In the vast majority of cases our ancestors came from very humble backgrounds. They were farmers, labourers, factory workers, miners and saddlers. They chose to immigrate to Australia for a number of reasons. Some came to escape poverty and an uncertain future at home. Others came to join family members who had already come to Australia, and others in search of gold. Whatever the reason, they came and they stayed and they made a life for themselves and their families. They suffered much hardship and most likely many disappointments along the way, but they did it with courage. Because of them we are what we are today.
- Bridgeman, Thomas - Arrived 1837 . Thomas first came to Australia in 1837 when he and his wife Sarah Newitt immigrated to South Australia. He married his second wife Jane Eyes in Nelson, New Zealand in 1843, having left Sarah in Melbourne with their two children. He and Jane came to Australia in 1845. They lived on the Clarence River until they moved to Bogandilla Station near Dulacca around the 1850's. Thomas left Jane and their children at the Station and travelled once more to South Australia where he married a third time to Sarah McAdams. He and Sarah emigrated to New Zealand where he died at Inglewood in 1893.
- McGregor, William - Arrived 1838 . The son of Gregor McGregor, a fox hunter, and Christiana Clarke, William was born in Kingussie, Scotland in 1812. He was a labourer and shepherd. At the age of 25 he married the widowed Mary McPherson nee Stuart. In 1838, Mary and William and their baby daughter Jess, and Mary's daughter Louisa McPherson, left Kingussie to walk to Ouse where they boarded a ship bound for New South Wales. When the "St George" arrived in Sydney William went to work for Edgar Hyland, a butcher from Maitland. In 1841 he was listed as a Police Constable in Maitland. However, he eventually became a lucerne farmer at Nelson's Plains where he and Mary raised five children, baby Jess having died a few years after they came to Australia. William and Mary moved to Bringilly near Liverpool about 1870. Mary died in 1877 but just what happened to William is uncertain, his death.
details have not yet been found.
- Stuart, Mary - Arrived 1838 . Mary was born in 1804 in Kingussie, Scotland, the daughter of Donald Stuart and Janet McEdwards. At the age of 23 she married Ewan McPherson, and they lived at Alvie in Inverneshire. Ewan died before their third child was born in 1833. Mary remarried in 1837. William McGregor was 10 years younger than Mary and within a year, William, Mary, their baby Jess and Louisa McPherson, Mary and Ewan's eldest child were on their way to Orban to meet the "St George" which sailed to Sydney on the 4 July 1838. Mary left the other two children from her first marriage with her parents in Scotland. Five more children were born to Mary and William while they lived in the Hunter Valley. Sadly two died before the reached adulthood. Mary died in 1877 at the home of her son George in Sydney, and was buried in the Liverpool Cemetery.
- Staines, Samuel - Arrived 1841 . Samuel was born in North Kilworth, Leicestershire, the son of Thomas Staines or Steans, a blacksmith and Sarah Davis in 1819. He also worked as a blacksmith and at the age of 22 he immigrated to Sydney on the "Lady Kennaway" in 1841. He came in search of his brother Thomas who had been convicted of horse theft and transported in 1836. Samuel's immigration details show he intended to "work with his brother in Jowin" ? (maybe Jenolan). He didn't stay long with his brother, because in 1842 he was back in Sydney and had married Eliza Sydie. The couple stayed in Sydney and had four children. When the last was just two years old, Samuel was killed in some sort of accident. He was buried in the Camperdown Cemetery in Newtown October of 1853. He was only 34 years old.
- Sydie, Eliza - Arrived 1841 . Born in Stephney, London in 1810, Eliza's parents David Sydie, a tide waiter or customs inspector on the Thames River and Elizabeth Stevens had both died by the time she immigrated to Sydney at the age of 31 . She arrived on the "Queen Victoria" in 1841, under the care of a Mrs Plummer. Her occupation was a cook. Just over a year later she married Samuel Staines in 1842 and they had four children. Samuel was killed in 1853, and family hearsay has it that she went to work as a washerwoman for a judge "who was kind to her after the accident". However, tragedy struck again and Eliza accidentally swallowed a pin. She was admitted to hospital, and knowing she was going to die she quickly made arrangements for her children to be taken care of by friends and acquaintances. She was buried in the Camperdown Cemetery in Newtown in January 1856, at the age of 45.
