William and Mary Yaxley with five children and Thomas and Maria Yaxley with three children emigrated from the County of Norfolk, England, to Tasmania arriving in Launceston on the “Southern Eagle” on 28 August 1857.

Nothing is definitely known about their immediate forbears. From the scanty information available, it seems probable that they may have come from an area around the Norfolk village of North Creake, as did many of the immigrants who accompanied them. Connection with the Yaxley family of Yaxley and Mellis is a matter for conjecture. The only tangible association lies in the name and the fact that both families came from the general area.
Distances are short in England; North Creake is only about 60 miles North of the village of Yaxley. There is also the fact that the name is rare, even in England today, and there is no information on the lesser members of the original Yaxley family or their movements after the loss of the family property.

William and Thomas Yaxley were brothers. Both were farmers. William Yaxley was born in 1816 and married Mary Hookes (born 1818 in Norfolk) on January 18, 1842.

Tasmania is now the smallest state of the Commonwealth of Australia. It is an island, with a maximum width of about 150 miles and about 180 miles from North to South. It is separated from South-Eastern Australia mainland by Bass Strait, which is 150 miles in distance.

The discovery of gold at Ballarat, Bendigo and other places in the mainland colony of Victoria in the 1850’s led to a wave of immigration. The shipping advertisements of the period in the English newspapers are full of offers of passage to prospective gold seekers, with suggestions of equipment they would need. Some settlers in Tasmania abandoned the Colony for the goldfields

While steamships had made their appearance in the Atlantic trade and were extending to the Far East, travel and trade to Australia in the 1850’s were still the monopoly of the “clipper” or sailing ship. This continued to some extent into the early twentieth century, when bulk non-perishable cargoes of wheat and wool still made slow sailing ships practicable

William and Mary Yaxley finally settled on a farm between what were to become the settlements of Don and Forth (originally Hamilton-On-Forth) on rivers of the same names. A road connecting the two settlements was originally called Hamilton Road and now the Old Bass Highway. To the five children brought from England ( three boys and two girls) three more were added, a boy and two girls.

Two of the English born sons died young, John at 25 and Thomas at 11. The eldest son Matthew Yaxley married a daughter of one of the “Southern Eagle” immigrants and raised a large family. Apparently the farm prospered. Crops were oats, potatoes and peas, as well as some raising of livestock. The original farm eventually passed into the hands of William Yaxley’s youngest son Robert and subsequently to his descendents.

A surviving photograph of William Yaxley with his two young grandsons shows him as he might expected to be – tall, gaunt and austere – the picture of the pioneer he undoubtedly. He would have been 60 at the time. He died in 1887 and his wife Mary survived him until 1898.

Matthew Yaxley, born to William Yaxley and his wife Mary Hooks in Norfolk in 1845, married Susanna Sarah Revell in Tasmania on May 5, 1868. They had eleven children, all of whom survived to maturity.

The eldest son, Thomas Bowen Yaxley married Phyllis Lewis and acquired his own farm near Kindred in an area known as Clerke’s Plains, less than ten miles from the original Yaxley farm. This property is now one of the best cropping farms in Tasmania. The second son, Jack, established a farm at Wynyard farther West. William Edgar Yaxley, the third son and the only one not associated with farming, was apprenticed to a carpenter and contractor at Formby now absorbed into Devonport.

Two of the youngest sons, Gordon and James, enlisted in the Australian Military Forces during World War I and James died of wounds in France after rescuing a wounded comrade under fire (Battle of Pozieres) for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

All daughters except Myra married.

With succeeding generations the sizes of families have tended to diminish and the association with farming the land has decreased. Many younger members have become engaged in business, in trades and in professions. The family has scattered throughout Tasmania and some members have moved to other Australian states and even overseas.

Born: 30 June 1900
Died: 5 July 1971
Buried: Cremated Carr Villa Crematorium, Launceston

Lewis William Yaxley born 30 June 1900,was the eldest son of the above and farmed at “Roland Lea” Kindred. The property completely surrounded the Kindred Primary School, its residence and the Methodist Church and Cemetery. This property had previously been owned by Mr Gustav Weindorfer, the pioneer of Cradle Mountain. Lewis Yaxley married Clara Kate (Tot) Robertson of Bannockburn, Upper Kindred 8 June 1927. There were three children, Murray Lewis Yaxley Education/UNESCO, Zelma Joyce Yaxley (Hearps) Education, Keith Yaxley Banking ES&A/ANZ.

Born: 2 January 1903
Died: 19 August 1993
Buried: Ulverstone/Penguin Lawn Cemetery.

Gladys Susan Yaxley was born on 2 January 1903 and married Maurice Russell on 19 October 1935 and they lived at Ulverstone most of their lives.Originally farmed at Kindred but in later life Maurice worked for the Tasmanian Government Railways. Son Alan is a member of the mathematics Department – University of Melbourne. Daughter Shirley Maureen Russell lives in Hobart. Gladys died at Ulverstone 19 August 1993.

Born: 14 March 1905
Died: 16 January 1984
Buried: Mersey Vale Memorial Park, Devonport

Allan Matthew Yaxley was born on 14 March 1905 married Ella Jean Jordan of Forth on 12 June 1937 and farmed the original property known as "Bowerbank" at Clerke’s Plains Road, Kindred but had indifferent health and moved to 19 Forbes Street, Devonport in 1945. In 1949 moved to new home at 15 Percy Street, Devonport.Worked for seed producers Wright Stephenson & Co for many years and later for the Devonport Council Parks & Reserves Department. Two daughters, Margaret Jean Yaxley (married Ian Campbell) and Nancy Faye Yaxley - both teachers Education Department. Only son Trevor Allan Yaxley is in banking, Launceston Bank for Savings/ Tasmania Bank. Died digging in his garden 16 January 1984.

Born: 9 April 1907
Died: 18 February 1985
Buried: Mersey Vale Memorial Park, Devonport.

Thomas Watsford Yaxley (Watty) married Irene Emily Boucher. Farmed at Kindred, also in Clerke's Plains Road until he moved to Devonport in the 1950’s’. Continued with his involvement with agriculture and worked for Clements & Marshall for many years.He had two sons, Denzil Thomas Yaxley (married Joan Forsythe) (Public Service, Hobart) and Bevis Graham Yaxley (married Loris Stott) education/University of Tasmania and Gwenda Yaxley, Devonport. Died at Devonport 18 February 1985.