On Thursday the 8th of June 1854 Henry Ponchard appeared in the Wangaratta General Sessions Court, before Mr John Reid J.P., charged with "a breach of his license to slaughter cattle by failing to make monthly returns of cattle slaughtered by him during the month of May last."
Henry pleaded Not Guilty.
The following is a copy of the transcript of evidence from the above case :Charles Meyer being duly sworn in the presence and hearing of the defendant states -
"I am a Sergeant of Police. From instructions received from the bench of Magistrates I made enquiry respecting this charge, I found that the defendant had no record of the cattle he had slaughtered. I asked the defendant for his book and he said he had not kept one."
Albert L. Ely being duly sworn in the presence and hearing of the defendant states -
"I have not received any reports of Cattle slaughtered by the Defendant."
The Defendant admits the charge. Fined £1,One Pound.Their 4th child, Henry Cecil Ponchard, appears to have been born about 1855 although there is no reference to the birth on the Victorian index. According to one branch of the family he was born in Greta (near Wangaratta) on October 27 of that year. His given age at the date of his death tallies with this as his birth year.
Henry Ponchard bought 2 further allotments of land at the Public land auctions in Wangaratta on the 26th of November 1855, these being Lots 16 & 17 in the County of Estcourt. They were each "5 Acres, 3 Roods, 20 Perch" in area and he paid £5/17/6 each for these blocks. It is interesting to note that there are significant holdings near these blocks owned by Joseph Docker, Henry's former employer. He may have even assisted Henry in the purchase of this land.
The 1856 Electoral Roll of Victoria lists Henry Ponchard as being a qualified elector. It gives his occupation as being a Butcher and his qualification for the electoral roll as being "a Freehold Establishment in Templeton Street, Wangaratta." This must have been the address of Henry's Butcher shop as it is located in the commercial area of the town.
There are several entries in the Wangaratta General Sessions court records. They deal with the granting of a Slaughtering License to Henry Ponchard rather than to any further breaches of the law. They are as follows :
7th January 1856
Henry Ponchard - Slaughtering license for John Crisp's yard - Granted
21st August 1856
Henry Ponchard - Application for Slaughtering license for William Clark's yard on
Ovens River (2 miles) - Adjourned for 1 week.
28th August 1856
Henry Ponchard - Application for Slaughtering license for William Clark's yard on
Ovens River (2 miles) - Granted.
6th January 1857
Henry Ponchard - Slaughterers license - Granted.
4th February 1858
Henry Ponchard - Slaughterers license - Granted.The 5th child was Sarah Anne Ponchard who was born in Wangaratta on September 9, 1857. She was baptised at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on November 1, 1857. It should be noted that the Godparents listed in this entry are "Robert Punchart and Margaret Flanagan". Robert Ponchard appears as though he may have been Henry's cousin who had been transported from Bristol to Tasmania in 1832. This relationship between Henry and Robert is supported by an earlier document in which more information about Robert Ponchard was detailed in respect of a Larceny conviction in the Blackwood Court on September 3, 1855. The section on the prisoner's previous history reads :-
"Per the "England" in 1832. Bond for life; Brother Francis Henry at the Ovens. Name: Robert Pounchard to VDL, Conditional Pardon 1844."
Sarah unfortunately died at the age of 17 years after falling victim to a sickness called "Diptheric Croup", the sad passing of her and another young girl was noted in the "Wangaratta Dispatch" dated Wednesday, May 10, 1875.