November 2015 – Edition 128

The above photo shows the gravestone which includes William and Elizabeth Small, Elizabeth Jnr, and Thomas and his wife Zilpha in Melbourne General Cemetery.

Her second marriage in the following year was to George Wills Priston, a pharmacist with a shop in the city. Elizabeth had a baby daughter in 1865 but died within a little over three weeks, indicating that she may have died as a result of the birth. By coincidence, George Priston became a business partner with Elizabeth’s Uncle Jabez, in a business which was carried on by the Small family until the 1940s.

Thomas Stephen Small.
Thomas, born in 1834, married Zilpha Burchett (1840-1903) and they settled initially in Richmond. Thomas described himself as a surveyor, but he also had a strong interest in the Richmond Voluntary Rifles, which I will describe later in this article.

Zilpha was born in 1840 in Harlaxton, Lincolnshire. Dying in 1903 at the age of 63, she predeceased Thomas, who died in 1912 at “Harlaxton”, San Remo, south of Melbourne.

Thomas and family move around
Although some postal records are available, the simplest way to track Thomas’s movements is to use the places of birth of his children. This yields the following results
(a) Richmond up to 1868
(b) Malvern (several miles south of Richmond) up to 1877
(c) Hawthorn (bounding Richmond on the west) up to 1886.
(d) Caulfield (south of Richmond) 1903.
(e) San Remo 1909-1912.

It is possible that the reason for moving was that larger houses were required for the expanding family.

This was probably Thomas’s first venture into farming, overtaken later by his purchase of a dairy farm at San Remo.

Fortunately for postal authorities the “Yallock” was dropped later from the area’s name.

Perhaps Thomas was seeking refuge from his expanding family. He could also have indulged in his interest in rifle-shooting (see later) by shooting rabbits.

Thomas the Lieutenant-Colonel
In his Death Notice in 1912 Thomas was referred to as a Lieutenant Colonel. Bearing in mind that the founder of KFC Chicken, known as Colonel Sanders, had never been a Colonel, I decided to research the background to Thomas’s rank.

The rank of Lieutenant Colonel is quite senior in the Army, the normal pecking order for officers being lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier, followed by a series of generals.

My research showed that Thomas served with the Richmond Volunteer Rifles, which I will now describe, starting with an explanation of the origin of the Volunteer Rifles in Victoria.

In 1842 a series of attacks by bushrangers on homesteads in the Plenty River area led to the first calls for a volunteer force.

Twelve years later Governor Sir Charles Hotham approved an Act to establish a Volunteer Corps, with officers appointed by the Governor. The force was independent from the regular British units, which maintained a presence until 1870.
The first unit formed was the Melbourne Volunteer Rifle Regiment, following shortly afterwards by the Richmond Rifles. All units were voluntary, with service part-time and unpaid.
The Volunteer Rifles were not unique to Victoria. Similar units were set up in England, where Big Bill’s son Robert Jerrems was a member in Gainsborough.

The Richmond Volunteer Rifles had a high profile, judging by the officials who carried out the inspections at parades. Between 1867 and 1871 State Governors inspected the units at parades on seven occasions. However the crowning glory was an inspection in 1867 carried out by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.

The Duke later distinguished himself by surviving an assassination attempt in the following year at Clontarf in Sydney Harbour.

The Volunteer Rifles Units made a large contribution to the colonial troops deployed in the Maori Wars (now known as the New Zealand Wars) in the 1860s. These troops included Thomas’s brother Stephen, described in more detail in a later article.

In 1863 the Richmond Company was expanded by its amalgamation with the Hawthorn and Kew Rifles Companies. The latter company had the distinction that two years previously a member (Private Frederick Whirlpool) was presented with the Victoria Cross by the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly, at an Albert Park review of the Volunteers, for bravery in the Indian Mutiny of 1857. It was the first such award in Victoria.

By 1860 the volunteer force of infantry, cavalry and artillery units in Victoria had increased to over 3,000 men. The need for a larger local defence force was exacerbated by the departure of the British regular soldiers to fight in the Maori Wars in New Zealand.
Thomas’s career in Richmond Volunteer Rifles
Briefly, Thomas’s career was:
(a) Appointed Lieutenant in 1864
(b) Appointed Captain in 1874
(c) Appointed Brevet Major in 1880
(d) Placed on Retired List 1889, permitted to retain rank and wear uniform
(e) Relieved the Lieutenant Colonel of the First Battalion August 1890
(f) Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel September 1890
(g) Awarded Volunteer Officers’ Decoration 1895.

The fact that he was appointed Lieutenant in 1864 indicates that he may have been a foundation member of the unit (he lived in Richmond from 1860). Although he moved to Malvern (about five km south of Richmond) in about 1869 he obviously maintained his membership with the Richmond Company.

The permission granted in 1889 to retain the rank explains why he was referred to as Lieutenant Colonel in his death notice.

This is a photo of a Volunteer Rifles member wearing this service medal.

Although Thomas was quite a good rifle shot (he came 8th in his unit in a competition in September 1868) he was overshadowed by his cousin Robert Jerrems, who came second and also competed regularly at a high level for the Richmond Rifle Club.

Conclusion
In a later article I will continue the story of Thomas.