Category Archives: 1854

My cousin at Eureka

02 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by in 1854, Ballarat, Cudmore, Furnell

≈ 7 Comments

I have a cousin who fought at the battle of Eureka stockade. The Eureka rebellion is considered by some historians to be the birthplace of Australian democracy. It is the only Australian example of armed rebellion leading to reform of unfair laws.

On 3 December 1854 soldiers and police stormed a stockade erected by miners at the Eureka lead, Ballarat.

One of the mounted police was Samuel Stackpoole Furnell (1823-1880), my second cousin five times removed.

Samuel Furnell was born in Limerick, Ireland on 22 January 1823. He was the son of Samuel Furnell and Mary nee Cudmore.

In November 1852 Mr S. S. Furnell arrived in Melbourne, Victoria as a passenger on the Delagny, which had left London on 30 July. He had briefly served as a private in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards from October 1850 to March 1851. At the time of his arrival he was 29 years old.

Shortly after this Samuel Furnell enlisted as a police cadet. The list of unclaimed letters at Melbourne Post Office for 31 December 1852 published in the Government Gazette of 26 January 1853 includes a letter for Samuel S Furnell Police Cadet.

In 1853, Samuel Furnell served as a policeman on the Beechworth goldfields. In July he was reported as being a sub-inspector at Spring Creek near Beechworth. In August sub-inspector Furnell was reported to be hunting for bushrangers between Spring Creek and the New South Wales border.

Mounted police 1853

“Mounted police, gold escort guard / sketched on the spot” by S.T. Gill 1853

 

I am not sure when he moved to Ballarat, but by November 1854 Sub-inspector Furnell was reported to have been on detective duty on the Ballarat diggings in November 1854. At that time the Catholic priest Father Patrick Smyth informed Sub-inspector Furnell, and through Furnell, the Gold Commissioner Robert Rede, that the Government Camp was in great danger of assault from disgruntled miners. Smyth knew Furnell from the Beechworth diggings.

Before dawn on 3 December 1854, 182 soldiers and 94 police were led by Gilbert Amos, Commissioner of the Eureka camp, to the stockade set up by the miners. The soldiers attacked at dawn. Samuel Furnell was one of four sub-inspectors in charge of the 70 mounted police.

Furnell and the mounted troopers were on the west of the stockade threatening the flank and the rear. The attack was made by the soldiers where the slope was the steepest. This plan, conceived by Captain Thomas (later Lieutenant General Sir John Wellesley Thomas, KCB ), was regarded as clever.

Samuel Hughye, clerk at the Government Camp, made a diagram of the battlefield.  The position of the mounted police can be seen to the right of the diagram.

Hughye battlefield map

It has been noted by the historian Peter Fitzsimons that there has been criticism of the role played by the mounted police in the Eureka battle. He states however the police were not soldiers and it was never intended that they should storm the stockade. Their task as described by Captain Thomas was to threaten the stockade’s flank and rear. Fitzsimons writes that in military parlance to threaten means to distract an enemy or to restrict his tactical options. It does not necessarily mean to charge into the fray. Fitzsimons also notes that the mounted troopers would have found it difficult, if not impossible, to cross the wall of slabs forming the stockade, particularly while the stockade was being defended.

After the battle, Samuel Furnell was called to give evidence and described capturing John Fenwick who was running away from the stockade. Although Fenwick was arrested he was not sent for trial. Furnell also described capturing Henry Reid who was sent to trial for High Treason.

In January 1855 Samuel Furnell gave evidence about the events of 30 November 1854:

Samuel S. Furnell, being sworn, said I am a Sub Inspector of Police. I recollect the 30th of November. I was on duty. I went down after the police had been assaulted, with another party, to aid them. I found the police drawn up in the road, and from 500 to 1000 people drawn up in front of them. Some stones were being thrown at the police. Captain Carter accompanied me with foot police. Captain Carter sent two men to ask a man for his license, one of them was struck down ; this was in presence of the crowd. The crowd showed approbation, I should fancy. I was present when the act was read. It was about half past eleven or twelve. The military had been called out. A shot was fired. Saw Campbell running away, with smoke around him. I rode after him, and took him. He had a revolver on him, of which one barrel had been fired off. I saw M’Intyre at the meeting after the riot act was read. I saw Bryant there, he was violent. He was there I believe.

