety per ships’ cargo 24 “ J White Fireworks 8 “ Total 518 40 of Crosby & Co are in boxes with Iron nails - will have copper nails put in before putting in Main Magazine.

12 Boxes of Ships Cargo are Explosive Blasting Cartridges and 8 Boxes of Whites as Fireworks are put in Magazine at Queens Battery until further orders. All the above are in good order apparently. J C May 6th 1879 The boxes of Blasting Cartridges (Explosives) are now this day put in Prince of Wales Battery magazine. J C

September 8th 1879 Issued this day 2 Kegs of loose FFF to Mr Charles Davis. Duty paid to Customs on 30 August 1879 J Chisholm, Keeper

October 13th 1879 Received 375 Packages of Gunpowder ex Lufra for Mr W Crosby & Co. All in good order. Gunpowder was found on the jetty landed and the Customs Officer present.

41

The notice that I sent was the Gunpowder to land at 9 A.M., and from enquiring I find that the Powder was landed at 8 A.M. and I certify that no Iron or Steel fastens the Packages. The Gunpowder from Pigon & Wilks & same had copper nails in. They have profited by past experience and left out the iron nails. J Chisholm, Magazine Keeper To Venus for Spring Bay 30 kegs of L G B ex Lufra from Marsh & Co.

October 29th 1879 Two loads of Gravel for front of doors from Gaol. One spade to replace one unserviceable.

May 28th 1880 Received ex Swordfish from Melbourne at 7 A.M. Marsh & Co 15 Boxes of Dynamite Charles Davis 15 Boxes of Dynamite Marsh & Co 1 Box Detonating tubes. C Davis 1 Box Detonating tubes. Took Dynamite and stored same in Albert Battery Magazine. Two boxes of tubes to owners.

May 28th 1880 Received in good order and condition at 9 A.M. ex Louis Eugene from London Charles Davis 26 <> Grain ‘’ 20 FFF 2 lbs “ 20 Glass No 1 ½ lb “ 4 Rifle No 21/2 lb “ 20 C Blasting Received in good order and condition at 9 A.M. ex Louis Eugene from London for Charles Davis cont- Charles Davis 20 L G Blasting. “ 20 FFF loose Total 130

H Cane 10 <> 2 lbs H Cane 10 FFF ½ lb Total 20 Grand total to Domain Magazine 150 The Louis Eugene did not have any Jack hoisted. Weather moist, Packages all sound. J. Chisholm October 11th 1880 Received all in good order ex Lufra from London H Marsh & Co 36 Packages J Harcourt 65 “

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H Cane 25 “ Total 126 “ And 150,000 ball snider to military stores. J. Chisholm, Mag Keeper

March 25 1881 Shipped to Launceston 14 cases of Dynamite by schooner Windward J C April 26th 1881 Received ex Cubana 157 days out from London C Davis 11 packages Gunpowder, C Davis 1 box cartridges, Also 25 boxes of 2000 each viz 50,000 rounds of Martini-Henry ammunition for Tasmanian Government. All cartridges placed in Military Stores. The boxes are rather too heavy viz 252 lbs each and it was 6:30 P.M. before all was stored away. All landed in very dry and good condition. J. Chisholm, Keeper

August 3rd to 10th 1881 Mr Roblin acted for me during my absence at Launceston.

43

June 21st 1881 Received from ship Alice Muir from London W Crosby & Co 20 boxes Glass 2 lbs “ 5 boxes Rifle ½ lb “ 30 boxes FFF ½ lb June 21st 1881 cont Alice Muir Total 55 Boxes all in good order. J Chisholm Keeper When on duty storing Gunpowder at magazine, Mr Cook overseer of Gang told one he had orders of the Staff Officer to cut down trees within the Magazine boundaries. Went to the Colonial Sec., and received the following instruction - not to take any notice of the tree cutting. J C

September 15th 1881 Received ex schooner Zephyr from Melbourne C Davis 50 kegs L G B “ 20 cases Dynamite “ 1 case dynamite caps (to military stores) All in good order J Chisholm Keeper

October 5th 1881 26 cases of Dynamite taken to Alexandra battery by Order of Colonial Secretary.

November 2nd 1881 Lufra Received notice to land Gunpowder at 11 A.M. Came out immediately and found some 500 packages on Powder Jetty. Received proper permit entry from Customs for Marsh & Co and H Cane only. Received for Defences of Colony- 100 cylinders with cartridges of 30 lbs Pebble Powder 7” gun 50 cylinders with cartridges of 20 lbs Pebble Powder 70 PDR and stored these in Domain Magazine. 26 Boxes of friction tubes 12 Boxes of fuses 10 barrels of Snider Blank taken to Military Stores. Merchants Powder Crosby & Co 268 H Cane 46 W Marsh & Co 46 C Davis 103 J Harcourt 24

Total 685

44

November 9th 1881 Shipped to Georges Bay by schooner Starling at 7 A.M.- 10 Boxes of Gunpowder

November 10th 1881 A seizure of 11 Boxes of Gunpowder was brought to the Magazine by Mr Mason, City Inspector of Hobart, taken from Mr H Cane, Liverpool-Street. Fined £5. J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

December 30th 1881 Shipped to West Coast by schooner Esk - 45 lbs Dynamite 25 lbs Gunpowder J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

January 4th 1882 Received a notice from Customs that Captain Oldham had permission to take to Macquarie Harbour- 20 Kegs of L G B 1 Box of Dynamite

January 5th 1882 Mr Harcourt shipped at 4 P.M. in schooner Esk to Macquarie Harbour 250 lbs of Dynamite

January 25th 1882 40 Kegs of L G B sent by cart (covered one) to Campbell Town Water Works by an old Lieut. J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

April 1st 1882 Received ex Zephyr from Melbourne J Harcourt 20 cases Dynamite Stored it in Alexandra Battery Magazine. All in good order. J Chisholm

April 24th 1882 Received 751 Packages ex Queen W Crosby & Co 275 J Harcourt 76 C Davis 247 H Cane 78 H Marsh & Co 76 Total 752 tinned packages shewed wet marked <e> Reported same to Colonial Secretary. J Chisholm

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May 20th 1882 Shipped to West Coast in S S Amy at 9;30 A.M. C Davis 6 cases of Dynamite J Harcourt 4 cases of Dynamite J Chisholm

May 27th 1882 Messrs Hudspeth & Hull, taking stock stated in presence of Mr Suddard that all was O.K.

May 29th 1882 Issued to Marsh & Co, taken away by Grubbs cart to Fingal- 50 kegs of L G B J Chisholm

October 19th 1882 By S S Amy to West coast at 8 A.M. 4 Kegs of L G B.

November 1st 1882 Received ex Helen Marquis from Melbourne - 39 Boxes of Nobels Dynamite 2 Boxes of caps And stored same in Alexandra Battery Magazine J C

November 4th 1882 Received 437 packages of Gunpowder ex Lufra from London for W Crosby 220 C Davis 74 H Marsh 12 J Harcourt 51 H Cane 80 Total 437 All in good order J Chisholm

November 16th 1882 20 cases of Dynamite to West coast in S S Amy for C Davis in an iron Tank lined with wood, copper nailed and well covered by liel. J Chisholm November 28th 1882 10 cases of Dynamite & 1 Box of caps to S S Amy from Alexandra Battery J Chisholm

46

January 8th 1883 Received gunpowder in good order - (ship not named) W Crosby 245 Packages C Davis 100 “ H Cane 50 “ Total 395 “ Not landed from ship until 6 P.M. and stored up to 7 P.M. The time for landing was 2 of clock but none landed until 3 P.M. and carts did not come until 4 P.M. J Chisholm

March 22nd 1883 Mr Grubbs cart took away 50 Kegs of L G B to Campania, Mangance Alpini Co from Marsh & Co powder at 7 A.M. J Chisholm

April 16th 1883 Received 80 cases of Martini-Henry cartridges for Govt., being 150,000 Ball and 10,000 blank Total 160,000 Stored them in Military Stores J Chisholm

April 18th 1883 Received from H Cane 3 cases of Breech loading cartridges and stored them in the Military Store.

