Hi Family Member's
The Mason Family Footprints aim is to trace the Family Footsteps to see where we have
walked before.
To discover where our common interests -talents-trades-themes and medical problems 
have arisen from & to see which direction we are heading into the next century.
I'd like to Thank for their support and help
 Debra-Sue-Kathleen-Linda-Dianne-Bruce-Roger-Betty-Kerrie-Bill-Mum-Pat-
Great Aunty Elma -Margaret -Geoff -John
Please sign the Guest book and leave your footprint!!
If anyone else has any photos - certificates - family stories - job histories   
and would like to contribute please email me ....

 
  In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. 
      To put flesh on their bones & make them live again. 
      To tell the family story and to feel that somehow those who went before 
      know &  approve.
      Breathing life into all who have gone before.  
      We are the storytellers of the tribe. 
      All tribes have one. 
      Those who have gone before cry out to us; 
      Tell our story.......... So, we do.
  
  In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. 
      It goes beyond just documenting the facts.
      It goes to who I am,& why I do the things I do. 
      It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever
      to weeds & indifference,saying I can't let this happen. 
      The bones here are bones of my bone & flesh of my flesh. 
          It goes to doing something about it. 
    
  It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish.
          How they contributed to what we are today. 
      It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, 
      their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness 
         to go on & build a life for their family. 
 
  It goes to deep pride that they fought to make & keep us a nation. 
     It goes to a deep understanding that they were doing it for us, 
     that we might be born, who we are, that we might remember them. 
      With love and caring & scribing each fact of their existence,
                because we are them & they are us. 
                 I tell the story of my family. 
              I  answer the call and take their place 
              in the long line of family storytellers. 
                That is why I do my family genealogy, 
                      that is what call those, 
             young & old, to step up & put flesh on the bones.

   
.......ABOUT SYDNEY TOWN HALL
The Old Burial Ground (now occupied by the Sydney Town Hall) was used between Sept
1792 & 1820, when it officially closed. Its replacement was the Sandhills Cemetery
(Devonshire St Cemetery), which later became the site of Central Railway Station.
By the 1840s there were concerns about overcrowding & over the next twenty years a
number of alternative locations were considered. In 1862 the government purchased 200
acres of land 'near Homebush on the Railway Line?' ? what was to become the Rookwood
Necropolis ? for use as a general cemetery. The first registered burial took place at
the Rookwood Necropolis in 1867. Sydney Burial Ground 1819-1901 (Elizabeth &
Devonshire Streets) & History of Sydney's Early Cemeteries from 1788. The oldest
surviving church building in Sydney IS St James King Street next to Hyde Park which 
was consecrated in 1824.
 
...... About FORBES NSW
The town of Forbes stand on land traditionally occupied by the Wiradjuri people. In
1817 explorer John Oxley passed through the area.He was closely followed by a number 
of adventurous early settlers who commenced the development of rural industries that 
have continued to be the mainstay of the area right up to the present time. 
This development was interrupted for a time by the discovery of gold, which attracted
prospectors in large numbers. A tent township with a population of more than 30,000
quickly sprang up.

.......About BRAIDWOOD NSW
The region was the home of the Dhurga Aboriginals before European settlement in the
1830s.The first settlement in the area was called JEMAICUMBENE .
During the 1840s incidences of closer settlement are known.  Dr David Reid's farm was
subdivided into eighteen small farms, originally known as Irish Corner because of the
number of settlers of Irish origin. A number of tenant farms were established at the
Bedervale Estate on land between the Clyde & Mongarlowe roads from Braidwood to the
approaches of the Clyde. 84 tenant farmers were there in 1860.Particular types of
housing which are relatively unique include early settlers residences which seem to
have been generally in wood, & often with a more secure stone building which probably
acted as a store, eg. Ballalaba.
 The sale notice of George Galbraith's Nerriga probably gives a good indication of the
early houses of the well to do!: Following the discovery of gold in 1851, a succession
of small villages such as Araluen, Majors Creek, were established to service adjoining
gold fields.September 1851 gold was found in the tableland heights above the Araluen
Valley at Bells Creek.  In October the Majors Creek field was discovered, & in April
1852 gold was discovered at Little River (Mongarlowe River).In the following decades
gold was discovered in the Shoalhaven River, extending as far north as Nerriga. 
Collectively the gold fields were administered as the Southern District which
eventually comprised Braidwood, Araluen, Jembaicumbene, Majors Creek, Little River
(Mongarlowe), Moruya, Nerriga, Bombala, Nowra & Wagonga.
 The Victorian character of the town's buildings are indicative of the rapid expansion
of the town between the 1860s & 1890s. For this was the period of the gold rushes in
New South Wales, & gold brought many prospectors to Braidwood.
NOTE MANY OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS HAD BEEN TO or where BORN / MARRIED/ DIED at 
BRAIDWOOD   
              BETWEEN 1800- 1900 Some are still in surrounding area's.