Mr. Michie: Do not tell us, sir, what you believe. Is he the man ?

Witness continued: Well, I do not know. I will not swear he is the man. I decline speaking about Goddard.

In the trials for High Treason Samuel Furnell gave evidence of the capture of Jan Vennik and on another day spoke about being called a “Joe” and other bad terms. He stated he had been “Joe’d” for two or three years on the diggings and was now pretty well used to it.

By June 1855 Samuel Furnell was a sub-inspector at Castlemaine.

Furnell rose to the rank of Police Superintendent 1st class, in charge of the Geelong district.

References

Arrival of the Morley family in 1853

21 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by in 1854, Collingwood, immigration, Morley, Sussex, Trove Tuesday, tuberculosis

≈ 4 Comments

My husband’s great grandfather John Morley (1823-1888), John’s wife Eliza née Sinden (1823-1908) and their two children, Elizabeth aged 3 and William aged 1 emigrated to Australia in 1853, arriving in Melbourne on the ‘Ida‘ on 12 July.

Ida arrival 1

Ida arrival 2

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. (1853, July 14). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4794495

Five years before, on 17 September 1848, John Morley, then 25, had married Eliza, also 25 years old, at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex.

John Morley was a railway labourer. In 1851, he and Eliza and their one year old daughter Elizabeth were living at 97 Railway Terrace, Keymer, a couple of miles from Hurstpierpoint. Keymer Junction, which had opened four years before, was an important railway junction on the East Coastway Line to Lewes and the Brighton main line.

In 1854, a year after the Morley’s arrival in Victoria, they were living in Collingwood, a suburb of Melbourne. On 10 March, little Elizabeth Morley died, a few months before her fifth birthday, of tabes messenterica, tuberculosis of the abdominal lymph glands. This disease, rare now with pasteurisation, is an illness of children, caused by infected cows milk.

 

In the first annual report covering deaths to 1854, the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages of the Colony of Victoria listed tabes mesenterica as one of the diseases of the digestive organs. Deaths from diseases of the digestive organs, including tabes mesenterica, teething and enteritis, chiefly deaths of children, constituted about seven percent of total deaths for that year.

The Report paints a picture of Melbourne and the goldfields struggling with the challenges of the rapid increases in population. Victoria’s population trebled from 1851 to 1854. 78,000 arrived in the year 1853-54, the Morley family among them.

 

REGISTRAR GENERAL’S REPORT. (1855, September 7). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved August 22, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154891906

Population of Victoria in the 1850s

Population for Victoria estimated at 31 December each year from Geoffrey Searle, The Golden Age: A History of the colony of Victoria 1851 -1861, Melbourne University Press, 1977, (Appendix 1 Page 382) reproduced at http://education.sovereignhill.com.au/media/uploads/VICTORIAN_POPULATION.pdf

 

John and Eliza Morley had eight children, only three survived childhood to become adults.

 

Further reading and sources

M is for Arrival in Melbourne of the Persian in 1854

16 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by in 1854, A to Z 2017, Cavan, Cross, Dublin, Hunter, immigration, Ireland, Melbourne, Murray, Plowright, Smyth

≈ 7 Comments

Western End of Queens Wharf Melbourne 1854 by S.T. Gill retrieved from MossGreen auctioneers

Ellen Murray (1837 – 1901) and Margaret Smyth (1834 – 1897), two of my husband’s great grandmothers, sailed from England to Melbourne, Victoria, on the Persian, arriving on 9 April 1854. Ellen’s sister Bridget and an infant surnamed Smyth traveled with them.

The Persian left Southampton on 2 January 1854 with 448 government immigrants, of whom 200 were single women. Eight people died on the 97 day voyage and five babies were born. The Croesus, which sailed from Southampton more than a week after the Persian, arrived the same day.

