My family came to Australia from England in 1838. Leaving, from Gravesend on the 13th May 1838 Aboard the Ship PALMYRA. They came from an area in southern England called Hollington.
The first Lamberts to come to Australia in our branch were; James and Harriet Lambert.They arrived in Sydney on the 26th September 1838. They were placed at North Head Quarantine Station until the 1st of October 1838. The sketch below was drawn about 1837.
James had been engaged by a Mr Jones of Maitland as an assisted immigrant, his work would be as a farm servant.
His first home was in Bolwarra NSW, he left there after a some years and settled in Oswald on the Maitland circuit in NSW, where he made his home for the rest of his life.
James was born in Hollington Sussex England in October 1802. The Seventh child of ten he grew up in a large family as most did in those days.
James met and married Harriet Trill, the nuptials being taken on the 28th October 1826, in Hollington.
From what I have read of James, he was a bit of a Larrikin in his early days. On moving to Australia, He apparently saw the error of his ways and converted to the Methodist Church.
He took to Christianity like a duck to water.
Because of the remoteness of the area in those days, James led what was known as society classes, of which he gave three a week.
This turned out to be his vocation for the remainder of his life. He did such a good job he was honored with the title:
James Fathered a large Family himself, 12 children to be precise.The Five oldest children were born in Hollington and the remaining seven in the Maitland area of NSW. My Great Great Grandfather Levi being with the later group.
Levi was a bricklayer. From what I can assume he left Oswald for New England to find work. He stayed for some years before returning to Oswald. He then left for Sydney and settled in the Chatswood area.
Levi's son Russell, ( my great GrandFather ) was 33 when the 1st world war was at it's height. He enlisted on the 23rd of October 1916. He was placed with the 1ST PIONEERS Battalion (NSW) [FIRST DIVISION], Which was formed in Egypt on the 10th March 1916. Pioneer Battalions performed construction tasks in the forward area not requiring the special equipment of Engineers, such as constructing trenches and dugouts, although they occassionally acted in the Engineer role on tasks such as the building of bridges. A large majority of Pioneers were tradesmen and were organized the same as infantry battalions. If required they could and did serve as infantry in the front line. The battalion saw service in Egypt, Sinai and the Western Front. Russell Survived the war and came back around 1919. He had only a few years with his wife and Children before his death on October 22 1924.
The photo below is a Post card sent to Russell whilst he was on active service. It is of his two sons Leslie Levi on the left and his eldest son Jack. Leslie was my Grand-Father.
Gravesend and Some photos of the Lamberts.
Please, if you have any information regarding the Hollington Lamberts email me. I am especially looking for a photo of the Palmyra. Our branch of Lamberts also came from surrounding districts such as: Maresfield, Lewes, Fletching,Newick, Willingdon, Chiddingly, Ditchling and East Grinstead. I'd also like to talk to anyone who lives in any of these areas today."Can you help."
I have a fair bit of information regarding the family going back to the fifteenth century, so if I can be of assistance,don't hesitate to contact me.
THIS PAGE LAST UPDATED ON THE 8th September 2006. I have another Home page at http://lambertfamily.homemail.com.au that I am trying to get up to speed brfore dismantling this one! Stay Tuned.
