Colonial Times, 17 March 1857
‘GOLD AT LAUNCESTON.
The announcement of the discovery of gold in the third basin of the South Esk has caused much excitement at Launceston.’
Launceston watchmaker Gustavus Boudry was among the first at the location of the discovery at the third basin. The initial finding was made by tailor William Wilkie about a quarter of a mile above the basin on the western side of the river. On Thursday, 12 March 1857, twenty-one people reached the site across the river at the Cataract Mill and through the Trevallyn estate. Gustavus Boudry was not the only watchmaker in the group; fellow tradesmen Arthur O’Leary and John Tozer were present, with the most significant piece of gold washed by O’Leary. Newspaper reports claimed that ‘no seaport in Australia has gold so near to it as Launceston.’
Gustavus Boudry had arrived in the colony a few years earlier from England. Baptised on 23 September 1832 in Durham, England, he was the son of Swiss-born London master watchmaker, clockmaker, and chronometer maker Gustavus senior and his wife Mary (formerly Shotton). Following in his father’s footsteps, Gustavus initially worked in the trade in England. It is unknown if he undertook any training with his father.
Gustavus faced family difficulties at a young age. When he was only 11 years old, his father took his own life, supposedly from the shame of financial embarrassment. It was not Gustavus senior’s first suicide attempt; he had tried about three years earlier. Four children and a widow were left behind, and the inquest verdict was ‘Temporary Insanity.’ Widow Mary Boudry remarried in October 1848, only to be widowed again 17 months later.
Following his arrival in Launceston, Gustav set up business in December 1854 on the corner of St John and York Streets with watchmaker and jeweller James Morris Snelling. He spent several years in the town and was actively involved in the community. Gustavus served as a committee member for the Tamar Regatta, nominated political candidates for office, and sold grand concert tickets for the Lodges of Hope, Faith, and Charity. His connection to gold discovery in 1857 may have been a highlight of his time in Launceston. In 1862, Gustavus returned to London, where he married Agnes Jane Home at Harrow on 16 September 1863. For the next 25 years, he worked in his trade in Twickenham, London.
His mother had remained in Durham, Gustavus junior’s birthplace, where she was recorded as a land proprietor until she died in 1883; Gustavus was the sole executor of her estate. Following her death and the dissolution of a business partnership in 1886, Gustavus returned to Australia. He worked in his trade in Brighton, Victoria, for several years and died in Surrey Hills, Melbourne, in January 1900. His former business in London continued for a few years under the ownership of William E Tucker and traded as Gustavus Boudry and Co.
© Sallie Mulligan, November 2023.
References:
F J Britten, Britten’s Old Clocks & Watches & their Makers, London, 1986, p378; TAHO: POL220/1/3 Departures 1854; Public Record Office Victoria Passenger records 1862. Ancestry: England Births & Christenings 1832; Westminster, London, England, Church of England Deaths & Burials 1844; England Select Marriages 1848; London, England, Marriages & Banns 1863; England Census 1841, 1851, 1861 1871, 1881; Victoria Australia Passenger Lists 1887; Victoria Australia Rate Books 1890, 1892; Australian City Directories 1892; England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills & Admin) 1883 and 1900.
Age (London) 20 April 1844; Evening 22 April 1844; Inquirer 2 February 1853; The Examiner (Launceston) 14 March 1857; Colonial Times 17 March 1857; North & South Shields Gazette 24 September 1863; Standard 20 January 1886; Commercial Gazette (London) 6 February 1889.