Tag: australian history

There’s Been a Cover-Up. A Royal Cover-Up.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

There were clues.

Evidence of a cover-up.

Involving the Prince of Wales.

And a Roman Catholic widow.

They were secretly married.

Was it legal?

Were there children?

Legitimate children.

Then where were they?

I think I know.

It’s not where you think.

Buy my 236-page book ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’ here and enjoy the paranormal adventure across 5 countries.

The Pope said, yes.

The British Parliament said, no.

Who was right?

Everywhere I looked the real evidence was not there.

Vital papers had been burned.

Identities were removed.

The true history had not been told.

I knew they were Royalty.

Yes, that was 250 years ago.

In Regency times.

In England.

But, incredibly, involving the very early days of British settlement in New South Wales (Australia) and New Zealand).

Who would know?

Certainly not the official line.

Not recorded history.

But I had the paranormal clues.

And they gave me enough, like the smoke, that is evidence of there being a fire.

In the end, after considerable research, I found enough smoke to show there must have been a fire.

The Prince of Wales had his position – and his head – on the line,

All good reason for the cover-up.

I understand.

Now, 25 years later, someone wants the truth to out.

Which is where my story becomes truly paranormal.

I can’t claim proof.

That’s been cleverly destroyed.

I can claim evidence like the smoke that gives away a fire.

Read my 236 page book and judge for yourself.

You’ll enjoy the fun and entertaining read.

You’ll ponder the spiritual wisdom as the Truth comes out.

In this sense, it’s a mind/body/spirit story (as well as an historical exposure).

With some romance along the way.

Reader’s Digest said, “You have discerned an amazing story.”

“It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster,” they said.

A Royal cover-up which, as you will see, all started with a ghost.

A ghost who appears at Chapter 3 – The Ghost of Granny Fitz’.

Buy the book ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’ here and enjoy the great read.

Love and peace.

Neil the Smith
My Author Page

The Mystery of the ‘Mary Ann’.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

The ‘Mary Ann’ was an all-female convict ship which had sailed to New South Wales (Australia had not been named yet) as part of the Third Fleet in 1791 “under strange circumstances.”

Strange circumstances?

Although officially one of the Third Fleet the ‘Mary Ann’ sailed independently of the rest of the fleet, leaving England forty days before the first of the other ships. The remaining nine vessels were mostly in a bad state of repair, “mostly old, and the Navy Board’s officers were less than vigilant than usual or had no alternative but to accept vessels that were in poor repair and ill-found.” 1

Under the command of her part-owner, Mark Monroe, the 298 ton vessel sailed from England on the 16 February, 1791, arriving in Port Jackson on 9 July. This was the fastest voyage yet made by any ship of the three fleets. Bateson reports a cargo of 150 female convicts but the records of ‘Shipping Arrivals & Departures, Sydney, 1788-1825′2show this to be incorrect. The ‘Mary Ann’ (officially) carried 141 female convicts, six children and one free woman. Six children and one free woman? She was the only ship in the fleet to carry exclusively female, and no male, convicts.

Read the full expose in my true paranormal mind/body/spirit adventure here.

There were a number of indications of a hasty departure. As reported by Collins, the Master of the ship “had not any private papers on board (but what added to the disappointments everyone experienced), he had not brought a single newspaper, and having been but a few weeks from Greenland before sailing for this country, he was destitute of any kind of information.” 3

Even more intriguing was an incident reported by Charles Bateson. After a grueling 143 days at sea “possibly because she called at only one port en route to refresh her prisoners with fresh provisions” a very strange thing happened.

“The Master landed a boat in a bay on the coast about 15 miles to the southward of Botany Bay; but no other observation of any consequence to the colony, than that it was a bay in which a boat may land.” 4

Notice it was the Master who landed the boat according to Bateson.

Puzzled by this I wrote to my genealogist in England asking for information about the ‘Mary Ann’.

“There seem to be no ships musters for the ‘Mary Ann’,” he wrote back. “Looked next the embarkations returns for 1791 but there was no mention of the ‘Mary Ann’ … I looked at the Home Office lists for the ‘Mary Ann’ but these give only the list of convicts, so there is something wrong with your data.”

I found the list of female convicts on the ‘Mary Ann’ but none for the free women and child.

So what have we got?

