This series of caches are designed to highlight the people who have made Tamworth the great place to live. They might be one of our pioneers, our sporting greats, or our quiet achievers who rose to enormous heights in our society. We love to explore our Australian History and have found some unique gems for all to enjoy.
The third in our series is focussing on Charles Veness.
When Charles Henry Veness was born on 15 October 1830, his father, John Veness, was 31 and his mother, Mary Ann Evans, was 31. He married Lousia Margaret Lawson on 5 May 1854, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Deptford, Kent, England, United Kingdom in 1830 and Deptford St Paul, Kent, England, United Kingdom for about 10 years. He died on 2 November 1906, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, at the age of 76, and was buried in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia.
Charles Veness is the Mayor in this 1889 photo. He arrived in Sydney from England in 1852, and made his way to Tamworth where he pitched his tent "approximately where Marius Street is today". He married in 1854, earning a living as a builder. By 1870 he was also a general tax consultant. He served as Secretary of several organisations, including the Show Society and Tamworth Hospital, and as Mayor had the honour of presiding over Tamworth being the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have its streets lit by a Council owned and operated electricity generating plant. His son Daniel (top left in the photo) was the Town Clerk in this Council. Charles' three brothers figured prominently in the development of Manilla. He died in 1906.
