Thomas
Hiscock
Born about in Shinfield, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Son of George Hiscock
and Sarah (Tanner) Hiscock
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Phoebe (Blanchard) Hiscock
— married
8 Apr 1833 in Shinfield, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Descendants 
Father of
Thomas Hiscock and Jessie Blanchard (Hiscock) Shillington
Died
at about age 43
in Buninyong, Victoria, Australia
Profile last modified
| Created 9 Feb 2020
This page has been accessed 352 times.
Biography
Thomas Hiscock is Notable.
Thomas HISCOCK was the man who was first credited as discovering gold in Buninyong in what was to becomes the Colony of Victoria
Thomas Hiscock was born about 1812 in Shinfield, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom, son of George Hiscock (1782–1856) and Sarah Tanner (~1772–1860).
He married Phoebe Blanchard on 8 April 1833 in Shinfield, Berkshire, England [1]
The barque, Caroline set sail from England on 6 February 1841 with the HISCOCK family among the assisted immigrant passengers and arrived at Port Phillip, Colony of New South Wales (later known as Victoria) on 30 June 1841[2][3]. The HISCOCK family consisted of parents, Thomas (age 29, Gardener) and Phebe (30, House Keeper) and their sons, Thomas (6) and John (4).
Their children included:
- Thomas HISCOCK 1834-1893
- John HISCOCK 1836-1915
- Emma Jane HISCOCK 1842-1911
- Elizabeth HISCOCK 1844-1931
- Jessie Blanchard HISCOCK 1846-1930
Thomas died on July 25, 1855 in Buninyong, Colony of Victoria, aged 42[4] and was buried at the Buninyong Cemetery[5].
Obituary 28 Jul 1855[6]
- We regret to announce the death of Mr Thomas Hiscock, of Buninyong, who expired on Monday, the 26th instant, at his residence. Mr Hiscock it will be remembered, was one of the first discoverers of gold in Victoria, and has gone down to his grave honoured by his friends, and appreciated by the people of the Western Disrict, upon whom, in conjunction with the colony at large, he conferred inestimable services by pioneering the way to the development of Ballarat, by the discovery of the Buninyong diggings. He has left a disconsolate widow and family, unprovided for, to mourn the loss of a good father, in whom the colony is bereft of a sterling citizen, who leaves behind him a fame for a widow's and family's support, and a hope that the sum which was voted to him by the Legislative Council, will be apportioned by the Government to his relict, and dependent family.
Events in History 30 Sep 1932[7]
- VICTORIA'S FIRST GOLD
- Lucky Strike at Buninyong
- THOMAS HISCOCK'S REWARD
- Searching for cattle at Buninyong in 1851, Thomas Hiscock found a fortune for himself— and the gold industry for Victoria!
- Having arrived some little time earlier, from the Berkshires. In the barque Caroline, Hiscock knew, from Common reports, of the probable presence of gold in the State. As his grandson, Mr G. J. Hiscock, who for 44 years has been in the employ of Robinson Bros, and Co. Ltd., engineers, South Melbourne, told The Herald today, Thomas Hiscock went about his work on that fateful afternoon without any prescience of the natural mint on which he walked. But gold was in his mind. Suddenly, a gleam caught his eye. It was gold! Victoria's first proven gold deposit! The real history of the State had begun. For that lucky strike he was awarded a bounty of £1000 and a gold cup. Buninyong did not prove a great field.
- But that was not its purpose. Its mission was the proof, the absolute proof, that there was gold in Victoria. And it accomplished that work. It gave heart to the general search, rewarded by the discovery of the Ballarat field. The rest is history.
- Three of Thomas Hiscock's grandsons are living in Victoria today: Messrs. G. J. Hiscock, T. B. Hiscock and H. E. Hiscock. With their wives, they are settled in Melbourne. The aggregate ages of the six total 454 years!