The Master of the ‘Mary Ann’, a female convict ship carrying six children and one free woman, lands a boat on the coast away from the main settlement about fifteen miles from their port of destination, for no apparent reason, even though there must have been many on board who were ill and in need of fresh food and water having stopped only once on the journey. Her departure does not seem to have been recorded in England. No ships musters could be found. She leaves hastily “under strange circumstances” without the usual papers, sailing over a month in advance of the other ships in the fleet and making the trip in record time. The captain also happens to be the part-owner.

Was something fishy going on here?

But that’s not all.

Bateson offers another interesting observation. “Of the ten sail of transports [the Third Fleet] lately arrived, five, after delivering their cargo, were to proceed on the southern whaling fisheries – the ‘Mary Ann’, ‘Matilda’, ‘William and Mary’, ‘Salamanda’ and ‘Brittania’. Two of the whalers, ‘Matilda’ and ‘Mary Ann’, came in from the sea the day on which the others arrived. The former found a boat in a bay on the coast six miles to the southward of Port Stephens …” 5

Port Stephens is some 200 miles to the north of Botany Bay.

Was there some kind of cover-up going on?

I know what was going on and it was a cover-up to save the Prince of Wales’ Skin.

Or maybe his neck.

I wrote the book to answer this and other big questions.

You can buy ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’ HERE.

Love and Peace.

Neil the Smith

REFERENCES:

1 ‘The Convict Ships’ by Charles Bateson, Naval Historical Society of Australia. Page 131.

2 ‘Shipping Arrivals and Departures, Sydney, 1788-1825’, Roebuck Society, Canberra, 1977.

3 ‘An Account of the English Colony of New South Wales’ by David Collins.

4 Collins.

5Bateson.

Was This The Ghost of The Prince’s Mistress? Or Wife?

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

There has been an unsolved mystery, and closely guarded secret, from the time of George the Fourth, Prince of Wales.

Was he married to this Roman Catholic widow?

Legitimately.

And did they have children?

Legitimately.

Heirs to the throne of England.

Would this have changed the course of history?

Two hundred years or so later there have been many attempts to answer those questions.

None very convincingly.

Have I uncovered a somewhat more convincing case.

Re-opened by a ghost.

A ghost whose story I stumbled upon while living, broke, in an old caravan parked by the roadside in a country town in the Australian bush.

Which led me on an amazing adventure across five countries seeking answers to the cover-up.

Here’s my true and shocking paranormal story.

Paranormal, yes.

About a ghost, yes.

Leading to genuine historical evidence to support the yes and yes case.

I’ve written the book called ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’.

Order your copy now and see for yourself.

Love and peace.

Neil the Smith

PS. Buy the book HERE.

Urban Nomad. Who is the Smith?

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

I am the Smith.

I am the author.

Why ‘the Smith’?

The smiths were the crafters, the metal smiths, the blacksmiths, the makers of Medieval Britain a thousand years ago.

I am the wordsmith.

I’ve written and self-published 8 autobiographical books.

Click or tap the image above to see.

This smith has lived everywhere.

Over 50 dwellings have been my home.

An ancient aboriginal corroboree ground in a wilderness area known as Fairy Hills where the creek met the river was my first memory of life.

And only a few kilometres from the Melbourne CBD.

I’ve just learned they’ve been digging up ancient aboriginal artifacts that suggest this.

I’ve lived with psychics and healers.

And sat with mediums or channels.

I’ve lived with a Reiki Master in New York.

With a Roman Catholic nurse in the north of Italy.

With a Buddhist in the UK.

My lawyer was an Atheist.

I didn’t live with him.

I ran my own freelance copywriting business. in the ’70s

In 1972 I won an award for the best television campaign of the year for a brand of meat pies and donuts.

I was a New Age hippie.

We knew about climate change 50 years ago.

A group of us started a commune on 40 acres north of Melbourne to become self-sufficient and live off the grid.

A year later we’d failed.

I helped launch Animal Liberation here.

Our patron was Peter Singer, who was then Professor of Bioethics at Harvard., and wrote the book ‘Animal Liberation’.

45 years later it’s still active today.

I was the first member of the Permaculture Association.

Which, started by two Tasmanian academics in the late ’70s, today is changing the world

Now there are over one million people certified in Permaculture in over 140 countries with more than 4,000 projects on the ground.

