Captain
Henry
(Harry)
Boon
Born in Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, Australia
Ancestors 
Son of James Boon
and Ann (Sendall) Boon
Husband of
Sarah Anne (Burton) Boon
— married
27 Feb 1864 in House of John Lankester, Hobart, Tasmania
Descendants 
Father of
Henry James Boon, William Francis Walter Boon, Amelia Constance (Boon) Calvert, Edward Thomas Boon, Ernest Albert Boon, Ethel Isabel Boon and Elsie Evyleen Boon
Died
at age 73
in Northampton, 3 DeWitt St, Battery Point, Tasmania
Profile last modified
| Created 3 Sep 2013
This page has been accessed 2,503 times.
Contents |
Biography
Henry was born in 1841. He is the son of James Boon and Ann Sendell. [1]
Oct 1860 At the time of burglary of the Boons, Henry was still living at home. [2]
1867 Ships Carpenter Lyttelton NZ to Sydney
1871 Ships Mate Adelaide to Sydney
1875 9 Aug Barque "Southern Cross" cleared out for Lyttelton NZ, 324 tons H. Boon. [3]
1876 25 Jan "Southern Cross, barque, 324 tons, H. Boon, from Newcastle, 15th inst. No passengers. Agent-Belbin and Dowdell." [4]
1880 Captain "Mary Blair" from Mauritius with sugar. [5]
1883 Captain "Mary Blair' to Hokianga NZ [6]
1885 Cleared out Dec 23: "Pet", barque, 269 tons, H. Boon, for Dunedin.[7]
1887 The reported loss of the "Helen" in the Bay of Biscay. "Helen" arrives, from London, safe in Hobart 31/12/1887[8]
1889 Captain "Helen" Lyttelton NZ to Sydney [9]
1889 Captain "Helen" to Valparaiso, Chile. [10]
1893 29 Aug Captain of "Harriet McGregor", arr. Hobart from London. [11]
1894 "Lufra" cleared Hobart for Sydney under the command of Captain Harry Boon to load wool for London.[12]
1894 Dec 25 "Lufra" (H Boon) arr from London [13]
1895 Jan 12 "Lufra" (H. Boon) clears Hobart with cargo of wood blocks (for London?). [14]
1896 Captain of the Lufra 672 tons to London laden with wool, sperm oil & hardwood [15]& returns to Hobart via Launceston on 1st December 1896. [16]
Captain Harry Boon was a popular master and one of the old school who rose from carpenter to master. When he took his first vessel to London with no certificate the authorities there were not going to grant him a clearance. Captain Boon said, "I brought her here, surely you will let me take her home again." An old sailor said that it was a pleasure to sail with him for he knew exactly when to take sail off her and very seldom had to call all hands to do so. [17]
1897 Captain Boon disposed of the Lufra in Marseilles, travelling back to Hobart on the RMS Kaikoura. [18]
1898 March - Captain "Acacia" Southport to Adelaide with timber.[19]
1898 May - Captain Boon had been appointed Assistant Keeper at Cape Sorell Lighthouse. [20]
"HOBART MARINE BOARD.
Hobart, Tuesday.
At the Marine Board meeting to-day Mr. J. Reynolds was appointed clerk of
works at Cape Sorell at £3 per week. Assistant Kendrick was dismissed for
improper conduct. Captain Boon has been appointed in his place."
From Andrew Boon: I believe Capt Boon was actually appointed Assistant Keeper at Derwent Light, not Cape Sorell. Cape Sorell light was officially opened on 2 Oct 1899. Kendrick was believed to have been an Asst Keeper at the Derwent Light - or Eddystone ? - to be confirmed.
1898 7 Sep " Junior Assistant Boon, of Eddystone, to senior assistant at that station."[21]
1899 28 Nov: "At the meeting of the Marine Board to-day Assistant Boon, of the Eddystone light, was appointed superintendent of the Derwent light." [22]
1899 Dec: "Assistant Boon had been removed to the charge of the Derwent Light, and Assistant Maingay transferred to Eddystone." [23]
1899 After retiring as a ship's captain, Capt. Boon became lighthouse keeper at the Iron Pot Lighthouse Link to Iron Pot Lighthouse at the mouth of the Derwent River, Hobart, from 1899-1903 and 1904-1913. [24]The gap year was due to Captain Boon suffering heart failure over that time.[25]
1901 Captain Henry Boon declined position of Derwent Pilot to remain Iron Pot lighthouse keeper. Health reasons?[26]
1909 The last sailing ships (of the Holme line) ceased operation. Only steam ships from then on. [27]
- Examiner Launceston, Tas. Saturday 9 January 1915, page 8
Captain Henry Boon, a well-known figure in Tasmanian shipping circles, died at his residence, Northampton, de Witt Street, Battery Point, on Thursday night, aged 72 years. The deceased was at one time commander of the barque Lufra, which was for many years engaged in the London-Hobart trade. Subsequently he entered, the marine board's service, and was superintendent of the Derwent light for several years.
