In 1843 there were significant changes in William Toogood’s personal life. Little is known of his first wife, Ellen O’Brien, other than that she had come to the colony as a free woman. What role she played in William’s commercial success is open to conjecture. Their marriage was childless and in February 1843 Ellen died.[1]
Lamented beloved wife she may have been, but William, now 40, was quick to remarry. On 1 May 1843 he married Frances King Webber aged 24, who had come to the colony as an assisted immigrant.[2] How the two met is unrecorded as are the circumstances of Frances’s life before her marriage. From the evidence Frances (15) and her older sister Harriett Sophia (16) both arrived on the David Scott in 1834. [3] They were either joining or were subsequently joined by both parents, Samuel and Sophia, and three younger sisters, Thirza Tapp, Rachel Sarah and Susannah.[4] When William married for the first time he held a Ticket of Leave but was still required to ask the Governor’s permission to marry. In 1843 he was a free man and he and Frances married by special license. This was one way that emancipists could signify their rise in status - purchasing a license indicated that they were not just free to do as they chose but could afford to do what they wanted rather than wait for banns to be called.
In April 1844 Frances gave birth to their first child, William Webber Toogood. William and Frances would have a further two sons, Samuel Joseph and Alfred Haworth and two daughters, Amy Thirza and Frances Elizabeth Annerley.[5]
Having transferred the license of the Rainbow to his brother Alfred, William now established himself at Toogood’s Hotel on the corner of Pitt and Market Streets.[6] Whether he was tired of the business or family life was too much of a distraction, William announced in June 1846 that he was retiring from the retail trade and he leased Toogood’s to Thomas Douglas for 7 years at £300 per annum.[7] Samuel Joseph was born in August and by October William was advising that he planned to leave Sydney.[8] In December he purchased land in the Illawarra (including a town lot in Wollongong), before he paid £800 for Woodland’s Estate, the property of Captain Robert Marsh Westmacott, former aide de camp to Governor Bourke, in early 1847.[9]
This last investment was a major step for William. Woodlands covered a total of 160 acres in a pleasant valley between the coast and the new line of road between Sydney and Wollongong in the vicinity of Bellambi. The property boasted 14 acres of highly improved agricultural land, with a fully furnished 8 room house surrounded by a garden, orchard and vineyard.[10] Some of his contemporaries would have seen this purchase as an example of an emancipist who, by hard work and good management, was making a respectable life for himself, others might view it as another upstart ex-convict thinking he could turn himself into a gentleman. William may have intended to make a statement about his status by making this significant purchase, he may also have always fancied the life of a gentleman farmer, or, more probably, he may have simply recognised a good deal when he saw one. One clue as to why he chose to buy land in Wollongong is his association with Richard Haworth.
Reports of Haworth’s early life are not well documented.[11] What seems likely is that he either found himself in debt or otherwise disgraced himself and escaped the consequences by emigrating, arriving in Sydney around 1835.[12] He established himself in Wollongong and by the mid 1840s operated a tannery, with an outlet in York Street, Sydney.[13] Of a similar age, William and Haworth obviously formed a strong attachment, although there is no way of knowing when, where or how they met. William christened his third son Alfred Haworth Toogood, and the two families moved even closer when Haworth married William’s sister-in-law, Thirza Tapp Webber, in 1854.[14] The Webber sisters played an important role in establishing extended family bonds. William’s brother Alfred married Rachel Sarah Webber in 1853 after the death of his first wife, and Robert Haworth’s Sydney agent for the Wollongong Tannery, Thomas Wilton Eady, took Susannah Webber as his second wife in 1859.[15]
The Toogoods did not live at Woodlands, and, although William continued to buy land in the Illawarra area, his main interest was elsewhere.[16] William took up the license for the Rose and Crown on the corner of Pitt and King Streets in December 1847. This move coincided with Alfred’s departure for England and his lease of the Rainbow Tavern to Joseph Roche (for five years at the rate of £500 per annum, paid in monthly instalments).[17] Being back in Sydney and on the opposite corner obviously allowed William to keep his eye on the Rainbow while collecting the rents from his hotels and from his Illawarra investments. And it was business as usual with William recommencing as a restaurateur and assuring his patrons that, under his personal superintendence they could expect to find ‘the usual attendance to comfort, convenience and despatch’.[18]
Image from Joseph Fowles Sydney in 1848. Toogood’s Rose and Crown top right and the Rainbow Tavern bottom right.
Location of Toogood’s Hotels. Detail from Bryan Thomas, Commercial Sydney 1844-1848, based on the Map of the City of Sydney, 1843 by W. H. Wells. State Library of New South Wales, 1979.