I went bankrupt.

An article I researched and wrote 35 years ago – about the Swiss and Italian gold miners who came to Australia in the 1850s – triggered the launch of a Swiss-Italian Festa which is still running every year today in a local spa resort town.

Their story is in my book here.

I ran a social group called ‘The Springs Whole Health Group’.

We never ran out of guest speakers on healing topics, from ley lines to chemical sensitivity, who I’d enjoy interviewing every month before our next meeting.

Then I would write an article for the local paper which they always published on page 3 or 5.

This while living frugally in an old caravan parked at the end of a street in the spa resort town.

Over 5 years I became known as the man in the van.

I studied many spiritual philosophies.

I studied Religious Experience as an off campus mature age student at Uni –

The Christian Mystics

The Hindu Bhagavad-Gita.

Australian Aboriginal Dreaning.

I practiced Yoga for 50 years from wherever I called home.

Briefly I joined the Theosophical Society in Melbourne, with headquarters in Adyar, India, with the motto ‘There is no religion higher than Truth’.

I met and befriended the Librarian of the Melbourne branch, a Wise Woman, who taught me how and where and why to search for Truth.

What is Truth?

For a time I was married and today have the pleasure of a beautiful family of 2 lovely daughters, 3 adorable granddaughters and 2 mischievous great grandsons.

I’m truly blessed

Visit my 8 fun and entertaining autobiographical books on my Author Page here.

You can find more of my adventures in my autobiographical books.

Namaste.

Neil the Smith (author)

PS. I recommend – ‘Our Thoughts Can Change The World’ (104 pages) and The Great Regency Cover-Up’ (236 pages). Buy both now and pay less P&P.

Cover-Up in British Parliament

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Faced with a scandal around the Prince of Wales – was he secretly married and were there children – in 1784 Opposition Leader Charles James Fox “warned that Maria’s situation as well as that of the Prince would be perilous if they went through a ceremony of marriage.” Get my book ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’ to read my true mystery story. “A marriage with a Catholic would remove the Prince from the succession to the throne – if it were a real marriage – but that was just what it could not be … Fox went on to explain the anomalous position that any children of the marriage would be in; illegitimate when born, but possibly legitimized in later life, if the Prince were to give himself permission under the Royal Marriage Act to repeat the marriage when he became King.” The Prince ignored Fox’s warnings claiming that “there not only is, but never was, any grounds for these reports, which have of late been so malevolently circulated.” Then for some reason Maria did a complete about face and agreed to go ahead with the marriage and, in November, returned to England. “I have told him I will be his,” she wrote to Lady Anne Lindsay, her traveling companion who had returned to England ahead of her. “I know I injure him and perhaps destroy for ever my own tranquility.” In the light of her earlier insistence and against all the advice to the contrary, her high morals and staunch Catholic beliefs, I wonder what caused her to suddenly change her mind and reverse her original firm stand? Could it be that she was having his child? A legitimate child?

From page 105 of my book ‘The Great Regency Cover-Up’.

Love and Peace.

Neil.

Quotes from ‘The Most Polished Gentleman: George IV and the Women in his
Life’ by Cynthia Campbell, Kudos 1995. Page 83.

Have I Found Australia’s Secret King?

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

I’ve written a book revealing clues to a secret hidden until now in the Third Fleet of female convicts sent to the new colony of Australia.

The ship was named the ‘Mary Ann’.

Here is the cover of my true story showing a painting of a small boat with secrets being smuggled ashore even before she offloaded her cargo of suffering female convicts.

So what was the big hurry?

This rare unknown painting shows a small boat leaving the ‘Mary Ann’, the only all-female convict ship and one of eleven to sail to Australia from England in 1791 as the Third Fleet.

She sailed hastily a month ahead of the rest “under strange circumstances”.

“You have discerned an amazing story.” – Writer’s Digest

Right from the start there’s a paranormal mystery.

Why did the ‘Mary Ann’, the only all-female convict ship among the Third Fleet of convicts to Australia, leave England in 1791 in such a hurry before the rest of the fleet and “under strange circumstances”?

Who was the Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’ and what was his true shocking identity?

Have I found the unsuspected unknown missing children of George IV?

Even legitimate children.

What happened to them?

Maybe I know.

ORDER your copy o this explosive new book HERE.

