Jane Cooke (nee Harris) was born in St Marylebone, London, England on 3 October 1812 to John Harris and Sarah Hopkins. She was convicted of stealing stockings and cheese from her employer and sentenced to seven years transportation to Van Diemen’s Land, arriving on 5 May 1834 aboard the Edward with 151 other female convicts. Prior to transportation, Jane’s demeanour was described as insolent, having spent four days in her cell for assaulting a female inmate. Jane married Francis Goude Cooke, a hotelier from Launceston, after serving two years of her sentence. They had a total of nine children born in Launceston: Jemima, Mary Ann, Emma, Jane, Frances, Francis, Clara, William and Corinna Cooke. Jane’s husband Francis Cooke died in Launceston on 19 February 1859. He had been publican of the Masons Arms Hotel in Launceston. Their 10-year-old daughter Clara died seven months later in September 1859, following which Jane decided to leave Tasmania for Queensland.

By August 1861, ‘Mrs Goude Cook’ was advertising board and residence at Rostella House for ‘a limited number of Gentleman’ at her premises near the ASN Company’s Whart on Edward Street, Brisbane. In November 1863, Jane’s daughter Emma Ellen Cooke married ‘Willoughby Hannam, Esq.’. Emma was described as ‘third daughter of the late Francis Goude Cooke, Esq., of Tasmania’. The same month, a notice appeared in Brisbane’s Courier newspaper with instructions from Mrs Cooke to sell all of her furniture at Rostella House, including tables and chairs, carpets, rugs and beds. A September 1864 article in the Rockhampton Bulletin, described Jane Cook [sic] as ‘a licensed publican at Mackay’, while an October 1864 article stated that she kept the ‘Royal Hotel, Pioneer River’.

Hotel life meant hosting many local events such as council meetings, political meetings, meetings of planters, the Turf Club and the Show Society, as well as the Cattle Stealing Prevention Association. At a farewell dinner for a local bank manager, it was reported that ‘a sumptuous repast was served up in Mrs Cooke’s best style and good taste’. A reception and banquet was held at the Royal Hotel when the Governor of Queensland, Lord Russell Phipps, visited Mackay in 1872 and 1873. In February 1886, William Kemp, a ‘sugarboiler’ of Mackay, applied for a licensed victuallers license to sell liquor at the Royal Hotel, Mackay, which was currently rented from Jane Cooke by James Hodges, a licensed publican. Jane Cooke nee Harris died aged 75 at her residence in West Street, Rockhampton on 28 May 1888. Her death notice stated that she was: ‘For many years a resident of Mackay.’

Note: Information about Jane Harris, Francis Goude Cooke and family has been contributed by Dr Kaaren Sephton, with additional research by Jan Richardson of the Harry Gentle Resource Centre.

Citation: Kaaren Sephton, ‘Jane Goude Cooke (1812 – 1888)’, Life Stories, Harry Gentle Resource Centre, Griffith University, 2025, https://harrygentle.griffith.edu.au/life-stories/jane-goude-cooke-nee-harris/.