Sunday 16 June 2013

Maria GREEN, nee BATES 1808 - 1896

Maria was born in 1808 at Yorktown, Port Dalrymple on the western side of the Tamar River, Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, when Thomas was stationed there from 1808-1810. She was baptised at St Philips, Sydney after their return to Sydney, on April 1st, 1810. Maria married George Green at St Phillips on the 19th of April 1830 by William COWPER, in the presence of George's guardians, Thomas and Charlotte HYNDES.
George and Maria set up their home  in Sydney.  Maria gave birth to their first child George Amaziah on 26 Dec of that same year, followed by their first daughter, Mary Ann Maria born on 24 Dec 1832. More followed about two years apart and Maria would have been glad to have her mother Ann and sister Lydia living close by.

 On 19 June 1834 George Green’s parents Amaziah and Mary Ann Green (nee Chapel), together with the rest of George’s siblings, travelled to Australia including his married sister Maria and her husband Thomas Costin and their infant child,  Mary, Charlotte, Thomas and Sarah on the Minerva as steerage passengers. Not long after he arrived in Sydney Australia George’s father Amaziah was granted the first freehold title block of land (5 acres – about 2 hectares) on the peninsula later called Greenwich. A brickworks was constructed on one of the blocks of land owned by the Greens This could have been built by Amaziah to carry on his trade. Two years after buying this land he sold it to his son George. Amaziah only lived for four years after he arrived in Sydney, he died 11 Feb 1838.

 Greenwich House was built in 1836 and still stands at George and St Lawrence Streets. It stood on a 20 acre grant originally owned by George Green, boat-builder active in the area in the 1830s.  He had the property divided in allotments and sold in 1840. A punt service ran from the city to Greenwich in 1840s but lack of customers caused it to be cancelled.  In 1850s, when the demand increased, it was reinstated. The young family moved from Sydney to Greenwich in 1837 and later to Milson’s Point on the acre of ground where the family grew up. George leased this land from Robert Campbell.

 George GREEN, shipwright of Milson's Point and Maria nee Bates had six of their children baptised on the same day at St Thomas' Willoughby  10 June 1851 by Reverend WB Clarke. Robert Nathaniel, born 29 May 1838, James Absalom, born 7 May 1840, Agnes Martha born 22 May 1842, Sarah Harriet Hales, born 23 May 1844, Charlotte Lydia, born 23 Aug 1846, and William Joseph born 1 Jul 1849.

 Maria obviously coped with George’s long absences in New Zealand and was kept busy with her growing family. George died 30 Aug 1872 in Dunedin New Zealand. Maria was a widow for 24 years. She died of senility at 24 Salisbury Road, Willoughby on the 16 Feb 1896 at the home of her daughter Charlotte Lydia and her husband John REID. Maria was buried on the 19th of February 1896 at the Church of England section of Gore Hill Cemetery.

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