Best wishes.

Neil.

Ghost Busts 200 Year-Old Royal Cover-Up.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Was granny really a ghost on a mission?

Did she live 200 years ago as a wife of the Prince of Wales?

Was her story desperately covered up in the interests of the politics of the day?

And of saving the Prince of Wales’ head?

Read the full story in my book ‘Man Steps Off Planet’ (click here).

At a time of serious anti-Catholic sentiment, of the Gordon riots, even the memory of her deceased late husband who died from injuries he suffered in the riots, was the cover-up in the greater interests of the country, the Parliament . . . and the throne?

Has she returned to state her case for justice?

And legal rights and, as she would claim, a legitimate right to her place in history?

Okay, it’s merely conjecture, but read ‘Dr Desailly’s Secret’ and ‘Florence & The Ghost’ and you may wonder about what really happened 200 years ago.

A time when the Prince of Wales and the wife of a secret marriage, were living in dangerous times.

A time when even the fact that the Royal heir might have married a Catholic as well as against the wishes of the King, George III.

In a letter to the Prince of Wales, Whig politician and leader of the opposition Charles James Fox:

“warned that her situation as well as that of the Prince would be perilous if they went through a ceremony of marriage.”

But they did.

And not only that.

At first she refused all suggestion of marriage.

Then she changed her mind.

Could it be that she was having his child?

And was this child legitimate?

In the chapter ‘The Secret Marriage’ I present the evidence that there was a child.

There were rumours on the couple’s two summers in Brighton.

“It is said she is with child,” wrote a Mrs Talbot.

Could this have been the secret reason for their extended holidays in the seaside resort of Brighton?

Was this a good reason for the distraction of the building of the Royal Pavilion there.

The Pope declared the secret marriage valid.

Read my evidence in ‘The Secret Marriage’ in my book of revelations ‘Man Steps Off Planet’.

Writer’s Digest thinks it’s a blockbuster and “an amazing story”.

At the time all of the evidence was destroyed.

This hasn’t stopped speculation as to whether there were children and, more to the point, where are they?

What happened to them.

I very much doubt, however, if anyone found the evidence I have offered in my book.

This was the time of the historic First Fleets to Australia of mostly convicts sent to start a new colony in the antipodes.

Read the full story in my book ‘Man Steps Off Planet’ (click here).

What a perfect opportunity to disappear an unwanted child and an embarrassment to the Prince of Wales.

I have considered, for example, the fortunate timing of a child with the migration to the end of the earth on one of the First Fleets.

On the same morning that the first ships of the First Fleet sailed for Botany Bay (Australia) on 13 May 1787 carrying 737 convicts, the Prince of Wales was discussing his debts with the Prime Minister, William Pitt.

It’s interesting to note that the Second Fleet two-and-a-half years later carried 22 children and one free person.

It’s impossible to identify who the children were.

This can be found in the chapter ‘The Mystery of the Mary Ann’.

But then we also have three secret messages which point to an interesting man, an unsung hero from that time, with many clues to his identity as a possible child of this Royal couple.

His name is Lieutenant James Simmons.

For a time of great significance to us he was Acting Commander of the brig ‘Lady Nelson‘.

Read the chapters ‘The Lady Nelson’, ‘The Lieutenant Without a Past’, and ‘The Sailor King’.

With this ship he sailed the waters around south-eastern Australia founding Hobart and Launceston in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania).

He developed a close friendship with the colony’s first Chaplain, the Reverend Robert Knopwood.

He fostered friendly relations between the Governor of New South Wales and New Zealand when others before him provoked disaster.

All is revealed in ‘Chief Ti-Pahi & The Maori Episode’.

It’s an interesting read.

One reviewer called it “fun and entertaining”.

I hope you will too.

To order your copy click here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neil Walter John Smith started his career as an advertising copywriter working on creative accounts like Volkswagen, Herbert Adams and Clark’s Shoes. He won an award for Adams meat pies commercials in the Best TV Campaign for the year. For 10 years he worked freelance as a one-man creative director for some of Melbourne’s hottest creative shops. He then moved to the country to work as an author of non-fiction books. Today he lives in a small picturesque fishing village across the bay from the city of Melbourne close to his 2 beautiful daughters and 3 adorable granddaughters.

To follow my blog scroll down and click the Follow button.