Whether William had a restless nature or was simply keen to take advantage of all and any opportunities he soon tired of the Rose and Crown and, in early 1849, moved to the Golden Fleece hotel at the corner of George and King Streets.[19] Despite the economic depression and the financial uncertainty of the 1840s William appears to have prospered through shrewd investments. He and Alfred were also importing wine and spirits, which will be covered in more detail in Alfred’s story, giving them control over their profit margin. How much of this success was also due to advice from connections like Robert Haworth, friendships made through his involvement with the Independent Order of Oddfellows or just plain good luck?[20]
William started the next decade with the declaration that he was retiring again. In January 1851 he informed his ‘numerous friends and the public’ that he had disposed of the good-will in the Golden Fleece and was selling his remaining stock at reduced prices. The public were obviously wary of such announcements because William felt bound to include the following statement:
W.T. begs to acknowledge the innumerable favours bestowed upon him, and to assure his friends and the public that this advertisement is not inserted with the view of misleading or deceiving them – his retiring from the above business being bona fide.[21]
At around the same time William purchased ‘the beautiful house and grounds’ of Erskine Ville at Newtown for £560. Erskine Ville was built by Reverend George Erskine in the 1830s on land he purchased in 1831. Erskine sold off part of his holding during his lifetime and his wife Lydia continued to do so after his death in 1834.
The house was described as ‘a beautiful and compact residence replete with every convenience for the residence of a family of the first respectability’. This then was to be the final confirmation of William’s rise in society and presumably where he intended to spend his retirement as a gentleman of leisure. All in all, he purchased a total of 10.5 acres (4.25 hectares) in three lots – lot 1 comprising the house, ‘a substantial brick building’ of 8 rooms surrounded by an 8’ wide verandah, set on 3 acres of land; lot 2, 4.5 acres with a small cottage and lot 3, 3 acres of vacant land.[22] This was another shrewd investment providing the family with a comfortable home and land to subdivide or rent as required, in an area which was close to the city and ripe for development.
The announcement that payable gold deposits had been found at Bathurst in February 1851 changed the fortunes of the colony and William was quick to recognise the potential. In July he was advertising that he would pay cash for any quantity of Bathurst gold and by November he was able to export just over 189 ounces (5.35 kilos worth over £600).[23] Newspaper reports suggest that in the same month William himself left the colony briefly, but the record is frustratingly silent regarding where he went and why.[24]
He certainly felt that the time was right to continue to invest in property. Aside from continuing to buy land in the Illawarra, in May 1852, William purchased what were spruiked as ‘valuable freeholds in the very heart of the city’, four cottages, three in Elizabeth Street and one in Bathurst Street for a total of £2110, his biggest investment yet.[25] These properties were said to occupy ‘one of the best positions for private dwellings to be met within the city’ and could be expected to demand a substantial rent.[26]
Alive to ways in which he could capitalise on the arrival of gold seekers in the colony and their requirements, in December 1852 William took out a mortgage on the Golden Fleece Hotel, borrowing the staggering sum of £5500 at seven per cent interest. The terms of this agreement required him to pay back £1000 per annum over five years beginning 1 January 1854, the final payment due in 1858.[27] Given that he already had a steady income from the rent on his other properties, he must have had some significant expansion plans in mind. Following the trail of evidence, such as it is, suggests that William needed the money in part to negotiate for the lease and goodwill of the Masonic Hall Hotel in York Street. James Entwistle, who had been the licensee since at least 1842, put the ‘flourishing and well-conducted’ hotel up for auction or sale by private contract in mid-December.[28] It was described as a most lucrative concern, but the auctioneers also noted that Entwistle’s success ‘arose during the ordinary progress of the colony, in a period far different from the present state of affairs.’ Surely, they suggested, the ‘THOUSANDS of persons from all parts of the world’ who would be ‘flocking’ to the colony now that gold had been discovered ‘must increase the business of a first-rate Hotel like the Masonic Hall to an extend beyond all precedent.’ This was a temptation William could not resist. By the 1stof February 1853 he was ensconced at the Masonic Hall Hotel, and the house and grounds of Erskine Ville were to let.[29]
Sadly, William did not live long enough to see the fulfilment of any dreams he had for his latest venture. He died at the Masonic Hall Hotel on 7 December 1853 at the age of 47.[30] Despite his commercial successes and the respectable life he had forged ‘during the ordinary progress of the colony’, his death was unremarked in the press, other than for the notices inserted by his family. The Toogood name did not disappear, Albert carried on in business and William’s children continued to benefit from his investments.
[1] Australasian, 3 February 1843, p. 3.
[2] Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), 4 May 1843, p. 3.
[3] For the arrival of the David Scott in Sydney see The Sydney Monitor, 5 November 1834, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32147553. For more detail on the reception of the David Scott see https://stjohnsonline.org/bio/mary-leeche/.
[4] There is no trace of Samuel Webber until 1838 when he is advertising furnished lodgings in Prince Street, Sydney Gazette, 24 April 1838, p. 1. According to the Australian Cemeteries Index on-line data base Samuel Webber died 20 June 1838. Prince Street ran along the crown of the ridge to the west of Sydney Cove, from Church Hill.
[5] Birth of William Webber, Colonial Observer, 4 April 1844, p. 5; of Samuel Joseph, SMH, 12 August 1846, p. 3; Alfred Haworth born 1852, died 1864 see NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages on-line data base (NSWBDM) and SMH, 1 March 1864, p. 1; Amy Thirza, SMH, 28 March 1849, p. 1; Frances Elizabeth Annerley SMH, 29 May 1854, p. 8.
