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Dedicated to the "Golden Triangle” locality of Waanyarra, in Central Victoria, Australia |
Historical Sites
1. Original cemetery site – never used
2. White Swan Hotel
3. Jones’ creek school No. 339
4. Historic cemetery
5. Morton’s old hotel
6. Historic stone crossing
7. Head Teacher’s residence
8. State school No. 1879
9. Sports field
10. Penny school
Tarnagulla cycling club at Waanyarra’s White Swan hotel c.1905
Rock walled dam-Built c1860 by William Douthat and son Emanuel
Basalt masonary bridge over the Waanyarra creek
Michael Morton’s “Welcome Inn” circa 1854
The Dunolly Government Battery was managed by Mr. Hamilton. Stone was carted to Dunolly from Waanyarra for crushing. In February Raven and Gourley crushed two ton of stone for 55 1/2 ozs. of gold and another load of quartz weighing six ton yielded 5 2 ozs. 12 dwt.
The Mines Department called tenders for moving the Government Battery from Dunolly to Waanyarra in April, 1902. The equipment weighed 13 ton. The heaviest piece of machinery was the engine which weighed 41/2 ton. By the end of the month the machinery was dismantled and ready for removal to Waanyarra. Mr. Hamilton, who had been in charge of the Battery at Dunolly, was leaving the district.
Raven, Gourley and Thomson’s claim had been worked profitably for about three years. In April, 1 903 they worked 20 loads of stone through the battery and it yielded 50 ozs. The stone was taken from the south end of the reef adjoining Jarry and Baker’s claim which also had good stone.
Weather conditions affected mining operations to a great degree. The lack or surplus of water was an important factor on the goldfields. During the summer of 1862 temperatures soared to 120degrees F. in shade, and mining operations had ceased. There was little water in the creek for washing gold. There was often a great scarcity of water on the fields and for farming purposes at Waanyarra.
In 1888 the Shire of Bet Bet had built a dam which saved many animals from death. In the drought year of 1902 dust storms whipped through the area ruining orchards and vegetable gardens. Diggers were taking wash dirt to the Loddon River for washing as water was so scarce in the Waanyarra area, in January, 1903. Authorities quickly gave notice that washing in the Loddon River Backwater was forbidden.
Lack of water was a drawback at the Waanyarra Rush.
The Dunolly Express, 20th January, 1903, reported that parties were leaving the Waanyarra Rush daily. Many claims were getting payable wash, but many were getting nothing.
Workings at Waanyarra were upset by a heavy storm and flooding in March, 1903. Recorded fmds for March were made by the following parties:-
By the end of March the Waanyarra Rush was still recovering from the recent flood and the latest gold returns were the smallest for some time. Parties still working included Lockett and Scholes (3 oz. 14 dwt.), Wilson and party, Brooker, O’Brien brothers (6 1/2 oz.’Speck’), E. Williamson and party’s claim was said to be the best on the creek at the time. But work was made slow because holes in the creek had fallen in and were too dangerous to work.
Radnell brothers and Nicholls had discovered an 8 oz. nugget and had obtained 3 1/2 ozs. of gold from 4 loads of dirt. An undisclosed party had sold £ 1 00 worth of gold in Tarnagulla some time in the last week of March, 1903. Another party had finds of nuggets weighing 5 ozs., 15 ozs. and 27 ozs.
April, 1903, saw a falling of numbers at the Waanyarra Rush. The large volume of water in the creek made work dangerous. McPherson and Co.’s claim near the creek was suddenly flooded, but the miners escaped in time. Water was being pumped from many claims.
A party of miners, which had been clearing out a portion of the creek with the idea of paddocking the ground, had difficulties, as the ground had fallen in on all sides. It was intended to timber the workings before removing the wash dirt. Claim holders stored wash dirt to put through puddlers.
For about three years, Raven, Gourley and Thomson had worked indicators in a profitable claim. About the beginning of April, 1903, a reef 5 ft wide was struck at the south end of the lease, where 20 loads of stone yielded 50 ozs. Jarry and Baker’s adjoining claim also had good stone.
J. McEvoy applied to select a water reserve in the Parish of Waanyarra in April, 1903, but the Mining Board refused his application, its reason being that all water should be available for miners and others.
May, 1903, saw the Williams brothers discover a rich reef in Tipperary Gully, a 1/4 mile east of the Waanyarra Post Office. A dish of stone from the 2 ft. wide reef yielded 5 ozs. of gold. The next month Morton, Neil and party discovered a rich patch near the Government Battery where 111/2 Ibs. of stone yielded 3 ozs. of gold.
