Chandler Family History

William and Kate Chandler were early settlers in The Basin. Their family had a large influence in development of The Basin and surrounding districts.

Kitty Chandler Recollections
Kitty Chandler was born in 1887, the youngest of eleven children born to William and Kate (nee Timewell).
Kitty never married and spent most of her adult life in the company of her mother until Kate died. She then moved into the home of her sister, Louisa Maguire.

Video of Chandler family photographs
This video is on YouTube (19 minutes).

Transcript of Louisa Timewell’s Journal (pdf)
The journal was written aboard the sailing ship “Birmingham” sailing from London in 1852, and arrival in Melbourne after disembarking.
Louisa Timewell was Kate Chandlers mother. Louisa left her parents and siblings in London and travelled to Melbourne with her husband, brother and her two children.
The journal was written for her London family and shipped there. It was part of mail cargo bound for London and the ship carrying the mail sank. The ship was raised, and the journal, being wrapped in oilcloth, survived. It was returned to Louisa.
The first page of the transcript shows a ruler and coin beside the first page of the journal to give some indication of the its size.The original is held in The State Library of Victoria. Several family members have visited the library to see the original.

Last Updated April 2022