April 26th 1883 (Kirman?) Mr Hull and Kirwin attended and audited books for gunpowder and ball cartridges in magazine and found all correct, J Chisholm

May 1st 1883 Mr Owen of Crosby & Co all afternoon examining gunpowder J C

June 12th 1883 Received ex Warrior from London H Cane 60 Boxes of Blasting Cartridges of a new make (25 lbs each made by Blasting Co London) W Crosby 10 cases <.> All apparently in good order

July 10th 1883 Shipped on board schooner Windward for Launceston from Master Gunner Dept for Assist Master Gunner Launceston - 1000 lbs L G Gunpowder in 10 whole barrels and insured same in the Derwent & Tamar Office against total loss for £50. Freight £5. Boat hire 10s J Chisholm

47

Mr Ward, Analytical Chemist inspected the Safety Blasting Powder ex Warrior belonging to W Crosby & Co and took away samples to analyse.

July 13th 1883 Received for Defence Dept- 100 Battering Charges of 90 lbs Pebble Powder. 100 Service Charges of 65 lbs Pebble Powder. and Bursters for Shell of sorts All for 8 “ RML W Armstrong Guns. In fair order as roughly used on quay or cart? J Chisholm

July 17th 1883 Shipped to West coast by S S Wakefield for Marsh & Co 8 kegs of L G B

July 23rd 1883 Mr Ward sent in a favourable report of the condition Stability of the new Safety Blasting Gunpowder of W Crosby & Co. It has not received damp and is fit for storage as any other gunpowder is with usual precautions.

September 26th 1883 Received into Magazine at Alexandra Battery ex Alextis from Melbourne 45 cases of Dynamite and 1 box of detonators, in good order Charles Davis 40 cases H Wise 14 cases

Received from barque Ethel from London W H Clarke 3 Boxes of cartridges J Chisholm

November 19th 1883 Forwarded per schooner Coral, Lloyd Master, for Assistant Master Gunner Launceston for Volunteer use & as required 20 barrels Gunpowder containing 2000 lbs L G gunpowder J Chisholm The Falcon did not take the 14 kegs. They were returned to Magazine, the vessel going away without them. Reported circumstance to Colonial Secretary.

November 29th 1883 From C. Davis as received from carriers from Campbell Town- 15 Kegs L.G.B. J Chisholm

December 14th 1883 Received ex Runnymede from London- C Davis 372 packages J Harcourt & Co 53 “

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H Marsh & Co 53 “ H Cane & Co 10 “ Total 455packages in good order J Chisholm Keeper February 19th 1884 Mr Robley agent for Nobels Explosive Company was at Magazine today March 31st 1884 Received ex Camille from Melbourne H Marsh & Co 80 Kegs of L.G.B. Hall & Sons J Harcourt 10 cases of Dynamite 1 box of caps The hoops of the L G B are very loose - had to tighten some on and Head a few. The caps taken to Military Stores and Dynamite to Alexandra Battery Magazine J. Chisholm April 17th 1884 Received ex Helen from London H M Govt 7 cases Fuzes H M Govt 16 Kegs Blank Hamilton & Co 360 packages H Cane 10 cases W Crosby & Co 70 cases C Davis 590 Packages Total 1053 All in good order. Fuzes, cartridges and Lonite to Military Stores. All others into Magazine. Not finished until 7:30 P.M. in total darkness J. Chisholm

June 20th 1884 For shipment in Falcon to east coast for Marsh & Co etc Marsh & Co 12 kegs L.G.B. H Cane 2 kegs L.G.B. J Chisholm

August 20th 1884 To Mr Grubb, for Oatlands Roadway by cart from H Cane 16 Kegs C B J Chisholm

September 18th 1884 Received from S S Gulph of Akuba from London- C Davis 100 Kegs L G B (Halls) J Hamilton 100 kegs C B (Curtis) Marsh & Co 50 kegs L G B (Halls) Marsh & Co 10 Kegs FFF Loose (Halls) All in good order

49

100 Boxes Martini-Henry Ball for Local Forces. This ammunition to Military Stores J Chisholm

December 4th 1884 Received ex ship Lufra from London 25 kegs C B Blasting 50 kegs FFF loose 25 boxes <.> ½ lb 25 boxes FFF ½ lb Total 125 All above Curtis & Harvey and in good order. One man Collis employed afternoon - short of storemen who are away on other duties. J Chisholm

January 13th 1885 40 kegs L G B for Derwent Valley Railway by cart of P Halten J Chisholm

January 21st 1885 50 Kegs of L G B for Derwent Valley Railway by a cart, Carter P Halten

J Chisholm

March 12th 1885 Shipped for H Cane & Co, 10 Kegs C B to Spring Bay. Did not go as too stormy, shipped 13th March at 7 A.M. J Chisholm

March 30th 1885. Received and stored 74 boxes of cartridges & Powder for Defences of Colony Department. 20 Boxes Battering charges 6in B L R Gun 30 Boxes Service charges 6” B L R Gun 14 Boxes Pebble Powder in 100 lb bags 5 boxes R L G powder in 100 lb bags 3 boxes L G powder in bags 2 boxes F G powder Opened one of each and all in good order Also 4 Boxes Fuzes of sorts for 6”, 40P, 13P & 7P guns, sent to Frazesto? Stores J. Chisholm, Mag Keeper Employed 2 men for above work as the military storemen are at Mona Vale encampment.

50

August 1st 1885 Received into charge from on board Service Steamer Sikh from London For Tasmanian Defences 11 Barrels of 100 lbs each Pebble Powder for cartridges for 8in M L R Guns 6in B L R Guns 1100 lbs 5 cases of Cocoa powder 120 lbs each 600 lbs Merchant Powder John Hamilton & Co 100 Kegs C B -blasting 50 Kegs FFF loose 50 cases F in1/2 lbs 20 cases <.> in ! lbs Total 220 packages Military powder carted by Griffiths Mr Hamilton did not send any carts to take his powder to Magazine. I employed Griffiths to cart 220 packages and to charge Mr Hamilton for the same as per section 10 Gunpowder Act of 1875 Employed 2 extra men it being Saturday afternoon and to cause no delay in having same stored - Blong 3/- Stanely 3/- all stored by 5:30 P M. Sent 18 cases of Fuzes to Military stores J. Chisholm, Mag Keeper

Elswick Ordnance Company 8 Inch Rifled Muzzle Loading Gun

Bluff Battery, Bellerive

Referred to in above entry

51

August ? 1885 From Melbourne 30 cases of Dynamite, in good order, put on board Ben?? Islander September 28th 1885 S S Glenmornin from London Received for H M Services, 29 Barrels Pebble Powder of 125 lbs each 16 Barrels L G Powder for shell filling 80 Pdr 1 half barrel of Pistol powder for shrapnel C Davis 200 kegs L G B J Hamilton 100 Kegs C B “ 50 Kegs FFF loose “ 50 boxes FFF ½ lbs “ 20 boxes <.> ½ lbs Total 466 Great delay in landing, 6:45 ordered to land, did not land until 10:10 A.M. Employed Harrison to assist, 6/- No customs officer present J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

October 6th 1885 From S S Port Adelaide from London- 50,000 Martini-Henry ball cartridges 13 cases of Fuzes, all put in military stores in good order Taken from alongside of wharf by consent of Mr Freeman For military purposes J Chisholm, Mag keeper

February 9th 1886 Gunpowder received from Abbey Holme all in good order. Lewis & Sons 12 Boxes Marsh & Co 25 Kegs L G B Marsh & Co 15 Boxes J Hamilton & Co 200 C B “ 90 FFF loose “ 80 boxes FFF “ 87 boxes <.> H M Government 11 barrels & Kegs Over 520 packages Stored away by 5:30 P.M. J Chisholm, Keeper

March 27th 1886. Received from S S Port Jackson for Defence Dept 5000 pistol cartridges, 30,000 Blank B.L. rifle, 5 boxes Fuzes,

52

15 Skeleton cases 7in cartridges Pebble 30 lbs 100 Cartridges 8in M.L.R. Guns 42 Boxes Gunpowder (Cartridges) 59 casks Gunpowder of sorts 5barrels of Gunpowder of sorts 5 cases of Fuzes 3 boxes bursting cartridges 5 cases of gunpowder 25 cases S.A. blank cartridges 1 case powder 80 cases of guncotton (put in hulk) 108cases of Gunpowder 42 boxes of cartridges Total 375packages The Gunpowder to Magazine, Gun Cotton to Hulk, Ball & Blank S.A. to stores, all in good order, landing until 9 P.M. J. Chisholm

