Richard
Larsom was listed on the 1805 muster of Norfolk Island. There is no record
of how or when he left the island. Neither Richard nor his older brother,
William
Brooks, travelled with their mother, Ann Brooks, when she left Norfolk with
James Morrisby and their five children in 1807 to travel to Van Diemens
Land. It is possible that the two brothers went to Port Jackson or signed
on a ship.
By
January 1813 Richard had arrived in Van Diemens Land, he was a witness at
the wedding of Daniel Anderson and Elizabeth McLeod. A few weeks later Richard
married Ann, the daughter of Thomas
and Ann Kidner in St. David's
Church in Hobart.
Nine children were born
to Richard and Ann Larsom..
In
1817 Richard Larsom cautioned the inhabitants of Hobart against accepting
a note of hand for the sum of £9, which he had lost and offered
a generous reward to anyone
who brought it to him.
The
following year he was made a constable at Pittwater (Sorell). He was dismissed
for fraud and his family returned to Hobart. In 1828 Richard and Ann were
living at Sorell on their 40 acre grant, but by 1830 they had taken up land
at Pipe Clay Lagoon (Cremorne).
"The
True Colonist of 25th September 1835 reported:
"An
incident has occurred near the residence of Mr. R. Larson in Muddy Plains.
His daughter saw an object in the water which Mr. Larson was able to identify
as a type of seal, because he was a seal catcher. He and Mr. William Cooley,
who was staying at his residence, armed themselves with garden hoes and
attacked the animal. The animal was a sea elephant, 15 ft. 9ins. long and
weighed 400 lbs. A gentleman passer-by was called to help but was scared
off when he saw the jaws of the animal."
On
the 29th April 1836 the "Colonial" newspaper noted that Richard
had a strong team of oxen at Ralphs Bay Neck and would haul boats across
on a sledge. The charge was 5/- for a five oared whale boat and larger boats
in proportion; luggage was 5/- a load.