Thomas Bolton (1863 - 1928)

Born 1 Dec 1863 in Ballykisteen House, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Emma Charlotte (Fysh) Bolton — married 14 May 1893 in Home of F L FYSH, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

Descendants

Died 1 Aug 1928 at age 64 in 'Barobine', Geelong, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

According to his nephew A.R.C. Bolton in his book, "The Six Brides of Dilston", Thomas was born on 1 December 1863. No formal record of his birth has been discovered to date.

Thomas set out for Australia in 1885, and he must surely be the "Thos. Bolton" on the published passenger list of arrivals at Port Adelaide aboard "Hesperus" on 31 October 1885. He had been unwell for some time before he left England. In 1928, when writing to family in England to let them know of Thomas's death, eldest son Jasper said: It is remarkable to think that Father was carried off the boat to die at Port Adelaide many years ago on arrival here from England, and he has only just now gone.

It seems likely that Thomas first went to Geelong, the home of Harrison Ord who had been a mentor of his late father, Jasper, in his new religious conviction. Certainly it was at Geelong with Ord that Thomas had his first practical experience in bee-keeping.

In 1888 Thomas purchased the business of a defunct Hamilton syndicate and became a professional apiarist, with hives established at Dunkeld. About 10 years later, sickness developed in the hives, and Thomas transferred the remaining ones to Glenisla, on the edge of what is now the Grampians National Park. He was active in promoting the benefits of bee-keeping, writing to the press and government, and in 1900 became the first President of the Victorian Apiarists' Association.

According to Professor Bolton's paper, the development of what became known as the "Bolton Hive" with its lightweight sections may have been prompted by Thomas's need to marshal his physical powers effectively. Thomas was described as a "tall, spare man" so he can never have been robust, but he continued his work of promotion, even lecturing in Clare, South Australia, in 1918.

However, age and indifferent health must have caught up with Thomas as, by 1921 when eldest daughter Adelaise married, he and the family were living in Portland. Wife Emma Charlotte (Fysh) Bolton died at Bolwarra, Portland, on 12 April 1924.

In 1926, Thomas married Elizabeth Dorothy Ord, spinster daughter of the late Harrison Ord, and went to live at her parental home in Geelong. He died there in 1928 at age 65. Elizabeth (Ord) Bolton died in 1952 at age 86, at the East Hawthorn home of her niece.

Sources

• "The Six Brides of Dilston", A. R. C. Bolton
• "Thomas Bolton: pioneer Beekeeper of Victoria", Prof. H. C. Bolton, The Victorian Historical Journal, Volume 47, No. 4, November 1976