The Pistol cartridges referred to in above entry

The box is marked Tas. Govt

April 24th 1886 Received from Margaret Heald from London C Davis 120 kegs L.G.B. “ 60 kegs FFF loose 40 kegs FFF ½ lbs Total 220 in good order J. Chisholm, Mag Keeper

August 31st 1886 Crated to Hulk Aladdin for equipment of Guns Mounted 1st Load 30 cartridges silk cloth filled battering for 7in M.L.R. 30 lbs 35 cartridges silk cloth filled service for 70pdr M.L.R., 10 lbs R.L.G. 2nd Load 50 cartridges silk cloth filled 70pdr 20 lbs Pebble 50 cylinders Zinc Cartridge 70pdr

53

50 cartridges silk cloth filled service 70pdr M L R 10 lbs R.L.G. 6 cartridges silk cloth filled battering 7in M.L.R. 30 lbs Pebble 6 cylinders zinc cartridge 7in August 31st 1886 cont 3rd Load 55 cartridges silk cloth filled battering 7in M.L.R. 30lbs P 55 cylinders zinc cartridges 7in 4th Load 39 cartridges silk cloth filled battering 7in M.L.R. 30lbs Pebble 39 cylinders zinc 7in 20 cartridges flannel filled service 70pdr 10lbs R.L.G. 2 cases metal lined whole 5th Load 120 cartridges Flannel filled service 70pdr 10lbs R.L.G 12 cases metal lined whole J Chisholm Continued Sept 6th 6th Load 22 cartridges silk cloth 8in M.L.R service 65 lbs Pebble 7th Load 22 cartridges silk cloth 8in M.L.R service 65 lbs Pebble 8th Load 16 cartridges silk cloth 8in M.L.R. 4 cartridges silk cloth 8in M.L.R battering 90lbs Pebble 9th Load 18 cartridges silk cloth 8in M.L.R battering 90lbs Pebble 10th Load 18 cartridges silk cloth 8in M.L.R battering 90lbs Pebble 11th Load 41 cartridges flannel filled battering 70pdr 10 lbs R.L.G. 4 cases metal lined whole 8 cartridges flannel filled battering 70pdr 10 lbs R.L.G. 2 barrels improved whole 56 cartridges flannel filled service 7in 14 lbs R.L.G. 8 cases metal lined whole

Continued Sept 7th 12th Load 105 cartridges flannel filled service 7in M.L.R. 14 lbs R.L.G. 15 cases metal lined whole September 7th 1886 cont. 13th Load to hulk Aladdin 35 cartridges flannel filled service 7in M.L.R. 14 lbs R.L.G. 5 cases metal lined whole 26 cartridges silk cloth service 6in B.L.R. 34 lbs Pebble 5 cases corrugated zinc service 6in B.L.R. 14th Load 30 cartridges silk cloth service 6in B.L.R. 34 lbs Pebble

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5 cases corrugated zinc service 6in B.L.R. 1case corrugated zinc battering 6in B.L.R 12 cartridges silk cloth battering 6in B.L.R. 50lbs cocoa 2 cases corrugated zinc battering 6in B.L.R

15th Load 24 cartridges silk cloth battering 6in B.L.R. 50lbs cocoa 4 cases corrugated zinc battering 6in B.L.R. 16th Load 4 cartridges flannel filled service 7in M.L.R. 14 lbs R.L.G. 1 case metal lined whole 34 cartridges silk cloth service 40pdr B.L.R. 10lbs Pebble 69 cartridges silk cloth service 13pdr B.L.R. 3&1/2 lbs R.L.G. 27 cartridges silk cloth service 7pdr B.L.R. 1&1/2 lbs R.L.G. 6 cases corrugated zinc for General Service.

Colonial Store Keeper 30 cartridges silk cloth service 40pdr B.L.R 10lbs Pebble 25 cartridges silk cloth service 13pdr B.L.R. 3&1/2 lbs R.L.G 30 cartridges silk cloth service 7pdr B.L.R. 1&1/2 lbs R.L.G 5 cases metal lined whole J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper

October 11th 1886 Received ex S S Sussex 50,400 rounds Ball Martini-Henry Rifle 20,160 rounds Ball Martini-Henry Carbine in good order in 116 Boxes, stored in hulk J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper

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Cont. Colonial Storekeeper September 7th 1886 25 cartridges silk cloth Service 13pdr 13cwt LR 3½ lb RLG (20.5.?) 30 cartridges Silk Cloth Service 7pdr MLR 1 ½ lb RLG (4.5.21 5 cases Metal Lined whole

All for the present 198 cartridges 7pdr 14cwt (7.7.?) should be 200?

Stored in Hulk ex S.S. Sussex 116 boxes Martini-Henry ball. J Chisholm

October 3rd 1886 Ex barque Celestia from NSW 50 barrels LGB 50 lbs each

For C Davis - in good order J Chisholm

October 26th 1886 Received ex Lufra from London 400 kegs C B blasting 2 boxes brown powder samples - Curtis & Harvey

for J Hamilton & Co. 150 kegs LGB Halls 46 cases of sorts

For Charles Davis

598 CB basting- several of the kegs were wet and showed damp - opened the worst looking and found it in good order. Went to Receiver re above - at noon the craft Alice Maud - did not come to jetty until 4.45pm due to stormy weather - the powder not stored until 9pm. Paid 9/- each to 4 men 1pm to 9pm W. Dunlop, Jeffreys, W. Walter and John Dun. Magazine Keeper J Chisholm

December 13th 1886 Put on board River Chief for the Victorian Government 250 half barrels B L blank cartridges - BL rifle or carbine 40 boxes Kynoch cartridges. 2 boxes of B L cartridges - sporting And safely moored in magazine boundary. As per order of Treasurer.

December l3th 1886. Received from the Government - 20 boxes Nordenfeldt cartridges - put in Aladdin

Employed 2 men - returned home 8 pm. Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

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December l4th 1886. Victorian Government ammunition transhipped to s. s. Essex this day down the river - I was not present, not asked to be present. Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

March 28th 1887 Received ex s.s. Gulf from Venice 21 boxes pistol cartridges (5000 rounds)

In good order, took to HM stores. J. Chisholm

April 4th 1887 Received ex Abbey Holme 1 box time & percussion fuses - to military stores 1 box electrical fuses - to military stores 4 cases torpedo head - ? 2½ cases gunpowder - to magazine 2 cases of gunpowder - to hulk 10 cases M L whole cartridges

All in good order

Also took charge of the following, landed at Powder Jetty without permit 4 boxes fireworks <G H W> 3 boxes fireworks <L W> 1 box percussion caps L S & Co 1291 Sth Hobart 1 box safety cartridges <910> Hobart Put them in military stores until relicensed by H M Customs. J. Chisholm Reported to treasurer that the powder was not covered over with sail cloth or tarpaulins according to No 5 Regulation. J. Chisholm April 7th 1887 3 packages fireworks & sticks delivered to H M Customs for <J W>

No rent 4 packages fireworks & sticks delivered to H M Customs for <G H W>

No rent

April 15th 1887 1 box caps delivered to H M Customs - L Susman & Co

No rent 1 box safety cartridges to H M Customs - Chas Davis <914>

No rent

J Chisholm

57

May 6th 1887 30 boxes snider ball from Hulk to military stores

None now left on board. Magazine Keeper J. Chisholm

May 12th 1887 Explosives arrived per s.s. Belcomyn for Defence Dept. I hired barge River Chief and 8 men to receive and store this ammunition the S. A. Ball boxes being very heavy - barge put alongside Hulk Aladdin and S. A. Ball put on board. 16 barrels R.L.G. = 1700 lbs 1 half barrel = 40 lbs gunpowder taken to Domain Magazine 1 box time fuses to military stores 60 boxes M. H. rifle ball 60,000 rounds 22 boxes of M. H. carbine ball 42.800 rounds 73 boxes Snider Rifle Ball 145,740 rounds

All in good order

July l1th 1887. Received on board Hulk Aladdin in Bond for Launceston ex Florence 200 kegs gunpowder LGB each 25 lbs. 20 kegs fff loose each 25 lbs

All in good order Also received ex Florence and stored in Domain Magazine- 100 kegs CB 50 kegs CB 25 kegs CB 12 kegs fff loose 10 boxes fff each ½ lb 5 boxes <> No 4 5 boxes <> no number 5 boxes <> No 6 209 packages for John Hamilton & Co

All in good order - 3 men employed - Mr Hamilton to pay them Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

July 25th 1887 J Hamilton & Co, agents for Florence gave notice that they will reship 278 packages on Sunday 26th July at 12 noon The Harbour Master has no objections. I sent notice by post to Collector of Customs that the Florence would re-ship the gunpowder for the Port of Launceston at noon on 26th July. J. Chisholm

58

July 26th 1887 Re-shipped to barge Petrel to be put into the barque Florence for Launceston, 258 packages of gunpowder. Employed 3 men to assist trans-ship same.

