Emigrants from Derbyshire to Australia and New Zealand
Looking for more information about Convict Ancestors? Here are some useful sites. The Arsenal
Dockyard at Woolwich has a section on Convicts. Added 11 Oct 2005.
NOTE: This page records information about people leaving
Derbyshire to settle in Australia or New Zealand. My intention is
to illustrate the very wide range of "emigration experience";
hopefully also to spur the reader to look for similar information
regarding his or her own immigrant ancestor. It is not intended as an
advertising medium for research interests, although of course inclusion in
the list may result in further information being forthcoming as a consequence.
The following reference is contributed by
JOHNSON, Samuel - b. c.1811 Derbyshire, son of John JOHNSON
and Jenny PEARSON, married Ellen HAMBLIN in Taxall, Cheshire 28
Oct 1833 departed with daughter Mary aged 5 from Liverpool as 'bounty immigrants'
on the 'Brothers' 14 Sep 1840, arriving Port Jackson, Sydney 11 Mar 1841.
They left for Valparaiso in 1845, but returned to Melbourne in 1856. Samuel and Ellen
both died in 1874 and are interred in the abandoned gold town Graytown Cemetery, central Victoria.
Submitted 18th January 2008.
The following reference is contributed by
KNIGHTON, George - with wife Ann (née MOTTISHAW) emigrated
to Australia in 1864, on the ship "Blanche Moore", a vessel of 1837 tonnes.
They arrived in Melbourne after 140 days at sea. Five children arrived with their parents - Sarah (12),
Elizabeth (9), Mary Ann (5), George (3), and baby William.
George worked for the Victorian Railways, and the family lived at Woodend, Victoria.
Their daughter Elizabeth was the grandmother of the submitter; she died in 1927.
Submitted 27th October 2007.
The following reference is contributed by
THOMPSON, Isaac - 1822-1895, born Darley Abbey to Isaac and Elizabeth
(nee GADSBY). Isaac married Elizabeth ALLSOPP - 1826-1872, born Derby to
Samuel and Mary (nee HARRISON). They migrated with their two children, Mary 1846-1925
and Isaac 1848-1886 to Adelaide aboard "The Indian" in 1849 with Isaac's sister
Sarah ELEY and family. They had another daughter Jane in 1850 before heading to the
goldfields in Bendigo, Victoria, where they had a further eight children. Sometime in the 1860s,
Elizabeth's younger sister, Emma MILNER b.1834 Derby migrated to Victoria and was living
near them but she died in 1878. Elizabeth died 1872, age 46 in Huntly, Victoria and the entire family
moved to Numurkah, Victoria, where the family had a successful farm. Leigh's direct ancestor Isaac
the younger, died of pneumonia in 1886. A lot of the family moved to Sunshine near Melbourne to
work for H.V. McKay of Sunshine Harvester fame in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
Submitted 13th August 2007.
The following reference is contributed by
BROOKHOUSE-WYLDE, Kate - 1822-1851, was the youngest
of seven children of a Derby sometimes/sometimes-not Quaker family.
As Kate BROOKHOUSE, she arranged her own baptism at St
Werburgha's when she was aged 16, believing she would not be otherwise
permitted to marry. She did however marry James WYLDE in
February 1849, having two children, Lucy and Henry, before dying of
consumption in August 1851 aged just 29. In 1854 her 2 children followed
their father to New Zealand with their future step-mother, where Kate has
many WYLDE descendants.
Submitted 16th August 2006.
The following reference is contributed by
BRIDGART, John Thomas - born 25 Aug 1828, Derby (christened 1848). Died 17
May 1905 Adelaide Australia. Son of Thomas BRIDGART [occ: Plasterer, address in 1858
26 South St, Derby] born c1794 Derby, & Mary BRIDGART née SMITH.
John Thomas emigrated to Adelaide Australia on ship "Ascendant",.
leaving Liverpool on 18 Aug 1848 and arriving Port Adelaide 21 Nov 1849. Married Emma Jane
SPURR on 19 Aug 1852 at Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide. Emma Jane SPURR
was born 24 Jan 1834 Cornwall, died Aug 1919. John's occupation: Builder.
BRIDGART, John [the above person's uncle] - christened Derby 1787, son of
John BRIDGART & Sarah BRIDGART née BRIDGES.
John married Ann WALTERS in Gretna Hall, Dumfies, Scotland on 1 May 1845.
Two known children: Samuel Ebenezer BRIDGART, born June 1848 and
Emma Maria BRIDGART born June 1850. John mortgaged 14 of the houses he
owned [info from a letter dated 1858 in Carmel's possession], took the money and emigrated
to Adelaide Australia approximately 12 months after his nephew. He left England on
the ship "Scalacia" (about one month after Emma Maria was born)
on 15 Jul 1850 and arrived at Port Adelaide on 25 Nov 1850. He married (bigamously) a
woman Martha HEAP on the ship [newspaper record]. John also re-married Martha
HEAP at Holy Trinity Church Adelaide on 25 Nov 1850. John died 3 Jun
1868 at Bowden, Adelaide, Australia. Martha died 13 Apr 1859. John's last address in
Derby [where Ann was still living] was 57 Old Uttoxeter Road, Derby. Ann died
25 Dec 1888. John did not divorce Ann.
Submitted 9th August 2006.
The following reference is contributed by
PORTER, William - b. July 1875,of Spondon, Derbyshire, son of John
PORTER of Spondon and Sarah Anne BRENTNALL of Ilkeston.
Emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1913 with wife Caroline HICKS of
Hammerwich, Staffs. and three children.
Submitted 26th July 2006.
The following reference is contributed by
WHEELDON, Mary Jane - b.1825 in Radbourne, DBY, daughter of Timothy
WHEELDON, Innkeeper and his wife Jane.
Mary married Louis KEYS in 1848 in West Hackney, Middlesex and shortly
after emigrated to Victoria. They had five sons and two daughters. They spent most
of their lives at Queenscliff, a small fishing village at the 'heads' of Port Phillip Bay.
Mary died on 10 October, 1901.
Submitted 5th July 2006.
The following reference is contributed by
STONE, George - b. Aug 1835 in Heage, son of George STONE and
Elizabeth (nee STORER), left Liverpool on the Red Jacket, accompanied by
fellow miner Elijah ABELL, for Melbourne, arrived June, 1857.
Married Rachel Murray FORRESTER, 29 Dec 1859, in Newcastle, NSW,
Australia. Family of 11 children raised in Wallsend, NSW, Australia.
George died 7th June, 1907 at Wallsend.
Submitted 22nd May 2006.
The following reference is contributed by
Rosemary Lockie.
WHEELDON, John - possibly born in Earl Sterndale, was
sentenced in 1796 by Sir Giles ROOKE to 7 years' transportation for
'burglarously breaking open the dwelling house of Thomas LOGAN
of Buxton and stealing ... a trunk containing wearing apparel of the value
of 20 pounds'. He was sent to the prison hulk 'Prudentia' at Woolwich,
from where he sailed on the convict ship Hillsborough to Port Jackson,
one of only 205 male convicts left alive out of an original 300. He died 4 years
later in Sydney Cove, in his rowing boat, as a consequence of approaching too
near to an incoming transport ship Minerva from Ireland. An Irish soldier
on guard had called for him to move away, but it seems he failed to do so quickly
enough, and the soldier fired a musket ball at his shoulder which...
'passed through his heart and killed him instantly'.
[Ref: 'Death in Sydney Cove' - article in
The Peak Advertiser, 10th October 2005, p.54;
by Julie Bunting, based on information supplied by Colin Wheildon of NSW]
Note: I am not researching this personally, but it's the first case I've found
of a transportation from Derbyshire (in spite of over 20 years' researching!),
and I found it fascinating!
Submitted 11th October 2005.
The following reference is contributed by
WAGSTAFF, Henry - 1836 - 1911. Born at Aldwark, Derbyshire. Lived at Duffield and left
for NZ in 1884 on the SS Ruapehu. Left a wife Caroline and son Francis at Duffield,
descendants still in UK. Henry established the Wagstaff Brewery at Mangatainoka, NZ in 1889
and sold it in 1903. It became known as North Island Brewery and is now the Tui Brewery, a
well known landmark in that part of New Zealand. Tui beer is still brewed from the same recipe for
East India Pale Ale and is a large concern in NZ.
Elaine is Henry's great great granddaughter, and lives in Sheffield, UK. She visited the Tui Brewery
in Feb 2004.
Henry was a rogue who had an illegitimate child in England and went to NZ with a barmaid.
He returned to England for a visit around 1907 but died in NZ in 1911.
Submitted 5th January 2005.
The following reference is contributed by
Rosemary Lockie (with thanks to Laurie Thompson for the detail)
THOMPSON, George - bap 1807, and his brother Thomas, bap 1821 at
Weston under Lizard, Staffs migrated to Australia in 1854. They were sons of Samuel
THOMPSON and Deborah née OUTRAM. Deborah was
born at Eyam, the daughter of Joseph OUTRAM and Deborah née
CROSSLAND, and she married Samuel THOMPSON at St George,
Hanover Square, London, 17 Mar 1804. We have surmised Deborah was employed by the
BRIDGEMAN-SIMPSON family of Stoke Hall, moving with them to their house in
Belgrave Square London, where she met Samuel. From there they may have gone to
Staffordshire with the household of Orlando BRIDGEMAN-SIMPSON, Earl of
Bradford, who had married 29 May 1788, Hon. Lucy Elizabeth BYNG, daughter and co-heir of George, 4th Viscount Torrington, and subsequently
resident in Weston under Lizard.
Well, it all helps to provide suggestions for how, and why people moved around, doesn't it? :-)
Submitted 7th January 2005.
The following reference is contributed by
- an Emigrant to New Zealand via the USA.
LOMAS, John Mitchell - b 17 Aug 1851 in Bakewell Derbys,
son of JOHN LOMAS - Marble Mason living at the Marble Works Bakewell.
Left Liverpool on the White Star Line vessel "Celtic" at 5pm
on the 12th February 1874 bound for New York. Arrived in New York Monday
23rd February 1874. Left New York on Saturday 28th February 1874 (noted a
long procession of policemen for the funeral of chief comissioner SMITH).
Reached Aspinall at 5.30 am on Monday March 7th 1874. Took a train to
Panama and boarded the paddle steamer "Arizona" at 5.30pm
bound for San Francisco via San Jose, Acapulco, Mansanillo and Marvizatlan
arriving in San Francisco harbour at 2.00pm on March 30th 1874.
Stayed in the USA until January 1875.
Set sail for New Zealand on Sunday February 7th 1875. Landed in Auckland at
4.00pm on March 8th 1875. Carried on to Port Chalmbers and then to Dunedin.
Married Margaret Letitia SHAND in New Zealand and started an
extensive family who are still in New Zealand.
John Mitchell LOMAS died on 23rd April 1933 in Dunedin New Zealand.
Submitted 14th April 2004.
The following reference is contributed by
WHITE Joseph - born 1839 in Swanwick to Joseph and Sarah (CLARK).
Emigrated as a United Free Church Minister to the Gold fields of New Zealand,
after which he married and preached in various parts of New Zealand. They had a
family of eight boys and one girl. He later changed to a Presbyterian
Minister. He retired from the Church in 1911 and died in 1919 aged 80 and
is buried with his wife Margaret (from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales) in the Levin Cemetery.
Submitted 23rd October 2003.
The following reference is contributed by
Rosemary Lockie.
BAMFORD, John - b. c.1818, son of Samuel BAMFORD, and
living at Crossgates Farm, Wheston at his marriage to Margaret EVANS of
Litton on 25 MAY 1840 at Tideswell, DBY (cert).
John and Margaret arrived at Port Phillip, Victoria on 16th February 1844 from
Liverpool on board the Wallace with two sons Jonathan aged 3½
and Jonathan aged 1. They had a further 7 chiildren in Australia. Margaret
died in childbirth in 1857, and was the first white woman buried in
Camperdown Cemetery.
In 1866, John BAMFORD purchased 75 acres of land at 'The Sisters', which
his descendants are still farming. They were kind enough to share the details
of John's departure from Liverpool, and arrival in Australia with me during
an exchange of information on mutual ancestry in 1989.
Submitted 1st July 2003.
[Created 1 Jul 2003. Last updated 24 Oct 2008 - 11:12 by Rosemary Lockie]