John B. Lisson Gorrick ⁹⁴⁴

   Another name for John was John Lisson Gorrick.

  Research Notes:

source: & Jamie Thomson who notes:
Here's an interesting biographical note that you might like to add to your invaluable 'tree.of.us' site.

It's for my gt.gt.gt.gramp b.1808 - John Lisson (husband of Sarah Yeomans) - who not only adopted his stepfather's surname, Gorrick, but also took on a nom de guerre, 'Bungaree' - after the fierce Aboriginal identity of the same name.

In 1842 our boxing forebear, John Lisson Gorrick (the white Bungaree) made a special trip to England to accept the challenge offered by their champion, Johnny Broome.

At the start of the fight (held at Mildenhall in Suffolk on the 27th of May) JLG unfurled his gorgeous light-blue flag. At its centre was a portrait of himself adorned by brilliant yellow corn cobs. Beneath this ran the legend:

"Advance Australia! Who'd have thought it!"

However, the English champ beat Bungaree in 42 rounds (57 minutes).

But although he lost that fight, he did win L300. Which was not a bad day's pay back then!

During his 3 year stay in England (living and training at Richmond, Surrey) John Lisson Gorrick fought 4 more bouts: notably beating both 'the incorrigible' Reuben Martin and the dancing Sambo Sutton ; a black professor of pugilism at Cambridge University.

later a Julie Bella also notes:
Hello Robyn,

I found your website, I am doing some research on the diary of pioneer Sarah Davenport. She has the following entry (the diary does not have punctuation) that you might be interested in (February - August 1842)

while we lived in Sydney a lady that lived near us her husband was gone to England to have a boxing match with the champion at that time in London.
she had four children 3 boys and a girl he did not leave her in very good circumstances she had a lawsuit about some Property but one page of parchment was missing her youngest son between 4 or 5 years of age had got it and 'planted' it as they call it hiding here and neither coaching nor threats nor Punishments would persuade the young child to tell what he had done with them his Mother spoke to me about it, this was on the Saturday and the tryal was coming on the next week she did not know what to do we knew he was afraid of the blacks i thought about it so i said to his Mother 'when you strip him to wash him let me know, i will try a plan' accordingly when he was striped i went in to the kitchen it was a cellar kitchen stone built i tryed to coax him but no, he would not tell me and he clapped his little sides for he was naked, as much as to say 'i will not tell you' i got some blacking and a brush his name was Roland

Did Sarah Yoeman/Gorrick have a son named Roland? I can find a Roland Gorrick, but the ages do not add up.

Julie

  Noted events in his life were:

• connection.

John married Sarah Yeomans, daughter of John Yeomans and Mary Cassidy, on 9 Aug 1826 in Wilberforce, County of Cumberland, NSW Australia. (Sarah Yeomans was born on 26 Jan 1809 in Windsor, NSW Australia and died on 5 Jun 1886 in NSW Australia.)