...... About MAITLAND has long been an industrious area since the 1820s.
 Its riverside location, stores & warehouses gave the settlers many a task to
undertake within the frontier town. Maitland was home to a wide range of business,
including flourmills, breweries, a bacon & tobacco factory, soap, candle making & salt
store. Iron workers, blacksmiths & saddlers also thrived at this time. During the 
1850s a series of riverside merchants traded, Interspersed within the retail area of 
central Maitland were a selection of services and outlets such as tailors, 
hairdressers, wig makers,confectioners, photographers & dressmakers who added to the 
sense of vitality & diversity within the area.

....About BRIGHTON, VICTORIA
Brighton is a residential bayside suburb 11 km. south-east of Melbourne.
In 1840 the British Government's Land & Emigration Commission approved procedures for
the sale of "Special Survey" land allotments of eight square miles (5,120 acres at one
pound each - 2,072 ha.), chiefly as a revenue-raising arrangement. There were three
such sales in the area of future metropolitan Melbourne before special surveys were
stopped, they being Dendy's at Brighton (March, 1841), Unwin'sat Bulleen 
Templestowe & Elgar's at Box Hill. All were five miles from the centre of Melbourne,
as required by regulations made by the New South Wales Executive Council.

About GRAFTON NSW
The area was occupied by the Gumbaingirr Aborigines at the time of European
colonisation. It is thought that the first whites in the area were convict escapees
from Moreton Bay who passed through the area in the late 1820s & early 1830s. One of
their number, Richard Craig, reported a big river & a plenitude of valuable timber
when he arrived at Port Macquarie in 1832. He was later employed by a Thomas Small of
Sydney who, inspired by Craig's reports, sent off his brother & two dozen sawyers on
board the schooner, the Susan, to the 'Big River'. It was the first European vessel to
enter the river. Other cedar-cutters followed in their wake. Small took up a large
parcel of land on Woodford Island, opening the way for other pastoralists along the
river that Governor Gipps named the Clarence in 1839.
A store & shipyard were established, on what is now South Grafton in 1839 &
shipbuilding would remain a major local industry until the end of the century when the
railways began to dominate internal trade.
A wharf, store & inn adorned the northern bank by the early 1840s . Until 1861, when
a punt service commenced, the only interaction between the two settlements was by
row-boat. This area was known collectively & imaginatively as 'The Settlement'.
Twenty establishments were listed on the Clarence River in 1841. The district was
surveyed in 1843 & a police magistrate appointed in 1846, at which time the
population was recorded as 120. A township was laid out in 1849 & named after the Duke
of Grafton who was the grandfather of Governor Fitzroy. The first land sale took place
in the early 1850s, a school opened in 1852 & the first Anglican church in 1854. The
population, by 1856, had grown to 1069.
Wharves were established in the 1850s & Grafton benefited both from its location on
the main coastal road to the north & from gold discoveries on the upper Clarence
River. It soon became the major town on the Clarence & was declared a municipality in
1859. That same year, Grafton became home to both the Clarence & Richmond River
Examiner & the first National School north of the Hunter River.
Sugar-growing commenced in the 1860s but dairying ultimately proved more successful.
Development was further stimulated by the commencement of selection in the 1860s. A
steam-driven vehicular ferry was established at this time.
Grafton was declared a city in the mid-1880s, by which time its population had
surpassed 4000. The arrival of the railway at Glen Innes in 1883 & the completion of
the Casino to North Grafton line in 1905, contributed to a slow decline in Grafton's
importance as a regional port although the river trade chugged along until the 1950s. 

