The great battle of Waterloo had taken place in 1815 and resulted in the final defeat of Napoleon by the English and Prussian armies. The victorious Duke of Wellington returned to England a hero and was showered with gifts. His victory had been made possible, not only by his own genius, but also by the products of the mammoth Royal Ordinance Factory, located at Woolwich, then known as the Warren of Woolwich and in more recent times as the Royal Arsenal. (The word “warrne” is derived from the Old French warenne or varenne meaning a waste land enclosure or preserve.)
Within the confines of the Warren, Martha and her brothers, John and Thomas, spent their early lives. Martha was the daughter of William and Mary Neavy, formerly of Birmingham, Warwickshire, although the Neavy family’s earlier origins were in Kent. She was born on 1 May 1815 (her tombstone incorrectly records 1816) and baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, on 7 June 1815. Her father, a smith by trade, is believed to have made ordinance used at Waterloo and to have been one of the many artisans of Huguenot and French extraction employed by the Royal Laboratory in the craft of cannon and gun making. His son, Thomas Neavy, was appointed a labourer at the Arsenal on 20 March 1846.
William Neavy suffered several variations of his surname, in official and other records, as did most people of Huguenot or Walloon descent. At the time of the Census of 1841 we find that he, his wife, and 10-year-old grand daughter, were respectively listed as William, Mary and Ann Neavy of New Road, Woolwich. Poll books of 1837 and 1841 give Nevey as the spelling, and the rate books for the period 1839 to 1841 list William Nivey, New Road, Woolich. The surname Nevy, deriving from Nevene, Neve and Neuey, is found in the Register of the Huguenot chapels of St Mary Birdin, Canterbury and St Mary the Virgin, Dover. Nevey, Neavy and Navy are also found in Kent Registers. The surname recorded on the marriage certificate of Martha reads Neavy, but Nevy is that recorded for all family births in the Register of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich. Martha’s baptismal and therefore legal surname was Nevy and that of her parents, Neavy – a cause for confusion. Prior to 1 July 1837, and the establishment of registration by Public Record Offices, the responsibility for records was the prerogative of the Established Church. In 1538 King Henry VIII had ordered all parishes to record baptisms, marriages and deaths; some records were well kept, others not. Spelling variations for names were common but the baptismal name was deemed the legal name.
The Royal Arsenal drew upon two main pools of labour, and after Waterloo there were still about 5000 employees in the Warren. Many of the artisans were of French extraction – an irony when one considers that the products of the Arsenal were used mainly against the French. In addition, there were convicts from the three hulks, Warrior, Justicia and Defence – old battle-ships each housing up to 600 men, which were anchored off-shore. An Act of Parliament passed in 1771 authorised punishment by hard labour for persons who had committed crimes which held the penalty of transportation – these prisoners were liable to transportation. While they were awaiting outward shipping, Woolwich was one of the places which had the unenviable task of finding work for them. No convict was allowed on shore without an iron on one or both legs. They were well fed as they had to be fit enough to make the roads, put up buildings and do all the non-technical heavy work necessary for the manufacture and testing of ordinance. They were primarily employed in the work of proving shell, which was particularly heavy labour. They were seen no doubt as impudent and an unattractive lot and no asset to the town of Woolwich. By 1835 the depressed times, and the years of peace, had had a profound effect on employment in the Warren, and the establishment was reduced to 500 employees; but transportation did not cease until 1853 and convicts were still available.
Martha grew up used to the sight of men in irons, ships at the Woolwich Docks, the clang of metal and the sound of the great forges. The environment was not the best one for a small girl or for a marriageable young woman; however there was one great advantage for Martha – she was able to attend the sole school in Woolwich, the Arsenal School. This school had been established for the education of apprentices employed in the Workshops, but after a time the girl cartridge-makers and a few of the children of some employees shared in the lessons – possibly to assist with keeping them from mischief. Little is know about the number of children so educated, but the standard was high, and as a result Martha became well fitted to seek employment as a governess and children’s nurse and to cope intelligently with the difficulties of the future.