- Eyles, Jane - Arrived 1845 . Jane was born in Lasham, Hampshire in 1825, the daughter of Daniel Eyles and Jane Primmer. At the age of 16 she immigrated with her family to what was to become Nelson on New Zealand's South Island. Conditions were harsh and her mother died a few months after the expedition arrived in 1842. Jane married Thomas Bridgeman a widowed carpenter in 1843. She was just 18 and he was 36. Perhaps if her mother had been alive she would not have entertained this marriage. By 1845, Walter and Jane were in the Clarence River District of New South Wales. Their two children were born there. Thomas went into partnership with a Mr Kettle and they drove their flock of sheep from the Clarence River to Dulacca Station near Miles in Queensland about 1848. Family hearsay has it that Mr Kettle was killed by aborigines not long after arriving, and when Thomas failed to return from a trip to Moreton Bay to bring supplies, he too was assumed dead. By 1850 Jane had met and set up house with William Gillis. They lived in a number of places over the next few years, and by the time they married in 1861 they had five children. Perhaps they never knew that Thomas had in fact gone to Adeliade, married, and made his way to New Zealand under an assumed name. Jane and William's last and seventh child was born at Gowrie Little Plain, Meringindan where the couple had finally settled. Jane died there in 1891 at the age of 66 and was buried near William on their property at Gowrie Little Plain. A memorial now stands where it is thought the graves were located.
- Albig, Frederick - Arrived 1855 . Johann Friedrich Christof Albig was born in 1796 in Kochendorf, Germany. He was the son of Georg Peter Albig, a weaver and Marie Salome Hessinger. He married Johanna Rosina Heiss(Rosina) in about 1816 and they had thirteen children. However, only four survived to adulthood and in 1855 Frederick and Rosina came to Sydney on the "Undine" with two of their children Lorenz and Magdelina Rosina (also known as Rosina). Just why the family came is a mystery. Perhaps their son Andreas had already immigrated. Whatever the reason, the information supplied to the authorities regarding their ages was incorrect , both claiming to be a decade younger. Perhaps they wouldn't meet immigration criteria if they were over a certain age. The family moved to Tenterfield where Rosina (daughter) married Louis Werner two years later. Rosina (mother) died in 1860 but when and where Frederick died is not known!!!
- Baker, Elizabeth - Arrived 1855 . Elizabeth was born in 1832 in Agra, India, the daughter of Thomas Baker, a Colour Seargent in the British Army and Eliza McGowan, the daughter of another soldier. When her father was discharged from the army the family moved back to Somerset where her father had been born. Elizabeth worked in Ilminster as a glover and weaver. In 1853 she married William French, another weaver. Family hearsay has it that her family didn't approve of the marriage and that they eloped, but they were married by banns so it must have been planned for some time. In 1855 the couple left for Australia on the "Maitland" with their son Thomas. Elizabeth gave birth to a second son on the voyage, but sadly Thomas died before they reached Sydney. William and Elizabeth were to have eight children, the last being born at Ten Mile, near Tenterfield in 1875. Three years later Elizabeth was widowed when William died of a heart attack in July 1878. Elizabeth married Richard Hoskin in November 1878, a farmer from the same area. After Richard's death Elizabeth went to live with her daughter Elizabeth Werner in Toowoomba. She died in February 1910 and is buried in the Toowoomba and Drayton Cemetery in an unmarked grave. The family knew her affectionately as "Granny Hoskin".
