Robert Lucas (c1799-1886)

Robert Lucas was born in Wiltshire in approximately 1799, the son of xxxxxxx Lucas and xxxxxxxx. His siblings were xxxxxxxxx. Events from his early life in Wiltshire are currently unknown. His occupation was gardener and nurseryman.

Marriage
On the 23rd September 1819, Robert married Jane Moon at Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The couple had approximately 4-6 children while living in Wiltshire, although only 4 have been proven with absolute certainty at this stage.

Robert attended the ministry of the Rev. John Warburton at a Baptist Chapel.

Journey to Australia
In 1840, Robert and family decided to immigrate to Australia. Eldest daughter Harriet, however, was in love with a man by the name of Benjamin Pitman and they did not want to be separated. The Lucas family decided to pretend he was one of their children so he could make the journey with them. He travelled under the assumed name of ‘Joseph Lucas’. It is possible (but not proven) that daughter Jane’s future husband could have travelled in the same way, under the name of ‘DeNeufville’ Lucas. There is a reference to a DeNeufville Lucas in some passenger lists for the ship ‘Fairfeild’, on which the Lucas family travelled. A person of that name did live in South Australia for a period but has been proven to be from a totally different Lucas family and is highly unlikely to have been in South Australia at that specific time (he arrived later). It is also possible that the reference to a “DeNeufville” Lucas is purely a clerical error.

The family left their home in Trowbridge on 10th July 1840, embarking two days later at Deptford, London, on the ship “Fairfield”. The journey lasted five months, with the family arriving in South Australia on 14.12.1840. The family claimed that several children had died at sea during the journey. Considering the gap in ages between children Robert and Elizabeth, this is highly possible, but it is also possible that this was a story designed to hide the real fate of Benjamin Pittman and possibly daughter Jane’s future husband. 35 passengers are recorded to have died during the voyage and there were 5 births.

South Australia
Robert and family can not be located in the 1841 census for South Australia, and the birth of daughter Elizabeth in 1841 is not recorded. It is possible that the family were still living roughly at that time, as information from Benjamin Pitman’s family indicates that they spent some time living under a gum tree and in tents on the banks of the River Torrens. Daughter Jane’s obituary, however, points to the family living “at the Sturt” for a few years, where she recalled walking through the bush to Adelaide to do the shopping.

By February 1842, the family was living in the Walkerville area. Robert is rumoured to have started work at Government House as a gardener under Governor Gawler, and daughter Harriet is said to have worked their also. Due to scant records of the time, this has not been proven.

Eldest daughter Harriet finally married Benjamin Pitman at Holy Trinity Church on xx/xx/xx.

Robert and his wife Jane were witnesses to the marriage of their daughter Jane to Mathurin Charles Leon De Laine at Holy Trinity Church in Adelaide on 13.3.1843.

Robert and family lived in the Walkerville area for a number of years, where Robert and his son Robert signed a petition against the expansion of the suburb on xx/xx/xx. The family then moved to North Adelaide, but is uncertain exactly when – Daughter Martha was born at North Adelaide on 22.3.1845, yet daughter Elizabeth died at Walkerville on 24.12.1847, aged only 6 years.

Later Years
Robert would pass his gardening and nursery skills onto his son Robert, who went to be the first caretaker of the Wirrabara Forest.

Wife Jane died in 1871 at North Adelaide.

It appears that Robert may have lived with his daughter Jane or other relatives in Norwood in his later years. He died at Norwood on 21.7.1886.

Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of Robert and Jane Lucas
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of Robert and Jane Lucas

Name = Elizabeth
 * Birth = c1841
 * Birth place = South Australia
 * Death = 24/12/1847
 * Death place = Walkerville, South Australia}}