PORT PHILLIP HEADS. (1854, April 11). Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer (Vic. : 1851 – 1856), p. 4 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91932661

The Persian collided with another ship, the Cheshire Witch, in Port Phillip.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. (1854, April 11). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4805696
From the passenger list of the Persian, Margaret Smyth and infant are at the bottom of the screenshot , record retrieved through ancestry.com (click to enlarge)

Margaret Smyth was recorded as having given birth on board. She was from Cavan; her religion was Church of England; she could read and write; and she was 20 years old. She did not find a job immediately on landing, but went to stay with her cousin. His name on the record appears to be ‘John Hunter’, though the surname is not clearly legible.

I know nothing more about this cousin, nor have I have discovered anything more about Margaret’s baby. There seems to be no death certificate, but the baby may have died without its death registered, for in 1854 civil registration of deaths was not yet in force in Victoria.

From the passenger list disposal summary Margaret Smyth and infant went to her cousin.

On 19 November 1855 Margaret Smyth, dressmaker from Cavan, aged 22, married John Plowright, also 22, a gold digger. Their wedding was held at the residence of John Plowright, Magpie, Ballarat. On the certificate Margaret’s parents are given as William Smyth, farmer, and Mary nee Cox.

1855 marriage certificate of John Plowright and Margaret Smyth (click to enlarge)

Passenger list from the Persian showing Bridget and Ellen Murray at the bottom of the image. Retrieved through ancestry.com (click to enlarge).

Bridget and Ellen Murray were both from Dublin. Their religion was Catholic; both could read and Ellen could also write; Bridget was 24 and Ellen 18. Both found jobs on 15 April, within a week of their arrival. Bridget was engaged by S. Marcus of Prahran for a term of 1 month with a wage of 28 shillings and rations. Ellen was similarly employed by Mrs Ireland of St Kilda, with a wage of 30 shillings.

I have not been able to find anything more about Bridget Murray.

On 28 March 1856, two years after her arrival in the colony, Ellen Murray married James Cross, a gold digger, at Buninyong . Their wedding was at the residence of John Plowright, Black Lead Buninyong, in the presence of John and Margaret Plowright. Ellen gave her residence as Buninyong and her occupation as dressmaker. She was born in Dublin, aged 21, and her parents were George Murray, glass blower, and Ellen nee Dory.

1856 marriage certificate for James Cross and Ellen Murray (click to enlarge)

It seems that Margaret Smyth and Ellen Murray, who had emigrated to Victoria on the same ship, remained friends. Later the son of Ellen Cross nee Murray, Frederick James Cross, married Ann Jane Plowright, the daughter of Margaret Plowright nee Smyth.

Hunter Smyth connection?

I think I have found a connection between the Hunter and Smyth families but I can’t link Margaret Smyth to it, at least not yet.

On other certificates Margaret Smyth states she was born in Bailieborough, County Cavan. I found a John Hunter associated with Bailieborough.

I have not been able to find a death of this John Hunter.

Family Notices (1866, December 27). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5782047
I ordered the marriage certificate and discovered Elizabeth Grace Hunter, age 27 had been born in Bailieborough. Her parents were John Hunter and Eliza Hunter nee Carmichael.

I ordered her 1897 death certificate and found Elizabeth had been in the colony 34 years. The informant on her death certificate was Charles Smyth, nephew, of Albury, New South Wales.

I found H. Hunter on the death indexes. He was Henry Hunter who died 1875. Henry was Elizabeth’s brother, also the son of John Hunter and Eliza Carmichael.

I hope further research will uncover the connection and I can learn more about Margaret Smyth’s family.

Sepia Saturday 194 : Eureka

14 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by in 1854, Ballarat, Sepia Saturday

≈ 1 Comment

This week’s Sepia Saturday theme concerns sewing a flag and being from Ballarat I must talk about Eureka and it’s flag.

The pictures below were painted by Charles Doudiet, a Canadian artist who was at the Eureka rebellion of November and December 1854.  His watercolour sketches made at the time of the rebellion were acquired by the Art Gallery of Ballarat in 1996. (“Doudiet, Charles Alphonse.” Art Gallery of Ballarat. Art Gallery of Ballarat, 2010. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/explore-and-experience/collection/australian-collection/doudiet,-charles-alphonse.aspx>.)