- Burgess, Ann - Arrived 1855 . Ann was born in Chiselborough, Somerset in 1826. She was the daughter of a farm labourer Samuel Burgess and his wife Ann Crocker. She worked as a glove maker but in 1854 her parents wrote a letter to her brother in Goulbourn NSW asking if they could send the passage money for Ann. She had already "put in her name", but "can't get the money". Her mother thought she "would make a fine servant". Ann did manage to get the money because a year later in August 1855, she and her new husband John Hooper sailed for Moreton Bay. Ann's brother, John Burgess and his wife and children were on the "Conrad" with them. The life Ann's mother had envisioned for her was far from the reality of life in a new colony. Ann was the only white woman on Maroon Station, and was left by herself for lenghty periods while John hauled supplies from Brisbane. Her brother and his family left for Goulburn not long after coming to Australia. Of their eleven children, two died in infancy. Giving birth without the support of any close relatives would have been a frightening experience for Ann, although there were aboriginal women on the station. She died in 1917 at the age of 85 and is buried with John in the Boonah Cemetery.
- French, William - Arrived 1855 . His father was a labourer Jacob French and his mother Hannah Osborne, both from well established, but poor labouring families in Merriott, Somerset. William was born in close-by Haselbury Pluckett in 1833. He worked as a labourer, but then as a weaver. In September 1853 he married Elizabeth Baker, also a weaver in Ilminster, Somerset. Their first child, Thomas, was born in Somerset, and in December 1855 the family left Plymouth for Sydney on the "Maitland". Sadly their son died on the voyage. Another son, John, was born before they reached Australia. It appears William was assigned to the Christie family and the French family went to Castlereagh where William worked as a labourer. His sister Prudence and her husband William Chick were also in the Hunter Valley area. William and his family moved several times and eventually came to Tenterfield with the Christie family, where he worked on "Walhalla Station". William finally selected land of his own, but died on a heart attack in 1878 at the age of 49. He is buried in the Tenterfield Cemetery.
- Heiss, Rosina - Arrived 1855 . Johanna Rosina Hess was the daughter of Georg Michel Heiss, a farmer and Magdelina Kubach. She was born in Wurtenberg, Germany about 1794. She married Frederich Albig in 1816, and the couple had thirteen children but only four survived to adulthood. Rosina came to Australia on the "Undine" in 1855 with her husband and two of her children, she was 61 years old. Sadly she only lived a further five years before dying in Tenterfield in 1860.
- Hooper, John - Arrived 1855 . Born in 1835 in Merriott, Somerset John was the son of Thomas Hooper and Elizabeth Hockley. Like his father John was an agricultural labourer. At the age of nineteen he married Ann Burgess, a lady six years his senior and one determined to go to Australia. They were married in the 4 June of 1855, and sailed a few weeks later from Plymouth on the "Conrad" for Moreton Bay as assisted passengers. John's first job was at Maroon Station, and he soon became a carrier regularly making the long return journey from the station to Brisbane for the station supplies. Thomas and Ann's first three children were born while they were at Maroon Station. Later they moved to Coochin Coochin Station where two more children were born, and then to Purga where another four were born. The last child was born at Ipswich. By this time John has selected land at Dugandan, and it was this land that was later surveyed and sold to become the present day Boonah. Ann and John's house still stands in Church Street, Boonah. John died at the age of 81 and is buried in the Boonah Cemetery.
- Werner, Louis H R - Arrived 1856 . Born in Prussa, to Louis Henry Werner, a Captain in the Prussian Army, and Josephine, it is thought that Louis came to Sydney on the "Daniel Ross" in 1856. Many people were leaving Prussia/Germany at that time because of the poor prospects. He worked as a saddler and married Rosina Albig in 1857. He was naturalised on 8 August 1859, and had made a home for himself in Tenterfield, NSW. Louis and Rosina had ten children, two of which died young . He eventually became to owner of a few acres of land, and worked as a harness maker. He died in 1891 and is buried in the Tenterfied Cemetery.
- Woods, George - Arrived Before 1859 . George was born in London about 1814, the son of George Woods. He became a butcher and at the age of 27 married Sarah Ann Fleet. He continued with his butcher shop in Gwynn's Place, Hackney. Six children were born but two were lost in infancy. About 1858 George immigrated to Sydney, most likely as a paying passenger. He signed the Depositors Report for Sarah Ann and the children to come to Australia in December 1858. They left Southhampton six months later. In Sydney George continued with his butchering, passing the skill on to his eldest son, George Michael. In September 1873 George died of heart failure while he was visiting Woolongong. He was buried in the Woolongong Cemetery. Sarah Ann died 11 months later and was buried in the Haslam Creek Cemetery, Sydney.
