15. Early Baptisms and Weddings

Before St. John’s Church was built, and before the appointment of Revd John Youl as chaplain to the settlement, Christian ministry was haphazard and occasional. Revd Robert Knopwood was the only clergyman in Van Diemens Land from 1803, and rarely made the difficult journey north. A small portion of his records, mainly from 1811, has survived, showing numerous baptisms and marriages over a very short period around March that year, and again in 1814. On  4^th March, he solemnised 7 marriages, baptising 4 children of one of the couples the same day, and a few days later, on  9^th March 1811, he baptised another 18 children! This reflected the de-facto situation. People had married informally, and children were born, so there was a backlog whenever a clergyman arrived. No doubt Revd Youl had to tolerate a similar situation, even after St. John’s was built, because of the remoteness of some of the settlements.
Knopwood’s list of marriages and births 1811-1814 [click]