Esther Abrahams: a life transformed

Students are learning to:

• analyse maps, paintings and coins as historical sources
• understand the variety of lives First Fleet convicts led in the new colony
• investigate the daily life of First Fleet convicts

The following information supports the above activities. Read the activities first.

General comment about Esther Abrahams

Esther’s life story is a truly remarkable example of a rags to riches story. Her relationship with her life partner George Johnston, with whom she had seven children, allowed her to leave her convict past behind and become for a short time the unofficial “First Lady” of NSW. George was the Acting Lieutenant-Governor after he led the rebellion against Governor Bligh in 1808. They did use their home on their farm in Annandale as the Governor’s residence. It was from this farmhouse in Annandale that George rode to arrest Governor Bligh. Sadly the house was demolished in 1905.

Activity 3 Answers and Information

Q: Why were kitchens built separately to the main house? 

A: Kitchens were built separately due to the risk of fire. Large fireplaces for cooking were part of the kitchen building and would have been lit all day, every day. Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta, which was built in 1793, had its kitchen burnt down but the house was saved as it was a separate building.

Q: What could the other buildings be used for? Are there any clues?

A: Besides the farmhouse, there were extensive storehouses and stabling, and a two storey red brick building that housed a number of soldiers. As an officer in the Marines, George would have had soldiers under his command in this building. Under the eaves of one of these outbuildings was a bell and up until the 1870s, it would ring at 6 o’clock in the morning. There was a dam at the back of the property. The farm had an orange grove, smithy (blacksmith), vineyard, bakery, slaughterhouse, butchery and even beehives. Housing needed to be provided for the numerous convict servants required to work the farm and household of such a large wealthy family.

Q: Could Esther and George have done all the work on the farm by themselves the farm on their own? If not, who would have helped them?

A: The Johnston children would not have helped on the farm as families of wealth at this time had a large staff of convict servants to do all physical labour. George and/or Esther would have made the decisions and directed servants to do the work. As their children grew they may been involved in the management of the farm.

Further information on the house and farm

They ran horses, pigs, sheep and cattle at the farm. They also grew fields of barley, wheat, and oats. This fresh produce would be delivered to their own slaughterhouse, butchery and bakery. The farm supplied meat to Sydney Town as it was only about 5 miles away and it was the first farm to import merino sheep. They also cultivated their own vineyard of wine-making grapes.

It has been suggested that the house at Annandale Farm was loosely based on the house at Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta, the home of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, which was built in 1793. The house at Elizabeth Farm is a much smaller building than the house at Annandale Farm.

Activity 4 Answers

Q: Why did Esther and George send their children to the other side of the world for to attend school?

A: We don’t know the answer for sure. We know that the schools in Sydney were not considered high quality, as other families, such as the Macarthurs, were sending their sons to England for their education. After attending school in England, there were many more career opportunities available to these children. Also, Esther’s convict past in NSW may have been less obvious or even not known in England.

Activity 5 Information

Inter-faith

For most convict women, finding opportunities for a better life were through marriage or a de facto relationship. Esther was able to make a new life for herself. In this early colony, relationships between people of different social standing was possible. Esther and George did not marry until 1814, after starting their relationship in 1787. Their relationship was also one of inter-faith, Jewish and Anglican.

Kosher Food

We do not know if Esther Abrahams ate kosher food as there is no primary source to support that idea. It appears she adopted many Christian traditions. Kosher means ‘fit’ or ‘proper’ or ‘appropriate’ in Hebrew. Kosher food is food that is suitable for a Jew to eat. It is a long tradition. Today it is about the separation of dairy and meat products including the use of separate pots and pans and even allowing time between eating these foods so they don’t mix in your digestive system! Put simply, there are three Categories of Kosher food; meat, dairy and pareve. Pareve means ‘neutral’ and this is food that is not dairy or meat such as fruits, vegetables, nut and seeds. Pareve foods can be mixed with either dairy or meat.

Activity 6 Answers and Information

Currency history in NSW

There was no currency in the early days of the colony, apart from some coins from other countries that were brought out in the coat pockets of the officers and officials. The British government had decided there was no need for money initially. Convicts were being fed and not being paid for their work. The military and officials were supplied with what they needed and there were no shops to do business with. Due to the shortage of coins, corn and particularly rum were used as currency, some offered promissory notes (IOUs) and bartering was used. In 1800 Governor Phillip Gidley King standardised the value of all of the foreign coins due to disputes of value and distributed the Cartwheel coins. All 18,000 were stamped with 1797 but arrived in 1800.

Q: What two dates can you find? Why are there two?

A: 1813 (NSW) and 1773 (Spanish). In 1813 Governor Macquarie requested currency for the colony. The British government sent 40 000 Spanish dollars. They were then stamped with New South Wales, the date 1813 and their value.

Q: Why do you think the coins are shaped that way?

A: Each coin was cut into two pieces to provide some small coinage and also to prevent the Spanish dollars from leaving the country. The outer ring was called the ‘holey dollar’ and the centre, called the ‘dump’.

Q: What is the monetary value of each coin?

A: The ‘holey dollar’ was 5 shillings and the ‘dump’ was 15 pence.

Q: What does HISPAN ET IND REX mean?

A: HISPAN ET IND REX translates loosely as ‘By the Grace of God, King of Spain and the Indies’.