Old Bill Taylor – Gawler Town Crier

 First shared on ‘Gawler: Colonial Athens’ blog, 9/2/2021

St George's Anglican Cemetery
Photo: Gawler History Team

William Taylor was born in Buckinghamshire England in May 1818. He married Mary Hillsdon (1817-1879) in 1839.

Their children Ann, Sarah and John were born in England, and Hannah and the children following were born in South Australia. Their children were:
Ann Taylor (1840–1840), Sarah Taylor (1842–1921), John Taylor (1844–?), Hannah Taylor (1847–1849), Elizabeth Taylor (1849–1866), Lucy Taylor (1850–1924), Thomas Henry Taylor (1851–1911), Lydia Mary Taylor (1854–1917), William Richard Taylor (1857–1933), James Taylor (1859–1864).

 

William Taylor was known around Gawler as ‘Old Bill’. He was a local Town Crier.

 

A 1925 The News article reported the following on Gawler Town Crier ‘Old Bill’ Taylor,

In its early days Gawler possessed a town crier, who combined poetry with oratory. For the poetry he made an extra charge. When announcing a sale at a building where its solitary room was used for religious services, and the collars as a store for wines, the crier was frequently heard to recite the foIlowing lines, much to the amusement of the public:

"There's a spirit above and a spirit below,

A spirit of weal and a spirit of woe,

The spirit above is the Spirit Divine,

The spirit below is the spirit of wine."[1]

The verse above is a quotation from Anna L Wards Dictionary of Quotations written by “MS”. It was written about 1825 about the vaults below Portman Chapel, Baker Street, London.[2]

Old Bill Taylor commentated on the 1869 election vote between Samuel Bradley and David Thompson. As printed in the Bunyip at the time (and later reprinted in 1932):

Gawler In Other Days

Only 28 ratepayers voted on Wednesday last in the contested Ward (South)

No one seemed to take the least activity hunting up voters for the involuntary candidates, and nothing tended to show that any election was going on with the exception of the town crier, Mr. William Taylor who perambulated the Ward read the following notice, which he has left with us for publication, that his name may be emblazoned on the herald of fame as one of local laureates:

To all the electors of South Ward.
Haste to the pool and quick record
Your votes for Dave or Sam;
If Dave is elected, you will place
The saddle on. him who won the race;
But if for Sam you vote.
You'll send in one who soon will prove
That public interests him move,
He'll never turn his coat.
You that have not voted in this Ward,
I hope you'll come in time;
I think you will not judge me hard.
For it will enhance the rhyme,
You know that for the contest
There's two, that's Dave and Sam.-,
Now all take your opinions
And vote for the best man,
Because there is no botheration
In being one of the Corporation.

The result showed— Samuel Bradley, 20; David Thompson, 8. Dec. 4, 1869.[3]

 

In 1871 Mr John Knowles proposed that Town Crier, William Taylor run for Council.[4]

 

Old Bill Taylor died on 4 February 1876 while walking from the Gawler Railway Station towards Murray Street.

SUNSTROKE: Mr. W. Taylor, our bill sticker and town-crier, received a sunstroke today about noon while in the occupation of his duty. He was travelling between the Railway Station and Gawler, and was observed to fall down. Dr. Popham was in immediate attendance and did everything possible for his recovery. He died about 3 o'clock, to-day, just as we Were going to press. [5]

 

William Taylor is buried at St George’s Cemetery, Cheek Avenue, Gawler East.

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2021

---

[1] 'GAWLER COUNCIL', News, (25 November 1925), p. 6.
[2] 'CORRESPONDENCE.', The Register, (29 October 1910), p. 4.
[3] 'GAWLER IN OTHER DAYS.', Bunyip, (20 May 1932), p. 10.
[4] 'MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.', Bunyip, (25 November 1871), p. 3.
[5] 'BAROSSA MINING NEWS.', Bunyip, (4 February 1876), p. 2.

This is Halloween… Old Halloween Superstitions and Beliefs

This is Halloween…

Old Halloween Superstitions and Beliefs

Burning nuts on an open fire place is an old Scottish All Hallows Eve tradition. It is used as a divination tool to discover if another person will fall in love with you.
the nuts are placed on the fire, and given names, one for the person asking the question, the other for the person they wish to be with, or have fall in love with them.
 If the two nuts burn nicely together, it is supposedly an indication of true love, but if the two nuts jump away from each, crack, explode or bounce of the fire, it is seen as a bad omen. These two people are not made for each other!