Illustration by nicobou at Deviantart

“You have discerned an amazing story”.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

*SPIRITUAL & PARANORMAL.*

Who was the ghost whose pleas needed to be heard? Was this the secret wife of a British Royal wanting her story to be told 200 years later? What was her message? How can I explain the endless fortunate timing, the lucky appearance of people and places that moved my story along?

What words of wisdom do I offer along the way to explain spiritual and metaphysical events. I invite you to read and enjoy my *fun and entertaining* true story titled ‘Man Steps Off Planet’.

Read of my unplanned and unexpected serendipitous discoveries that led me to people and adventures I had never dreamed I would find. “You have discerned an amazing story,” said Writer’s Digest.

*INSPIRATIONAL EXPERIENCES.*

Here’s how it all began. As I headed for the hills, away from my family, my freelance business now bankrupt, my hopes and dreams, I might just as well have stepped off the planet into another world. I had to learn a new way to live. What can you learn from my experiences? Without any plan, without any guide as to how to survive when broke, I sailed forth on an unexpected adventure that transformed me and my world.

*HISTORY OF EARLY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AND UNSUNG HEROES.*

What secrets were uncovered, what historical mysteries revealed, in this unpredictable book about what happened next, full of twists and turns. Hidden evidence was revealed when an innocent ancestry search mixed with 3 mysterious messages each with 3 clues plus the appearance of a real ghost with a critical clue combined to set up an unexpected historical mystery from Regency England 200 years ago.

*ROMANTIC ADVENTURES.*

What life messages, what spiritual wisdom, what historical intrigues did I learn in my untypical fun romantic paranormal historical true mystery world adventure? Read my struggle for survival, the extraordinary events that happened after bankruptcy, the fun and the drama as I describe every moment as it unfolded. This is an adventure for its time. Learn from my amazing story how you, too, can survive and live the good life as if this was another planet. It’s a page turner.

*RAVE REVIEWS.*

“It’s got everything it needs to be a blockbuster: romance, history, the paranormal . . . big stories like this are difficult to tell.” Judge, Writer’s Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards, USA.

“This is a fun and entertaining manuscript. The characters are fabulous, as is the storyline. I am impressed with your imagination, writing skills and storytelling ability. The readers will truly love this material.” Writers Literary & Publishing Service, USA.

If you would like to learn more about thus unusual non-fiction page-turner click here.

Enjoy.

Neil.

PS. That’s a recent photo of the author visiting a local animal rescue farm.

Unsung Heroes From Aussie Italian Gold Rush Miners to Sailing Ship Mysteries & a Lost British Prince In Aus.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

It’s the Gold Rush era of California, New Zealand and southern Australia. They came from the Ticino region in the south of Switzerland and the foothills of the Alps in the north of Italy in the 1850s hoping to strike gold. Many sailed out on borrowed money expecting to strike it rich and make their fortunes in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, where I lived for 5 years. Most didn’t.

But hey, were they unsung heroes who left behind a permanent legacy of Italy in the Aussie bush?

There was a ghost. A clue led me back to a fashionable Catholic widow over 200 years ago in Regency England who secretly married the heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales. I think it was a legitimate marriage which, if proven by the other clues I uncovered, would have cast serious doubts on events of that time. If there were legitimate children then where are they? Who were they? And how did they change history, if at all?

But hey, was the first born son an unsung hero who was sent secretly to Australia and became the enigmatic Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’?

And there’s more.

Explore.

Illustrated: The tale of the mutiny on the Bounty remains one of the most intriguing stories of adventure on the high seas more than 200 years after the ill fated voyage that made Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian legends. But what of the unsung heroes (like the unknown British sailor without a past who became Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’) who sailed with Bligh on the ‘Bounty’?

Neil.

How Miracles Happen.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

I was broke. For 5 years my home was a leaky old caravan parked outside its owner’s home at the end of a dead end street in Hepburn Springs in Victoria’s Central Highlands. I was at a loose end. I started to look into the fascinating stories of the Gold Rush in the area. I found a largely untold history of Swiss-Italian migrants who came out in the 1850s to try their luck on the goldfields. Many stayed on. Fresh pasta was still on the menu at many local restaurants. The local butcher still sold the real Italian bull-boar sausages. Many of the original typical rural Swiss or Italian farmhouses were still working farms, others lay in ruins. I wrote the story and it was published in the local newspaper. The owner of the General Store picked up my story and started a Swiss-Italian Festa with street marches, history displays, even a pasta sauce recipe competition. After 30 years it’s still an annual tourist event in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. ‘Italy In The Aussie Bush’ is chapter 8 of 30 chapters in ‘Man Steps Off Planet’. We don’t need money to make miracles happen.

