John Tabart had a town house in Campbell Street Hobart, a block further up from the Theatre Royal Hotel.
John was in partnership with his cousin A.G. Webster and lived in Hobart, but his home was Fonthill near Oatlands.
At some point Elizabeth and John returned to Fonthill, and John was elected to the Oatlands Municipal Council, where he became treasurer.
Unfortunately John helped himself to a considerable amount of money from the treasury in order to live according to the life style he considered proper for himself.
When the discrepancy was discovered he was of course dismissed, but not convicted of theft. He did manage after a passage of time to pay back the money and was eventually re-elected to the council in a different capacity