 The Irish once had a similar custom, but three nuts were used, instead of two. The three nuts (usually Hazel Nuts) were put into the fire grate, with two being named as the potential lovers (or a couple already together).
If the nuts popped, jumped or cracked, an infidelity would occur, if they stayed much the same, a mutual respect would be in place, but if they burned together, or burned brightly, a marriage would occur.

Another odd act of potential love divination was for a girl to find a pea pod with 9 perfect peas inside. The young lady would take the pod home and secretly place it above the doorway of the house. The first unmarried man to walk through the doorway would be her future suitor!

 The Irish seemed to have many All Hallows Eve traditional “love spells”, another involved a young lady pealing an entire apple in one strand, she would then throw this long peel over her left shoulder, and when it landed, it would spell out the initials of her future husband!

Another custom, which is thought to have originated in Ireland, was the sewing of hemp seeds to divine a future lover.

On Halloween night, a male or female would secretly make their way to the local cemetery, and at midnight they would sow a handful of hemp seeds, whilst saying the following rhyme;

Hemp seed, I sow Thee; Hemp seed, I sow thee
And him (or her) that’s my true love
Come after me and pou’ thee

Another variation of the poem is:

Hemp seed I sow, hemp seed must grow;

Whomever my true love, come after and mow.

After saying the rhyme a few times whilst sowing the seeds, the asker would look back over their left shoulder, and see an apparition of the person who loves them, cutting the grown hemp with a scythe!

 Another traditional love spell for Halloween, was for a young lady to carry two lemon peels, one in each pocket. Before going to bed that night, she would rub the four posts of her bed with the peel, and then slip them under her pillow. In her dreams that night, her future husband would appear.

One final Halloween love spell – The Three Dishes, which comes out of England. 

Three dishes are to be placed next to each other on a table, one contains dirty water, one contains clean water and the last contains nothing.
The person wanting to know their future, is blinded folded, then led towards the dishes. Whichever dish the person puts their hand in first, decides their future lover.
 The clean water, the person will marry a maiden or master, whichever the case may be.
The dirty water, the person will marry a widow or widower.
The bowl with nothing in it, the person will remain a bachelor or bachelorette…

…and you thought Halloween was all about ghosts, goblins and trick or treating!

Happy Halloween!

Death in the Victorian Era part 3: 
Funeral Customs and Superstitions

 Victorian Era customs pertaining to death were very strict. Most people of the era abided by them, believing that bad things could happen to them if they did not.
 It was customary upon the time of death (or as close to it as possible) to stop all the clocks in the house (to stop bad luck); to draw all the curtains in the house and cover all the mirrors with sheets of crepe to stop the spirit of the recently deceased getting trapped inside the mirror.
 Sometimes family photos would be placed face down in the home, which was thought to prevent the recently deceased from possessing the living relatives.


Wreaths would be tied to the front door, lychgate or sometimes front fence, usually made of laurel, yew or boxwood; adorned with black ribbons, to signify a death in the house.

 The body of the deceased would usually be washed and laid out in his or her finest clothing in a room of the house. A family member would then sit with the body for 3 to 4 days, 24 hours a day, just to make sure they were actually dead. This is where we get the modern term “a wake” from.
 The room would be filled with flowers, scented candles, sometimes pine branches or anything else suitable to mask smells that would inevitably come from the deceased body.

 Some families would also take a photo with the body, this was known as ‘Memento Mori’ (of which I’ll be explaining in next week’s blog).
 In later periods of the Victorian Era, it also became commonplace for the deceased person’s body to be carried from the home feet first, restricting the spirit from looking back into the home and beckoning another family member to follow him to death.

 Children’s deaths however were treated a little differently as their innocence was often honoured by white coffins and white silk sheets, white gloves, and on occasion, where available, ostrich plumes

 Some of the many superstitions from the period include:
Never wear new clothes, shoes or jewellery to a funeral.

 
Rain on a funeral procession is a sign that the deceased is going to Heaven.

 
If you hear a clap of thunder following a burial it indicates that the soul of the departed has reached heaven.

