Historical information

Jonathan Harris was born in Sussex England in 1822. His father Jonathan Snr was transported to Australia and his wife obtained permission to follow him as a free settler when Jonathan jnr was about 7 yrs.In 1842, Jonathan snr (who held a ticket of leave) and his son Jonathan Jnr were found guilty of theft and transported to Tasmania. Family history suggests that following his term, Jonathan jnr became a police detective before returning to Victoria. He and his wife had a store at Third White Hill in Bendigo and one day while walking to Eaglehawk, Jonathan found a rich vein of gold in what was to become the Hustlers Mine. He took large samples to England for crushing and subsequently sold his claim. Upon returning to Melbourne he conducted a business before taking up land at Axedale. He farmed here, including the growing of apples up until his death 20/7/1881. His efforts must have been successful as following his death the sale of property at Axedale included two pieces of land that each had two cottages that had been rented out. Jonathan was also on the board of the Axedale School.

Physical description

An 8 page document detailing the life of Axedale man Jonathan Harris.