1915 Captain Harry's Will (attached) Estate valued at £336.00. ($34,000 in 2017)
Findagrave Harry Boon
Photo by Brian Boon taken at Cornelian Bay, Independent Section, E 12 - with Sarah Boon and Harry Boon
Harry's grave site is unmarked although in a prestigious part of the cemetery. His "working retirement" as a lighthouse keeper, the unmarked grave, the lack of mention of his family home in the small value Will, suggests Harry died in relative poverty. <GR>
Sources
- ↑ Entered by Graeme Rose, Monday, September 2, 2013.
- ↑ The Mercury Hobart, Tas. Wed 24 Oct 1860 Page 2 SUPREME COURT
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ Mercury 06/11/1880
- ↑ SMH 24/11/1883
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ Tasmanian News 20/12/1887
- ↑ SMH 21/05/1889
- ↑ SMH 18/06/1889
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ [5]
- ↑ [6]
- ↑ [7]
- ↑ Launceston Daily Telegraph 24/01/1896
- ↑ Launceston Examiner 19/11/1896
- ↑ - O'May, Harry. Wooden Hookers of Hobart Town and Whalers out of Van Diemens Land, TJ Hughes (2nd imp) 1978, p. 87.
- ↑ Mercury 29/11/1897
- ↑ Mercury 08/03/1898
- ↑ The Mount Lyell Standard 18/05/1898
- ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9430140
- ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232645728
- ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12769431
- ↑ Dates from website, Lighthouse Keepers of Tasmania
- ↑ Launceston Examiner 06/01/1904
- ↑ Launceston Examiner 01/07/1901
- ↑ Launceston Examiner 02/12/1909
Footnotes
HELEN: 348 tons. Last Hobart Town whaler built Greenock near Glasgow in 1864. Launceston Examiner 15/10/1913
Lufra - Built in 1870 by McGregors Shipyard Aberdeen, Scotland; re-rigged as a barque in 1874 ; sold 1887 to L. Castellano of Naples ; broken up in 1905 http://www.aberdeenships.com/single.asp?offset=1650&index=100186
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Graeme Rose for creating Boon-678 on 2 Sep 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Graeme and others.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Harry by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Harry by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
- Brian Boon
:
Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Test 37 markers, haplogroup I-M253, FTDNA kit #IN86981
-
~6.25%
Randall Bevis :
Living DNA
-
~3.12%
Graeme Rose :
Family Tree DNA Family Finder, GEDmatch T714583 [compare], FTDNA kit #223801
+
Autosomal DNA Test, GEDmatch T714583 [compare], yourDNAportal GRA40851ea9
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3 De Witt Street Battery Point is one of two Victorian Italianate houses built in the mid 1870s. 1 and 3 De Witt Street are virtually identical houses but ‘mirror’ reversed. They are essentially solid brick on sandstone foundations with a slate roof and 3 dormer bedrooms. 3 De Witt Street has had a varied and colourful history and apart from the obvious use as a residence it has been used as rental accommodation for the then nearby Queen Alexandra Hospital, an antique shop and even a brothel. We are told from some older residents (who will rename nameless) the ‘madam’ did sit at the front window seeking custom!
An interesting feature is the drive-way that serves both 1 and 3 De Witt Street because ownership of the driveway remains in the ownership of the original subdivider from the 1870s. In a strict legal sense this driveway is currently owned by the heirs of the original subdivider …. probably hundreds of people …. now 150 years later. Both 1 and 3 De Witt Street have right-of-ways over the driveway thus access is no problem and there appears little reason to change the situation albeit there is an Act of Parliament….the Abandoned Lands Act…that could be used to transfer the driveway equally into the titles of both properties. 3 DeWitt Street has been completely renovated retaining all original features so as to retain the integrity of the original building. A contemporary living and kitchen area has been added to the rear but designed so as not to be seen from the street or impact unduly on the original house. Renovations included the usual ‘head-aches’ of removing asbestos, old gas pipes, re-wiring, re-plumbing, re-plastering and of course attending to ‘rising-damp’ issues. Evidence of a much older structure at the back of the house was uncovered during the renovations. The owner hasn’t found a ghost yet but is determined when he dies that he will remain and haunt the place if only to get even with the renovation nightmares he has endured over the past 15 years!
posted
by Brian Boon
Harry is 23 degrees from Emeril Lagasse, 24 degrees from Nigella Lawson, 18 degrees from Maggie Beer, 42 degrees from Mary Hunnings, 30 degrees from Joop Braakhekke, 24 degrees from Michael Chow, 20 degrees from Ree Drummond, 21 degrees from Paul Hollywood, 24 degrees from Matty Matheson, 26 degrees from Martha Stewart, 35 degrees from Danny Trejo and 29 degrees from Molly Yeh on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Source: Condolence letter to them re the death of their daughter Mrs RH Calvert. Letter from George Kerr, Session Clerk, Chalmers Church, Lyndene, 165 Campbell St, Hobart. Letter dated 27 April 1914.