Family get togethers

Through Bruce Tyzack’s and my project to put together a book about our Australian ancestors and current family members, the idea to bring together the family was born.  In 2016 approximately 80 family members met in Melbourne – for most of us, it was the first time for meeting the majority of the family.  I think we all remember those days with huge smiles.

I love the fact that a few family members have kept in touch occasionally by email or by posting comments on this blog.  Months ago I was delighted to receive a message from Darwin relative, Chris Tyzack who told me she and her partner Jack were headed down to Hobart in the coming months and wondered whether we might catch up. ‘But of course’, I said. ‘We will definitely do that.’

Last night Chris, Jack, my sister June and I enjoyed a wonderful few hours, dining on tasty fish caught in local waters, at Mures Restaurant on Hobart’s glorious waterfront.  Despite a downturn in the temperature outside, our constant chatter was very warm.

If you are getting together with other family members that are not normally part of your family circle, please let me know and I will publish  your stories here.  Or if there is a special occasion involving a celebration within your part of the family, there is a story in that which will interest other family members. Of course, when there are deaths or births of Tyzacks I want to acknowledge those changes in this blog as well.

So please keep the stories coming.  Please keep the contacts coming.  Please keep the meetings coming.

 

Our family grows by one again

Michelle (nee Tyzack) and Will Bolitho welcomed into the world the much loved Jacob William Bolitho on Saturday 21^st April 2018.  Grandparents Bruce and Chris Tyzack are extremely happy that Jacob has arrived and all are well, as are their other family members.

Congratulations Michelle and Will!

Our Tyzack family has been reduced by one, again

It is with great sadness this blog post records the sudden passing of Karl Raymond Tyzack on Friday 19 January 2018.  Born on 6 March 1980, Karl was only 37 years old. Ever since a dreadful motor vehicle crash which left him badly injured, his health had declined.

He was the loving son of Ray and Ellen Tyzack and brother to Scott, partner to Simone, and father to Jaiden, Kaleb, Zane and Caine.  Karl will be much missed by his immediate family, his extended Tyzack family, and friends.

His funeral will be held in Bendigo on Friday 2 February.

My condolences to all. May he rest in peace.

More sad news; our oldest Tyzack has died

It is with great sadness I must report that Norman Oswald Tyzack (Norm), who was born on the 20 May 1927 the son of Leonard Victor and Annie Dora Tyzack, died peacefully and without pain on Sunday 20 August 2017.

The funeral service will be held next Tuesday 29^th August 2017 at 1.30 pm. The location is Tobin Brothers Funerals at 111 Wheatsheaf Road, Glenroy, Victoria 3046.

Norm was the youngest and the last survivor of five Tyzack siblings; Arthur, Leonard Benjamin, Unnamed, Victor Thomas and Stanley Howard.

 

Below: Norm with his mother Annie

Almost 64 years ago, Norm married Freda.

With wife Freda, Norm had three children: Bruce, Heather and Margaret.  Each married and their families have grown up.  Through Bruce, Norm had two grandchildren and one great grandchild. Through Heather, Norm had two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.  Through Margaret, Norm had three grandchildren and one great grandchild.  Norm was very proud of his family and much loved by all.

Below: Freda and Norm

Norm became the centre of attention at the Tyzack family’s 150^th anniversary gathering last year, when he took on the hefty responsibility as the official caretaker of the Tyzack Bible.

When interviewed it was clear Norm took the receipt of this tome very seriously.

Below are an assortment of photos featuring Norm and Freda, at that anniversary gathering.

I find I am quite emotional about Norm’s passing.  He was always friendly to me, and I liked his twinkling eyes. Norm’s passing is a reminder of our mortality – and how now there are quite a few of us that represent the next generation who are ageing.

The next generation are as follows (with their birth year); some with the Tyzack surname and others with new family names.

1. Marion Delmenico 1940
2. David Hassell 1943
3. Janine Buchanan 1945
4. Leonard Arthur Tyzack 1945
5. Philip Hassell 1945
6. Leonard Victor Tyzack 1946
7. Jill Corbani 1947
8. Ruth Jackson 1947
9. Adrian Hassell 1948
10. Gillian Butsch 1948
11. Noel Tyzack 1948
12. Neville Tyzack 1949
13. Roslyn Henry 1949
14. William Tyzack 1950
15. Janet Brydon 1951
16. Raymond Tyzack 1951
17. Helen Tyzack 1952
18. Christine Tyzack 1953
19. Beverley Murphy 1954
20. John Tyzack 1955
21. June Tyzack 1955
22. Valerie Rich 1955
23. Bruce Tyzack 1956
24. Peter Crockett 1956
25. Heather Hawkins 1959
26. Andrew Crockett 1960
27. Margaret Lavery 1960

 

 

 

One of our family has died: Farewell Joan Tyzack

Joan (nee Burridge) was born on the 4th April 1928 and died on the 10th August 2017.

Family members and friends are invited to attend her funeral.  The funeral service will be held at Le Pine Chapel, 21 McDonald Street , MORDIALLOC, Victoria on Tuesday, 22nd August 2017 at 02:30 PM.

Joan married Stan Tyzack on the 18^th of September 1954. Apparently Joan worked in the office in his workplace, Hill &Co. (an accountant, estate and business agency) . It is not known the date when Joan commenced this employment nor when they met, but Stan had been working with the firm since 1939.  Late in 1965, Joan’s sister Audrey commenced work for the firm.

