HURRELLS

HURRELL SISTERS COURTESY OF MERILYN HURRELL AND HER NAN.

COMPARE THIS ONE WITH THE ONE IN MY FAMILY WITH GRANDMA SANDERS AKA LUCY JANE HURRELL. ( FRONT LEFT IN MERILYN’S PHOTO. SECOND FROM RIGHT IN MINE.)

 

_____________________________________________________

HURRELL CLAN.

BLACKBERRY SANDERS AND ‘ THE TWINS’.

SITES TO SEE : NEW SOUTH WALES

NEW SOUTH WALES

THE ONLINE BOOKS PAGE.

EMIGRANTS FROM THE FAMILY :

YEAR
SHIP
NAME

1838
BRILLIANT
JESSIE(JENNET, JANET) MCLEAN MOTHER OF MARY ANN MCNEIL

1839
JAMES MORAN
MCLEODS AND MACKAYS

1849
VICTORIA
WILLIAM AND MARY ANN SANDERS

1853
WILLIAM BROWN
JACKSONS

1853
BEEJAPORE
CRAIGS AND HURRELLS

FOR SOME BACKGROUND ATMOSPHERE OF THIS PERIOD , try this one from Google Books:

Notes and sketches of New South Wales: during a residence in that colony

A RESIDENCE IN THAT COLONY FROM 1839 TO 1844.

By Mrs. Charles Meredith

CONTENTS.

Preface \ -i

CHAPTER I.

Embarkation — Indisposition—Pleasures of a Sea Voyage—Fellow-pas-

sengers—Observance of Character—Devonshire Coast—Pilots—Land

Luxuries—H.M.S. Hercules—Eddystone Lighthouse—Last Land . 1

CHAPTER II.

Bay of Biscay—Spanish Coast—Employment the best preventive of.

Ennui—Phosphorescence of the Sea—Portuguese Men-of-war—Swal-

lows— Tenerifie — Speaking the Cherub — Fear of Pirates—Por-

poises—Flying Fish—Capture of a Boneto—Dolphins . 7

Chapter in.

Calm in the Tropics—Sharks — Turtle — lanthina—Shovel-board—

" Crossing the Line "—Loss of the North Star—Southern Constellations

—Moonlight in the Tropics—Sunsets—Waterspouts—"Sun-dogs" . ‘16

CHAPTER IV.

Whales and " Jets d’eau"—Birds—Boatswain—Boobies—Cape Pigeon—

Mischief of Idleness—" Mr.Winkles" at Sea—Great Albatross—Nelly

—Stormy Petrel—Blue Petrel—Sailors’ Delicacies—Stormy Weather 23

CHAPTER V.

Island of St. Paul’s—Islands in Bass’s Straits—Mutton-birds—Botany

Bay Heads—General excitement—Heads of Port Jackson—Scenery—

New Zealanders—First sight of Sydney—Pull ashore—Comforts of

Land Life—George Street, Sydney—The Domain—Eucalyptus, &c.

—Wooloomooloo—Government Gardens 31
CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

Sydney Market—Fish, &c.—Dust, Flies, Mosquitoes—Drive to the

Lighthouse — Flowers — Parrots—Black Cockatoos—Hyde Park—

Churches — Libraries — " Currency " Population — Houses — Balls,

&c. —Inns—Colonial Newspapers Page 43

CHAPTER VII.

Leave Sydney—" Clearings"—Huts of the Working Classes — Chain-

Gangs — Parramatta — Creeks and Rivers —Inn — Birds — Road to

Penrith—Grasshoppers—Penrith—Nepean—Emu Plains—Ascent of

the Blue Mountains—Waratah 56

CHAPTER VIII.