All in good order Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

August 4th 1887 Received ex Harriet McGregor from London 100 boxes Snider Ball (100,000 rounds) 280 filled shell 64 pdr LR

Fuses and tubes for same shell to Queens Battery Snider ball 50,000 to Hulk, 50,000 to military stores Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

June 23rd 1887 Received ex Acacia from Melbourne 25 boxes dynamite, each 50 lbs for C Davis, stored same in hulk Cosmo Newbury certificates as to safety for storage. Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

All in good order Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

August 29th 1887 Sent to Launceston per s.s. Wannentinner 13 cases 40 pdr and 7 pdr flannel cartridges 67,000 M.H. Rifle Ball 1 Barrel P, 1 box P, 1 box F.G. For equipment at Launceston Station Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

September 8th 1887 Received 50,000 M H Rifle Ball on loan from Victorian Government - solid cases. Ex s.s. Rotomahema

All in good order On Colonial Stores account

September28th 1887 Received ex s.s. Warretinna 15 boxes fff each ½ lb from C Davis from Launceston

All in good order Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

59

October 17th 1887 Landed from s.s. Gulf of Menin alongside the Dunn street pier- 6 barrels of filled cartridges 2 cases M.L.W with filled cartridges 30 boxes of shell 7 boxes 7-pdr shell filled. And ur?

In all 54 packages. All in good order

Magazine Keeper, J. Chisholm

October 24th 1887 Received at Powder jetty ex Lufra at 12 noon 30 kegs CB 30 kegs fff loose October 24th 1887 cont. 30 boxes 6 No 6 (6 lbs) 10 < > (1/2 lbs) 6 < > No 4 (1/2 lbs) 6 < > No 6 (1 lb) 2 < > No 6 (5 lbs) 120 For Marsh & Co 10 Boxes glass 4 boxes alliance 1 E.C 50 lb 15 boxes 136 Also 1 keg cartridges for ship Ether J. Chisholm

November 30th 1887 Forwarded to Launceston via S.S .Warretinna for equipment of 64, 40 & 7-pdr guns 15 cartridges silk cloth 40-pdr P 10 lbs 150 cartridges silk cloth 64-pdr 6lbs 27 cartridges 7-pdr 1½ lb

All stored safely on board. Magazine Keeper J Chisholm

December 1st 1887 Received ex S.S. Fifeshire from London 299 boxes M H Rifle Ball

For military stores

60

Magazine Keeper J Chisholm

December 5th 1887 Shipped aboard S.S. Southern Cross from Melbourne 100,000 M H Rifle Ball ammunition 250 M H Rifles in arms chests Return of loan of similar quantities to Victorian Government. Magazine Keeper J Chisholm

Martini Henry Shipping Box Marked T(as). Govt. HOBART

Referred to in above entry

April 3rd 1888 Received per barque Ironside from London 60 cases of 5” cartridges 20 cases of 5” bursters 4 cases of fuses 7 casks of 40 & 13-pdr cartridges 2 cases of 7-pdr cartridges

61

1 case of tubes 200 boxes of snider ball 50 boxes of snider blank

344 for Defence Dept 100 packages of gunpowder Cane & Co 3 half barrels & 1 half box fff, no owner and no duty paid Marks T / \ D 302 \ / Hobart Town A great many of the S.A> boxes were wet, opened and found contents in good order. Last of the boxes not landed until 12th April as they got mixed up with the cargo J Chisholm

April 10th 1888 Shipped to the Hon Minister of Defence, Victoria in S S. Manganer 50,000 S.A. blanks similar quantity been loaned to Tasmania Govt in January 1888 30 boxes of 1000 30,000 10 kegs of 2000 20,000 50,000 All in good order J Chisholm

July 14th 1888 Received from Austrian barque Giovanni Into bond in Hulk Aladdin for transhipment for Launceston when she departs. For TWA 400 kegs of LGB For DMC 10 boxes powder For H /\ A 1 box of cartridges R \/ T

For IGR 1 box cartridges The kegs were wet - mate said he had nothing to do with that only the numbers landed. Put 410 in the main hold and 2 boxes cartridges in the wing of the hulk. O’May’s barge brought it to Hulk towed by his steamer and then the following to the Powder jetty. 305 packages C /\ O for J Hamilton & Co M \/ T 35 packages C & Co for Defence Dept 38 packages of sorts

All gunpowder to Domain, filled cartridges to Hulk and Tubes, Fuses to military Stores. A few wet kegs opened and found it only damp. Returned to quarters 5.30pm 9.00 am started to Customs House - 4 men extra pay, paid 24/- to men. Also Lovett? Gant Willis 2/6 each. J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper.

62

July 22nd 1888. Received from S.S. Elderslie 15 packages of explosives for Defence Dept. In good order and stored in Magazine and Stores. J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper.

July 28th 1888 Shipped on board S S Giovanni for Launceston- 400 kegs blasting powder 2 cases of explosives J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper

August 18th 1888 Received from Eliza Firth from Melbourne 20 cases of dynamite 10 cases of dynamite 1 case of detonators Having usual certificates J. Chisholm, Magazine Keeper. November 19th 1888 Received ex barque Lufra 225 packages of Powder for C Barnes 114 packages of powder for Cane & Co for Defence Dept, Military Stores. 1 package primers 185 Boxes of M.H. Ball 25 Boxes of M.H. blank All in good order and stored where necessary J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

November 29th 1888 Received per Empress of China from Melbourne 30 cases of Dynamite C Davis 10 boxes of Dynamite Marsh & Co 1 box of caps Marsh & Co Stored in Hulk J Chisholm January 3rd 1889 Received from Grummet? Water 40 packages gunpowder Cane & Co For Defence Dept, Military Stores 100, 000 Snider Ball 140 primers 70,000 BL blank J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

63

January 28th 1889 Received tax free Trader? from Melbourne 40 cases Dynamite C Davis 10 cases Dynamite Marsh & Co Stored in Hulk

March 23rd 1889 Received per Innes 346 Hamilton 15 Marsh 1 POF In good order J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

April l2th 1889. Received ex City of Zuchee- 100,000 M.H Ball in 50 boxes 32 of these boxes dampened by salt water

Reported same to ship To insurance agent

To Colonial Store keeper To Colonial Secretary They are for the Defence Dept and not fit to store for a long time. J Chisholm, Mag keeper

May 13th 1889 Received from barque Windhorse from London 562 packages of gunpowder 450 kegs 110 cases 2 cases cartridges Put on board Hulk Aladdin To be reshipped on her departure for Launceston as the powder is for Launceston. (Less 200 kegs sold to Cane & Co)

Three men employed by McGregor, one man by Magazine keeper All on board by 1:30 pm

The powder was brought alongside Hulk by O’May’s barge and I was NOT told what quantity I had to receive - the Customs Officer was on board the steamer that towed the barge. They threw off the rope and went off to Town. Rent to pay £4-4-9

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

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May 22nd 1889 Received ex Camilla from Melbourne for Charles Davis 30 cases of Dynamite 1 case of detonators Stored in Hulk Emily Downing

