Curse the Bells
This story chronicles the life of my, Great Grand father John Joseph Layburn from his humble beginnings in the village of Otley in Yorkshire. He was born in 1821and was apprenticed to the famous Chippendale furniture makers. He grew up in the tavern in the village called “The Fleece” owned by his parents. Tragedy caused John to flee his home in 1864 leaving his wife and family and set out on a journey that would take him around the world. Firstly he set out to visit the famous Niagara Falls in British North America, then to the historical Island in the South Atlantic, St. Helena, On his way to Australia he was shipwrecked on Flinders Island near Tasmania, travelling onto Melbourne, he finally settled in the town of Carcoar, west of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales,
It is a story of a man with a keen sense of adventure, not afraid to take risks; he lived life to the full and overcame adversity when tragedy struck. John was a philanderer he married three times, his second wife bigamously, finally he married my Great Grandmother Jane McKell. My Grandfather, another John Layburn, was the 13th child born to John Joseph Layburn. Jane McKell’s nephew Sir William Mc Kell became the Governor General of Australia.
My mother had moved from Dee Why in Sydney, to the sea side village of Nambucca Heads in 1986. She was rundown in the main street on the pedestrian crossing and went into a coma and died, but before she passed on, she told me of letters in her bottom draw revealing the truth about her two Grandfathers, John Joseph Layburn and James Fines who we now know was a convict and was transported in 1823 on the ship Medina.
The book moves on to the present to JJ Layburns GGGSon Christopher Wakeling. Through a stroke of luck, he was not on the Prawn Trawler
“The Lauren G” when it sank off the Queensland coast with the loss of their Skipper .Chris travelling in his ancestors, footsteps with a devil may care attitude to life, decided to travel out west and settle into a more relaxing life, away from the sea mustering sheep on a motor bike at Cunnamulla
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Dylan Wakeling (Melissa And Tim.)
Dylan's 50th aussie rules football game.
Plays for Berwick U13's (vic) Won team player of the year.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Neil, Tess and Leanne Wakeling (David Wakeling)
Neil, Tess and Leanne jet boating at Queenstown, NZ.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Jasmine's 3rd birthday (Tim Wakeling)
Jasmine's 3rd birthday - 17 August 2007 - Jasmine always enjoys dressing up
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Shanghai
This is a picture of Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Matthew's apartment is about 1 block from here between Nanjing Rd and The People's Square. He is in the very heart of a very busy city!
Matthew
Matthew is our younger son. He also lived in LA last year, but has recently moved to Shanghai, China. He has a degree in Economics and is considering persuing an MBA or Masters in Economics. He is working on his Mandarin and eating lots of unusual things!
Octavia Street, New Orleans
Stephen and Erin have just moved into this duplex in New Orleans. It is a common style for there, built in the 30's and called double gun barrell. Each unit is long and narrow. They are just a few blocks from Audubon Park, where Stephen will be doing some work for the Audubon Institute. It will be nice for him to be able to walk to work after the long commutes in LA.
Stephen and Erin
Stephen and his girlfriend Erin participated in the Annual Wakeling Winter migration to Maui. We all love it there.
Erin is a poet and writer and is now working on her Masters degree in Creative Writing at the University of New Orleans. She is a great girl and we all love having her around.
Stephen Wakeling
Stephen is the oldest son of Philip and Kathryn. He was living in LA until recently and this picture was taken one evening on Hollywood Boulevard. He has a degree in Broadcasting. He works in communications and public relations and enjoys camping and the great outdoors.
Phil's Graduation
We were in Townsville in March, 2007 for Phil's graduation. He received a Masters in astrophysics. Kathryn and mum (Nancy Leighton) are pictured here outside the convention center. Kathryn's sister Mary Ellen was with us but managed not to be in the pictures.Phil is now a research fellow studying massive star formation for his PhD.
Kathryn and Philip Wakeling
This is our house in Grand Haven, MI, USA. We are a short walk from Lake Michigan and the trees behind the house are on a sand dune.
This picture is from Fall 2006 and it is rapidly beginning to look this way again. We have lived here for five years and enjoy everything except the long winters!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
"The Fleece" Hotel, Otley, UK (Doug Wakeling)
The Fleece Hotel, formerly owned by the Layburn Family
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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