Edward Godfrey Hester, Free Settler “Lotus” 1829

Edward & Theodosia opened a store in Bunbury, moving in 1858 to the Nelson District (now Bridgetown) establishing the home "Blackwood Park" where they raised 14 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood. Edward was Secretary of the Nelson Roads Board for some years and also a J.P. 17 at 1837 Census. Edward is mentioned in the following :- "The Australian Race, Vol. 1" Vocabulary no. 25, Blackwood District: Kardagur Tribe, pp.360-361. 115 words. Available in the Institute of Applied Aboriginal Studies, PO Box 66, Mt Lawley WA 6050. Note about Bridgtown :-

First explored by Thomas Turner, who traced the Blackwood River 1834, it was E.G. Hester and John Blechynden who arrived and settled in the area around 1857.

The government acquired some of Blechynden's land in 1868 and it is on this land that the town now stands. Officially proclaimed on June 4, 1868 and named Bridgetown after the barque (ship) “Bridgetown” which carried the first exports of the region back to the UK.

Apples were grown in the district in the following decades, and has proved to be one of the area's enduring industries with over 8 000 tons being shipped out of the area before World War II and 100 000 cases being packed in the 1960s.

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via daughter Evelyn Hastings Egerton-warburton (born Hester) by SmartCopy: Dec 30 2014, 13:23:13 UTC