106:(1720–1788), aka "Bonnie Prince Charlie" or "The Young Pretender" to Italy, and thereby forfeited his estates in Scotland. He married into the Thomatis-Caravonica family, which originated from Greece. Dr. Thomatis was the youngest of his family, and was educated in English schools. He graduated with honors in arts and sciences in the University of Turin when 19 years of age. He won a first-class diploma in the Royal Technical Institute, and was soon afterward appointed Professor of Technology, Political Economy, and the English Language, and made a member of the Geographical and Agricultural Societies. In 1870 he was elected a vice-president of the General Congress of Agriculturists in Florence, where he expounded his system of agricultural mutual credit. He was one of the directors of the first agricultural bank in Italy. He was appointed tutor to the Prince Imperial, and resided for some time in England, and traveled in Russia and Finland. There he was almost frozen to death during a severe winter at the top of the
256:, a German group around Baron Curt von Grunan, Baron Wener von Grunan and Dr. Marcus. But the company was already then in financial disarray in it was liquidated by the end of 1911, By the end of the following decade they should have sold the Caravonica property onward. Thence it should decline due to the fall of prices, absence of state support and the lack of cheap labour. Globally, Caravonica Cotton, which was also grown in the Americas and Africa, fell into disuse, because annual varieties were less prone to disease than tree cotton.
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183:, from where Thomatis Creek runs inland. It had a new railway running beside it. The soil consisted of 10 feet of black alluvial loam of mostly organic matter on top of pure sea gravel. Initially he leased portions of the land from Chinese farmers who had holdings of in average ten acres and mostly grew bananas. Thomatis experimented with growing rice, bananas, sugar, oranges, mangos, coconuts, etc. Tobacco was another unsuccessful crop, as the leaves turned out too coarse due to heat and rain.
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halt of the St. Osyth in
Melbourne late in June. By the end of July there was a report that he was with a fellow Italian, a Mr Aquarone, and several Italian labourers in Melbourne, examining settlement opportunities for Italians. He was introduced as a "professor of commerce and practical chemistry of a Royal industrial institute, and afterwards director of agricultural societies, president of a congress in Florence, and secretary of an agricultural bank".
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291:) on his property in December 1916. In May 1918 information was provided, that his wife Rachel Ellen, née Wallis, born 1859 in New South Wales, whom he married on 21 March 1888 in Sydney, has died in Barahona on 7 May 1917, aged 54 years and 7 months. On the occasion she was described as the "youngest daughter of the famous English General Sir William P. Wallis", ie.
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It was created with a view that freight costs from
Australia would give it a handicap on world markets and therefore it should have a higher weight of lint compared to the seed. Caravonica Cotton produced about 45% lint, compared to about a third of the American varieties. This tree cotton was grown
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According to shipping notices he arrived anew in
Melbourne in December 1875. By the end of the month he was advertised as the senior assistant to the principal of "Brighton College". His credentials given there were "Diploma Regius Professor Turin University" and "late Lecturer Harrowgate College,
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in Sydney was within the first days of July 1875. Thomatis must have been among the third class passengers, as he was not mentioned in the list of passengers of the first two classes, like Mr. Goldie. Thomatis did not stay long in Sydney, if he had not, as a matter of fact, alighted already at the
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Grammar School advertised that it had "secured the services of Prof. David
Thomatis, a first class Mathematical and Classical Scholar". It was also said that he was prepared to receive a limited number of boarders. By March 1877 the "Colac College" advertised itself with Principal Professor David
307:. In fact, she was the daughter of John Michael Healy and Ellen Josephine, née Temple. When his second wife died, she was survived by their children Ethel (14/01/1895 - 1966), Victoria (10/04/1897 - 1951), Blanca (11/07/1891 - 1976) and John (09/03/1900 - 1919), who lived in
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where ca. 12 kilometres north he purchased a tract of land 800 acres in size which he named
Caravonica Park, after a small town close to his birthplace. Initially there he grew banana, maize, rice, ginger, etc. The land was located between the
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After his wife Marie
Theresa died on 26 Jul 1886, Thomatis married Rachel Ellen Wallis (b. 1862 as daughter of Nathaniel Wallis and Mary Ann Turner) on 21 Mar 1888 in Sydney. At that time he also was headmaster of the Centennial College in
299:, Kent, England - 1894 in Sydney) and Mary Anne, née Turner, (1824 - 17/10/1891 in Sydney) In the same newspaper article his first wife, supposedly the aforementioned Marietta "Marie" Theresa, née Healy, born 1850 in
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of Sydney, probably based on information provided by
Thomatis himself. The veracity of his academic degrees obtained in Turin is doubted. In retrospect even his character as a whole was drawn into question.