June 1903 – Waanyarra Rush was described as ‘almost a thing of the past’ because of the rising of the creek, but still diggers were working and having success. Baker and Jarry found a 2 oz. nugget. Many other finds were not reported, or recorded. The people who lived at Waanyarra kept on with their claims and managed to keep their families by small finds and by producing their own food.
September, 1907 saw Goodman and Malone, Howard, O’Brien, Strahan and Baker, Hill and Schiller, and Baker and Jones working in the area. Yields at Nuggetty Gully, Waanyarra were improving.
Dunolly Borough Council sought a reduction of fees (6/- a ton) at the Waanyarra Battery. Cr. Desmond said there were two other Batteries at Waanyarra besides the Government one. Mr. Brooker and Mr. Nankervis said they would cart stone to Waanyarra if the rates were reduced.
Prospecting and stone crushing continued on at Waanyarra with small and substantial finds at various intervals. The next ‘Rush’ was in the 1930’s when the Great Depression saw many men ‘shipped off to the goldfields with a pan and pick, a tent and 6/- a week to supplement their finds. This was one way the government relieved the burden from the city’s unemployment problem.
There was a canvas township at Waanyarra Rush where nearly 100 were camped. Claims were 7 x 11 ft. It was like a revival of the early days where men with little experience were trying to survive on the gold.
The ‘old hands’ were still unearthing nuggets. Cooper and Neal found a 221/2 oz. nugget on Morton’s ground.
Two hundred men were on the field where water was scarce in February, 1932. J. Morton and Neal found another nugget this time weighing 25 ozs. and adjoining Mr. Graaf s claim. Mr Graaf recently got 56 ozs.
1855 – Two nuggets, one 145 ozs. 5 dwt., the other 140 ozs. were found at a depth of 20 ft.
1856 – 281 ozs found in shallow ground by an undisclosed finder.
1857
1862
1867 26th January. – Vaughan and party struck a rich leader which yielded £1,700 worth of gold.
1872
1874 News Years Eve – A splendid nugget containing 43 ozs. of pure gold was a bonanza for its finders, Captain Bragg and T. Robinson, two very old residents on the Creek. The nugget was unearthed near the Post Office at Waanyarra.
1875
1876 December – More finds at “Specimen Gully”. A 43 oz. nugget was found at a depth of 26 fl
1885 – March. At the Bank of Victoria in Dunolly this month a 12 oz. 17 dwt. nugget from Waanyarra was sold.
1887 – July. A 2 lb. weight was unearthed at Gourley’s reef.
1888
1895 – Christmas Eve. At ‘Secret Hill’ in old ground, H. Raven and J. Gourley found two “small specks” totalling 53/4 ozs in weight.
1896 – ‘Secret Hill’ produced £20 worth of gold for A. Gourley and M. Flynn.
1903 – Waanyarra Rush.
1904. 22ndApril-Haywood and party produced a 9Oozs. nugget from a shaft they sunk in Baker’s Orchard. The gold was found at a depth of 20 ft.
1906 – The Poseidon Rush.
1887 – The Jubilee Reef – 19th July.
120 shares at £10 each had been taken out to work the Jubilee Reef Co. at Waanyarra. Work had begun on the Jubilee mine. By March 1888 the shaft had reached 73 feet. The sinking was hard but the water level had not increased. By April the shaft had reached 97 feet and had been timbered. There was much water which was kept down with one horse and a whip bucket. A changing room had been built for the men. Reef mining and quartz crushing was also carried out at Waanyarra.
1867 saw several groups trying ground in the Canadian and Anglesea reefs but alluvial mining was more common. Several attempts were made to open the quartz reefs in the Jones’ Creek neighbourhood but were unsuccessful although in some instances some very rich stone had been obtained. A 2 lb. weight had been taken from Gourley’s Reef in July, 1887.
Gold Nugget Replica Australia Waanyarra, south of Tarnagulla - depth 22 feet
Waanyarra is known to have produced the purest gold ever found in the world, being 99.9% pure. Waanyarra is also known for the large amount of alluvial nuggets found there.
Nuggets fascinated the digger more than the awesome amount of finer gold produced on the fields. A dull time on the fields was always revitalized by the discovery of a nugget.This can be seen by the various rushes which occurred at Waanyarra over the years.
The Inglewood Advertiser on 3rd January, 1862 reported “Mining at Jones’ Creek is generally dull”. But it was only a matter of weeks before the place was rushed after the news that a 52 lb. nugget had been found at “Secret Hill”. Then followed larger finds and Waanyarra was bustling again.
