FAMILY REUNION

"150 Years of HOBBS Down Under"

REUNION - Easter 1998

Maitland, NSW, Australia

1998 is the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of Stephen and Elizabeth Hobbs in Australia on board the Walmer Castle. The Maitland area is where most of the families started their lives in Australia. To celebrate the occasion, we are holding a joint reunion with the O’Brien side of the family, details hereunder:

Don’t forget the Hobbs’ were not the only ones on our tree to have started life in Australia in the Maitland/Morpeth area:

FAMILY TRAILS
Family Name	Arrived Morpeth	Resided after Morpeth
Shephard, Matthew & Mary (nee Reed)	6th May 1856	Morpeth, Maitland and Singleton until 1871
Steadman, Edward & Sarah (nee Johnson)	soon after 23rd May 1855	Maitland and Singleton until 1917
Johnson, John	soon after 23rd May 1855	Maitland and Singleton until 1871
Hobbs, Stephen & Elizabeth (nee Parker)	1st January 1849	Maitland until late 1853
Clarke, (Mary nee Hobbs)	1st January 1849	Morpeth left before June 1949
Rose, George	as a convict in May 1831	Patterson and Maitland until late 1860’s.

There are in excess of 150 relatives living in the Maitland, Morpeth, Patterson & Singleton regions today, so we expect to see them all on the Easter weekend.

REUNION FAQ
When	Easter 1998 - Good Friday 10th April - Easter Monday 13th April
Where	Maitland, at the Walcha Waterworks, on the river in the park next to Belmore Bridge.
Camping	$10.00 /site per day. (power may be available by the time of the reunion)
Facilities	5 showers at the moment, with another 5 envisaged by reunion time. 1 large block of toilets, with another block also envisaged. Cafeteria open all weekend.
Local Accommodation	There are a couple of hotels, 5 motels, 1 caravan park and other facilities Maitland has to offer. If you require an accommodation list you can obtain an Accommodation Directory from the NRMA or write or phone us and we will send you the details.Might we suggest that those who are intending to come should make all accommodation bookings in plenty of time to avoid disappointment.
Registration	Very Important: Would those who are coming or intend to come please email for a registration form so that we can forward all the relevant information to you. Only those who register will receive follow up information, so register now.
Registration Fee	$30.00 per family.
Our Contact Details	email: <hobbs@pnc.com.au>

Visitors from Afar

This will be a great opportunity to meet two relatives that we currently know of who are travelling great distances to be at our reunion. The first is Jan Sparrow (nee Hobbs) coming all the way from Manchester, England. The second is Ivy Beeson, travelling from Western Australia and descending from Mary Barr (nee Hobbs), Stephen’s sister who also arrived on the Walmer Castle.

Some Suggested Activities

Trips to various places where our descendants lived and worked in the early days, including Morpeth. The schedule will be arranged around where you want to visit and the number family members from specific lines, such as Shepherd, Johnson & Steadman. For these we would extend the trip to Singleton and "Neotsfield", the property owned by the Dangar family where these families lived and worked.
Exhibition of family history memorabilia. So bring along all of you old photos, knickknacks and any other things you would like to exhibit.
Dinner dance, probably on the Sunday night.

As we’ll be camped on the premises, a stroll through the museum at the Walka Water Works is a must. It is an extremely interesting exhibit and one which exemplifies what our true Aussie spirit is all about. The grounds are also very picturesque with a little train available for those that don’t like to walk.

Games for the kids.

Please send us any comments or suggestions for activities you would like to see us include.

Back to Journal # 11 - April 1997

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