The flag was first flown at Bakery Hill at Ballarat on 29 November 1854 at a so-called “Monster Meeting” of 12,000 people.  The miners of Ballarat were protesting against the licensing system, their lack of voting rights, and the acquittal of a publican who they believed had murdered a young miner; this last incident being symptomatic of a corrupt bureaucracy.  They had sent a deputation to the governor but he had dismissed the charter from the miners.  This meeting was to hear back from the deputation that had met with the governor.

Swearing allegiance to the “Southern Cross”
The flag was next flown over a stockade at Eureka, Ballarat, which was built on 30 November. (Eureka is just over 2 kilometers or less than half an hour’s walk from Bakery Hill). Very early on the morning of 3 December Government troops stormed the stockade and overpowered the 150 miners who were there at the time.  25 miners were killed, 100 were captured, 5 soldiers were killed.

Eureka Slaughter 3rd December

Miners were charged with treason but they were acquitted.  Laws were changed and the miners’ grievances were dealt with.  The flag was used in evidence at the trials.


Mark Twain wrote in 1897:

“It was a revolution – small in size, but great politically; it was a strike against injustice and oppression…It is another instance of a victory won by a lost battle. It adds an honourable page to history; the people know it and are proud of it. They keep green the memory of the men who fell at the Eureka Stockade.”(“The Eureka Massacre.” ConvictCreations.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.convictcreations.com/history/eureka.htm>.)

The flag is big. It is 2.6 metres by 3.2 metres.  A common flag size is about 1 by 1.5 metres or 3 by 5 feet.  A flag 1.8 by 3 metres or 6 by 10 feet is considered very large and is suggested for a 40 foot flagpole. (“Standard Flag Sizes.” Zephyr Direct. Zephyr Racing Pennants Ltd, 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.zephyr-flags.co.uk/direct/flag-resources-flag-sizes.php>.)  The Eureka Flag is said to have flown from a pole 80 feet tall. (“Eureka Flag.” Eurekapedia. Ballarat Reform League Inc., 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://eurekapedia.org/Eureka_Flag>.)

 
One of the best readily available articles on the history of the Eureka Flag is at http://www.egold.net.au/biogs/EG00273b.htm . (Beggs-Sunter, Anne. “The History of the Eureka Flag as a Cultural Heritage Icon.”EGold – A Nation’s Heritage. Cultural Heritage Unit, The University of Melbourne, 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.egold.net.au/biogs/EG00273b.htm>) The article talks about how the flag was rescued after the battle, how it came to be in the Art Gallery’s collection, and about the souveniring from the flag.  Dr Beggs-Sunter also makes clear that the issue of who made the flag is not resolved.  The sewing of the flag is often attributed to three women who were wives of miners involved in the rebellion.
 

On Monday my son and I visited the new museum at the site of the Eureka rebellion to reacquaint ourselves with the flag which had moved from the Ballarat Art Gallery earlier this year on loan to the new museum. The flag has recently undergone conservation treatment. The flag is a wonderful thing to see live.  You can appreciate the different materials used and the fine stitching, as well as its size.

The flag has been said to be the most important European textile in Australia. (Burin, Margaret. “Eureka Flag Restored and Returned for Rebellion Anniversary.” ABC Ballarat. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2 Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/12/02/3382099.htm>.) I certainly can’t think of a more important European textile in Australia.

Inspired by this blogging prompt, I propose over the next few months to explore where my forebears were in November and December 1854 and what Eureka might have meant to them.  I know some of my husband’s forebears were miners in the vicinity of Ballarat at the time but they are not named as taking part in the rebellion.  It is estimated that in 1854 there were 25,000 miners on the Ballarat goldfields.  

 

See also

 “Art Gallery of Ballarat.” The Flag of the Southern Cross (Eureka Flag). Art Gallery of Ballarat, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013. <http://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/explore-and-experience/collection/australian-collection/the-flag-of-the-southern-cross-(eureka-flag).aspx>.