In the 1960s two daughters entered their family; Lynne (20/10/1961) and Julie (23/8/1963).

The photo below shows Julie, Joan and Lynne in the 1960s.

In the photo below Joan is holding baby Julie

The full family photo is shown below with Stan, Julie, Joan and Lynne

During the preparation of the book William Baker Tyzack and his descendants in Australia, and when planning the Tyzack 150th family anniversary, I exchanged letters with Joan and had lengthy phone discussions. She was a thoughtful, interesting woman who was open and a pleasure to talk with.  Faced with a series of ongoing health problems, Joan was never despairing but hopeful. As such she presented as a wise role model for dealing with the vicissitudes of ageing.

Unfortunately we never met.  This month, I and the world has lost a wonderful friendly soul.

New addition to our Tyzack family

A very delighted Bruce Tyzack and family have welcomed a new Tyzack to the world this week.

On Monday afternoon, 10 July 2017 young Harry Tyzack was born to Jeremy and Shelley Tyzack.  All well and very happy.  Congratulations!

 

Recognition for contribution

In yesterday’s listing I am delighted to say that Arran Pearce Hassell, great great grandson of William Baker Tyzack was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the Queen’s Birthday Honours “For outstanding achievement as the Commanding Officer of the Defence Force School of Intelligence and Deputy Head of Corps, Australian Intelligence Corps.” The full citation indicated: “Lieutenant Colonel Hassell has displayed outstanding leadership and professional commitment as the Commanding Officer of the Defence Force School of Intelligence. His efforts have resulted in a positive cultural shift within the School and significant modernisation in the training of the Australian Defence Force Intelligence workforce. His efforts have directly contributed to the remediation of hollowness in the Australian Intelligence Corps.”

I know my grandmother, Louisa Caroline Tyzack wife of Harold Gordon Tyzack (grandson of William Baker Tyzack) received the Order of the British Empire (Civil)/British Empire Medal (Civil) on 1 January 1975. This medal, usually referred to as the BEM, was the Queen’s way of rewarding service to the British Empire in the United Kingdom and abroad.  Specifically it recognised my grandmother’s voluntary community work over decades.

I wonder how many Tyzack family members have been recognised with a Queen’s birthday honour.  Please let me know if you are one.

 

 

 

Our oldest family member has a milestone birthday

Consult your copy of our book William Thomas Tyzack and descendants in Australia and you will see Norman Oswald Tyzack was born on 20 May 1927.

Congratulations Norm for reaching your 90^th birthday last Saturday.

To celebrate the occasion Norm was surrounded by his extended but close family including those who travelled from as far away as Darwin.  The happy photo below, marking his 90th, includes some of our relatives who were not able to attend the Tyzack anniversary events last year.

If you would like to send Norm special well-wishes please forward them via the email address tyzack150thanniversary@gmail.com and I will ensure he receives your messages.

Sailing ships

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sailing around the Derwent River Harbour in a full scale replica of the Lady Nelson sailing ship.  The original was built in 1798 in England and plied the waters between Newcastle and Norfolk Island and Tasmania for the next  twenty five years.  My day on the water was glorious with blue skies, golden sunshine and a firm breeze. When all the sails went up, we scudded along at 7 knots.  Quite wonderful. The image below is of the replica in which I sailed.

The water surface had an almost millpond quality as we returned to the wharf. I couldn’t imagine how sailing ships would cope with heavy seas.

I spent a great deal of time trying to remember what I knew about the Lincolnshire, the ship which brought our ancestor William Baker Tyzack and his family to Port Melbourne from England. I tried to imagine what it might have been like, with so many ropes and so many sails being part of the picture for 83 days at sea.

Today I have been able to compare the sizes of the two vessels.  The Lady Nelson came out to Australia with around 20 people. The original crew size was 12. By contrast the Lincolnshire, when first launched in 1858  sailed with a crew of 60. The Lincolnshire was designed for 180 passengers in addition to the large crew.  When William travelled in 1866, approximately 116 passengers plus crew sailed.  Not a full complement, but undoubtedly the hold was full of supplies and cargo so space for moving around would still have been at a premium.

Records show that at times there were perhaps 60 or so people sailing for days on the Lady Nelson.  Yesterday with passengers and crew I suspect our number was around 40. It was standing room only on the deck when all were assembled. Sailing for days would have been very cramped and most uncomfortable by today’s standards (although I recognise that people were generally physically smaller back then than we are today). Add to that, on the original Lady Nelson, the area below deck remained unstructured with one open hold. Apparently people slept on boxes and ropes and all.

My photos below give some idea of the majesty of a sailing ship however small.

 

The original Lady Nelson was approx 53 feet long compared to the Lincolnshire which was approx 198 feet long – that is, William’s ship was over three times as long as the ship I sailed on yesterday.

The Lady Nelson was approx 17 feet wide compared to the Lincolnshire which was 33 feet wide – that is, William’s ship was almost twice the breadth.

The Lady Nelson weighed 61 tons compared to the Lincolnshire which weighed 1025 tons – the latter being about 17 times the tonnage of the smaller ship

Having pursued this simple research comparing the two ships, and after yesterday’s most stimulating sail, I feel I have a small but greater understanding of what William, Charity and their four children might have been exposed to at sea.

The Lady Nelson replica runs trips lasting a few days; I am considering taking one of these small voyages. Part of the deal, if you wish, is to learn to handle the ropes and even climb around the sails.  I wonder if the Lincolnshire crew allowed such liberties to its passengers.