A "Country Inn"—Breakfast—Contrasts—A Bush Ramble and Digres-

sion about Ants—Mountain Scenery—Cattle Skeletons—"Weather-

board" Inn—Supper and Night at " Bliud Paddy’s"—Mountains, and

the Surveyor’s Roads—Mount Victoria—Convict Gangs and Bush-

rangers—Inn at the " Rivulet," and its Inhabitants—The Ruling Vice 66

CHAPTER IX.

" Hassan’s Walls"—Grass Trees—Mount Lambey—Victoria Inn—Speci-

men of Benevolent Politeness—Colonial Bridges—First View of

Bathurst—The " Settlement"—Dearth—Climate—Hot Winds—Pro-

cessions of Whirlwinds—Hurricanes . . . . . .79

CHAPTER X.

».

Bathurst Society and Hospitality—" White Rock"—Native Dance and

Ceremony—Kangaroo Dance—Appearance of Natives—Children—

" Gins "—Their marriage, slavery, and sufferings—Family Dinner-

party—Adopted Children—Infanticide—Religion — " Devil-Devil"—

Language—Story of Hougong and Jimmy—" Ay, ay ?"—Duties of

the Toilet—Native Songs—Mimicry—Fondness for English Dress—

Boundary Laws—Legal Parricide—Habitual Treachery . .90

CHAPTER XI.

Native Huts—" Gunyon"—Natives’ ingenuity in Duck-Snaring and

Fishing—Native Weapons—Green Frogs—Freshwater Shells—Platy-

pus — Spur-winged Plover—Australian Harebell — Convolvulus —

Everlastings—Peppermint Tree—Opossums—Natives’ mode of taking

His
CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XII. ,

Native Turkeys—Their mode of Incubation—Native Cranberry—Our

Return — Locusts — Manna — Transformations — Ground Grubs —

Night at the Rivulet—New flowers—Heat and Dust—" Weather-

board" Inn—Walk to the Cascade—Fringed Violet—Waratahs—

Fine View—Lories Page 114

CHAPTER XIII.

Storm and fine view on Lapstone Hill—Farm-house in the " public" line

—Arrive at Parramatta — Steamboat — Scenery on the " River "—

Sydney Christmas Tree—Christmas Day—Tippling Servants . 124

CHAPTER XIV.

Homebush—Colonial Country-houses—The " Avenue"—Gates—Slip-

rails — Bushrangers — Mounted Police — Dingoes — Flying Fox —

Flying Opossum—Native Cats—Birds—Robins—Swallows— Knife-

grinder—Coachman—Bell-bird—Laughing Jackass—Larks—Game 129

CHAPTER XV.

Norfolk Island Pine—English Pear-tree—Daisy — Bush Flowers—

Creepers—He-oak—Zamia—" Wooden Pear-tree"—Native Cherry—

Insect Architecture—Twig-nests, &c.—Butterflies—Ground Spiders—

Tarantula—Silk Spiders—Scorpions—Hornets—Mosquitoes—Ants . 139

CHAPTER XVI.

Guanas—Lizards—Snakes—Salt Marshes—Fishing—Crabs—Toad-fish

—Mangrove-trees—Romance and reality—Night sounds — Orange-

Groves—Gardens—Gigantic Lily—Scarcity of fresh water—Winter

Rains—Salt Well — Climate in Winter—Society — Conversation—

Servants—Domestic matters—Embarkation for Van Diemen’s Land 150

N.B. OUR EMIGRANTS WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THE SAME ADVANTAGES AS MRS MEREDITH .

CRAIGS, HURRELLS AND THE BEEJAPORE

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CRAIGS AND HURRELLS AND THE BEEJAPORE ?

WHEN AND WHERE DID THE SANDERS COME INTO THE PICTURE?

WHERE DID THE CRAIGS COME FROM ?