The Man Who Didn’t Know He Was Prince.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Two hundred years ago the Prince of Wales was in a precarious position. Even his life was in danger. There were reasons. This is my revelation of a legitimate son born from a secret marriage to a Catholic widow. I think they were soul mates but England thought they were trouble.

We have no portraits of him as other famous and even not-so-famous explorers from history do. Has he been a forgotten man, a hero of his time?

Hardly anything is known of him except for his role as Acting Commander of the brig ‘Lady Nelson’.

Could he have been the hitherto unknown father of a legitimate son of the British King George IV from a time when, as the Prince of Wales, he left one mistress after another and then secretly married the Catholic widow and socialite Maria Fitzherbert?

Would Victoria have become Queen had they known about him?

We may never know but, based on the evidence, we can speculate.

In my book ‘Man Steps Off Planet’ I have speculated and reached a shocking conclusion.

Read the evidence I’ve uncovered after extensive research and decide for yourself.

Much of the research has been driven by paranormal events all started by a ghost.

In the end it’s all true (not a novel or a work of fiction).

So who was this unsung hero from over 200 years ago?

He was very active in the story of early British settlement of Australia and New Zealand with a population of mainly convicts.

He understood the native Maroi of New Zealand and fostered harmonious relations between Chief Ti-Pahi and Governor King.

He was in the thick of Australia’s only military coup and was chosen to escort Governor William Bligh back to England to be court marshaled.

There are also heartwarming true stories.

Like when one of his crew fell in love with the Chief’s daughter and stayed behind to marry her.

Or the unbelievable tale of William Buckley, a convict who escaped from a failed settlement near Melbourne 30 years before the city was even founded as “the place for a village”.

He lived with the local aborigines as their leader and was met by the party that sailed from Tasmania to found Melbourne in 1830.

On his many voyages he became friendly with the Reverend Robert Knopwood, the first chaplain of Tasmania, and was heavily involved in the dramatic politics of this early penal colony.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.

You can read how the mystery unfolded for me and my travels around the world chasing clues and searching for evidence to support the little known events surrounding this intriguing historical saga.

Did you enjoy reading this post? Scroll down to follow my blog for future email posts.

Best wishes,

Neil Smith

To read in your browser click here.

To order your copy of the book from the publisher at 10% off click here.

Illustration: ‘Frog Prince’ by YolandaBlazquez on Deviantart.

The Lost Prince of Oz.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Who was this mysterious man without a past, a British seaman who sailed to New South Wales, as Australia was called then, with the notorious William Bligh of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame?

We have no portraits of him as other famous and even not-so-famous explorers from history do.

Has he been a forgotten man, a hero of his time?

Hardly anything is known of him except for his role as Acting Commander of the brig ‘Lady Nelson’.

Could he have been the hitherto unknown father of a legitimate son of the British King George IV from a time when, as the Prince of Wales, he left one mistress after another and then secretly married the Catholic widow and socialite Maria Fitzherbert?

Would Victoria have become Queen had they known about him?

We may never know but, based on the evidence, we can speculate.

In my book ‘Back to the Wall’ I have speculated and reached a shocking conclusion.

Read the evidence I’ve uncovered after extensive research and decide for yourself.

Much of the research has been driven by paranormal events all started by a ghost.

In the end it’s all true (not a novel or a work of fiction).

So who was this unsung hero from over 200 years ago?

He was very active in the story of early British settlement of Australia and New Zealand with a population of mainly convicts.

He understood the native Maroi of New Zealand and fostered harmonious relations between Chief Ti-Pahi and Governor King.

He was in the thick of Australia’s only military coup and was chosen to escort Governor William Bligh back to England to be court marshaled.

There are also heartwarming true stories.

Like when one of his crew fell in love with the Chief’s daughter and stayed behind to marry her.

Or the unbelievable tale of William Buckley, a convict who escaped from a failed settlement near Melbourne 30 years before the city was even founded as “the place for a village”.