...About BOWRAL is situated in a valley at the foot of Mt. Gibraltar, largely on land
originally granted to John Oxley, famous explorer of the early colony of NSW. For a
generation it was farmed by his sons. With the coming of the railway in the 1860s, the
Oxleys subdivided part of the land for a private village. On this land (not much 
bigger than the current shopping centre) a town grew. Soon, there was a railway 
station,churches, schools & public buildings. There were also many guesthouses, & 
private'holiday houses', as Bowral became a favourite place to escape to from the 
city. As early as 1886 Bowral was gazetted as a Municipality, & the corporate life of 
the town began. Within 20 years it had over 1000 citizens & many community, social, & 
sporting organisations

....About HURLEY PARK CAMPBELLTOWN NSW
Daniel Tindall (1759-1827) 
Daniel was a convict tried for treason, he was part of a plot to kill King George III
in 1803 (known as 'The Despards Conspiracy'). He was sentenced to be hung, drawn &
quartered in Feb 1803 but he and 2 other men were given a last minute reprieve &
transported to Australia for life, on the condition that he never return to England.
 He came on the 'Duke of Portland' in 1807. After 7 years of hard labour & good
behaviour his family came to Australia free per the 'Kangaroo' in 1814. 
"Construction of a convict-built reservoir next to modern-day Hurley Park, 
Daniel Tindall, John b, William Eggleton, Daniel Geary & Thomas Tailby"
Campbelltown roads note early land grantees in the surrounding areas - John Kellicar, 
Daniel Tindall, John b, William Eggleton, Daniel Geary & Thomas Tailby. Thomas 
Robinson was an early teacher at the St Peter's Church school & a small road behind 
the motor registry recalls Barney Bugden, who ran a black-smithy at the southern end 
of Queen Street in the 1920's.Campbelltown is lucky to boast several large parks or 
reserves, some more than a century old. "Hurley Park was originally a cattle paddock 
& the site of the first stone water reservoir, built by the convict iron gang. It 
appears to have been used as a "common" later that century, but sparked controversy 
in 1897 when the site "reverted" to the Crown. Alderman Charles Bull led efforts to 
have the paddock declared a park, & while this debate raged, the Campbelltown News 
mourned the death of P.B. Hurley in March 1898. There were many tributes made to both 
he and his father, local pioneer John Hurley MLA, one of which was probably the 
dedication of the park name. The fight to protect the site as a public reserve was 
won, but it continued to  be used for grazing purposes, & even a small tip, until a 
sportsground was created in the 1960s."

..About NORRKOPING SWEDEN
Rock carvings at Himmelstalund & Leornardsberg bear witness to what was a habitation
& focal point of cults in the Norrköping area during the Bronze Age. Norrköping first
developed into a fishing hamlet that grew up on the banks of the River Strömmen during
the 12th century. In the medieval period,  an important market attended by local
farmers who sold their produce and delivered their grain to the many mills on the
waterfalls in Strömmen. Norrköpings greatest textile era began in the 17th century 
when several mills were built close to Strömmen. By the mid-17th century, Riga, 
Stockholm & Norrköping were the biggest cities under Swedish rule.
Industrial expansion accelerated during the 19th century when water power was replaced
by steam engines. For many years, Norrköping was called Sweden's Manchester, as it was
the country's centre for textile manufacture. In today's Norrköping, industry focuses
on products such as microwave ovens, refrigeration installations, newsprint, plastics,
telephone relays & confectionery.

About TIPPERARY IRELAND
County Tipperary (Irish: Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in the Republic of 
Ireland situated in the province of Munster. Tipperary was one of the first Irish 
counties to be established in the 13th century. The county is divided into North 
Tipperary (county town: Nenagh) & South Tipperary (county town: Clonmel). 
This division dates back to the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the county's two
"ridings" having had separate assize courts for much longer. 
The use of riding for the divisions was a historical misnomer, since the word derives
from the dividing of an area into three parts. Indeed the expression riding has been
discontinued for official purposes since 2002 (Local Government Act, 2001 section 10
and schedule 5) The Nation newspaper in the 1840s as a tribute "where Tipperary leads,
Ireland follows". Tipperary is famous for its horse breeding industry & is the home
of Coolmore Stud,  the largest thoroughbred breeding operation in the world. The
County forms a large part of the Golden Vale (or Vein) of Munster, boasting a rich 
fertile agricultural landscape.The town of Tipperary situated in the south west of the
county was the subject of the famous World War I British army song It's a Long Way to
Tipperary. As with several other counties in Ireland named for a town or village
(examples include Leitrim ,Mayo) Tipperary Town has never been the county town of
County Tipperary. That honour belonged to Cashel for a while prior to the creation of
the County Palatine & thereafter to Clonmel until the creation of separate assizes in
1838 when Clonmel has shared the honour with Nenagh

