Giblin family

The Giblin family of Tasmania was a prominent colonial-era family associated with the early development of Van Diemen's Land, later renamed Tasmania. Its Australian story began with the arrival of Robert Wilkins Giblin, an English emigrant who reached Hobart Town in 1827 aboard the Sir Charles Forbes with his wife and eight children. Before emigrating, Robert had operated a school in England. The school failed during a period of financial crisis, and he later established another school near Hobart, operating during the 1830s and early 1840s before becoming insolvent. Although the family did not constitute a commercial brand or corporate enterprise, several of Robert's descendants and relatives became active in important institutions of the young colony. Their activities extended across banking, agriculture, industrial innovation, public administration, medicine, the courts, surveying, historical writing and elected politics. Through marriage, the family's social and professional connections also linked it with other notable Tasmanian and Australian families. Vincent Wanostrocht Giblin, one of Robert's sons, combined sporting and commercial roles. He was a cricketer and became manager of the Bank of Victoria, later known as the Australian Joint Stock Bank, in Sydney. His marriage to Jane Isabel Evans connected the family to George William Evans, who served as Deputy Surveyor-General of Van Diemen's Land. Their daughter Jessie Isabel later married Charles Alfred Robey, linking the Giblins to the family of politician and businessman Ralph Meyer Robey. Robert's daughter Charlotte married Ebenezer Shoobridge. Their sons William Ebenezer Shoobridge, Robert Wilkins Giblin Shoobridge and Louis Manton Shoobridge became agriculturalists and industrial innovators. William and Louis also entered politics, illustrating the family's recurring combination of practical enterprise, public service and political participation. Among the later descendants, William Robert Giblin became one of the most prominent public figures. He served as Premier of Tasmania in 1878 and subsequently became a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania. His son Lyndhurst Falkiner Giblin became a distinguished political economist and served Australia in public economic life; he is associated with the development of Australian economic policy and was recognized for wartime service. Other family members included Edward Owen Giblin, a medical doctor and politician; Ronald Worthy Giblin, a land surveyor and historian; and Mary Giblin, whose marriage to painter Lucien Dechaineux connected the family with Tasmania's artistic and military history. The family's significance therefore rests not on a unified business, product line or continuing commercial organization, but on the cumulative public and professional activities of several generations in Tasmania and Australia. The available reference material documents historical family relationships and biographies rather than a current operating organization, headquarters, ownership structure or consumer-facing offering.

The documented history of the Giblin family in Australia begins with Robert Wilkins Giblin, who was born in England in 1780 and emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1827. He travelled to Hobart Town aboard the Sir Charles Forbes with his wife and eight children. His migration followed the collapse of a school he had operated in England during an earlier financial crisis. In Tasmania he returned to education, running a school near Hobart during the 1830s and early 1840s, although he later became insolvent. The family's influence developed through the careers of Robert's children, grandchildren and descendants rather than through a single family-owned institution. Vincent Wanostrocht Giblin became a bank manager and was associated with the Bank of Victoria and its later identity as the Australian Joint Stock Bank. He was also known as a cricketer. His marriage to Jane Isabel Evans connected the family to the colonial administrative establishment through her father, George William Evans, Deputy Surveyor-General of Van Diemen's Land. Robert's daughter Charlotte married Ebenezer Shoobridge. Their sons pursued agricultural and industrial work, with William Ebenezer Shoobridge, Robert Wilkins Giblin Shoobridge and Louis Manton Shoobridge contributing to the development of Tasmanian rural and industrial activity. William and Louis also held political roles. These careers demonstrate the family's involvement in the practical economic transformation of colonial Tasmania. The family produced several figures in public life. Edward Owen Giblin became both a doctor and politician. Ronald Worthy Giblin worked as a land surveyor and historian, contributing to the recording and interpretation of Tasmanian history. William Robert Giblin rose to the highest levels of Tasmanian public office, serving as Premier in 1878 before becoming a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania. His son Lyndhurst Falkiner Giblin became a political economist and later an important participant in Australian public economic life. Family connections also extended beyond government and business. Mary Giblin married the painter Lucien Dechaineux. Through Dechaineux's earlier marriage, the family was connected to Emile Dechaineux, an officer who was killed during the Second World War while commanding HMAS Australia. These relationships placed the Giblins within a wider network of Tasmanian artistic, political, professional and military history. The surviving reference material presents the Giblin family as a historical genealogy and network of public figures, not as a current brand, company or organized commercial house. There is no documented contemporary product portfolio, executive structure, listed status, official website or ongoing operating market. Its historical importance derives from the accumulated public contributions of multiple family members during the colonial and early national periods of Australian history.

• 1945

  Family genealogy is recorded in Kith and kin

  [1]Giblin familyen.wikipedia.org

  Wilfrid W. Giblin privately published genealogical notes on his branch of the family in Hobart.

• 1878

  William Robert Giblin becomes Premier of Tasmania

  [1]Giblin familyen.wikipedia.org

  William Robert Giblin served as Premier of Tasmania and later became a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

• 1827

  Robert Wilkins Giblin arrives in Van Diemen's Land

  [1]Giblin familyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Wilkins Giblin arrived at Hobart Town aboard the Sir Charles Forbes with his wife and eight children, establishing the family's documented Tasmanian branch.

1. 1Giblin familyen.wikipedia.org