Due to the unstable conditions of life on the goldfields diggers felt it was wiser to conceal their gold than to advertise it. The discovery of many large lumps of gold was often never disclosed, hence the very incomplete record of nuggets. It is safe therefore, to assume that less than half the nuggets found were recorded. No systematic list was ever kept of large gold finds by individuals. Local newspaper reports advertised the findings of huge nuggets, but many sizeable lumps were broken up before sale and the details never came forth.
The Chinese were known to have found vast amounts of nuggets but records were rarely kept.
Early reports of the Waanyarra area painted a vivid, if unrealistic picture of the Jones’ Creek diggings:
Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser, 1857.
“Specimens were being constantly discovered, so much so that the diggers used to enjoy their Sundays by strolling about the Ranges picking up nuggets in all directions, and of all sizes and richness”.
By Estella Evans (nee Bofill) Born at Waanyarra 1900
My grandparents, Martin and Katrina (nee Dromana) originated in Barcelona, Spain. Katrina worked on the cork plantation owned by Martin’s family. Martin and Katrina were married and went to live in London, where they had begun a cork importing business.
By the early 1860’s they migrated to Australia on the vessel “Lincolnshire” with their five year old daughter, Annette. The rest of the children, Henry, Martin, Annie and Mary were all born at Waanyarra.
My Father was Henry, he married Evelyn Mildred Grey in 1894. They had three children, Catherine May, Estella Celia and Harry.
We lived in a lovely house at Waanyarra. Sadly, it is not there now. In my eyes it was the most beautiful stone, Spanish style house. We had vines, lucerne and a barley paddock. My Father did not like the land and sold all but two paddocks. The house was built over a wine cellar and I think there were fourteen steps down and it had two entrances.
Bofill Family c1900 - Katy, Estella, Evelyn (nee Gray), Henry, Katrina (nee Dromana), Bernard O'Callaghan
In 1914 there was a flood which filled the cellar. We pumped all day and night to clear out the water. The flood was so bad that dead cows and horses were washed down the creek.
My father’s teacher at the Waanyarra School was Mr. Birrell, to whom he paid 1 /- a week for his education.
I remember my school days at Waanyarra very well. Mr. Strange was my teacher. He was very strict. It was said that he was sent to the school to tame the wild boys of Waanyarra. He would take the boys he classed as unruly, hold them by the shoulder, run them from one end of the room to the other, and would say, “Those I can’t bend I will break”.
My sister Katy was also taught by Mr. Strange, he seemed to favour us. He called Katy and I “his beautiful’. In those days we had dark brown eyes. He would call us out in front of the class and ask us to read something, I never wanted to go. Both Katy and I were very shy. He would say to the class “Now I will quote from “The Arab To His Steed”.
The poem would begin with “My beautiful, my beautiful, thou standest meekly by” (we’d stand there scared and embarrassed), “With thou proudly arched and glossy neck, and dark and fiery eye”. Then he’d turn away from us and say to the class, laughing, “When she’s in a temper”. We’d go home and tell our mother how embarrassed we felt and how we hated it. Now days I suppose that would be classed as some type of harassment.
We had wonderful school picnics where prizes were given for running and skipping and games. I won a lovely china slipper ornament in a skipping contest whilst I was at the Waanyarra School.
Our School had a porch entrance with a cupboard in which we kept our books. Inside the schoolroom was the teacher’s desk, a fireplace and cupboards, the walls were painted a sandy colour.
There were about 35 children going to the School when I started there in 1906.
The Post Office at Waanyarra East was run by Mrs. Williams, at least up until I came to Melbourne in 1919. The other Post Office was operated from Jarry’s White Swan Hotel along the Dunolly Road.
The Williams Family lived near us over the creek. Mrs. Williams had a lovely garden. She grew roses, white lilac and cyclamen. Along their side of the creek grew palm trees.
Elsie Williams
Pearl and Emma Williams were my best friends. Elsie Williams was Katy’s friend.
The creek to me as a child was a real river. Although Dad dug a well we relied on creek water to drink during the summer. We’d purify the creek water by sprinkling ashes in it.
There were a lot of old single men living in the bush in their huts. Mr. Carewickham used to come to our place and wait all day for the baker to arrive. Mum would give him scones and apple pie. Sometimes I would be sent by my mother to give one of the old men some bacon and a few eggs.
Granny Bofill nearly always had bread and butter and grapes for her lunch. We had no citrus fruit. I remember once some people came to Maunders and I thought they must be very wealthy because they came in a car and brought a case of oranges with them. I was given an orange and I made it last for a month. I kept it in its peel in a paper bag and I just ate a little at a time.
The Indian Hawkers stayed in the lane near our place and Strahan’s. Meer Khan and Naran Singh are the ones I remember. Meer Khan was a gentleman. He gave us things to keep our teeth clean. If Mum gave Meer Khan a hen he would make a chicken curry. He made Johnny Cakes and put the curry on them and we’d have some.
Katy and I would sit for hours, poking sticks into the fire whilst talking to the hawkers.
Bofills 1913 - Harry, Estella, Evelyn (nee Gray), Henry, Katy
My father was politically aware and would go to meetings in the area. Some meetings were held at the School, I would go with him, but would try to make him promise not to stand up. I was very embarrassed if my Father got up to say his piece. Candidates for election had posters on trees and fences, some names I remember are Barker, Barnes, McKlisick and Russell.
I remember some of the places around Waanyarra as being very beautiful. Lockett’s place had a lovely smell in the dairy. The mud brick and the fly-wire on the windows was magnificent to my eye. There was a separator on a large stump in the middle of the dairy floor. The house was also lovely with the three gables and an orchard with apple trees.
Mrs. Williams’ dairy was close to their house. It was built like a cellar. Three steps were dug into the earth, there was a short passage and the roof was at ground level. The roof was slightly pitched and poles supported the earth which made the covering for the roof.
Williams' Cellar/Dairy?
The Williams’ house was quite beautiful as I remember it, especially the garden.
In the bush behind Fred, and his wife Lillian (nee Pearce), Williams’ house we would gather arms full of Bendigo Wax flowers and Double Wax, which we called Waanyarra Wax.
My grandfather, Martin, imported grape vines from Spain, but during an outbreak of the virus Phylloxera, nearly all his vines died.
Aunt Jane reached her hundredth year in 1963. The following year my brother Harry had a heart attack and died very suddenly. Sadly, my sister Katy died early this year, 1987. She was in her 93rd year.
The Footsteps Echo
“The Footsteps Echo” relates many of these stories and records the events of the times, with an abundance of photographs.
Over fifty family histories and stories have been contributed to this book, thereby making it a book for future generations to enjoy.
In Neptune’s Wake
Back cover
Whilst written primarily as a family history for his children, Ken Morton’s book “In Neptune’s Wake” records the story of one of Waanyarra’s pioneering families, the Mortons, and their associated families.
The family, established by Irish convict Michael Morton in the early 1850’s lived at Waanyarra for almost 100 years—their original homestead “The Welcome Inn” still stands.
“In Neptune’s Wake” – Introduction
“In Neptune’s Wake” – Chapter 1
“In Neptune’s Wake” – Chapter 2 part1
“In Neptune’s Wake” – Chapter 2 part2
“In Neptune’s Wake” – Chapter 3 part 1
“In Neptune’s Wake” – Chapter 3 part 2
The remaining chapters deal with the lives and activities of the people in the various branches of Ken’s family and not considered appropriate for inclusion on the site.
Hard copies of the book are no longer available.
Ken has updated the content progressively on CD since first publishing in 1993.
Occupying parts of the North Central area of Victoria were the Jajoweroung (Jajawurrung) tribe, also known as the Djadja Wurrung people.
The name, “Jim Crow blacks”, was also used by the early settlers. Jim Crow being the name given to Mt Franklin by Captain Hepburn.
It is thought Jim Crow was a corruption of the word Jumcra, a name given to the squatters run which covered the district. Coincidentally, the crow featured strongly in the Jajawurrung folk law, it was regarded as lord of the plains.
Another story is told of Captain Hepburn naming the mount after a popular James Rice tune of 1835,
“Wheel about and turn about and do just so,
Turn about and wheel about and jump Jim Crow.”
The Jajawurrung people spoke the same dialect, with minor variations and their `Clan’ chief was considered to be Munangabum of the Liarga balug tribe (located near Maldon). There were 16 tribes in the Jajawurrung’s area.
Note the comment of Helen Davey regarding the use of the words “Aborigine” and “Aboriginal.”
This is a scanned image of the "Guardian's" column of one hundred and fifty two years ago.
Early in July 1847, a young Irishman in the County of Tipperary stole a cow.
Was he registering a protest against the poverty and oppression he and his family were suffering?
Poverty brought on by the failure of yet another of their meagre potato crops due to Potato Blight, and oppression from the harsh treatment of their landlord from whom his family rent their small plot of land.
Perhaps there was a much simpler reason. He may have hoped that this “crime” would have resulted in his transportation to Van Dieman’s Land where he would be reunited with his brother, sent there two years earlier for attempting to assassinate a wealthy landlord, but then other people stole cows with gay abandon and got off with a couple of months imprisonment.
The newspapers of the day carried many reports of this activity resulting in light sentences. Was this the defiant action of a politically motivated person, vehemently opposed to the occupation of his country by the British Crown and its privileged supporters? Was he in fact a member of “The Young Irelanders” movement? A group dedicated to the harassment of these foreigners and their eventual eviction from Ireland.
The severity of his sentence almost certainly indicated that he was a political thorn in the side of the English, who will use any excuse to get rid of him. Later writings by senior English bureaucrats, including Earl Grey, refer to people such as he as “political prisoners.”
The cow, which belonged to Mr. William Meara, was grazing on the grounds of “Moona Mona”, one of the town commons near the Northern Tipperary town of Roscrae and quite handy to the little settlement of Cullahill, where this young “thief” lived with his parents, Thomas Moten/Letsome and Catherine Madden.
On Tuesday July 13th. 1847, in the Quarter Sessions Court in Nenagh, Tipperary, Queen’s Counsel Mr. Sergeant Howley, sentenced the 19 year old labourer, Michael Morton, to 10 years transportation for his crime.
One of the local newspapers,”THE NENAGH GUARDIAN,” reported the Court proceedings. This publication is still being produced.
We are indebted to Liam Doran, a journalist with the “Guardian,” for taking the trouble to reseach the files of the paper and provide press clippings relating to Michael’s trial, and to the capture and trial two years before of John Morton (Moton) one of Michael’s brothers. Liam is also Morton descendant.
John attempted to assassinate a wealthy English landlord, was captured after an exciting chase, tried and transported to Van Dieman’s Land for life.
The transcript of the judge’s statement when sentencing Michael follows:
“Michael Morton was found guilty of stealing a cow, the property of William Mearn.
His Worship, addressing the prisoner said – you are a farmer’s son and having employment when you stole the cow from the poor man, not through want or destitution but through the corruption of public example – that contagion of dishonesty has has spread like an epidemic through the country. It is deplorable to perceive that gentlemen and farmers are compelled to send their servants to take care of their places, to protect their property from being plundered. It is very painful for me to be obliged to pass severe sentences on persons who are found guilty of these offences. Nothing but the severity of the law and the influnece of example will terminate those aggressions on the property of the industrious. Not a single iota can be offered in mitigation of the sentence which it is my duty to pass on you. You were employed upon the railway where the labourers receive good wages, where you perpetrated the offence of which you habe been properly found guilty. The sentence of the court is that you be transported for ten years.”
Michael is placed aboard the ship “MEDWAY” on the 10th. of November 1847 to begin his journey to the place of transportation.
Little does he realise that he is embarking on a unique adventure that will remain a secret from his family and descendants for almost 150 years, and rate as one of the most unusual journeys of a convict to Van Dieman’s Land.
IRELAND IN THE LATE 1840’s.
To better understand the reasons for Michael’s lawlessness, we need to appreciate what conditions were like for people such as he in Ireland at the time. Most of the rural land in Ireland belongs to wealthy men, some of whom live on their properties, administering them personally. Others are absentee English gentry who probably inherited their estate, and not wishing to live there, employ agents as Managers. Landlords rent out much of their land to the local farming people, taking a substantial percentage of any crop as part payment of rent. Poorer people unable to afford to rent a plot may get some work with the small farmers, work as servants of the rich-or starve!
The mainstay of the economy and staple diet of the common people is the potato, which, since 1846, has been rotting in the ground due to the Blight. People are unable to pay their rents or obtain food. Additionally they are all expected to pay “Tithes” (One tenth of any proceeds from their land) to the Anglican Church-known as the Church of Ireland-the Church of the upper classes.
Labouring class people are almost all Catholic, but are still required to pay these tithes, famine or no famine! People are being evicted from their homes and dying in thousands from starvation. Typhoid fever is rampant, claiming many more lives. Many realise that their only hope of survival is to flee the country by any means possible. During the famine years 1846 to 1851, about one million people died in Ireland and two and a half million left the country as emigrants or convicts.
Could it be that Michael’s “crime” was his desperate attempt to avoid death from starvation or disease by deliberately getting himself arrested, with the almost certain consequential sentence of transportation given his political activism? Or was it an act of political protest? Answers to questions such as these would enhance the somewhat sketchy image that we have of the man so far.
Groups of Irish men, mainly from the labouring class, banded together to plan campaigns of action against the injustices of the system which treated them so unfairly.
Their aim was to make their grievances known, and to reclaim “Ireland for the Irish.” They planned and carried out almost constant harassment of the property of the wealthy landlords. These actions became known as the “Agrarian Outrages” and included:-
Burning buildings, hayricks and crops.
Stealing livestock – sometimes for food – sometimes for revenge. Cows were often taken to provide the milk in which the potatoes were cooked whenever possible.
Killing or maiming livestock, leaving it to be found by the owner or his agent.
Predictably the privileged class soon had laws passed to outlaw belonging (or being suspected of belonging) to any protest group.
At the time of Michael’s arrest the most active protest group, “The Young Irelanders,” was causing great havoc. The severity of his sentence, compared to that handed out to others convicted on the same day, almost certainly indicates that the Magistrate believed him to be a member of that group.
MICHAEL’S JOURNEY.
Many interesting stories of how Michael came to Australia have been handed down through the various branches of his descendants. Each of these stories has been checked, but no records can be found to verify them.
No ships carrying either assisted or unassisted immigrants to Australia listed a Morton from Tipperary, or anywhere else in Ireland. The vast majority of Mortons came from England or Scotland.
Only two other Michael Mortons have been found in all of the record checking carried out-one an Englishman who arrived with his wife Sophia and infant son John in the 1850s-the other a convict transported to Van Dieman’s Land in 1822, six years before our ancestor was born.
During 1988, the Irish Government presented Australia with a Bicentennial gift-a computer data base containing records of all Irish people transported to Australia between 1837 and the early 1850’s when the transportation system ended.
These records contain the following information:
YEAR: 1847 CONVICT NAME: MICHAEL MORTON
AGE: 19 DATE OF TRIAL: JULY 13TH. 1847
TRIAL PLACE: TIPPERARY SHIP: MEDWAY
SENTENCE: 10 YEARS CRIME: COW STEALING
Microfilm records of the original gaol lists and transportation records revealed more details:
PLACE OF TRIAL: TIPPERARY EYES: GREY
HEIGHT: 5ft. 7¼in. HAIR: BROWN
COMPLEXION: FRESH READ / WRITE: NEITHER
DISPOSAL WHEN: 10/11/1847 HOW: MEDWAY
MARRIED / SINGLE: SINGLE / LABOURER
We are indebted to Lyn Mc Innes for her discovery of this information in Latrobe library. Lyn maintains that she leapt up and shouted “Eureka” when Michael’s name appeared on the monitor screen.
The next step in verifying that this man was our ancestor was to discover where the ship went-a task made difficult by the fact that there were seven “MEDWAYS”, six of which had come to Australia at various times.
None of these ships however had brought a Michael Morton here.
“Bound for Australia”, a book by David Hawkings, along with some British Home Office records on microfilm at the Victorian State Library, led to the discovery of the particular “MEDWAY” into which Michael had been herded in November 1847.
FIRST STOP BERMUDA.
Following his sentencing, it is most likely that Michael was transferred from Nenagh to the convict prison on Spike Island in Cork harbour to await embarkation.
Commissioned as a convict ship in October 1847, the “MEDWAY” took her human cargo aboard a short time later, probably at Cork harbour. She set sail for Bermuda on November 10th. 1847, having ridden out a severe storm two days before. Several other ships had broken their moorings and collided, causing much damage. “MEDWAY” appears to have survived the storm unscathed.
After a journey of some three months, the “MEDWAY” berthed at the wharves at Ireland island in Bermuda. As she was to be converted to a floating prison “Hulk”, her prisoners were immediately moved to other accommodation. Records show Michael was transferred on Feb.9th. 1848 to the “THAMES”, a twenty five year old hulk, destined to sink at its moorings there in June 1863. He was returned to the “MEDWAY” about nine months later, presumably when the conversion was complete.
Most hulks used as long term gaols were made by stripping the ships superstructure and replacing it with a two or three level dormitory style building with kitchen, mess hall, ablution block and chapel.
A Typical “Hulk”
CHAPEL
CONVICT WARD
GALLERY
WASHROOM
All above images from David T Hawkings book “Bound for Australia”
(Published in Australia by Library of Australian History)
Convicts had been working in the dockyards and quarries of Bermuda since 1824, and from 1846 onwards much labour had been used to extensively alter and add to the fortifications of the islands. The English were afraid that the Americans planned to attack Bermuda to capture convicts to add to their slave numbers.
The British Home Office required the Supervisor of each hulk to make a quarterly report on each prisoner, and it was during his stay on the “THAMES” that Michael Morton became Michael Moreton – a misspelling that remained in his records until his arrival in Australia. These quarterly “hulk returns” provided the information that allowed the next stage of Michael’s journey to be discovered.
THEN TO “THE CAPE.”
Earl Grey of the British Colonial Office keenly supported the idea of allowing well behaved prisoners to be selected for resettlement in the colonies as “Exiles”- an Exile being a prisoner accepting the option of serving his or her sentence as a free person in a colony. He also maintained that many convicts, particularly the Irish, were not criminals, and should be seen for what they really were, political activists.
Grey had an ideal opportunity to put these ideas to the test when, in May 1848, it was decided to dispatch 600 convicts to the Cape of Good Hope. They were to build a breakwater in Table Bay. In August of that year, Grey proposed that these convicts be exiled to the Cape, and immediately directed that 300 political offenders in Bermuda should be sent there.
In a letter to the Administrator of the penal colony at Bermuda, Grey refused to accede to a request that these prisoners be sent to the Cape at no charge to themselves. He ordered that each should pay ten pounds for his passage to the Cape. Presumably this fee was deducted out of any money the prisoners earned whilst working for their jailers!
The hulk return from the “MEDWAY” for the quarter to June 1849, shows Michael transferred to the “NEPTUNE .” The actual notation against Michael’s name on the hulk return reads:-
“Transferred to the Neptune on 20th of April 1849 for the Cape of Good Hope on Ticket of Leave.”
“NEPTUNE” was a 35 year old sailing ship of some 644 tons built in Calcutta in 1814, and the fourth convict transport ship to carry that name, the first being the infamous vessel which was part of the Second Fleet of 1790. An unusually large ship for those days of 809 tons, she gained her notoriety by having 161 of her cargo of 500 convicts die on the journey.
Michael’s “NEPTUNE” was always referred to as a “ship” which meant that it was a “full rigged” or “square rigged” vessel with three masts. She had been used only once before as a convict transport – this being in 1838 when she brought 350 male prisoners to Hobart.
A TYPICAL “SHIP”
“NEPTUNE” sailed from Bermuda on the 24th. of April 1849. For this journey she was under the command of Captain Henderson. The surgeon entrusted with the formidable task of keeping “passengers” and crew alive and as healthy as possible, died before they reached the Cape. He was replaced by Surgeon Superintendent Thomas Gibson on their arrival.
Being put on a Ticket of Leave meant that on their arrival at the Cape they would be handed the “Ticket”, which would allow them to work for themselves in any spare time they had outside their required convict labours.
The people of the Cape colony were violently opposed to these arrangements, and in June 1849, well before the arrival of the “NEPTUNE,” had formed an Anti Convict Association to lobby the Colonial Office against the move.
After making a brief stop at Pernambuco on the east coast of Brazil on July 18th. to replenish water and supplies, the “NEPTUNE” dropped anchor in Simon’s Bay at the Cape on September 19th. 1849.
By this time opposition to the landing of these men had reached hysterical proportions in the Cape colony and they could not disembark. The colony refused provisions, medical supplies and water to the “NEPTUNE,” all of which had to be obtained from Mauritius.
Grey came under increasing pressure to abandon his plans and eventually bowed to the wishes of his opponents, both in England and the colonies. On February 13th. 1850, some five months after arriving at the Cape, he ordered Captain Henderson to take the ageing “NEPTUNE” on her second voyage to Van Dieman’s Land.
In the flurry of activity preceding the departure, people from the mainland were deployed in helping with the stowing of materials and provisions on the “NEPTUNE.” She sailed with 282 convicts (18 had died since leaving Bermuda), 43 troopers as guards, and 6 paying passengers. The number of crew is unknown.
“We sail this day: the wind full against us, blowing straight up the bay: no matter – the commodore has sent the war steamer “GEYSER” to tow us out. We have got the hawser fixed, and are slowly moving out of Simon’s Bay, and down the broad expanse of False Bay. The mountains are fading behind us. Another continent has arisen from the sea before me, now Africa vanishes too. Shall I ever set foot upon dry land more?”
Entry (Dated 19th.February) in the diary of John Mitchel, one of the prisoners on board the “NEPTUNE”, and a well known political activist for the freedom of Ireland.
Much of Mitchel’s diary writings are included in the book “The Gardens of Hell” edited by Peter O ‘ Shaughnessy.
