How an entrepreneur helped the desperate

The Vanderplank family was originally from Belgium and settled in England during the 16th century. The family had vast interests in the wattle bark industry, as well as the wool trade. They owned various manor houses in England, and on the famous Pytchley hunting run there is a particular fence in Northamptonshire still called the Vanderplank Hedge. They were also members of the Leather and Wool Guilds of London.

John Vanderplank was born on Trafalgar Day in 1805 in London, and at a young age, accompanied by his brother Charles, sailed to Van Diemen’s Land (present-day Tasmania, Australia) to acquire wattle bark for the family business.

The bark was used for the extraction