The Robinson’s and Briant’s Badger Corner

Badger Corner and Samphire River…….. a small community overlooking Franklin Sounds, nestled under the south eastern flank of Mount Strzelecki, Flinders Island, Tasmania. The darker arial header picture is Mt Strzelecki from the south west (looking down on Trousers Point).

One of my favourite pictures found in the Briant family bible – on the back is inscribed ‘Taken at Badger Corner Robinson’s and Briant’s’.

My adventures in our family research started in earnest in January 2013. I have a lot of private documents, letters and photo’s from the original Briant, Stephens and Robinson family collections. What really interests me is not only sharing this information but attempting to reconstruct the history using what I have, along with what I have recently uncovered to thread with the oral history going back 3 – 4 generations. This information is already at risk of disappearing forever, I don’t know half of what Dad does. Dad has been really good about my purchasing a small recorder and annoying him about the old days!! The idea of keeping an electronic diary evolved and the ability to connect to a whole range of history through links appealing. I am a beginner and nervous about how it will go!! It’s been a crash course learning the nuts and bolts of ‘wanting’ to do and finally ‘being’ able to do. Living in Launceston close to the action of our history is a blessing and now I find myself frequenting the local Library, QVMAG and the Hobart History room locating the documents I need in piecing together the stories.

My siblings and I were raised at Samphire and Badger Corner and the Briant Homestead is still very much part of our lives. We also spent a lot of our early lives at the Robinson Homestead with Mr and Mrs Riddle who bought the home after Emily and James died, a long time before Dad was born. How lucky to have had Mr and Mrs Riddle as ‘pseudo Great Grandparents’ in our young lives and how fortunate their home was so connected to our Robinson history. We were lucky to grow up surrounded by our Grandmother Maud, Great Aunts, Uncles and Cousins and lived the perfect carefree childhood over looking Adelaide Bay.

From the Briant’s I knew Great Uncle Morgan and Walter, Maud (Grandma) Great Auntie Elsie and May.

From the Robinson family I knew Great Uncle Tuck and Dick and Aunt Dolly.

If I could meet any four paternal ancestors: my Grandfather Horace first, (he died before we were born)  Ed Stephens, Mary Esther Stephens and Meg Youl.

This is my history, one shared with Dad, Sister and Brother……………..with slices of history intersecting with a large number of ‘other’ relatives. I hope my adventures in this research may be of interest to those folk also walking the path back in time.

Note; for those not familiar with blogging – you can click on th bold underlined words to open a link expanding/evidencing information. Comments, you are able to comment, inital comments are private and only I can read them, I can either publish or leave private as requested.