Immigration on the Trafalgar in 1854 of John Way and Sarah née Daw

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in 1854, immigration, South Australia, Way

≈ 2 Comments

John Way (1835 – 1911) and Sarah Way née Daw (1837 – 1895) came to Australia on the Trafalgar.  They arrived in South Australia on 28 June 1854 having left Plymouth on 6 March.

They had married at Wendron, Cornwall only four days before departure.(“England Marriages, 1538–1973 ,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NFPT-9DK : accessed 06 Sep 2013), John Way and Sarah Dawe, 02 Mar 1854.)

On the shipping list John was recorded as John Nicholas Way, aged 19, a labourer from Cornwall. Sarah was aged 18.  I have not seen John recorded with a middle name in any other record, I am not sure if this is a transcription error on the part of the shipping clerk.(Passenger list – Trafalgar retrieved from http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/trafalgar1854.shtml )

THE TRAFALGAR. (1854, June 29). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 – 1900), p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48553168 Note that there is something slightly wrong about the figures published – the sums do not add up.

The shipping intelligence gave details of the ship – a barque of 717 tons with a number of passengers as well as government emigrants and cargo.  The voyage of the Trafalgar was not always comfortable with heavy weather experienced several times.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. (1854, June 29). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 – 1900), p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48553149

The ship also featured in the Immigration Agent’s Report for the month.

Immigration Agent’s Report for 30 June 1854 published in The Register. ADELAIDE: TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1854. (1854, July 25). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 – 1900), p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49198167

A barque is a sailing vessel with three or more masts. From the Wikipedia article I learned that the sail plan of a barque allows the ship to be crewed with fewer crew than a comparable full rigged ship. The standard definition for a barque in the nineteenth century is that “the foremasts rigged square and the aftermast rigged fore-and-aft”.  The trade-off was it was slower down wind than a fully rigged ship. (Barque. (2013, July 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:27, September 6, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barque&oldid=564904528) 

The sail plan of a barque from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sail_plan_barque.svg


Margaret Gunn (1819 – 1863)

29 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in 1854, cholera, Cudmore, Gunn, immigration, Scotland, South Australia

≈ 10 Comments

Margaret Gunn was born 26 February 1819 in Auchingill near Wick, Caithness, Scotland. She was the daughter of Donald Gunn (1783 – 1870), a farmer, and Alexandrina Manson (1786 – 1881). She was baptised in 1819 by the Reverend James Smith of Canisbay; the witnesses were William Gunn, farmer, Auchingill, and Margaret Miller, Auchingill.

Old parish register image retrieved from ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk

GUNN MARGARET DONALD GUNN/ALEXANDRINA MANSON F WICK /CAITHNESS 043/00 0030 0390

Auchingill was a coastal village in the parish of Canisbay, ten miles north of Wick. (Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for Auchingill from John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887) retrieved from http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/entry_page.jsp?text_id=1863250# )  The village is not found on modern maps such as Google maps.

Margaret was the seventh of nine children born to Donald and Alexandrina. 

On 17 June 1840 Margaret married Kenneth Budge, a seaman, at South Leith parish church, Edinburgh.  Both were living at South Leith at the time.

Old parish register image retrieved from ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk

In 1841 the Budge family were living in Staxigoe.  Kenneth was a fisherman and their son Donald (also sometimes known as Daniel) was two months old at the time of the census on 6 June 1841.  He was christened at Wick on 4 June.

Staxigoe is a former fishing village two miles east of Wick.  In the mid 1800s it was the largest herring salting station in Europe. (Staxigoe, Ports and Harbours of the UK http://www.ports.org.uk/port.asp?id=581 )

Staxigoe harbour 1890s from the Johnston collection (http://www.johnstoncollection.net). Comments associated with the photograph noted that all the buildings along cliff top were demolished and used as hard core for the runways of Wick Aerodrome.

At the time of the census in 1851 on 31 March Margaret was living in Breadalbane Terrace, Wick. Her husband was away and she was recorded as a sailor’s wife.  With her were three children: Donald aged 10, Kenneth aged 8 and Margret aged 5.

Breadalbane terrace in the 1920s from the Johnston collection.