J Chisholm, Mag keeper June 6th 1889 Went by boat to Hulk Aladdin 10am to superintend the transfer of gunpowder to the barque Windhorse. Put into barge of O’Mays- 250 kegs gunpowder 110 cases gunpowder 2 cases of cartridges And saw same towed alongside Windhorse The Customs officer said the above tally was correct. I asked what about Cane & Co’s 200 kegs? He said that was right and he got the papers. I told him the Permit must be sent to me. I engaged the boatman to assist as the agents had not sent any labourers. It would have been transhipped earlier but no written notice was sent to me, so that I could get notice sent to the harbour Master. If he had any objection, I did send Williscroft at 9am to Mr Kirby and he brought me back word that he had seen the harbour Master the previous day who told him there was no necessity for me to see a notice. The Regulations No 14 of Gunpowder Act says different. Returned to my Quarters at 1:45pm

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

June 24th 1889 Issued and landed from Hulk Aladdin, for gunpowder Railway 100kegs LGB powder ex Windhorse

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

July 19th 1889 Received from the staff officer to Emily Downing Hulk 6 ground mines, loaded with guncotton, for submarine mining

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

July 20th 1889 Received into Hulk Emily Downing ex Camilla from Melbourne- For Charles Davis 50 boxes of Dynamite 1 box of detonators All in good order

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

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August l6th 1889. Received per Kingdom of Saxony 295 packages gunpowder C Davis 1 box gunpowder marked HIM 1 box marked C & Co 14 barrels powder Tas Govt 36 Packages shot shell fuses - Tas Govt All in good order

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

August 22nd 1889 Received per Eliza Firth from Sydney 190 half barrels of powder from and for Cane & Co Said to be for Gunpowder Railway Customs Officer, Captain Wentworth, stopped the landing at ¼ past 3 pm - said he was not going to wait any longer.

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

August 23rd 1889 Resumed receiving gunpowder ex Eliza Firth 118 half barrels - total of 308 received. All in good order and stored in magazine.

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

December 27th 1889 Received ex Lufra for Tas Govt 9 boxes cartridges for 8in., 6in., 40-pdr and 13-pdr 11 ¼ barrels cartridges

For J Harcourt 12 boxes <.> grain 10 boxes fff ½ lb 2 boxes Schultz Powder 20 kegs CB 30 kegs fff loose 94 packages All in good order

J Chisholm, Mag keeper January 6th 1890 Received to Domain Magazine from Duncraig from London- 4 barrels SP Blend powder ½ barrel SP Blend powder To Hulk Aladdin 5 boxes filled with common shell 6-PDR 6 boxes filled with Shrapnel shell 6-PDR

To Military stores 2 boxes clips 6-PDR 2 boxes fuses 6-PDR

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5 boxes of empty cases for 6-PDR J Chisholm

January 7th 1890 From alongside the wharf 250 boxes of M.H. ball or 500,000 rounds

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

January 8th 1890 Forwarded to Launceston by s.s. Warrentina 50,000 rounds M.H. Ball

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

April 2nd 1890 Received ex Rothesay Bay 337 packages explosives including guncotton filled shell, tubes, fuses etc All in good order Stored same in Main inspection magazines and stores Also 27 packages temporarily stored while missed at Wharf

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

April 16th 1890 Shipped on board Rothesay Bay for Launceston 27 packages of explosives on ship’s account

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

June 16th 1890 Several trucks of LGB fff and dynamite by rail from Launceston - C Davis All in good order

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

June 17th 1890 Arrived at midnight from Launceston via Warrentinna for Jones & Co of Green Ponds, all in good order- 8 Cases of Dynamite J Chisholm, Mag keeper

June 20th 1890 Received ex Strathmore from Melbourne- 95 cases Dynamite, 2 cases detonators for

C Davis 31 J Harcourt 46 H Cane 20

Total 97 cases, all in good order J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

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Hulk “Aladdin” 1881- 1902

July 10th 1890 Received ex Violet from Launceston- Alongside the Powder Jetty, master said Harbour Master gave permission. 50 L.G.B. & 7 cases of sporting cartridges for Marsh & Co. 200 kegs L.G.B & 100 kegs fff loose for Cane & Co 140 kegs L.G.B & 9 cases of Dynamite for Grubb & Co Commenced landing at 9:10am. At 10:15 am Captain Westbrook, Customs Officer came and wanted to know how he came alongside. Master said Harbour Masters permission and he told him to stand down his Jack. I requested the master to let his Jack stay up until he was unmoored from the powder jetty. For reasons only known to myself the master had to wait for his butcher after Customs Officer left. J Chisholm, Mag keeper

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July 21st 1890 Received from S S Warrentinna from Launceston- 45 packages of gunpowder for C Davis, all in good order J Chisholm, Mag keeper July 24th 1890 Received from Forest King from Sydney NSW- 100 half barrels of blasting gunpowder All in good order J Chisholm, Mag keeper

August 8th 1890 Received ex Mary Wadley from Sydney- 200 kegs German blasting powder 76 kegs Neokratine Explosive, good order J Chisholm, Mag keeper Government Analyst reports the Neokratine is safe for storage and handling. J Chisholm

August 28th 1890 Received from S. S. Federal from London for storage- 23 packages of sorts for Defence Dept 200 packages for Cane & Co 641 packages for Hamilton & Co All in good order Horses employed by Barker not good - stumbled J Chisholm Mag Keeper

September 23rd 1890 Received from Rachel Cohen from Melbourne- 50 cases of Dynamite for C Davis & Co

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

December 16th 1890 Received from Duncraig from London for Defence Dept- 285 boxes of Ball ammunition of sorts including blank, Stored in Military Stores All in good order

J Chisholm, Mag keeper January 6th 1891 Received ex ship Fairy Rock from Sydney, for Reynolds & Co- 300 half barrels of L.G.B. 105 cases of Neokratine 27 cases of Dynamite (certificate with Dynamite) Total 432 J Chisholm, Mag keeper

February 5th 1891 Received to Hulk Emily Downing ex Rachel Cohen from Melbourne- 30 cases of Dynamite for C Davis, good order, certificate arrived

J Chisholm

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February 9th 1891 Received ex schooner Beatrice from Melbourne- 30cases of Dynamite 1 case of detonators All in good order J Chisholm February 13th 1891. Received ex Frederick from London- 16 Boxes of safety cartridges for Launceston 2 boxes of safety cartridges for Hobart All in good order J Chisholm, Mag keeper

March 4th 1891 Received ex Ione from London:- 1177 packages of gunpowder - customs collection permit for the lot not described.

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

March 11th 1891 Received ex Rachel Cowan from Melbourne:- 50 cases of dynamite and 1case of detonators, Nobels brand For Mcfarlane Bros

J Chisholm, Mag keeper

April 17th 1891 Received ex Rachel Cowan from Melbourne:- 300 kegs L.G.B and 1 box detonators for McFarlane Bros 50 cases of dynamite For C Davis. All in good order J Chisholm, Mag keeper May 1st 1891 Received ex Bankville 800 kegs blasting powder for Tas Wool Growers Company Great delay in landing, Promised to land at noon, but did not arrive until 3pm, only finished storing at 9:20pm. J. Chisholm, Mag Keeper

May 15th 1891 Put on board Bankville 200 kegs blasting powder to Launceston for Tas Wool Growers, vessel in stream J Chisholm, Mag keeper

July 4th 1891 Received from H.M. Customs 655 packages of explosives ex Mandalay and stored in hulk Emily Downing. Not back to quarters until 10:20pm. Mr Owen of Crosby & Co told me to employ necessary labour and they would pay it.