TRAVELLING THE MID NORTH COAST

SOME MORE SANDERS STORY FROM JAN AND BARRY MAURICE

1. WILLIAM SANDERS m SARAH STARK c 1768 probably at Tifford outside KENTON near EXETER DEVON.

2. Their son  WILLIAM was baptised on 11/11/1792 at Tifford and was probably born the same day or the day before according to the custom of the time. He later married ELIZABETH GREEN. Their son :

3. WILLIAM was born at KENTON on 15/4/1823. He married MARY ANN SKIVINGS who was born in 1830. Mary’s parents were both born at KILLERTON ( also known as Broad Clyst) near EXETER, Devon.  Her mother, GRACE, was born in 1804. William and Mary  arrived in Sydney on board the VICTORIA on 2/9/1849, Mary possibly pregnant with their first ( surviving ) child.

They settled in the MACLEAY DISTRICT. Oral history has it that William was invited to come to Australia by a retired British Army Colonel to be employed as an expert ploughman having become known as such back in Devon. William is also reputed to have introduced blackberries to the North Coast. This act of folly earned him the nickname ” BLACKBERRY BILL”. William was also a champion rower and rowed in the Kempsey Regatta of 1856. William died on 19/12/1910 aged 87. Mary died on 13/11/1882 aged 52, the mother of 13 children.

Husband    WILLIAM SANDERS    Birth    Apr. 15, 1823    KENTON DEVON ENGLAND    Marriage    Aug. 28, 1848    EXETER ENGLAND    Death    Dec. 19, 1910    FREDERICKTON KEMPSEY    Burial        FREDERICKTON    Other Wives        Parents    WILLIAM SANDERS and ELIZABETH GREEN	Wife    MARY ANN SKIVINGS    Birth    About 1830    SILVERTON DEVON ENGLAND    Death    Nov. 13, 1882    FREDRICKTON KEMPSEY NSW AUSTRALIA    Burial        FREDERICKTON CEMETERY    Other Husbands        Parents    GEORGE S SKIVINGS and GRACE
Children
1    ELIZABETH GRACE SANDERS    Gender    Female    Birth    Oct. 28, 1850    HORSLEY NSW    Husband    EDRED EVERSON    Marriage    Aug. 3, 1868    SUMMER ISLAND MACLEAY RIVER NSW    Death    Jan. 30, 1904    KINCHELA NSW    Burial	2    HARRIET FRANCES SANDERS    Gender    Female    Birth    Jun. 4, 1852    YARRABANDINI NSW    Husband    THOMAS ROWE    Marriage    Dec. 6, 1869    KINCHELA NSW    Death    Oct. 13, 1942    DUNGOG    Burial
3    WILLIAM GEORGE SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Feb. 11, 1854    YARRABANDINI NSW    Wife    ELIZABETH HURELL    Marriage    Jul. 30, 1879    KINCHELA NSW    Death    Aug. 10, 1923    SOUTH WEST ROCKS NSW AUSTRALIA    Burial	4    FREDERICK JOHN SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Oct. 18, 1855    MACLEAY RIVER NSW    Wife    LUCY JANE HURRELL    Marriage    Apr. 11, 1878    KINCHELA    Death    Jan. 23, 1921    MARRICKVILLE SYDNEY AUSTRALIA    Burial
5    CHARLES HENRY SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Jan. 1, 1860    AUSTRAL EDEN    Wife    MARY ANN PARTRIDGE    Marriage    Aug. 17, 1881    SUMMER ISLAND MACLEAY RIVER NSW    Death    Jul. 16, 1926    MACKSVILLE    Burial	6    ALFRED SIVERT SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Jan. 4, 1861    FLATTORINI ISLAND    Wife    EMILY JANE MINCHEN    Marriage    Apr. 29, 1886    SMITHTOWN    Death    1933    KEMPSEY    Burial
7    ERNEST ALBERT SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Dec. 21, 1862    FLATTORINI ISLAND    Wife    ANNIE JANE PARTRIDGE    Marriage    Jun. 9, 1886    SUMMER ISLAND MACLEAY RIVER NSW    Death    Nov. 20, 1911    UPPER UNKYA    Burial	8   MARY ANN SANDERS    Gender    Female    Birth    Nov. 17, 1864    FLATTORINI ISLAND    Husband    JOSEPH ISAAC HARRIS    Marriage    Jun. 7, 1885    AUSTRAL EDEN    Death    Dec. 4, 1941    BRISBANE    Burial
9    WALTER THOMAS SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Mar. 18, 1867    KINCHELA CREEK    Wife    ELIZABETH PARTRIDGE    Marriage    Jul. 10, 1895    KEMPSEY    Death    Jan. 24, 1922    KEMPSEY    Burial	10    AGNES JANE SANDERS    Gender    Female    Birth    Jul. 9, 1869    KINCHELA CREEK MACLEAY RIVER NSW    Husband    CHARLES HENRY WILLIAM  TAYLOR    Marriage    Nov. 25, 1891    ST LEONARDS    Death    Aug. 6, 1951    QUEENSLAND    Burial        LUTWYCHE CEMETERY BRISBANE
11    EDRED JAMES SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Oct. 2, 1870    KINCHELA CREEK    Wife    ANNIE EDITH NELSON    Marriage    Dec. 25, 1912    WEST KEMPSEY NSW AUSTRALIA    Death    Mar. 26, 1938    KEMPSEY    Burial	12   SARAH ELLEN SANDERS    Gender    Female    Birth    Jan. 27, 1872    KINCHELA CREEK    Husband    ROBERT EVAN KITCHING    Marriage    Oct. 26, 1895    SYDNEY AUSTRALIA    Death    Feb. 9, 1946    CAMPBELLTOWN    Burial
13    CHRISTOPHER GEORGE SANDERS    Gender    Male    Birth    Jul. 3, 1873    KINCHELA CREEK    Wife        Marriage            Death    Jan. 3, 1882    KINCHELA CREEK    Burial