- Fleet, Sarah Ann - Arrived 1859 . Sarah Ann was born in London about 1819. She was the daughter of George Fleet and Mary Ann Mansall. She was married to George Woods in London at the end of 1841. He was a butcher, and the couple had six chidren, two of whom died in infancy. Some time in the mid-1850's George immigrated to Sydney, Australia. Sarah Ann and the children followed on the "Parsee" in 1859. Sarah appeared on the ships passenger list as on of the "Wives of Persons Already in the Colony". The Depositors Report shows that a Dr Dodd (Todd) of Kent Road, Bermondsey gave a good character reference for Sarah and her children. Dr George Michalel Todd was Sarah Ann's half brother, the child of her mothers marriage to George Todd. Sarah Ann was widowed in 1873 when George died of heart failure in Woolongong. She died 11 months later and was buried at the Haslam Creek Cemetery.
- Brigth, Emily Ann - Arrived 1862 . Emily was born in Hockley, Essex in 1840. She was the daughter of Edward Bright, a farm bailiff and Margaret Lockwood. She worked as a barmaid before marrying Robert Kemp Jefferis in 1862. Shortly after, they immigrated to Melbourne on the "Swiftsure". She brought with her a sewing box that is still in the care of a member of the family. Their first child died in Melbourne, and their second was born in Ballarat where Robert had gone in search of gold. He must have been out of luck because Robert then took a job as a pay clerk on the railway that serviced the many gold mining communities in the Central district of Queensland. This meant the young family had to walk most of the way from Ballarat to Rockhampton. Emily had a very hard life, a number of her children were born in gold mining camps and a number died while still infants. Of their eight children only three lived to adulthood. By the time Robert died just before the turn of the century, the family had moved to Bundaberg where Emily continued to live until 1923 when she died. She is buried in the Bundaberg Cemetery
- Jefferis, Robert Kemp - Arrived 1862 . Robert was born in Alton, Hampshire in 1837. He was from a well-to-do family, his father Henry Jefferis owning a tanning business, and his brothers and uncles draperies. His mother was Ann Sparshott. He worked as a drapers assistant before his marriage to Emily Ann Bright in 1862. Shortly after, they immigrated to Melbourne on the "Swiftsure". Their first child died in Melbourne, and their second was born in Ballarat where Robert had gone in search of gold. Having not found any there, he and his family walked most of the way to Rockhampton where he took a job as a pay clerk on the railway that serviced the many gold mining communities in the Central district. The conditions were extremely hard for a young family and a number of their children died as infants. The family moved to Bundaberg about 1882, but that didn't stop Robert from ocasionally going missing to a gold field. He died in 1897 and is buried inthe Degilbo Cemetery near Biggenden.
- Cossart, Henry - Arrived 1864 . Henry was the son of Joseph Cossart, a carpenter and Susan Davidson. He was born about 1814, descended from a line of French Huguenots who had come to Northern Ireland to help establish a Moravian community at Gracehill. The community still exists. He married Mary Walker about 1840 and when he was fifty he brought his family of five sons and two daughters to Queensland. They immigrated to Moreton Bay on the "Flying Cloud" in 1864. Henry established a farm at Highfields and then was a pioneer at Perseverance. The family became involved in timber cutting and the boys became very skilled timber workers. They went on to establish two sawmills in Boonah and one in Gatton. Henry died in 1878 and is buried in the Toowoomba and Drayton Cemetery. He was 64 years old.