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Lady Franklin at Port Arthur

Later renamed the Emily Downing

July 4th 1891 cont Names of men employed from 5pm to 10pm

J J Patterson, John Lear, A Williscroft, J Hogan, G Williscroft And J Lowe To get 7/6 each J Chisholm, Mag keeper

July 6th 1891 The remainder of gunpowder ex Mandalay landed and put on board hulk Aladdin. The Launceston and Hobart cargo got missed on board by delivering the same at dark of night. The total for Launceston was 396 packages. J Chisholm, Mag keeper

July 6th 1891 Received ex Governor Weld from Melbourne and stored in hulk Emily Downing, for C Davis:- 50 cases of dynamite, in good order J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

July 18th 1891 Shipped on board Mandalay for Launceston:- 396 packages explosives Notice to Martini of this

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

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August 18th 1891 Received ex Warrentinna from Launceston, for C Davis:- 5 boxes of fff in1/2 lb containers Landed at Powder Jetty J Chisholm, Mag keeper

August 29th 1891 Shipped to Sorell by barque Fantom:- 180 kegs blasting powder from C Davis to Mr Patterson from Powder Jetty

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper September 7th 1891 Received ex Aiksham from London to magazine for Colonial Stores Dept:- From alongside New Wharf

250,000 M.H. Rifle ball 50,000 M. H. Carbine ball 100,000 S A blank B L rifle Stored in military stores & hulk for Govt Service J Chisholm, Mag Keeper October 5th 1891. Received ex Ethel from London for Defence Dept 40 boxes of guncotton, 28 boxes of cartridges, tubes and fuses, All in good order J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

October 12th 1891 Received ex Rachel Cowan from Melbourne) 50 cases of dynamite for C Davis

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

November 2nd 1891 Received ex Enterprise from Melbourne via Macquarie Harbour:- 100 cases of dynamite for Mcfarlane Bros 50 cases of dynamite for C Davis After such a long voyage, usual certificate with it.

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

January 11th 1892 Landed ex barque Ben Lawers 8 packages explosives for Tas Govt 3 packages smokeless for McFarlane Bros 100 kegs fff loose for C Davis 20 boxes fff canister for C Davis 50 barrels fff loose for C Davis 70 boxes <-> of sorts for C Davis 100 kegs fff loose for Tas Wool growers 30 kegs C.B. for J Harcourt 10 boxes fff canister for J Harcourt 20 boxes <-> of sorts for J Harcourt 2 boxes Schultz for J Harcourt 443 landed by ketch Governor Weld 4 cases detonators Mcfarlane Bros to stores

72

447 total received, all in good order J Chisholm, Mag Keeper Opened on box dynamite and sent sample to Govt Analyst 12/1/92 400 cases of dynamite put in Governor Weld without any certificate that it was fit to store, not taken charge of by Magazine Keeper but after discharging the gunpowder proper, the 400 cases were left in Governor Weld with that vessels hatches on and anchored adjoining hulk Emily... cont Downing.

January 12th 1892 A preliminary certificate from Analyst that from the sample sent, I could store same, but would prefer more samples before it was fit to issue and transport. J Chisholm, Mag Keeper January 15th 1892 The 400 cases of dynamite transferred to hulk Emily Downing.

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

January 16th 1892. Nine more samples of dynamite sent to Govt Analyst to examine. J Chisholm, Mag Keeper January 14th 1892 50 kegs L.G.B put on board s.s. Glenelg for Strahan J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

March 16th 1892 Received ex W J Taylor from Melbourne:- 200 cases of dynamite N E Co., 50 lbs each, class 3 nitro cpd divisions For C Davis, in good order, placed on board Emily Downing.

A lot of correspondence as entered in Office Letter book from 3rd March to 16th March re the examination of the 400 cases of dynamite ex Ben Lawers as to its been sorted and the expense relating thereto J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

March 16th 1892 Received ex W J Taylor from Melbourne via Macquarie harbour:- 200 boxes of dynamite N E Co in Sept and Oct 1891 Consigned and duty paid by C Davis as stated on Customs permit. Certificate of Safety by Mr Napier Hake received.

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

April 1st 1892 New regulations and orders brought into force this day as published by the Tas Government in the Gazette of 8th March 1892. J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

April 1st 1892. Received ex Okeia from Launceston, but London port of shipment 400 quarter kegs of L.G.B. Halls powder Class 1, made 20th August 1891 The Customs permit stated fff and 10,000 lbs weight. For Tas Wool Growers Hobart <H> J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

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July7th 1892 Received from ship Comadre from London:- 338 packages of explosives for McGregor Bros Also 54 packages dynamite put into hulk Aladdin during stay of vessel in port for delivery at Launceston. All in good order J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

17 BLANK PAGES*

September 13th 1894 Shipped by Cane & Co on s.s.Glenelg for Strahan 300 kegs L.G.B in the ladies cabin For Tas Govt Railway at Ringville.

J Chisholm, Mag Keeper

*From 19th March 1891, until 20th December 1892, George Lowe employed as hulk keeper for the Aladdin and the Emily Downing - separate record book. *From 20th December 1892 to 28th July 1894 James Lowe employed as second hulk keeper for the Aladdin and the Emily Downing - included in the above record book. May 14th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe employed on Emily Downing watering down the mines.

May 24th 1891 (Sunday) George Lowe employed on the Aladdin hoisting two red flags

June 3rd 1891 (Wednesday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 10,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 10,000 away.

June 4th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 25,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 24,000 back.

June 5th 1891 (Friday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 23,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 24,000 back.

June 6th 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 24,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 24,000 back.

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June 8th 1891 (Monday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 20,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 20,000 back.

June 9th 1891 (Tuesday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 20,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 20,000 back and got the hatch bar repaired.

June 10th 1891 (Wednesday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 20,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 20,000 back.

June 11th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 20,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 20,000 back.

June 12th 1891 (Friday) George Lowe and Wilesey take 20,000 M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and brought 20,000 back. Finished employing Wilesey.

June 16th 1891 and June 17th 1891 (Tuesday & Wednesday) George Lowe employed scraping the bottom of the Emily Downing

June 20th 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed pumping out water from hulk Emily Downing.

June 24th 1891 (Wednesday) George Lowe and J Hogan take 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges back.

June 25th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe and J Hogan take 8 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 8 boxes of M.H. cartridges back.

June 26th 1891 (Friday) George Lowe and J Hogan take 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges back.

June 27th 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe employed on board the Emily Downing watering down the mines.

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June 29th 1891.(Monday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed on the hulk Aladdin with James Chisholm and Captain Parker inspecting the guncotton and small arms ammunition.

June 30th 1891 (Tuesday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed on the hulk Aladdin with Captain Parker and Sgt-Major Harding inspecting the guncotton and took away two slabs for examination. George Lowe and J Hogan take 12 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 12 boxes of M.H. cartridges back.

July 2nd 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe takes Mr Chisholm and Mr Eckford to the hulks for stock taking. Sgt-Major Harding and one of Permanent Force return the 2 slabs of guncotton that was taken away by Captain Parker.

July 3rd 1891 (Friday) George Lowe employed with Mr Chisholm, Mr Eckford and J Hogan at the Magazine for stock taking.

July 4th 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 5 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 5 boxes of M.H. cartridges back July 7th 1891 (Tuesday) Mr Chisholm and 7 of the permanent Force on board the Emily Downing weighing the mines.

July 8th 1891 (Wednesday) George Lowe and J Hogan pump the holds of hulk Emily Downing (22½ inches) and Aladdin (12 inches)

July 9th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe employed aboard the Emily Downing with Sgt-Major Hardy and six of the Permanent Force turning over the mines to get all the water out.

July 10th 1891 (Friday) George Lowe employed aboard the Emily Downing with seven of the Permanent Force turning over the mines to get all the water out.

July 11th 1891 (Saturday)

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George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 5 boxes of M.H. cartridges (2000 rounds in each box) from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 5 boxes of M.H. cartridges back. July 13th 1891 (Monday) George Lowe employed aboard the Emily Downing with seven of the Permanent Force turning over the mines to get all the water out. Corporal James in charge of the men.

July 14th 1891 (Tuesday) George Lowe employed aboard the Emily Downing with seven of the Permanent Force putting the mines straight.

July 15th 1891 (Wednesday). George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 12 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 9 boxes of M.H. cartridges back.

July 16th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 9 boxes of M.H. cartridges from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges back July 17th 1891. (Friday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 8 boxes of M.H. cartridges (2000 rounds each) from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges back.

July 20th 1891. (Monday), July 21st 1891 & July 22nd 1891. George Lowe and J Hogan employed at Domain Magazine cleaning drains.

July 29th 1981 (Wednesday) George Lowe employed on Emily Downing - Mr Chisholm, Captain Parker and Sgt-Major Harding inspecting the mines. July 30th 1981 (Thursday) & August 8th (Saturday) George Lowe employed on hulk Aladdin taring the dinghy and whale boat bottom.