   

 

      

 

      

         

   

 

THE HURRELLS

COURTESY OF BARB MILLER.

BARB HAS GENEROUSLY PROVIDED ME WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

Lucy Jane Hurrell married Frederick Sanders. Lucy was descended from JOHN HURRELL and his second wife. JOHN HURRELL was born in 1828 in CAWSTON NORFOLK, to MARK and ELIZABETH HURRELL according to his immigration record. He also had cousins called JOHN HURRELL. Our JOHN died on 14 January 1908 on the MACLEAY RIVER NSW. 

John’s father was MARK HURRELL. Mark married twice. Elizabeth was his first wife.  Mary Warner was his second. He was an Agricultural  labourer living in Eastgate, Cawston in 1851 census. aged 53, widower with his son Thomas and Mark’s brother John aged 60 (pensioner- from services – Chelsea Hospital ) widower and John’s children Susanna and Ann M. I don’t know how many other children Mark had with either of his wives.

John married firstly to HARRIET TENPENNY ABBOTT in Holbeach Lincolnshire England in Mar 14 1849 ( Folio XIV page 561) then living at SUTTON CROSSES, SUTTON ST MARY LINCOLNSHIRE in 1851. Occupation Farm Labourer. Came to Australia on the BEEJAPORE in 1853 with Harriet. Dreadful conditions on this ship with many deaths and illnesses. Harriet died in 1853. John could read and write and paid two pound for his  and his wife’s passage to Australia.  On immigration records at State records NSW he was living in LONG SUTTON, Lincolnshire prior to emigration and knew noone in the colony. Mother Elizabeth deceased prior to his departure for Australia. No children of marriage to Harriet.

John remarried : ELLEN CROWE 26/11/1854 in Parish of St Lawrence in the County of Cumberland NSW. (C of E ) 677/41B. Witnesses: FREDERICK LOUIS WILLIAM HERRMANN of Castlereagh St Sydney, and JANE HERRMANN of Castlereagh St Sydney. Age 37. Occupation Farmer at time of Thomas’ birth in 1865. Buried FREDERICKTON CEMETERY McLeay River NSW Row M C of E Section.  ELLEN CROWE was the daughter of MICHAEL CROWE and was born in DUBLIN IRELAND in c 1831. She died at at McLeay River on 12/2/1899.