He lived with the local aborigines as their leader and was met by the party that sailed from Tasmania to found Melbourne in 1830.

On his many voyages he became friendly with the Reverend Robert Knopwood, the first chaplain of Tasmania, and was heavily involved in the dramatic politics of this early penal colony.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.

You can read how the mystery unfolded for me and my travels around the world chasing clues and searching for evidence to support the little known events surrounding this intriguing historical saga.

Did you enjoy reading this post? Scroll down to follow my secret blog for future email posts.

Best wishes,

Neil
My Author Website

To read in your browser click here.

To order your copy of the book from the publisher at 10% off click here.

 

 

The Acting Commander Of The ‘Lady Nelson’ Had a Secret. Even He Never Knew What It Was.

~ neilwjsmith ~ Leave a comment

Was this a closely guarded secret from over 200 years ago?

Was the Acting Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’ a legitimate heir to the throne of England in spite of a secret marriage between the Prince of Wales and a Roman Catholic widow (illustrated above)?

Was he secretly placed at a young age into an institution for homeless boys where he would be forgotten?

But then, if the Pope declared the secret marriage a legitimate one, what then of any child from the marriage?

Because of a single clue left by a ghost, yes a ghost, 100 years ago, could his secret identity have been uncovered?

I think it was.

Because it was me who uncovered it.

On 1 December 1786, at the age of about seven, he was given his first official naval appointment (we know this to be a fact because it says so on his official naval record written by himself) as a Lieutenant’s Servant on the ‘Standard’ in Plymouth.

Then 17 years later in the very early days of British settlement of Australia he was chosen ny Governor King to take command of the tall ship ‘Lady Nelson’.

One hot November day just over two hundred years ago in the fledgling convict settlement at Port Jackson, as a midshipman only recently arrived in the colony, he found himself appointed Acting Lieutenant and Commander of HMS ‘Lady Nelson’.

The ship’s previous commander, Lieutenant George Curtoys, had become so ill from unloading cargo in the extreme heat that a replacement was needed on the spot. The man chosen was James Simmons, at first a midshipman on the governor’s own ship then mate on the ‘Lady Nelson’.

The year was 1803. He would have been just twenty-four or twenty-five at the time.

That he was selected in an emergency for an instant promotion to Acting Lieutenant and Commander of the ‘Lady Nelson’ is perhaps the first indication of the emerging qualities of a young man who seems to be one of the forgotten unsung heroes of Australian history. He has an extraordinary story to tell, an adventure of which very few (as far as I know) even today have ever heard, of a man only briefly mentioned, if at all, in the history books.

Midshipman James Simmons had sailed for New South Wales on 20 June 1802 on the ‘Glatton’ as an able seaman midshipman under Captain Colnett. The previous year the ‘Glatton’ had fought with Admiral Nelson in the Battle of Copenhagen under the command of William Bligh, of ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ fame, with whom James would cross swords later in yet another infamous episode involving Captain Bligh in Australia’s only military coup.

After a sea journey of nine months the ‘Glatton’ arrived at New South Wales in March 1803. The Governor of the colony was Captain Philip Gidley King, the fifth appointment after two previous governors and two acting governors.

King had sailed with the First Fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip. He served as Second Lieutenant on the ‘Sirius’, the flagship of the fleet which arrived in New South Wales on 25 January 1788. Less than two months later King was appointed by Governor Phillip as Commandant of another penal settlement at Norfolk Island, to the north-east of Port Jackson.

Twelve years later, in 1800, he became Governor of New South Wales, replacing Captain John Hunter.

When midshipman James Simmons arrived in March 1803 he was appointed to Governor King’s own ship the ‘Buffalo’.

A lucky break?

Now, just eight months later, on this hot November day, he found himself unofficially and hastily moved to the command of the ‘Lady Nelson’ which was then armed tender to His Majesty’s Ship ‘Buffalo’.

Was this another lucky break or did King single him out for special treatment?

Did he display exceptional qualities even at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five?

What did I find when I set out to follow the clues that emerged after Granny’s ghost’s secret came to light?

Come with me as I learn this man’s 200 year-old secret?

What would the consequences have been had his secret be known at the time?

Read every moment of my adventure in ‘Back to the Wall’.

Best wishes,

Neil