As a child and young woman she had watched ships sailing down the Thames, and the loading and unloading at Woolwich. Later, possibly under the new sponsorship of the South Australia Church Society, she herself made the hazardous journey to South Australia. Among other things, the Society was interested in sending young women of good repute from depressed areas out to the Colonies, both as prospective brides for the large male population and for the improvement of the conduct of the new communities. It also sent, under contract, teachers for Church schools.
The brig, William Hutt, 260 tons, built at Grimsby in 1833 and named after Sir William Hutt, one of the Colonisation Commissioners, reported at Kingscote Harbour, Kangaroo Island, on 16 January 1837 – where she was stranded for a time on the sandy spit off Point Marsden. Three days after her arrival at Kangaroo Island the marriage took place between Martha Neavy and Benjamin Smith. The ceremony was performed by the Master – Alexander Fleming – and witnessed by the owner, Henry French. Possibly, the couple had met in London while the three ships, TamO’Shanter, Africaine, and William Hutt, were lying together in St Katherine’s Dock, or Ben Smith may have been related to a family named Smith who lived next door to the Neavy household in Woolwich. The William Hutt proceeded to Holdfast Bay where she spent four days before entering the Port River. A fortnight late she berthed at the end of the Creek and continued unloading at the Landing Place.
The prefabricated Church carried on board the William Hutt was landed at Holdfast Bay where it stayed some weeks before an attempt was made to erect it; but because of the type of construction it was found to be unsuitable and the Church Society Trustees decided not to proceed. Six months later with money raised by Public Subscription the foundation stone of Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide, was laid by Governor Hindmarsh, and on the fly-leaf of the first Marriage Register was entered the record of the marriage of Benjamin and Martha Smith. It reads:
On board the Brig William Hutt Kingscote Harbour January 19th 1837 I hereby certify that I have this day joined together in Holy Matrimony Benjamin Smith late of Berkshire and Martha Neavy later of Woolwich according to the form prescribed and Ordered by the Established
Church of England
Alexander Fleming
Witness to the Sig: and nature of Alexander Fleming
Henry French
[Sealed with a red seal embossed with the Gothic ‘F’ ]
From the time of his arrival in 1837, the Colonial Chaplain, the Reverend Howard, performed all marriages in the young Colony, the licences being signed by the Governor. The legality of these marriages, however, and of those performed on ships in the harbours was called into question. As a result, the law validating retrospectively all marriages was passed in 1839 and a full report of this Act and the reasons for it was printed in The South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register on Saturday, 7 December 1839. There can now be no dispute, therefore, as to the legality of the marriage of Ben and Martha Smith!
That early marriages were few is not surprising for the Colonisation Commissioners did not encourage the immigration of the unmarried. The Commissioners, in fact, made the position very clear when on 9 January 1836 they placed an advertisement in The Times, London, for the purpose of attracting suitable couples for the new settlement. They required:
. . . persons of the labouring class and not exceeding 26 years of age being married either now or before embarkation and not having children above two years of age. It is requested that persons not fully answering the description will not take the trouble to apply. Testimonials of character, honesty and sobriety and industry will be required and strictly enforced. The immigrants will be taken to the Colony free of all costs and will be maintained by the Colonial Government under its protection until they shall obtain employment as directed. The ships engaged will be of the first class, will carry an experienced medical man and will be fitted up so that each married couple shall have a separate berth. The provisions on board both as to quality and quantity shall, as all other arrangements, be the best scale shipping every for immigrants. It is intended that the first ship shall sail with 100 couples on 14th August next. Application either from intending immigrants or from others on their behalf to be made (preferably by letter) to the Emigration Agents of the South Australian Commission between the hours of 11 and 4 at the office, 6 Adelphi Terrace, Strand – Rowland Hill, Secretary.
The only singe people journeying to the new Colony of South Australia at this time would seen to have been South Australian Company employees and members of the South Australian Church Society.