THREE hundred years of emigration from Tavistock and the surrounding district have been explored for a brand-new exhibition at the town's museum. Until October, Tavistock museum, located above the archway at Court Gate, will be the venue for the exhibition, which mainly concentrates on the period of emigration during the 19th century. Stories and information for the exhibition have been compiled by local history society members Alex Mettler and Linda Elliott. Alex first got a taste for researching emigration ten to 15-years ago — and last year he was asked, along with Linda, to put together this exhibition for the museum's community room. The final product of their hard work is an informative, detailed and interesting exhibition, which delves deep into the history of West Devon population, with some individual stories of local emigrants. A specific section on how emigration affected Tavistock is the period between 1801 to 1841, when the population of the parish increased by some 80%, from 3,420 to 6,272. Then between 1841 and 1861, the population rose further to a peak of 8,965, largely as a result of the opening of the Devon Great Consols Mines. As a result of the decline in the fortunes of the local mining industry from the mid 1860s, there was a steady decline to 5,764 in 1901. Alex said: 'We have tried to explore what happened to the local people when the mining industries collapsed. 'I wanted to see where they went and how. They went because they wanted better standards of living — which sometimes they didn't get. 'What I have tried to show is how many went, who went, and what happened when they got there, the ships they went on, the emigration agents used and also how emigration affected Tavistock.' Emigrating in the 18th and 19th centuries wasn't always plain sailing. The only way emigrants could get to their destinations was by sea — sometimes taking up to four months in cramped conditions. The voyages to Canada were six to eight weeks, South Africa eight to ten weeks and Australia two to four months. Before iron ships were introduced, smaller, less stable wooden ships were used for migration, and journeys were longer and living conditions were harsh — two adults had to share a sleeping space just 3ft by 6ft in size, and families shared mixed sex accommodation. The Gold Rush is also featured in the exhibition, a period of migration of workers throughout the 19th century to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States in search of fortune. There are stories from single people and families from the Tavistock area, recounting the different adventures people experienced in their travels. The exhibition recounts the journeys of Charles John Drake Robjohns, born at Two Bridges, Tavistock, who wrote diaries of his sea journey to Australia and his experiences searching for gold in New Zealand. Reginald Henry Rogers, born in 1893 in Tavistock, the son of monumental mason John G Rogers, died on the Titanic on April 15, 1912. He was on his way to America at the invitation of his uncle. Henry was due to sail on a coal ship — but ended up travelling on the Titanic. He was 19 when he died on the 'unsinkable ship', which struck an iceberg and sank with the loss of 1,517 lives. Another story features the daughter of the Rev James Henry, who was the vicar of Sampford Spiney for 33 years. His daughter, Edith, married Frank Henry, her cousin, in 1903. Frank was an assayer. He sailed for Mexico and was later followed by Edith and their first child who was a year old at the time. But one night, bandits arrived at their house. Frank got his guns and ran out into the yard but was shot through the heart. The family returned home and Edith bought a cottage in Whitchurch and was employed as a teacher. She died in 1953 aged 77. Another story features Henry Richard Hancock, born in 1836 in Horrabridge. He emigrated to Australia in 1864 and became the highly respected captain of the famous Moonta Mine. He was known as 'Cap'n 'Ancock'. Linda, who is also on the museum committee, said the exhibition is mainly on people from Tavistock and the surrounding areas. She said: 'We thought this exhibition would be of interest to people as there was a large number of people who emigrated to places like Canada, America and even Mexico. 'I think it makes a very good exhibition.'