August 13th 1891 (Thursday) George Lowe employed at the Domain Magazine clearing gutters.

August 22nd 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe employed on Aladdin painting the Whale boat.

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August 27th 1891 (Thursday) & August 28th (Friday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed on Emily Downing painting houses on the deck August 31st 1891 (Monday) Mr Chisholm and Captain Parker inspect Aladdin and Emily Downing.

September 1st 1891 (Tuesday) Went to the funeral of Charles Goddard.

September 2nd 1891 (Wednesday) George Lowe went to stores and got his cheque (pay?)

September 7th 1891 (Monday) September 8th & September 9th George Lowe and J Hogan employed painting Emily Downing hulk.

September 11th 1891 (Friday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges (2000 rounds each) from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 10 boxes of M.H. cartridges back September 12th 1981 (Saturday) George Lowe and J Hogan employed taking 11 boxes of M.H. cartridges (2000 rounds each) and one small box of 500 in Whale boat from hulk Aladdin to stores and in turn received 11 boxes and one small box of 500 of M.H. cartridges back.

November 14th 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe on hulks - torpedo corp take away one sinker.

November 16th 1891 (Monday) George Lowe employed at stores and domain Magazine.

November 17th 1891 (Tuesday), November 18th & November 19th. George Lowe and Lonegan employed at stores making cartridges.

November 21st 1891 (Saturday) George Lowe on hulks with torpedo corp.

November 23rd 1891 (Tuesday), November 24th & November 25th George Lowe and Lonegan employed at stores making cartridges.

78

November 29th 1891 (Monday), November 30th & November 31st George Lowe and Lonegan employed at stores making cartridges.

December 16th 1891 (Wednesday) George Lowe and D Lonegan pumped 24 inches of water from the Emily Downing hold.

December 23rd 1891 (Wednesday), December 30th & December 31st George Lowe and D Lonegan employed at the Domain Magazine weeding grounds.

January 5th 1892 (Tuesday), & January 6th, 7th and 8th George Lowe and D Lonegan employed at the Domain Magazine weeding grounds.

January 19th 1892 (Tuesday) & January 20th, 21st, 22nd , & 23rd George Lowe and D Lonegan employed on board Aladdin painting and taring.

January 23rd 1892 (Saturday) The Harbour Master and seven men shifted the Emily Downing mooring

February 8th to February12th 1892. G Lowe and J Sutherland employed taring the hulk Aladdin.

March 1st 1892 G Lowe at Stores and then across the river with Sergeant-Major Hardy putting up two tents.

April 2nd 1892 (Saturday) G Lowe and Lonegan on board Emily Downing pumping bilge water out.

April 16th 1892 (Saturday) G Lowe on board Emily Downing with Lonegan pumping, & carpenters on board.

April 28th 1892 (Thursday) G Lowe and D Lonegan pumping Emily Downing- 32 inches of water in the hold, pumped water down to25 inches.

May 13th 1892 (Friday)and May 14th 1892 (Saturday) G Lowe and D Lonegan making a platform on Emily Downing. Next day put all the guncotton on the new platform.

79

May 24th 1892 (Tuesday) G Lowe hoists two red flags on Aladdin and D Lonegan hoists two red flags on Emily Downing.

June 6th 1892 (Monday) G Lowe employed shifting Emily Downing from across the river with Mr Chisholm and 10 men. O’Mays steamer towed her across.

June 8th 1892 (Wednesday). G Lowe and D. Chisholm on Emily Downing with SM Hardy and 12 of permanent force weighing and watering the mine guncotton.

June 14th 1892 to June 18th 1892 G Lowe and Williams (PF) on board Aladdin repairing the torpedo dinghy.

June 27th 1892 (Monday) G Lowe and Donald Chisholm on board Aladdin - stock take of Small Arms ammunition.

July 5th 1892 (Tuesday) G Lowe and Williams (PF) on Aladdin repairing the torpedo boat.

Tasmanian Defence Force Torpedo Boat

80

July 23rd 1892 (Saturday) and 26th July 1892 (Tuesday) G Lowe and Elliot employed at Domain Magazine painting sentry boxes.

July 29th 1892 (Friday) G Lowe on board Aladdin painting. Captain Parker and Mr Chisholm come on board for the hulks monthly inspection.

August 16th 1892 (Tuesday) to August 19th 1892 (Friday) G Lowe employed on Aladdin scraping the copper bottom.

September 1st 1892 (Thursday) & September 2nd 1892 (Friday) G Lowe with Mr Chisholm at the Domain Magazine with 8 of the permanent force making up cartridges. 3rd September clearing the German powder out of the making up room (shifting house?) at the magazine.

September 10th (Saturday) to September 13th (Tuesday) G Lowe employed at Domain Magazine Guard House. Guard left?

September 15th 1892 (Thursday) and September 16th 1892 (Friday) G Lowe employed at Domain Magazine with Mr Chisholm and 8 of permanent force reducing the 16 lb cartridges.

September 17th 1892 (Saturday). G Lowe went to the Barracks to be sworn in as a special constable.

October 7th 1892 (Friday) G Lowe to stores to bring back to Aladdin a Signal Ball to be covered, 4 lbs Black Paint and 10 yards of canvas. Covered & finished 10/11th October.

October 15th 1892 (Saturday) G Lowe on Aladdin issued 27 boxes of guncotton to Lieutenant Packer and 5 torpedo corp men who made 14 cartridges to be fitted to the mines. On 18th and 19th October torpedo corp men brought 8 and 11 circuit closers to Aladdin .On 22nd and 25th October Sgt Buchannan and torpedo crop men board Aladdin and paint the mines.

November 5th 1892 (Saturday) A sergeant and 4 men of torpedo corp board Aladdin. The remains of the old Velocity were blown up by them on shore.

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November 8th 1892 (Tuesday) Sgt Buchanan with Torpedo men board hulks and take away 8 circuit closers, 36 cartridges and a circuit for Collis at Drill Yard. March 29th 1894 (Thursday) J Lowe to shipyards and brought back Mr Taylor to look at swivel and shackle on bow of Aladdin. March 30th 1894 (Friday) J Lowe employed on Aladdin putting a shackle on the mooring chains.

April 12th 1894 (Thursday) J Lowe went to Mr Davies re a cart to take powder to be destroyed to the powder jetty. Seven boxes of pebble powder were taken out into the river and thrown away, Mr Chisholm and a Customs Officer in the boat to see it was done. April 19th 1894 (Thursday) J Lowe on board Aladdin with Mr Taylor and 2 men putting the swivel on the mooring chain. April 25th 1894 (Wednesday). J Lowe went to stores and brought Mr Chisholm and Mr Hull on board the Aladdin to inspect the work done by Mr Taylor. Then landed Mr Chisholm and Mr Hull at the powder jetty.

May 2nd 1894 (Wednesday). J Lowe employed on Aladdin in forenoon and in afternoon went with Mr Chisholm to the Volunteer Office to inspect the rifles in store there. May 8th 1894 J Lowe went with Mr Chisholm to T Mitchell School to take the numbers of the rifles there in forenoon, employed in magazine grounds in afternoon.

May 21st 1894 (Monday) J Lowe takes Captain Parker and Mr Chisholm to the Emily Downing to inspect the mines there on board. Returned Captain Parker and Mr Chisholm to stores and brought from stores 1 tin boiled oil and 20 pounds of putty on broad the Aladdin. A man from Taylors shipyard put two iron plates on cutwater of Aladdin.

May 24th 1894 (Thursday) Queens birthday - public holiday - hoisted red flags on Aladdin and Emily Downing re passing vessels. Mr Chisholm went to Ulverstone.

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May 28th 1894 (Monday) J Lowe employed at stores all day. Mr Chisholm back from Ulverstone.