There had been another child, Alexandrina, christened on 26 September 1844 and born on 26 June.  Death records for Wick before 1855 are not available.  There are also no relevant headstone records.

On 4 May 1851 Margaret and Kenneth’s fifth child, again called Alexandrina, was born at Wick.

By 1851 it seems that Kenneth was master of the vessel “Sisters “ which was involved in coastal trade and whose crew apparently sometimes included his brother-in-law William Gunn. (Information from Deborah Patterson, a descendant of William Gunn)

In about 1853 Kenneth Budge, seaman died. I have not found any records of his death, death records for Wick before 1855 are not available and there appears to be no headstone in the cemetery. Update: thanks to a newspaper article found by a very distant cousin I now know he died at sea of cholera in August 1852 – see my later blog post on his death.

Margaret remarried on 10 June 1854 at Wick to Ewan Rankin, a carpenter of Pulteney Town, Wick.

Old parish register image retrieved from ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk

On 15 July 1854 Margaret, Ewan and Margaret’s children set off from Liverpool on board the “Dirigo” bound for Australia. A cholera outbreak on board forced the ship to turn back from Cork to Liverpool. The voyage recommenced on 9 August and they arrived in South Australia on 22 November 1854. It seems that the ship was new.

DIRIGO from 1858 Lloyds Register Rigging: Ship; sheathed in felt and yellow metal in 1858 ; fastened with iron bolts Master: Captain White Tonnage: 1,152 tons Construction: 1854 in New Brunswick, using Tamarack, Oak, Pine & Birch ; some repairs in 1856; repairs to damages in 1857 Owners: Coltart & Co. Port of registry: Liverpool Port of survey: Liverpool Voyage: sailed for Australia

…
Rankin Ewen 29 Carpenter – Caithness
Margaret 35
Daniel 12
Kenneth 11
Margaret 9
Alexandrina 2


from The Ships List http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/dirigo1854.htm

Ewan Rankin was among 118 passengers who signed a memorial concerning the cholera outbreak:

To the Government Colonial Land an Emigration Commissioners.
The Humble Memorial of the Passengers per Ship Dirigo.
Most humbly showeth,
That we consider the ship Dirigo quite unfit for us passengers to proceed in, as she is at all times damp, and very much given to leakage. We have the opinion of many of the sailors as to the above-mentioned fact, together with our own experience. We were on board for 14 days, and during that length of time she was constantly wet ; and we consider that the damp state of the ship tended greatly to the progress of the disease we had amongst the passengers.
Memorialists are ready to give their sworn testimony as to the facts stated in this memorial.
The passengers beg leave to state that our medical attendant allowed diseased passengers to come on board, which we consider was the first and principal cause of the fatal disease that swept so many of our passengers to an untimely end, as the passengers up to that unfortunate day were free from any infectious disease.
Many of the memorialists further beg to state that the doctor wilfully neglected to attend many of the dying when called upon to do so, he not being occupied at the time more than walking on deck. Memorialists have many minor complaints to make that they consider too numerous to put here, as they hope for an inquiry into the whole case.
And memorialists, as in duty bound, shall ever pray.

The majority of the 118 who signed the memorial re-embarked on the Dirigo. (from http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/dirigocork1854.shtml )

South Australian Register Thursday 23rd November 1854 Wednesday, November 22nd :-

the ship Dirigo, 1,282 tons, Trevellick, Master, from Liverpool August 8th 1854 Passengers:— Mrs. Mulville & Misses Ann, Ellen and Mary Mulville, and Master D. Mulville in the cabin. — 26th ship from England to S.A. with 484 government passengers for 1854 ; 12 births and 14 deaths on the passage ; William L. Echlin, surgeon-superintendent. ship Dirigo … sailed from Birkenhead in early July 1854, but was forced to go into Queenstown (Cork) due to cholera aboard. The ship was towed back to Liverpool by the steam vessel Minerva, arriving there on July 10th 1854. Arrangements were made to fashion a temporary hospital but met with resistance from local people. Of the 518 passengers and 51 crew-members, there were 44 deaths recorded as of July 11th. …

The Dirigo . . . Arrived from Liverpool on the 22nd November, after a passage of 107 days. She landed 482 immigrants. Fourteen deaths and twelve births took place at sea. This ship arrived in a very excellent order. The cleanliness, general management and discipline of the people reflected the highest credit on Mr. W.L. Echlin, the surgeon-superintendent. The ship itself was of a first class character for emigrants, having ample room and height between decks, and was well ventilated. The male and female hospitals were large and convenient. The Surgeon-superintendent speaks highly of the efficient support and co-operation he received from the master and all the officers of the ship. The mortality, with one exception was confined to young and delicate children, and was caused by diarrhoea.

