Ernie Bond (bushman)
Tasmanian bushman who lived at Gordonvale
Ernie Bond, an osmiridium miner and bushman, who was sometimes called the Prince of Rasselas in reference to Samuel Johnson's book Rasselas, lived for 17 years at Gordonvale, his home in the Vale of Rasselas, Tasmania.
Early life
Ernest Bond was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 26 July 1891 to Frank Bond (1856–1931) and his wife, Sarah Emma Cowburn. His father was a bark-mill owner, property developer, and a politician, first in the House of Assembly (1903–1906) and the Legislative Council (1909–1921).
Adamsfield and the beginnings of Gordonvale
In September 1927, Bond began working a mining lease at Adamsfield where he sought osmiridium. After seven years as a miner, in March 1934 he ventured into the Vale of Rasselas accompanied by Paddy Hartnett and eventually purchased 81 hectares of land at a place he named Gordonvale, 14 km north of Adamsfield. A homestead was built and part of the land was cleared for fruit and vegetable gardens. He grazed sheep (unsuccessfully), had cows for milk and butter, and kept bees for honey. In 1937 he began selling vegetables and jars of preserved fruit to the shops at Adamsfield. At times, he employed as many as six men to help with the work.
Dad had a Vacola bottling outfit, and would preserve hundreds of bottles of raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ernie Bond (bushman)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.