June 12th 1894 (Tuesday) J Lowe went to Police Office and took to stores, five rifles and 5 bayonets assisted by one of the TVA men

June 16th 1894 (Saturday) J Lowe employed on board Aladdin in forenoon receiving powder 120 C. B., & 50 fff from the Alaster for McGregor Bros, also 25 boxes of friction tubes. To Domain magazine 17 cases No4 <> in ½ lbs, 5 cases No6 <> in ½ lbs, & 3 boxes of blasting cartridges. 12 boxes of cartridge cases to be reshipped on Alaster for Launceston. Four men employed, 2 on Hulk and 2 at Domain magazine

June 27th 1894 (Wednesday) J Lowe on board Aladdin doing general work, Mr Chisholm and Mr Lovett on board Aladdin then the Emily Downing taking Merchants stock. J Lowe taking merchant stock to the Domain Magazine in the forenoon.

July 4th 1894 (Wednesday) J Lowe on board Aladdin in forenoon pumping out bilge water and same on Emily Downing in the afternoon, assisted by M Hogan.

July 18th 1894 (Wednesday) J Lowe at the Domain Magazine in the forenoon with Mr Chisholm and C H Harrison taking the Colonial Storekeepers inventory on the Aladdin and then on the Emily Downing

July 19th 1894 (Thursday) J Lowe on board Aladdin in forenoon pumping out bilge water and then on the Emily Downing in the afternoon.

August 2nd 1894 (Thursday) J Lowe on board Aladdin in forenoon pumping out bilge water and same on Emily Downing in the afternoon, assisted by J Rolinson. 10 cases Dynamite Marsh & Co Stored in Hulk

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August 4th 1894 (Saturday) J Lowe on board Emily Downing - new tarpaulin required - size 12 ft x 10 ft, a new clock and four new red serge flags. This is the last entry in this log/record book. Part 7

LATER LIFE

A bill has been issued to confer a pension of £60 a year on Mr. James Chisholm, formerly inspector of explosives and magazine-keeper for the southern district. Mr. Chisholm's record is:- 1800-05, Armourer in the Defence Force; 1805-72, Armourer-Sergeant, Southern Division Volunteer Force on day pay; 1872- 86, Master Gunner and Sergeant in charge of powder magazine, Hobart, on salary; 1897-09, military and magazine storekeeper, 1886-97, military storekeeper and inspector of explosives (charged with the working of the Gunpowder Acts); 1899 to retirement in 1908, inspector of explosives and of magazines, and magazine-keeper for the southern district. Mercury 15th October 1909 page 5

Southern Tasmanian Rifle Association. The new committee held their first meeting in Mr. Westbrook's office on Tuesday evening, Mr. Roblin in the chair. A sub-committee, consisting of Messrs. Henry, Bennison, Roblin, and Morris, was appointed to revise the rules. Messrs. Roblin, Henry, and Bennison were appointed handicappers for 1881. Messrs. Plunkett, Ikin, and McDonald were elected a match committee by ballot. Mr. J. C. Penny was appointed to keep the record of matches for 1881.

Two small prizes of 10s. each was added to the last match of 1880. A scratch match was arranged for 24th January, 300, 400, and 450 yards; entrance fee, 1s. 6d prize, a trophy. A handicap match for 31st January, same distances and entrance fee; first prize, two-thirds of entrance money; second prize, the balance. The thanks of the association were cordially given to Mr. James Chisholm for the services he has so willingly rendered during 1880, and he was elected an honorary member. Sergt.-Major Alderton was also elected an honorary member.

Mercury 20th January 1881 page

The old whaling barque Aladdin, which was purchased by the Tasmanian Government at the time of the last war scare for the purposes of a coal hulk, has

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now been converted into a magazine for the stowage of gunpowder and other war materials and combustibles.

A short time back, tenders were called for the construction of the magazine, the successful tenderer being Mr. E. T. Mc Connon, of Argyle-street.

The magazine, which is a large roomy apartment, takes up about one-third of the length of the vessel. The division from the other parts of the ship is effected by strong iron bulkheads, fastened securely to angle irons running round the hull of the vessel.

The roof which is also of iron is just underneath the beams of the tween decks of the old sea veteran. Ingress and egress to the magazine is obtained by a doorway built in the after part of the bulkheads. The door is made out of 3/8 iron plate, lined with wood, and has an india-rubber joint which makes it perfectly watertight.

Outside of the magazine are two valves worked from the main deck, which enables the magazine to be flooded at a moment's notice, if occasion should require it.

Ventilation is obtained by the medium of an 8in. copper pipe which is inserted through the ceiling of the apartment.

The whole has been carried out in a most faithful and workmanlike manner by the contractor under the supervision of Mr. John Bradley, clerk of works, who has expressed his entire satisfaction with the execution of the contract.

Mercury Monday 19th April 1886, page 2

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G E N E R A L I N S T R U C T I O N S FOR THE

Guidance for the Royal Artillery in charge of Magazines Ammunition Stores & laboratories, & in the use of Lamps

Extracted from the Instructions contained in Appendix 5 of the Equipment Warrant,

1876

1. No one will pass the barrier at the entrance of a magazine or ammunition store except in the presence of the officer, master gunner, or non-commissioned officer in local charge of the building, who will be responsible that all persons entering comply with the necessary precautions, and that they have no articles of a combustible nature in their possession.

2. All persons employed in magazines, cartridge stores, and in shell stores when connected with cartridge stores, will, before entering the same, change their own clothes & boots for magazine clothing & slippers.

This will be effected in the place appointed for shifting where boots & clothing taken off will be deposited.

3. Smoking is strictly prohibited near any magazine or ammunition store, and any soldier entering with a pipe or lucifer match in his possession will be made a prisoner.

4 In all cases where magazines are fitted with the approved pattern of candle lamps, the hand magazine lantern will be used within the magazine or ammunition stores, for the purposes of inspection exclusively and then only by the person in actual charge.

5 Laboratory operations (which include packing and shifting cannon cartridges) will not be carried on in any magazine, cartridge or shell store, nor in any of the passages connected therewith, but only in the tent or building, especially provided for the purpose (vide Regulations for laboratories).

6 Every favourable opportunity will be taken for airing the magazines on the principles given in the memoranda attached. Thermometers will be issued to all magazines containing 100 barrels and upwards of powder.

7 Magazines will never be left open unguarded; persons in charge of them will be attentive to the early appearance of a storm, however distant, and upon hearing thunder, or seeing a flash of lightening, they will give the necessary notice, in order that the doors and ventilators may be immediately closed.

8 The floors of magazines and ammunition stores will be kept scrupulously clean and free from loose grains of powder. The passages will be covered with hides, wadmiltilts, or hair cloths; when powder is being moved these coverings will be frequently lifted and dusted.

9 Barrels, cylinders and cases will be placed so that the air may circulate about them. They should not be in contact with the masonry of the building.

10 No tubes, fuses, quick or slow match, lights, rockets, primers, or other combustible stores, will be kept in any magazine or cartridge store, or admitted within the enclosure of a magazine where gunpowder is stored. Tubes, fuses and all articles above-named will be kept in shell stores.

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11 Small-arm ammunition, which contains its own means of ignition, will not be stored in the same compartment with gunpowder, whether the latter is loose or in filled cartridges.

12 Oiled rags, cotton waste, oakum, or cloths for cleaning, will not be kept in magazines, ammunition stores or their passages.

13 All boxes, cases and barrels placed in magazine or ammunition stores will be properly labelled, and no empty boxes, cases, or barrels will be allowed to remain there.

14 Officers, master gunners, and non-commissioned officers in charge, will exercise great watchfulness and will be very prompt in reporting any defects or repairs necessary either to the interior or exterior of the building in their charge.

15 An inventory board, showing the contents of the magazine or ammunition store, will be hung up in the lobby or passage.

16 The keys of the magazines and ammunition stores will be labelled, and when not in use, deposited in a secure place.

17 A copy of these instructions attached to a board will be hung up on the inside of outer doors and on the wall of the entrance to the magazines.

E.G. CECIL.

ABBREVIATIONS AJCT Australian Joint Copying Project AOT Archives of Tasmania BLR CB CSO Colonial Secretaries Office CSD Colonial Secretaries Department FFF/fff HTG Hobart Town Gazette LGB MH Martini Henry RGD RGF Royal Gun Factory RML Rifled Muzzle Loader TG Tasmanian Government TM Tasmanian Mail TPP Tasmanian Parliamentary Papers

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Miss J Chisholm Miss G Chisholm Mr A Chisholm Season tickets to the Exhibition 1894 – 1895, all stated address Military Stores, Esplanade