[6] This was not a transfer of license but an application for a new house. SMH, 7 May 1844, p. 72
[7] For lease to Thomas Douglas see NSW Land’s Registry Service, HLRV, Book 10, no. 544, lease dated 4 March 1846 effective from 1 July 1846 for seven years. William also negotiated a second seven-year lease with Thomas Spencer dated 30 June 1851, to run from 1 July 1853 (Book 1, no. 138). Announcing retirement see SMH, 20 June 1846, p. 4.
[8] SMH, 13 October 1846, p. 3.
[9] For Westmacott see https://www.daao.org.au/bio/captain-robert-marsh-westmacott/biography/.
[10] See SMH 25 August 1846, p. 3; 24 December 1846, p. 4; 21 January 1847, p. 2.
[11] See https://wollongong.nsw.gov.au/library/explore-our-past/your-suburb/suburbs/kembla-grange and The Land, 4 March 1927, p. 19, Frank McCaffrey’s reminiscence of Haworth.
[12] For more specific biographical details see https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/Pages/member-details.aspx?pk=284.
[13] Haworth is listed as a resident of Wollongong in 1841 census of NSW. For Wollongong Leather Store, see The Sentinel, 12 November 1846, p. 1 and SMH, 14 January 1847, p. 1. Haworth advertised the tannery to let on account of his retirement in 1855, SMH, 30 June 1855. The shop in York Street continued in the hands of Thomas Wilton Eady.
[14] Alfred Haworth Toogood was born 1851/52. He dies in 1864, SMH, 1 March 1864, p. 1. Robert Haworth marries Thirza Tapp Webber on 7 October 1854, SMH, 9 October 1854, p. 8. Thirza died at her home in Summer Hill on 9 January 1912, SMH, 11 January 1912, p. 8. Robert Haworth was married previously and had children from that marriage but whether his first wife accompanied him to Australia and when she may have died is unknown. Robert Haworth amassed extensive property holdings in the township of Wollongong (see https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232441472/view), and at one time he owned and operated the Queen’s Hotel. In 1853 he purchased Kembla Grange from Dr. Gerard Gerard for the sum of £4500 (NSW Land’s Registry Service, HLRV, Book 24, no. 943, conveyance dated 5 January 1853). He also represented the Illawarra in the NSW Legislative Assembly from 1860 to 1864.
[15] Marriage Alfred Toogood to Rachel Sarah Webber, SMH, 2 April 1853, p. 5. Marriage Thomas Wilton Eady to Susannah Webber, SMH, 26 April 1859, p. 1. Thomas Eady and his first wife, Anne, named their eldest son after Robert Haworth. Thomas Wilton Eady was an executor of Alfred Toogood’s will. The executors of Robert Haworth’s will were his wife Thirza and Samuel Joseph Toogood, William’s oldest surviving son, SMH, 31 December 1875, p. 6.
[16] Land transactions can be traced through NSW Land’s Registry Service, HLRV, for example Book 24, no. 454 (1852), Book 19, no. 544 (1850).
[17] License for Rose and Crown, SMH, 15 December 1847, p. 2. Transfer of license to Roche, SMH, 8 December 1847, p. 3. Lease to Roche NSW Land’s Registry Service, HLRV, Book 13, no. 683, lease dated 1 November 1847. Alfred Toogood and family depart for England, Shipping News, 22 January 1848, p. 18.
[18] SMH, 16 February 1848, p. 2; 19 February 1848, p. 3; 23 March 1848, p. 1.
[19] SMH, 26 March 1849, p. 2; 28 March 1849, p. 1.
[20] William was an office bearer and active member of the Australian Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, see Australian, 28 September 1842, p. 3; Australian, 7 October 1842, p. 3. In 1848 William is ‘Grand Master of Ceremonies’, Sydney Daily Advertiser, 7 September 1848, p. 4.
[21] SMH, 17 January 1851, p. 1. In March 1851 the license of the Golden Fleece transferred to Robert Rowland, SMH, 15 March 1851, p. 2.
[22] For details of auction held on 22 January, see SMH, 14 January 1851, p. 4. For transaction and plan of holdings see NSW Land’s Registry Service, HLRV, Book 21, no. 80.
[23] SMH, 26 July 1851, p. 4; 12 November 1851, p. 2.
[24] For departure see Empire, 24 November 1851, p. 2. For return see SMH, 4 February 1852, p. 2.
[25] SMH, 19 May 1852, p. 3.
[26] SMH, 31 March 1852, p. 4; Empire, 10 April 1852, p. 4.
[27] For mortgage details see NSW Land’s Registry Service, HLRV, Book 24, no. 947, dated 31 December 1852.
[28] SMH, 17 December 1852, p. 1.
[29] SMH, 1 February 1853, p. 2. Formal transfer of license from Entwistle to Toogood SMH, 2 March 1853, p. 2.
[30] SMH, 8 December 1853, p. 5.