Sources
- ↑ England Marriages, 1538–1973
FamilySearch Record: N6W9-GDH (accessed 10 June 2023)
Thomas Hiscock marriage to Phebe Blanchard on 8 Apr 1833 in Shinfield, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. - ↑ Public Records Office Victoria. Assisted passenger lists (1839-1871) Record Series Number (VPRS): 14. Barque: Caroline; Departed: England, 6 Feb 1841; Arrived: Port Phillip, Colony of New South Wales (later known as Victoria), 30 Jun 1841. https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/E289FC3D-F1B1-11E9-AE98-4F5884FEEC7B?image=272
- HISCOCK THOS 29 CAROLINE 1841-07 1 265
- HISCOCK PHEBE 30 CAROLINE 1841-07 1 265
- HISCOCK THOS 6 CAROLINE 1841-07 1 265
- HISCOCK JOHN 4 CAROLINE 1841-07 1 265
- ↑ Ship Arrival: Shipping Intelligence. (1841, July 1). Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1839 - 1845), p. 2. Retrieved June 17, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226511020
- ↑ Death Index
Victoria Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
Index entry for Thomas Hiscock
FATHER: Not Listed
MOTHER: Not Listed
PLACE OF DEATH: Victoria Australia
SPOUSE: Phoebe Blanchard
AGE: 42 - DATE OF DEATH: 1855
REF No:4751/1855 - ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214331968/thomas-hiscock: accessed 17 June 2023), memorial page for Thomas Hiscock Sr. (1812–25 Jul 1855), Find a Grave Memorial ID 214331968, citing Buninyong Cemetery, Buninyong, Ballarat City, Victoria, Australia; Maintained by Karen B (contributor 50333061).
- ↑ Family Notices (1855, July 28). Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer (Vic. : 1851 - 1856), p. 3 (DAILY.). Retrieved June 17, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91870930
- ↑ VICTORIA'S FIRST GOLD (1932, September 30). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 16. Retrieved June 17, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243037377
See also
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hiscock
- Buninyong and District Historical Society Inc. Newsletter AUGUST 2001, Reg. No. A0030085Y. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~buninhis/pages/newaug01.htm
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His story can be found in Wikipedia. Death Certificate states he was 42 which would make his year of birth 1812 or 1813. Family records state he was born in 1809.
From source:Chris Simpson
Thomas Hiscock was born in Berkshire, England, in 1812. He married Phoebe Blanchard in 1833 and the couple had two sons before moving to Australia on 1 July 1841. They sailed on the 'Caroline' and landed at Geelong, Victoria They had three more children, all daughters, after arriving in Australia (the eastern half of which was then known as New South Wales). He initially worked for a squatter in Trawalla before setting up as a blacksmith in Buninyong. He spent some time searching for gold around the Buninyong area, finally discovering an outcropping of gold-bearing reef in August 1851. This discovery led to increased interest in Victoria from gold prospectors, who soon uncovered gold at nearby Ballarat. In 1854 Hiscock was awarded £1000 and was presented with a 21 Oz Gold Cup, for his part in the Victorian Gold Rush, but he was struck down by a cold contracted at the Mount Alexander diggings before he could receive it. He died on 25 July 1855.
Buried Buninyong Cemetery
Update - Gold Cup:
Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette - Thursday 23 September 1869, Page 4
AUSTRALIAN CUP.
A relic of the Ballarat gold-discovery is now being transferred to British keeping.
Some time ago Mr J. T. Sleep, Ballarat, possessed, by purchase from the representative of the original presentee of the magnificent golden cup given by the people to Mr Thomas Hiscock of Buninyong.
Recently. Mr Sleep sold the cup to Mr Findlay, M.P. for Glasgow who is now in Victoria on a visit to his relatives, and shortly intends to return to the mother country.
Though the cup has passed out the hands of its original owner, it will still be held by one who will set the proper value upon it at the antipodes, and cherish it among his heirlooms.
The cup is one handled, and ornamented with the scroll-pattern was made from gold unearthed by Mr Hiscock.
It weighs 21 oz., and cost about £2OO.
The cup bears the following inscription "Presented by the people of Geelong to Thomas Hiscock, the first discoverer of the Buninyong gold-field.”
Mr Findlay will shortly return to Scotland with the historical prize.
Newspaper article: The Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer Thursday January 31, 1856