Hassall family papers, 1793-2000

Hassall Family Papers https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1Jk404VY

This collection contains correspondence, diaries, ledgers, and letter books produced by several generations of the Hassall family.

Rowland Hassall (1768–1820) was born in Coventry, England, and was one of the first members of the Missionary Society to preach in the Pacific.

Along with his wife, Elizabeth, and two young sons, Thomas and Samuel, Hassall arrived in Tahiti onboard the missionary ship the Duff in 1797. Due to feeling unsafe, the family moved to Sydney the following year. Initially working as a lay preacher in the newly founded colony, Hassall was made government storekeeper in charge of the granary at Parramatta and the stores at Toongabbie.

Hassall was a good friend of the Reverend Samuel Marsden and acted as his agent and property manager while Marsden was in England. By 1808 Hassall had acquired 1300 acres of land. In 1814, he was appointed superintendent of government stock, which included the management of Cowpastures, the most extensive sheep run in the colony.

Hassall died at Parramatta on 29 August 1820 during a catarrhal fever epidemic which also claimed the lives of two of his grandchildren. His estate included farms totalling 3000 acres at Parramatta, Dundas, Prospect, Mulgrave Place, Cook and Bringelly.