 
If a number of deaths have occurred in the one house or family, the tying of black ribbons to anything living that is to enter one's house, including dogs, cats and other pets, will protect against death spreading within the household.

You may have heard this one in your youth, I certainly remember it:
 Cover your mouth while yawning so your spirit doesn’t escape and the devil cannot enter your body. This also applies to someone saying “bless you” after sneezing, stopping your soul from escaping and a roaming spirit from possessing your body!

It is bad luck to meet a funeral procession head-on. If you see one approaching, turn around.  If this is unavoidable, hold on to a button or religious medallion until the funeral cortege passes.

There are lots of superstitions from this period relating directly to someone you know dying, including, but not limited to the following:

If you see an owl in the daytime, there will be a death.

If you see yourself in a dream, your death will follow.

If you dream about a birth, someone you know will die.

If a picture falls off the wall, there will be the death of someone you know.

If a firefly/lightning bug gets into your house someone will soon die.

If you smell roses when none are around someone is going to die.

If a bird pecks on your window or crashes into one that there has been a death.

If a sparrow lands on a piano, someone in the home will die.

Two deaths in the family mean that a third is sure to follow.

 Of course, being a superstitious time in human history, there were a number that dealt with ghosts 

and haunting, including the following:

Never speak ill of the dead because they will come back to haunt you or you will suffer misfortune.

If you hear 3 knocks and no one is there, it usually means someone close to you has died. The superstitious call these the 3 knocks of death. 

Maybe you’ve heard other Victorian Era superstitions, or your family, or culture has its own traditions and superstitions, join me over on Facebook and start a discussion about your own beliefs on this subject – you can find the page here:

https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

Next Week: Death in the Victorian Era part 4 – Post Mortem Photography

John Hill

John Hill 

Mr Hill served as boatswain (The Foreman of the “unlicensed” crew) in His Majesty, King William's Ship, The Buffalo. [1]

John Hill was born on the 3rd of June 1808 in Cheshurst, Hertfordshire England. Mr Hill was a skilled thatcher before serving for his King in the English Navy.

John Hill's most notable mark in South Australian history, other than coming to our fine shores aboard the Buffalo, under the soon to be Governor of South Australia, Captain John Hindmarsh, was to unfurl the flag at proclamation day ceremonies at Glenelg.

As the proclamation, declaring South Australia a British colony was read aloud to the gathered sailors and dignitaries, John Hill raised the British Flag, thus marking his place in South Australian history for all time. He was aged 29 at the time.

Mr Hill was soon engaged to thatch roofs for the newly colonised State, the only skilled Roof thatcher available he was very busy and was summoned to thatch the roof of the Governor's house.

Mr Hill lived much of his middle years in Wilpena before settling in Kapunda with his family, where he died at the age of 77, after fighting an illness for four months. Mr Hill died on the 2nd of April 1885 and was interred in The Clare Road Cemetery. 

Mr Hill's Wife and Family were very proud of the fact that their Husband and Father hoisted the flag on proclamation day and marked the significance upon his tombstone.

His grave also features a very distinct and different marking. It features as the centrepiece the “British Standard” with Gum tree carved into Headstone.

Mr Hills obituary appears in the South Australian Register on page 2, April 11th 1885 and reads:

Deaths of Pioneers.— Our Kapunda correspondent mentions that bluff, hearty old John Hill the boatswain of the Buffalo, who hoisted the flag at Glenelg when the colony was proclaimed, died on Thursday evening, after an illness of four months. He was 77 years of age, and during his life enjoyed the very best of health until recently, when he was attacked by bronchitis. During his illness he suffered a great deal. He leaves  a widow, who is somewhat older than himself 

[1] The “Buffalo” was originally named “The Hindostand” in 1813 when it was built it was sold in that same year to the United Kingdom Navy and renamed “The Buffalo” where it began to ship mast timbers across the globe. It eventually was used to ship English female prisoners to Sydney (187) then travelled to South Africa. The ship was recommissioned in 1835 where it was fitted to house emigrants for transport to Australian Colonies.

Please note, this post was originally made on a short-lived blog I wrote about Kapunda, due to the amount of time spent researching the paranormal, the Kapunda blog suffered a severe lack of posts - rather than lose the blog into the depths of Internet obscurity, I am reposting some of the research back onto this blog as much of it contains, History, Mystery and the Paranormal.

© 2013 Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au