About  ABERDEEN SCOTLAND
Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years.[6] The city began as
two separate burghs: Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the river Don; New Aberdeen, a
fishing & trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee
estuary. The earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 & confirmed the
corporate rights granted by David I. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce
transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning financially independent community.
Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for 
the city's Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians.
During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Aberdeen was under English rule, 
so Robert the Bruce laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308 
followed by the massacring of the English garrison & the retaking of Aberdeen for the
townspeople. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt 
extended, & called New Aberdeen. The city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by
neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770. During the Wars of the Three
Kingdoms of 1644-1647 the city was impartially plundered by both sides. In 1644, it 
was taken & ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen. In 1647 an 
outbreak of bubonic plague killed a quarter of the population.
In the eighteenth century, a new Town Hall was built & the first social services
appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1742 & the Lunatic Asylum in 1779. The
council began major road improvements at the end of the century with the main
thoroughfares of George Street, King Street & Union Street all completed at the start
of the next century. A century later, the increasing economic importance of Aberdeen
and the development of the shipbuilding & fishing industries led to the existing
harbour with Victoria Dock, the South Breakwater,& the extension to the North Pier. 
The expensive infrastructure program had repercussions, & in 1817 the city was 
bankrupt. However, a recovery was made in the general prosperity which followed the 
Napoleonic wars. Gas street lighting arrived in 1824 & an enhanced water supply 
appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An 
underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865. The city was first 
incorporated in 1891. Although Old Aberdeen still has a separate charter & history, 
it & New Aberdeen are no longer truly distinct. They are both part of the city, along 
with Woodside & the Royal Burgh of Torry to the south of the River Dee.

....About ESSEX UK
The name Essex derives from the East Seaxe or East Saxons. The Kingdom of Essex was
traditionally founded by Aescwine in 527 AD, occupying territory to the north of the
River Thames, incorporating much of what would later become Middlesex &
Hertfordshire, though its territory was later restricted to lands east of the 
River Lee. It is through this origin as one of the 'Saxon' kingdoms that Essex is
specifically not part of the region known as East Anglia (the latter comprising
Norfolk, Suffolk, & Cambridgeshire), settled by tribes calling themselves 'Anglian'.
Colchester in the north east of the county is Britain's oldest recorded town, dating
back to before the Roman conquest, when it was known as Camulodunon, & was
sufficiently well-developed to have its own mint. Hornchurch, Ilford, Leyton, Romford,
Walthamstow & Wanstead & Woodford districts was transferred to form the London 
boroughs of Barking, Havering, Newham, Redbridge,& Waltham Forest; an area similar to 
that known as Metropolitan Essex. Essex is crammed full of historic gems, hidden in 
tiny villages throughout the county, from Copford Church with its beautiful Byzantine 
frescoes to Layer Marney tower, the tallest Tudor gatehouse in England. Colchester 
Castle & Museum at the heart of Britain's oldest recorded town or west to Hedingham 
Castle, a stunning Norman Keep built in 1140 & visited by Queen Elizabeth I. 
Also did you know around 1645 the was a massive witch hunt throughout Essex. Many
people where wrongly imprisoned,tortured or killed during this time.

About BUCKINGHAM BUCKS
The name Buckinghamshire is Anglo Saxon in origin & means The district (scire) of
Bucca's home. Bucca's home refers to Buckingham in the north of the county,& is
named after an Anglo-Saxon landowner. The county has been so named since about the 
12th century; however, the county itself has existed since it was a subdivision of the
kingdom of Mercia  The history of the area though predates the Anglo Saxon period & 
the county has a rich history from the Celtic through to Roman periods though the 
Anglo Saxons did have perhaps the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire out of these 
groups:the geography of the rural county is largely as it was in the Anglo Saxon 
period. Later Buckinghamshire became an important political arena, with King Henry 
VIII intervening in local politics in the 16th century & just a century later the 
English Civil War was reputedly started by John Hampden in mid-Bucks.
The biggest change to the county historically came in the 19th century when a
combination of cholera and famine hit the rural county forcing many to migrate to
larger towns to find work.

About MANUDEN ESSEX (pronounced > MANEWDEN ,a village on the border of the counties of
Essex & Hertfordshire in England.