JOHN AND ELLEN HURRELL HAS THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN:

 

		BORN	MARRIED	DIED
1	JOHN	1855 SYDNEY		1875 MACLEAY RIVER
2	ELIZA MARY	12/2/1858 SYDNEY	3/8/1939 WILLIAM SANDERS
3	LUCY JANE	1861 MACLEAY RIVER NSW	FREDERICK SANDERS
4	MARK	1862 MACLEAY RIVER	RUTH HENRY	27/7/1910 MCLEAY RIVER
5	MARY	1863	WILLIAM PRICE
6	THOMAS DENNIS	10 MAY 1865 KINCHELA CK	ISABELLA SMAILES
7	ELLEN MATILDA	1867 MCLEAY RIVER		1943 ASHFIELD NSW
8	JAMES	1869 MCLEAY RIVER		1946 LIVERPOOL
9	ANN	1872
10	GEORGE	1873 MCLEAY RIVER		1875 MCLEAY RIVER

 

BARB MILLER TELLS ME THAT THE INFORMATION BELOW WAS GIVEN TO HER FROM YVONNE SZWEDYE’S WEBSITE “FOR THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE” ON ROOTSWEB. I WOULD PROVIDE A LINK BUT HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE THE PAGE.  ( LET ME KNOW IF I CAN FIX THIS ONE UP )

THIS GENERATION BELOW IS MY OWN GRANDFATHER JOHN GEORGE’S .

 

THESE ARE THE CHILDREN OF LUCY JANE AND FREDERICK SANDERS.

		BORN	MARRIED	DIED
1	FREDERICK WILLIAM	13/2/1879	EUPHEMIA NELSON	27/7/1950
2	JOHN GEORGE	10/4/1881	ELIZABETH CRAIG	10/11/1950
3	MAUD EVELYN	13/6/1883		14/6/1954
4	CLARENCE MACLEAY	13/7/1885	BEATRICE DANGERFIELD	15/5/1960
5	META MAY	24/10/1887		29/8/1888
6	CLEMENT CONSTANT	15/9/1889	ELLEN WOODWARD	31/1/1961
7	JANIE	27/10/1894		4/8/1903
8	HERBERT BURDETT	6/11/1896		23/7/1916

 

 

 

 

 

IMMIGRATION REPORT 1852

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article671085

 

IMMIGRATION REPORT FOR 1852 INCLUDING STATISTICS FOR THE WHOLE PERIOD OF EMIGRATION.

VERY DETAILED PROFILE OF IMMIGRATION IN AUSTRALIA.

 

(The following year 1853 sees the arrival of the CRAIGS, HURRELLS and JACKSONS. )

 

 

WILHELMINA MCLEOD

WHERE HAVE WE COME FROM ?

IMMIGRATION IN THE NLA NEWSPAPERS

Known Immigrants in the family at this time are :

YEAR	SHIP	PERSON/S	FROM	TO
1839	JAMES MORGAN	JANET MACKAY AND CHILDREN INC WILHELMINA MCLEOD	SUTHERLAND SHIRE SCOTLAND	SYDNEY
1849	VICTORIA	WILLIAM  SANDERS AND MARY ANN SKIVINGS (MARRIED COUPLE)	DEVON ENGLAND	SYDNEY
1853	WILLIAM BROWN	JACKSONS		SYDNEY
1853	BEEJAPORE	THOMAS CRAIG , PARENTS AND SIBLINGS		SYDNEY
1853	BEEJAPORE	HURRELLS		SYDNEY

ARTICLES ON EMIGRATION/IMMIGRATION IN NLA NEWSPAPERS:

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article640683  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article640671    http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article640576	MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION. MAY l8, 1835 The Superintendent having left the ship before her arrival in Port Jackson, there was latterly no control whatever over the women, and some of them who had been allowed to land, immediately after the ship came to anchor, were picked up quite drunk in the streets of Sydney, on the evening of their arrival.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article639961 The Perth Gazette and… Saturday 10 June 1837, page 918 SYDNEY. IMMIGRATION COMMITTEE. (From the Sydney “Colonist . “ This committee report came out the year before Mary Ann and William Sanders  came on the VICTORIA.    http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article639961	The Government, however, have latterly proposed a measure for the encouragement and promotion of emigration which, if the settlers were at all alive to their own interests and disposed to cooperate in securing them, would be tantamount to the adoption of our original recommendation. For, at a cost for agency which would be altogether insignificant for each individual or family brought out to the colony, the respectable colonists might have seemed through the Government measure we allude to, the immediate introduction of two or three thousand families of virtuous and industrious emigrants of the classes chiefly required in the colony.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article639883	LAND AND IMMIGRATION COMPANY. An experiment has been tried in New South Wales to increase the number of immigrants by the formation of a Land and Immigration Company. The shares to be raised were 5,000, one half to be disposed of in the colony, and the other half to be reserved for capitalists in England. As we are also in need of an augmentation of our numbers, the hint may not be unprofitably applied ;
Archives Investigator	State Records Authority of New South Wales
IMMIGRATION – The Bounty System	Extracted from the:- “Concise Guide to State Archives of New South Wales
Shipping & Passenger Records Ballarat & District Genealogical Society Inc	LIST OF SHIPPING SITES AND EMIGRATIONS.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article639883 The McLeods and Mackays perhaps from the Sutherland Shire !	3rd. In Scotland, and the north of Ireland, where no such contribution could be looked for, but where the lower classes, being more intelligent, industrious and frugal, would be better fitted for roughing it in a new colony, virtuous and industrious families of these classes would willingly bind themselves to pay that amount from the first of their savings after their arrival ; and if in the event of their purchasing land on credit from the Company, this debt were to be chargeable on the land, its repayment would be secured.
http://www.angelfire.com/ns/bkeddy/HIES/1.html _________________________________________________	Highland and Island Emigration Society, HIES _____________________________________
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article642443	In fact, the obstructions, the suspense, and the jobbing of the present system, tend to destroy, the property, if not work the absolute ruin €of the poorer class of immigrants. An individual of this description on his arrival is forced to leave his family in Sydney, whilst he proceeds to explore the north, the south, or the westward, for a suitable location

 

LiveJournal Tags: EMIGRATION,IMMIGRATION,19TH CENTURY AUstralia,NATIONAL LIBRARY AUSTRALIA,HISTORIC NEWSPAPERS,SHIPS

IMAGE OF KINCHELA

 

KINCHELA ON THE MACLEAY RIVER. YEAR TO BE DETERMINED.

KINCHELA – HOME TO THE SANDERS, CRAIGS AND HURRELLS.

‘IT WAS HARD TO DIE FRAE HAME’:

 

Several branches of the families came as assisted emigrants. Wilhelmina McLeod and her mother Janet Mackay with 3 siblings arrived in 1839 on the James Morgan from the Sutherland Shire  of Scotland. The Sanders ( William and Mary Ann) came by the VICTORIA in 1849. In 1853, The Jacksons arrived in the WILLIAM BROWN but I don’t yet know under what conditions they came. Also in 1853 the BEEJAPORE sailed to NSW and NZ and on board were John and Harriet Hurrell ( who died in the same year 1853. Many died on that ship and Harriet’s death may well be as a result of the voyage. ) Also on board were the Scottish CRAIGS. The extract below is from a NZ thesis on death and mourning amongst the Scots who emigrated .

