He soon followed the example of others and made his way to the Ballarat diggings. He probably made his way to Ballarat via the older road which went through what are now worked out gold areas to link up with the road from Geelong, which goes through Buninyong, which prior to the gold-rushes was the only inland settlement in the state. It was established in the late thirties and had a Church boarding school, hotels and storekeepers when gold was found there on 3 August 1851, weeks before the opening up of Ballarat. Thousands of diggers passed through the village on their way to the rich alluvial diggings a few miles beyond, so it is probable that Thomas made his way there along that route. At that time Ballarat was located in what is now Ballarat East, and the Sovereign Hill recreation area gives us a good idea of the place as it would have been at the time of his arrival.

Some were successful, but most did not find the elusive metal, and suffered hardship in the process. He might have had a chance, but for a poor partner, who kept annoying him whilst sinking a shaft, so eventually my grandfather said "Well keep the damned claim" and walked off, only to learn too late, that the wily rascal had sighted gold but kept quiet about it! So he took employment in the Victorian Railways, and later acquired a farm at Yendon, on the Geelong line, but the house there, which many of us knew was moved later to the slopes of nearby Mt. Buninyong , which rises above the ancient village (by our reckoning; it was founded in the late thirties as a depot for inland Victoria).

I have an especial interest in Buninyong, as I was born at a house, Black Lead, (a Lead is a term for gold bearing earth which leads to more gold), on 9 March 1901 and briefly went to the Buninyong school, but the house my people owned has since disappeared, like most of the adjoining settlement, for in the early years houses were erected adjacent to gold bearing places.

Thomas Watson born 10/11/1838 & Emma Eliza Jane Phillips born 25/5/1844

Mrs Phillips moved from Geelong to Ballarat, and it was there that my grandparents met, and were married at St. Paul's, Ballarat East, where my grandmother sang in the choir. She was a member of the Ballarat Philharmonic Society, and I have membership tickets dated in the 1860's. My grandfather first met and had been attracted by her older sister, but he considered she talked too much, so it was Emma who became the mother of the large family they reared.

They first lived in Sebastopol, where the first child, Emma was born on 30 August 1866. She married a miner from Cornwall, John J. Jacka, and they later moved to the gold country of South Africa, and had three children. Unfortunately both the parents died, and the young Jacka's came back to be brought up by my grandparents as members of the family; a wonderful act which makes us all proud to be members of the Watson Clan. The next child Lillian, also born at Sebastopol, on 1 April 1868, married William Batt, whom I remember speaking of his work helping to clear the immense forests of Gippsland last century. He died on 13th September 1935, but she lived on until 28 December 1954. The first male Thomas, was born on 19 March 1871 at a new home in Crompton St., Ballarat North, and later married Lucy Hook, but although he did well in the railways, and became Station Master at Princes Bridge, he died early, on 11 March 1923. My father , Frederick George, also born Crompton St., on 25 October, 1873, met and married a school teacher , Agnes Amy Caldwell, the youngest of 13 children of William James Caldwell and Eliza Ann (Stevenson), who reached the tent town which was Ballarat early in 1852, when he was aged 21 (born 15 May 1830) and she was 19. His adventurous life, always seeking gold which eluded him, ended in his 93rd year.

My father, like his younger brother John, worked in the Ballarat area in the gold-mining industry, which had changed from alluvial to deep shaft mining. They worked above ground on the huge engines which were required for the industry, both in Ballart itself and later in places such as Buninyong and Rokewood, which were then busy towns, but when my brother Raymond Lennox, born at Buninyong on 15 January 1908 was only a few years old, and it was apparent the cold weather of the Ballarat plateau was too severe for him, my people moved to Golden Square, Bendigo, another large gold city, which had become a keen rival of Ballarat for the distinction of producing the most gold, both places claimed the value of gold secured was more than one hundred million pounds, a huge total. My two sisters were born at Golden Square, but I was transferred to Melbourne in 1926, and was serving in the Army as a Lieut-Colonel in North Queensland at the time my father died on 2 October 1943. My mother lived until 4 November 1954, grieved by the earlier death of my brother.

Gracedale, Home of Thomas and Emma Watson at Yendon, Victoria, near Ballarat.

The next member of the family, John Richard, born 16 December 1876 was the first to be born at Yendon; as were the later members. He married a member of a pioneer Wimmera family, Edith Yung, born 1 July 1887, and happily still with us. He too was early engaged in the gold industry, commencing as a braceman at the New Kohinoor Mine at Sebastopol, where my father had preceded him, and when Dad went on to a mine at Rokewood he again followed. Uncle Jack later worked on 15 different mines before changing to other tasks. He thrived on hard work, and wrote clearly of the early days until his death on 11 October 1973, at an advanced age. Sarah Ellen Goode nough, the last name being a link with the Admiral Goodenough whose name is commemorated in a sea passage near Papua, was born on 4 May 1879, and married William McDonald, and after his death Frederick Campbell. She died on 17 July 1945. The next daughter Elizabeth, born 22 September 1881, married John McGregor, who died 7 October 1966, she died on 5 November 1955. William Leslie was the next member, born 17 June 1883, and so has reached a great age. His first wife, Lily Cooper, died on 7 February 1950, and he later married Maud Frith, but she died later as the result of an accident. The youngest son, Edward Gordon Watson was born on 11 October 1885, and was another to enter Railway service. He married Elizabeth Jane Edmonds, a member of a pioneer Wimmera family. He died on 7 September 1970, being another to reach a good age. The next daughter, Hilda, was born on 6 May 1888, so we have sent her congratulations on another happy anniversary. She married George Horne, but unfortunately he died on 29 July 1955. Eva, the last member of the family was born on 14 June 1890, and married Leo Wise, but he too died early. Eva died on 8 July 1959, but it will be seen that the original family has had a remarkable record of longevity, and so have emulated their parents, for my grandfather was 81 when he died on 27 April 1920, and my grandmother the same age at her death on 12 October 1925