George Brooks Legrew Hesse
1798-1837
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George Brooks Legrew Hesse by Vivian Hill
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Legal documents provided a supposedly valid claim for a land title of
a large area of land made by the Port Phillip Association after Batman's
visit in 1835.
The name Gellibrand and Hesse appear as street names and geographical
features in Victoria. There is ample material available about Joseph
Tice Gellibrand 1786-1837. He had been Attorney General of Van Diemen's
Land under Governor Arthur and a prominent member of the Port Phillip Association.
He had provided the legal document Batman claimed was signed by Aboriginal
Chiefs. But, who was Hesse? Why did he come with Gellibrand
to Geelong so early in settlement? From George Russell's account
in the Clyde Company papers I knew they were both lawyers. With the
arrival of the tall sailing ships there, Hobart, Tasmania was the right
place to visit in the Bi-centenary year 1988. A guided history walk
led to meeting a researcher who found the answers for me. His research
is now in this collection. An 1828 edition of conveyancing precedents
shows little regard for the feoffment form of conveyance used in the Batman
Treaty. There are two precedents for it, one for a church pew and
thirty eight for deed and release, the usual form used at the time of the
treaty. My note (GH3) raises the possibility that Hesse suggested
this ancient form of conveyance.
Arrangement of material
The list below describes material held in the George Brooks Legrew
Hesse archive box, which is located at 340.099452 Hesse Hil/Gbl on the shelves
in the Geelong Lawyers' Collection within the Special Collection at the
Waterfront campus. The material has been arranged in date order.
| Date |
Title |
Item no. |
| 6/6/1835 |
Facsimilie of the "Geelong" Batman deed |
GH8 |
| 1935 |
Extract "The Bushed Lawyers" from "The Narrative of George Russell"
edited by P.L. Brown |
GH1 |
| 2000 |
Note by Vivian Hill re John Batmen Deeds
[Click on image to enlarge it.] |
GH3 |
| 10/2001 |
Photograph of town sign of 'Hesse' named after George Hesse |
GH4 |
| 10/2001 |
2 Photographs of the Gellibrand River |
GH9 |
| 14/4/2002 |
Photograph of shearing shed at Mt. Hesse Station |
GH6 |
| 9/2002 |
Queenscliffe Historical Museum Newsletter with article re
Hesse & Gellibrand |
GH5 |
|
Notes of searches of Tasmanian archives |
GH2 |
|
Photocopy of an account of Mt. Hesse Station by the current
owners and a may showing its location |
GH7 |
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