The Surgeon-superintendent seems to have had more trouble with enforcing the regulations among the single men, than all the others on board. He speaks highly of the conduct of the single women, who were a well selected set of persons, and adapted for the requirements of the Colony.

In this ship the baking succeeded better than usual. the size of the oven precluded the possibility of baking twice in the week, a sufficient to supply all the emigrants with soft bread twice a week. The yeast used was made by using what the surgeon called porter bottoms, and answered well. The form and size of loaves found the best, were those baked in square tins, containing 2lbs each, supplied by the Commissioners for the use of emigrants. The oven contained twenty six tins and the time required for each batch was about two hours; the 12oz. of flour yielded about 14½oz. of bread. I have been thus particular in describing the system of baking adopted on board the Dirago because in all other ships the baking of soft bread has turned out quite a failure. The first requisite to ensure success is to appoint a man as baker who is properly qualified and who ought to prove his efficiency by baking good bread before the ship is despatched to sea; and sufficient space should be given so that his work may be done properly. The surgeon-superintendent suggests that one or two extra floor plates for the oven should be sent, as the first, from continual use, is burnt through before the ending of the voyage. I think that in all respects the Dirago was the model of an emigrant ship.

I uncovered the remarriage of Margaret and her emigration with her children under the surname Rankin due to a report of a plaque on her grave:

Murray Pioneer, Friday May 6, 1994; – COUPLE UNCOVER HISTORIC PLAQUE: – A brass plaque of historical interest has been discovered by a Berri couple. – Mrs Sue Laidlaw and husband, Tim, when cleaning a block of land north of Berri recently, came across a plaque which dated back to 1863. They communicated their discovery to Riverland historian, Ms Heather Everingham, who quickly realised the importance of the Laidlaw’s find. The plaque reads – “Presented by EWIN RANKIN in memory of his beloved spouse, MARGARET GUNN, who departed this life at Bookmark on the second day of Sept 1863. Aged 41 Years. Oh Death where is thy Sting. Oh Grave where is thy Victory.” It had been stolen from the tombstone of one of the first woman settlers in the Riverland. Ms Everingham said the plaque had been missing from the grave site since the early 1950’s. The historic grave was situated between Dishers Creek and old Calperum Station. About one and a half kilometres from the river, above the floodplain, in an area of red sand and hop bushes. The grave was originally enclosed by a wrought iron fence, which was also stolen more than a decade ago. All that remains at the site today, are some chiselled stone blocks which once formed the base of the fence. The plaque discovery sparked an investigation into the identity of Margaret Gunn and her husband. Renmark Historian Mr Brian Glenie, obtained a death certificate, lodged at Adelaide, which stated the woman died of liver disease. Also, a newspaper report at the time read;- RANKIN, On September 1, at Bookmark, River Murray, Margaret Gunn, daughter of Daniel Gunn, Staxigoe, Wick, Caithness, Scotland, the dearly beloved wife of Ewin Rankin, of the same place, aged 41 years. Much regretted by all who knew her. – Ewin Rankin was apparently the overseer of Bookmark, at the time, when that property belonged to John Chambers.

The plaque has been restored by Ms Barbara Smith of the Renmark National Trust, and will take pride of place at “Olivewood”, the Chaffey Brothers historic homestead/museum, at Renmark.


from Lonely Graves in the Murray Valley http://users.esc.net.au/~pereilly/grave.htm

Death notice in the South Australian Register of 7 October 1863 on page 2

I have not found any details of the death of Ewan Rankin.

Margaret Gunn was my third great grandmother.