272:, where he arrived ca. 1910. By 1913 he claimed to have discovered two hitherto unknown species of rubber plants. He praised the respect for science in Mexico that he has experienced by both sides in the
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Inspired by finding some remnants of earlier cotton planting by some
Chinese he found on his land he also began experimenting with this crop. This resulted in a tree cotton which would be grown as
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Thomatis stayed on and married in 1879 Marie
Theresa Heley, the youngest daughter of Colonel John Michael Healy and was made headmaster at the grammar school of
362:
Desmond O'Connor: "No Need to be Afraid: Italian
Settlers in South Australia Between 1839 and the Second World War", Wakefield Press (Adelaide), 1996, p. 237
276:, who left him and his family unmolested. The rebel leader even paid him a visit and safeguarded his residence, while all the other houses were burnt down.
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as a perennial plant and grew inside eight years up to a height of two to two-and-a-half metres. In 1906 the first sales of Caravonica Cotton were made in
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at the time. Another brother of theirs, David (18/12/1893 - 1893) died at birth or soon thereafter and was laid to rest in the grave of Marie Theresa at
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By invitation of the Mexican government he operated alongside other professional foreigners a tropical agricultural experimental station in
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Dr R. O. Herzog (publisher), Ludwig Wittmack: "Botanik und Kultur der Baumwolle", Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 1928. p. 167
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219:. Presumably created by crossing two kinds of Sea Island Cotton a Mexican variety and a variety from the upper Amazon River.
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E. Vohsen / D. Westermann: Koloniale Rundschau, Verlag von Dietrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen) (Berlin), No. 12, 1911. P. 50 f.
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Guy Boothby: "On the Wallaby - or, through the East and across Australia", Longmans, Green, 1894. p. 159.
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explorer. Dr. Thomatis was offered a prominent position in the colony proposed to be founded in
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130:. The project collapsed, though. Thus far a biography of Thomatis as published in 1898 in the
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which was marketed successfully around the world. For some years until 1909 he served as an
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Thomatis, M.A., Ph. Dr. Kt. L H.F. In August 1878 it was noted that the council of
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dealt with a complaint of Thomatis about the footpath in front of the college.
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Dr David Thomatis was born at Maro Castello, which in the 1920s became a part (
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England". It was a short-lived appointment, because by July 1876 the
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423:", History Department, James Cook University (Townsville), 1984
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Advertisement for Brighton College, The Argus, 30 December 1875
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there. This college apparently disappeared sometime in 1891.
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in the location Bahoruco. A fire destroyed three dwellings (
515:(Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), 16. December 1916, p.6
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Advertisement for Colac College, Colac Herald, 9 March 1877
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In April 1909 he finalised the sale of his interests to
48:(2 August 1851 – 14 December 1919) was an Italian born
410:(Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), 21 May 1917, p. 2
498:"Mexican Revolution: Experiences of Dr. Thomatis",
279:Probably in 1916, possibly earlier, he arrived in
538:Name/Cemetery Search, Australian Cemeteries Index
110:. In 1875 he landed in Sydney from the steamship
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260:Later years in Mexico and the Dominican Republic
480:(Charters Towers, Qld.), 4 October 1909, p. 4
421:Gateway to a Golden Land: Townsville to 1884
98:in today's northwestern Italian province of
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347:"Australian Schoolmasters: Dr. Thomatis",
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215:The original Caravonica, Caravonica I, or
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334:"Cairns Stock Exchange: Formal Opening",
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371:"The Melbourne Chamber of Commerce",
613:Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic
583:Australian people of Italian descent
526:Arbre généalogique de William Wallis
467:(Mackay, Qld.), 28 August 1909, p. 6
167:and started a grammar school there.
16:Italian educator and agriculturalist
390:(Melbourne), 30 December 1875, P. 3
350:Australian Town and Country Journal
305:Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
230:and a rough Peruvian kidney cotton.
132:Australian Town and Country Journal
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463:"The New Caravonica Cotton",
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254:Baumwolle Akt. Ges. zu Berlin
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618:Cotton industry in Australia
281:Barahona, Dominican Republic
268:in the southern province of
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598:Australian agriculturalists
170:About 1884 he had moved to
25:Dr David Thomatis (c. 1889)
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588:People of Ligurian descent
118:(1840–1891), the Scottish
450:"Twenty Five Years Ago",
211:and had three varieties:
608:Italian agriculturalists
274:ongoing revolution there
419:Dorothy Gibson-Wilde: "
313:Cairns Pioneer Cemetery
301:Bangor, New South Wales
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285:Algodonal CaravĂłnica
78:Barron Shire Council
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578:People from Cairns
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548:"Family Notices",
478:The Northern Miner
222:Caravonica II, or
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573:1919 deaths
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550:Cairns Post
528:", Geneanet
317:Spanish flu
266:Tapanatepec
249:, England.
228:Wood Cotton
217:Wood Cotton
181:Trinity Bay
161:Rockhampton
124:New Ireland
562:Categories
476:"To-Day",
404:"D.E.P.",
323:References
165:Townsville
120:New Guinea
58:Caravonica
388:The Argus
374:The Argus
247:Liverpool
189:Petersham
96:Borgomaro
297:Deptford
149:Ballarat
91:frazione
74:alderman
50:educator
100:Liguria
76:in the
289:bohĂos
172:Cairns
68:named
66:cotton
62:Cairns
270:Oaxia
236:, or
154:Colac
94:) of
60:near
84:Life
52:and
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395:^
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