The chancel of St Luke’s Church at Bothwell in Tasmania has a magnificent memorial stained glass window by Ferguson & Urie created circa 1879.
The memorial text on the window reads: “ERECTED IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF HUNTER YOUNG BY SOME OF HIS NUMEROUS FRIENDS. A.D. 1879”.
Historic newspaper transcriptions:
Launceston Examiner, TAS, Monday 20th May 1878, page 2.
“TASMANIA (From our own correspondent) Bothwell, May 19”.
“Mr. Hunter Young, Scab Inspector for this district, was found dead in his bed this morning. An inquest will be held at noon to-morrow”
The Mercury, Hobart, TAS, Tuesday 21st May 1878, page 1.
FAMILY NOTICES
“YOUNG.- On May 19, at Bothwell, Hunter Young, aged 54”.
Launceston Examiner, Wednesday 22 May 1878, page 3.
“DEATH OF MR. HUNTER YOUNG.- A telegram from Bothwell in yesterday’s Mercury gives additional particulars to those already published by us. It states that Mr Hunter Young, Inspector of Sheep, was found dead in his bed at his lodgings at Bothwell on Sunday morning. Mr Bumford knocked at his door a little before church time, and receiving no answer, he entered his room and found Mr. Young lying apparently asleep, but quite dead.”
Launceston Examiner, TAS, Friday 24th May 1878, page 3.
“BOTHWELL. (From our own Correspondent.)”
“An inquest was held at the Council Chambers on Monday last, before A. Reid, Esq., and a jury of seven, on the body of Hunter Young, late sheep inspector of this district, who died suddenly at his lodgings early on Sunday morning last. The principal witness examined was Mr Edward Bumford, who deposed – I am a householder residing at Bothwell; I knew the deceased Hunter Young, the subject of this enquiry; I have seen his body this morning in presence of the coroner; he lodged at my house; his duties as inspector of sheep called him from home frequently; he returned home on Saturday afternoon last, having been away since Tuesday; he appeared well and more cheerful than usual; he took a hearty supper after he came home, and went out about 5 p.m., but returned about 8 o’clock and asked if his watch had been sent home, but on being told that it had not said, that he must go and enquire about it; after I had been in bed a good while I heard Mr Young return and slam the door to, but I do not know what time it was; as he did not rise at the usual hour on Sunday morning I knocked at his bedroom door about half-past ten, and receiving no answer I opened it and went inside and found deceased apparently asleep but quite dead; I closed the door and reported the circumstance to the Superintendant of Police. The superintendant of Police and Constable Bumford were also examined, Dr Naylor having made a post mortem examination gave evidence as to the cause of death – he described in professional language the result of his examination, the purport of which was that deceased had died from natural causes, namely, cerebral apoplexy. A verdict to that effect was returned accordingly.
The remains of the deceased gentleman were interred at the Bothwell cemetery on Tuesday afternoon, when a large concourse of friends attended the funeral, Mr Young was a very old resident of the Clyde and Ouse districts and was well known and much respected by settlers generally. May 21st.”
The Mercury, Hobart, TAS, Saturday 8th June 1878, page 2s.
“OBITUARY”
“Mr. Hunter Young died suddenly at Bothwell on the 18th may. He was a son of the late Captain Young, formerly of the Ouse, and brother-in-law to William Tarleton, Esquire, the present Police Magistrate of Hobart Town. He held the office of Inspector of Sheep for the Western portion of Tasmania for many years, and not withstanding the disagreeable duties pertaining to his office, which he had occasionally to carry out, it is not known that he ever made and enemy. He will be much missed in the Bothwell district, and, in fact, everywhere else where he was known, which was everywhere on the south side of the island”.
Ferguson and Urie 
Enjoyable – we need many little histories of this kind, drilling down into the particularities of individual human lives.
But what evidence do we have that the window was made by Ferguson & Urie? Mary Ramsay. Historian. Bothwell Historical society
Hi Mary and thank you for the question.
Many of my articles don’t have any accompanying provenance of the time from newspaper articles of he time or other sources. Some windows it seems weren’t newsworthy of the time. Anyhow there are positive attributions to this window as being by Ferguson & Urie that are not just my own. Tasmania’s heritage stained glass conservationist and Churchill Fellow member, Gavin Merrington, from Hobart, has done conservation work on this window and many other F&U windows in Tasmania and he attributes this window at Bothwell to F&U as does stained glass historian Dr. Bronwyn Hughes OAM. I fully agree with their attributions 100%. I have also developed a catalogue category of other F&U windows with these scroll designs & scripture. The Bothwell window is one of the F&U designs that I consider a ‘gimme’ because it is unmistakably Ferguson & Urie with no doubt whatsoever. No company in the 1870s Australian era made any windows with this bold colouring and scrolling ribbon design other than Ferguson & Urie. It was unique to them and feature of many windows designed by their senior artist David Relph Drape. If you would like a copy of my rudimentary comparison catalogue of F&U designs to compare with the Bothwell window please contact me using the [Contact] menu option at the top of the page and I will gladly reply with a copy for you.
Regards, Ray.