Moses Bell (1834 - 1891)

Born 4 Dec 1834 in Wainfleet St Mary, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 22 Jun 1891 at age 56 in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Moses Bell came free to the Colony of South Australia (1836-1900)

Birth could be April 1834

Arrived on the "John " from London departing Gravesend Sept 12th 1839 with Captain Alexander Smith. Arriving Port Adelaide Febuary 5th 1840

With 8 other miners, Moses found a 12,000 pound Gold nugget at Hill End NSW Australia in October 1872^[1] He owned the "Steel Hotel " in Hill End in 1865^[2]

He then purchased land on Blues PT Rd North Sydney & built the "Belvue Estate" This was eventually knocked down & the famous Seidler Blue Pt Towers build.

After his brother killed himself, Moses married his brothers Widow & looked after her 5 children.

Apparently he didn't leave his step children much money on his death but the following article finally appeared.

https://www.athomeinnorthsydney.com.au/bellvue.html

From "The Sydney Morning Herald" dated 24th May 1952 PERSONAL & MISSING FRIENDS BELL The children of Benjamin Bell, Maria Anderson nee Bell and Assy Parker nee Bell or persons knowing their whereabouts are requested to communicate with Public Trustee, 19 O Connell Street Sydney re estate Moses Bell deceased.

https://www.historyhill.com.au/

The Daily Telegraph Fri 30 Jan 1959

'BELLEVUE' REPRIEVED House on harbour to be historical showplace

A 90 year old stone house which dozes in the shadow of the Harbor (sic) Bridge has been reprieved.

Builders had planned to demolish it to make way for Australia's tallest domestic building-a 23-story (sic) block of flats.

Now they will pull it down stone-by-stone and re-erect it as an historical showplace. The house, Bellevue (above), stands at Blue's Point on one of the finest sites on the Harbor (sic).

The company which plans to build the flats - Civil and Civic Contractors Ltd.-will re-erect it on the site which North Sydney Council made available.

Bellevue, which looks at the heart of Sydney from the shade of Moreton Bay fig trees has been painted by many artists.

Good specimen Experts say that it isn't of great historical interest. But they consider it a good specimen of colonial domestic architecture of the 1870s.

Until a few days ago no one knew who had built the house nor who had lived in it. Then a senior lecturer in Economics at Sydney University (Dr. Alan Birch) identified a plan of Bellevue in the Mitchell Library.

Dr. Birch has done much research into the social history of early Sydney. He found that the Australian architect, Edmund Blackett, had drawn the plan. Blackett also designed the Great Hall of Sydney University and St. Thomas' Church, North Sydney and many other buildings.

Land bought for £ 474 Other research workers then established that a Pitt Street estate agent, William Woolcott built Bellevue. He sold it to Moses Bell in 1873 for £ 2500.

Bell, born in Lancashire (sic), was one of a syndicate of eight which discovered the Holterman (sic) gold nugget, at Hill End, N.S.W., in 1872. The nugget was worth £12,000.

Bell built a terrace of five houses near Bellevue. His five children lived there when they married.

Mrs. E. Bell, wife of a grandson of Moses Bell, was the last resident to leave Bellevue terrace. Her husband, who died six years ago, spent his childhood there. The terrace will be demolished.

Bellevue has been unoccupied for several months. Already vandals have caused much damage. Doors sag, shutters bang lazily and the wind whistle through broken windows.

However, vandals could not damage the massive stone walls which are unmarked by 90 years of weather.

The secretary of North Shore Historical Society, (Mrs. R. Maher) does not like the word museum to describe Bellevue's future role. She hopes that Bellevue will house not only historical relics. She hopes that it will be a small civic centre. In this way she believes that Bellevue can play a unique role in fostering a deep interest in the history of Sydney.

• Fact: Christening (28 APR 1834) Wainfleet Saint Mary,Lincoln,England
• Fact: Burial (25 June 1891) St Leonards, New South Wales, Australian Colonies

• Fact: Christening (28 APR 1834) Wainfleet Saint Mary,Lincoln,England
• Fact: Burial (25 June 1891) St Leonards, New South Wales, Australian Colonies

• Fact: Christening (28 APR 1834) Wainfleet Saint Mary,Lincoln,England
• Fact: Burial (25 June 1891) St Leonards, New South Wales, Australian Colonies

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.photo-web.com.au/keastburke/goldandsilver/book/holtermann.htm
2. ↑ All About Hill End. History Hill website. Retrieved 9 May 2022 from https://www.historyhill.com.au/about-hill-end/

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 28 April 2018, 00:55), entry for Moses BELL(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZLP-TBX); contributed by various users.
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 28 April 2018, 00:55), entry for Moses BELL(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZLP-TBX); contributed by various users.
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 28 April 2018, 00:55), entry for Moses BELL(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZLP-TBX); contributed by various users.