- Walker, Mary - Arrived 1864 . Not much is known about Mary, except she was born in Northern Ireland about 1822 and the daughter of a farmer. She married Henry Cossart in 1840. The family came to Australia with their seven children, the eldest aged 23 and the youngest just 2 in 1864. She helped Henry and her sons establish a farm at Highfields and later at Perseverance. They lost their son Henry in an accident involving a wagon load of timber he was hauling to the Highfileds mill. She was widowed in 1878. After Henry died she moved to Toowoomba with her two daughters. She died in 1902 aged 80 and is buried in the Toowoomba and Drayton Cemetery.
- Crawford, Sarah Jane - Arrived 1865 . Sarah Jane was the daughter of William Crawford and Margaret Maxwell. She was born in 1842 in Dereneive, County Fernanagh, Northern Ireland. In 1865 Sarah Jane and her brother Robert immigrated to Sydney on the "Trebolgan". Their elder brother William had come to Australia the year before. Of the twelve Crawford siblings, nine eventually immigrated to Australia. In 1873 Sarah Jane married Joseph Staines and they moved the the Teven area where Joseph grew sugar cane and was in partnership with his brother Samuel in the Rous Sugar Mill. Their five children were born there. Around 1905, Sarah and Joseph moved to the Kingaroy area, along with many members of their family. They lived on their grazing property until Joseph died in 1921. Sarah Jane then moved into Kingaroy where she stayed until she died at the age of 97 in 1939. She was buried with Joseph in the Memberambi Cemetery.
- Dixon, Elizabeth - Arrived 1865 . Elizabeth was the daughter of William Dixon, a blacksmith and was born in Pickering, North Yorkshire in about 1827. She married James Robinson at the age of 20 in York and they had five children before immigrating to Moreton Bay on the "Queen of the South" in 1865. They eventually settled at Ebenezer in the Ipswich area. Coming from England to our harsh environment would have been hard for Elizabeth and her children. Two years after their arrival James and Elizabeth lost their sixth child as an infant. Another daughter was born a few years later. Elizabeth died in 1894 aged 67 and is buried in Jeebropilly Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
- Robinson, James - Arrived 1865 . The son of Charles Robinson and Hannah Wright, James was born in Alne, near Tollerton, Yorkshire in 1817. His father was a labourer. James moved to the city of York where he worked as a bricklayer and garden labourer. He married Elizabeth Dixon in 1847 when he was 30 years old. The family continued to live in York and their five children were born there. In 1865, at the age of 41, he and Elizabeth and the children left England on the "Queen of the South" bound for Moreton Bay. James took up farming at Ebenezer near Ipswich, and two more children were born there. He died in 1896, aged 79 years and is buried in an unmarked grave at the Jeebropilly (Stone Quarry) Cemetery.
- Maddern, John - Arrived 1870 . Born in Newlyn, Cornwall in 1848, John was the sixth and last child of Thomas Maddern, a market gardener and Priscilla Lower (his cousin). When John was just six years old his mother died leaving him in the care of his older sisters, Catherine and Mary Ann who must have become mother figures to the young boy. In 1862 Mary Ann married Charles Barnes and immigrated to Australia. Catherine and her husband Thomas Williams followed in 1868. As soon as John by then a labourer, turned 21, he followed them. He came on the ship the "Planet" in 1870 and found work in various places until he settled in Crows Nest, along with the Barnes and Williams families in 1876. Here he married Mary Ann Cossart and they eventually moved to the Emu Creek area where he farmed until 1920. Mary Ann died just before she was 50 of cancer in 1912. They had six children. John lived at "Penleigh" on the Virginia road until he died in 1933.
- Chambers, Sampson Henry - Arrived 1883 . Sampson was born in Bloxwich, Staffordshire in 1866, the seventh child and only living son of Sampson Chambers, a miner and Jane Jones. By the time he was six he was an orphan and lived with various relatives (at one stage working in his uncles brewery and being hidden under a beer barrell so the school authorities wouldn't find him) until he came to Rockhampton on the "El Dorado" in 1883. He was a 19 year old saddler and came with his sister Eleanor and her husband William Kingston and their young family. He married Edith Mary Jefferis and they made a life together on their property "Woodvale Farm " at Woowoonga near Biggenden. He died in Bundaberg in 1936 and is buried in the Bundaberg Cemetery.