Letter from Reverend Thomas Hassall to Jane Walters, 8 October 1824

MLMSS 7615

fonds

8 October 1824

447164

Microfilm : CY 4568, frames 1-10 (MLMSS 7615)

1 folder - 0.02 Meters
Textual Records - (manuscript)

Thomas Hassall (1794-1868) was the eldest son of the missionary, lay preacher, landholder and storekeeper Rowland Hassall. In 1813 he opened the first Sunday School in Australia and was ordained 8 years later. In 1824 he was appointed chaplain to the penal settlement at Port Macquarie at the request of Samuel Marsden whose daughter he had married. However his attempts to improve convict conditions were opposed by the authorities and he was transferred to Bathurst in 1828.

This letter was written shortly after Hassall's arrival in Port Macquarie. In it he gives his early impressions of the settlement as well as details of his life and work there.