Mary Gilbert was the first European woman to live in the
Port Phillip
Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
settlement of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Life
She was the daughter of one John Duff, and was married to James Gilbert, blacksmith. The Gilberts were pioneer settlers who disembarked on the banks of the
Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower stre ...
and set up camp on 30 August 1835. The schooner ''
Enterprize'', owned by
John Pascoe Fawkner
John Pascoe Fawkner (20 October 1792 – 4 September 1869) was an early Australian pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania), to sail ...
, had brought them and other settlers from
Launceston, Tasmania, where she had married James at the age of eighteen.
The initial landing party included Captain John Lancey, master mariner, the landing party's leader and Fawkner's representative; George Evans, builder; carpenters William Jackson and Robert Hay Marr; ploughman Charles Wise; blacksmith James Gilbert and his pregnant wife, Mary; and Evan Evans, George Evans' servant.
On 29 December 1835 Mary gave birth to her son, James Melbourne Gilbert, the first European child born in the new district. She was given of land and a town allotment.
A life-sized bust of Mary Gilbert can be found at the Conservatory, in the
Fitzroy Gardens
The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne central business district in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and ...
. The sculpture was created by the Melbourne artist,
Ailsa O'Connor
Ailsa Margaret O'Connor (née Donaldson) (26 January 1921 – 3 February 1980) was an Australian artist specialising in sculpture and painting in the style of realism. Following her belief that art and artists cannot be separated from questions ...
(1921-1980).
On 30 April 1837, Mary gave birth to a second son, Charles Phillip Gilbert, also fathered by her husband, James. According to the transcription of her death, two other sons were John and William.
Although James (possibly later known as John) Melbourne Gilbert was not known to have any offspring, his younger brother Charles was known to have fathered at least eight children to his wife Amelia in both Victoria and New South Wales.
She was accidentally burnt to death in a bush fire at South Talbingo, Tumut River, New South Wales, on 20 February 1878, and buried on the Cumberland Range on 24 February that year.
See also
*
History of Melbourne
The history of Melbourne details the city's growth from a fledgling settlement into a modern commercial and financial centre as Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, in the state of Victoria.
Pre-European settlement
The area around Port P ...
External links
Fitzroy Gardens - Statue of Mary Gilbert
1878 deaths
Settlers of Melbourne
Year of birth missing
{{Australia-bio-stub