 

IT WAS HARD TO DIE FRAE HAME’:

DEATH, GRIEF AND MOURNING

AMONG SCOTTISH MIGRANTS

TO NEW ZEALAND,

1840 -1890

By

Debra Powell

A Thesis

Submitted to the University of Waikato

in fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

in History

Official aggregates from ships surgeons’ reports reinforce the impression of

diaries that

“few immigrant ships arrived in New Zealand waters with their

original complement of passengers. Infectious diseases, chronic illness,

accidents at sea, dysentery and diarrhoea, and the debilitating effects of constant

seasickness on pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers, all took a toll on

passenger numbers. Migrants were not unaware of the risks involved. The loss

of babies and infants was considered an inevitable consequence of long seaboard

journeys. William Usherwood on board the Beejapore to Sydney in 1853

expressed a common sentiment when he wrote: ‘The … adults are all in good

health, we have lost several children but this was quite expected, being always

the case’”

William Usherwood, cited in Robin Haines, Doctors at Sea: Emigrant Voyages to Colonial

Australia (Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), p. 2

_______________________________________

By the mid-nineteenth century there was a plethora of emigration societies set

up to assist Scots to find new homes abroad. In 1839, for example, a society was

formed among the weaving community of Fenwick in Ayrshire. The society

oversaw a ‘constant flow’ of departures to immigrant destinations including

Australia and New Zealand. Its constitution reflected a sense of impending crisis

and was unequivocal in its expression of the conviction that ‘ordinary folk’

should have the means to improvement, and an escape from the prospect of

unemployment, pauperism and starvation. It states:

A fearful gloom is fast thickening over the horizon of our country. Every

prospect of comfort to the working man is daily becoming darker and

more dreary. Trade and manufacturers are rapidly leaving our shores and,

to all appearance, a crisis is at hand in which the sufferings of the working

class will form a prominent feature

Cited in Jim Hewitson, Far off in Sunlit Places: Stories of the Scots in Australia and New

Zealand (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 1998), p. 19

_________________________________________________

FROM DEBRA POWELL’S THESIS

“The ocean voyage between Scotland and New Zealand could take anywhere

from three to five months. These months represented a transitional period for

individuals and families, and acted as a liminal zone between the old life and the

new. Migrants’ experiences of death at sea were an important part of this

transition, as traditional ideas and practices were challenged by the exigencies of

sea burials. Of necessity, the time between death and disposal of the body was

 

 

I have elected to include the diaries of English as well as Scottish migrants to New Zealand and

Australia, both for what they reveal about perceptions of ‘Scottishness’, and because of the

obvious commonalities in both experiences and responses to death at sea.

short. In the case of stillborn infants, and when infectious diseases were aboard,

this may have been as little as one hour.

 

The complex traditions of waking and

kisting which had served to facilitate the mourning process among Scots in their

home communities had to be dispensed with in the cramped space aboard ship.

Moreover, many adult patients spent their last days quarantined in the ship’s

‘hospital’ being cared for by a matron and the ship’s surgeon rather than their

own kin, as they would have been at home. This removal from the dying process

often left families with little to comfort them through the difficult process of

mourning. There were several modes of reaction to the disruption of the grief

process through death at sea. Aside from the negation of traditionally held

customs and observances, sea burial provided the family with no fixed place of

interment, effectively denying them the comfort of future visits to the graveside.

Furthermore, the body of the deceased could never lie in the family grave sites

that were to become a feature of colonial graveyards in New Zealand, as they

were in Britain and Ireland. On a religious or superstitious level, many migrants

still held onto fears concerning resurrection. People witnessed the bodies of the

deceased dropped into water teeming with sea-life, protected by nothing but a

weighted canvas shroud. Residual beliefs concerning the resurrection of the

body and its dependence on corporeal integrity at death, meant that the fear of

burial at sea resonated with that of dissection in many minds”

 

Beejapore

‘IT WAS HARD TO DIE FRAE HAME’: