Charles and Edmund Rawson
Charles Collinson Rawson and Edmund Stansfeld Rawson, sons of Charles Stansfeld Rawson of Wasdale Hall in the Lake District, England, took up The Hollow in the Mackay district in 1866 after it had been forfeited. The two brothers married the two daughters of the Rev WG Harrison, of Easington Rectory in Durham.
From the information available it appears that Charles was responsible for the two diaries of 1871 and 1877. He accompanied his entries with delightfully humorous pen and ink sketches detailing the daily occurrences of domesticity, their reactions to the ‘wildlife’, and the workings of a cattle property outside Mackay.
Charles was described by a contemporary as:
‘The owner of The Hollow is probably one of the most popular men in North Queensland. He was one of the earliest settlers in the district, and has been identified with rise and progress, and has not an enemy in the place. A kind heart and an inexhaustible fund of good spirits made him as pleasant a mate as man could wish for, if there is any fun going, from an exploring expedition to a game of Euchre, he is bound to be up to the neck in it’.
Edmund (Ned) was the amateur photographer who recorded much the same events as his brother, only on film. The drawings and photographs complement each other to make a fascinating visual record.
The albums and diaries were probably collated in order to send back to the family in England.
Charles Collinson Rawson
Edmund Stansfeld Rawson
Wasdale Hall: The Rawson home in the United Kingdom
View of The Hollow
25 January 1877
‘Now then I think I can manage a focus this time.’
25 August 1871
‘How on earth can you expect a fellow to do a picture when this sort of thing goes on?’
Last updated: 10th January 2008
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