John Hawdon of Elderslie in a settler society

In 1929 Mrs Madeline Buck the granddaughter of an Elderslie pioneer James Hawdon published a series of his letters written in 1828 to friends in England. Hawdon had lived in the Elderslie area for five years from 1828. Hawdon's letters surfaced in England in 1929 amongst old family papers and have many interesting insights into life in the early days of the colony. At Elderslie Hawdon leased the Elderslie estate and supported four convicts, his wife Margaret and baby son. Alan Atkinson maintains that 'Hawdon apparently tried to keep up an English tone, with the slave driving Botany Bay element at a minimum. He was a good master and even admired his convicts'. He did not take any convicts for punishment at the Cawdor Bench between 1825 and 1830. (Atkinson, p20)