BDM's
Pre 1853 Registration in VIctoria
Are you really getting an 'original' certificate?

The passing in the last session of the Parliament of Victoria of an Act, entitled"The Marriage Act 1898" has led to the unearthing of some very interesting local records, a brief recapitulation of which may be appreciated by our readers.

The act in question called upon all clergymen and others who might have in their possession records or other documents bearing upon the births, marriages and deaths occurring in Victoria [which was, however at that time New South Wales] prior to the year 1853, to forthwith transmit same, or copies of the entries to the Registrar General, certain pains and penalties being prescibed for those who failed to carry out the mandate.

There are not very many places in the colony where the requirements could be compiled with, and Port Fairy is one of the few where these ancient records are in existence. Here in St Johns Church, is a volume, which contains entries of the baptisms, marriages and burials of a generation , many of the members of which have passed to their long last home, whilst others are scattered over the length, and breadth of the different colonies, and this has courteously been placed in our hands by the Rev J. Kirkland, vicar of th parish, upon whom was cast the task of complying with the order of paliament. Refering to the demand upon custodians of these records, to hand them over to the central authorities, Mr Kirkland remarked "Truly, I was the custodian of such records, but I had no right to deliver them up to any one. They were not mine to give, the belonged to the parish, and so I had to sit down , and make, or cause to be made, correct copies of no fewer than 310 baptisms, 112 marriage certificates and 86 burials, under a severe penalty for non-compliance, and not a penny offered in return for my labour.,not even the necessary paper found on which to make the copies. It took me, even with help, a considerable time, and I hardly believe that the Government would have dared issue such a mandate to any class of the community save the clergy. Just imagine the working men being called upon to perform so much work , and, at the same time, find their own tools without any recompense; or the farmers being asked to plough so many acres of land for the Government, with not even a "Thank You " in return, or members of Parliament passing an Act requiring that they with the Ministry, shall, with all civil servants, give at least a fortnight's or a month's service for the good of the State. It would require a strong imagination to grasp, at any rate, the latter proposition .Perhaps, some day, even a democratic Government may enslave a portion of its people, and who sall say it nay, The principle is already established. "Yes" said he " these documents are interesting, and if I had given up the originals, Port Fairy would have been the poorer. The baptismal register takes us back to 1842, and speaks of Port Fairy as being in New South Wales."

The first child whose baptism is recorded was John Elliott, the officiating clergyman being the Rev John. T. Boldem, and the date of the event the st of October in the year named. On the 1st of Feb 1844, the Rev James Yelverton Wilson comes into the register, he being the clergyman up to 1848, and he seems to have been stationed at Portland. During his ministry occur several familiar names, even to the present generation, such as Ruffle ,Castwood, Mason, Kell and Scarsbrick. On 25th April 1848, the signature of C .Melbourne [Bishop Perry] appears in the register, in connection with the baptism of five children of whom three were named Bowerman, the eldest of whom was seven years of age. "But "Mr Kirkland said "I have learned to copy the signature of Thos Hy Braim which I have written, I don't know how many times." His handwriting as you see, is beautiful. ".

During Dr Braim's lengthy connections with St Johns we notice in the baptismal register of those passed under his hands, many of the names still well known in the town, such as Digby, Kell, Scarsbrick, Youngman, Avery, Whitehead, Youl, Osburne, Grant, Parfrew, Howell, Osmond, Bourne Rutledge, Pope, Castwood, Ritchie, Ware, Manifold, Howell Presnell and etc. It would appear too that in those days, residents of inland centres were in the habit of making periodical pilgrimages to this town with their children for baptismal purposes, for, upon different occasions 'batches' from Hexham, Mortlake, and other parts , were presented to the Archdeacon t to receive the first sacrement of the child.