It is possible that “NEPTUNE” did not clear the Cape until the 21st., as this is the departure date shown in the shipping movements columns of the “Hobart Town Gazette” and “Argus” newspapers of the day. The unfavourable winds mentioned by Mitchel may have delayed the departure.
No doubt Michael and the other sea weary people on board shared Mitchel’s sentiments as they braced themselves for the next stage of their journey.
THE “ARGUS” WEDNESDAY APRIL 24th. 1850.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
“At length the question of whether the Cape shall be a penal colony has been settled. The “GLENTANNER” arrived in Table Bay on 12th. February, brought despatches from Earl Grey, intimating that the Order in Council constituting the Cape a penal colony would be revoked, and directing the removal of the “NEPTUNE” with her loathsome freight to Van Dieman’s Land. As might be expected the Cape colonists were in high glee at the success of their “passive resistance”, and they testified their gratitude and joy by public thanksgiving, illuminations and feasting.”
Pretty stale news item, “NEPTUNE” arrived Hobart April 5th.
Immediately after clearing False Bay “NEPTUNE” steered due south to latitude 46°, where she could run before the strong westerly wind (The Roaring Forties), and ride the Antarctic Drift current. She often covered 200 miles in a day.
“NEPTUNE” reached the mountainous southern coast of Van Dieman’s Land in early April. The waters were placid as they rounded the many promontories, wooded to the waters edge. After one night becalmed, the ship made way to the head of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, taking on a pilot there to guide them to anchor in the Derwent river, a quarter of a mile from the quays and Custom house of Hobart Town.
Officials and police were soon aboard, checking the roll and informing the men that they would be landing as free men. Thomas Gibson had kept everybody on board alive to this point, but sadly he died just ten days later at Newtown.
All except John Mitchel received conditional pardons, which meant that they gained total freedom on the condition that they did not return to England until their sentence had been served. Mitchel was given restricted freedom with a “Ticket of Leave” requiring him to report regularly to the police.
Michael and his fellow passengers received their conditional pardons on Tuesday April 5th.1850.
Almost three years after his trial-HE WAS FREE!
Michael stayed in Tasmania for about two and a half years, another period in his life which he does not appear to have revealed to his family, who believed that he had lived only in Victoria. This segment of his life was not recorded in any official records or documents (Presumably his convict records were destroyed when he was conditionally pardoned) until he embarked from Launceston on November 8th. 1852 on the “YARRA YARRA,” bound for Melbourne. Goldrushes had begun in many parts of Victoria, and people were flocking to them from all over the world.
We do not know whether Michael made contact with his brother John during this time in Tasmania – indeed what happened to John remained a mystery for some time until records of his marriage, birth of his children and his death in Victoria were found in 1993.
Michael apparently never knew that John had moved to Victoria-although rumours of the existence of a mystery brother did exist amongst some older family members.
By early 1854 Michael had made his way to the rich gold producing region of Central Victoria known nowadays as “The Golden Triangle” an area bounded roughly by Bendigo, Wedderburn and Maryborough. In March 1855 at Maryborough, he married Elizabeth Hawkins, a Scottish lady from Roxburghshire. No record of the marriage has been found to date, and it is only from information given by Michael and Elizabeth when registering the birth of some of their children that this marriage detail was discovered.
ELIZABETH HAWKINS.
Wife of Michael Morton
ELIZABETH HAWKINS
Shortly before her death in 1909Despite a great deal of time and effort, very little information, has been found to indicate how Elizabeth made her way to Australia and thence to Waanyarra.
One romantic story related to her grandchildren, told of her being widowed as Mrs. Hawkins-Black, hailing from Edinburgh and traveling to Australia on the same ship as Michael.
Predictably the tale of a shipboard romance between them unfolds, with a mysterious brother of Michael also vying for the lady’s fair hand.
Michael, who according to another family legend was a defrocked Catholic priest, emerges triumphant, willing to marry Elizabeth despite her refusal to abandon her Presbyterian faith. The brother, being of stronger religious resolve presumably, retires from the contest, never to be heard of again.
This saga reaches its predictable romantic conclusion with a shipboard wedding.
The facts we know do not support this fable. By their own statements recorded on documents, we know when and where they married, that Elizabeth came from Roxburghshire, and Michael’s age and birthplace match the convict records.
At the time of writing, how Elizabeth Hawkins came to Australia remains a mystery. An Elizabeth Hawkins about the correct age and time of arrival in Australia arrived on a ship called “Blonde” in 1848, but hailed from Oxford shire in England.
Another Elizabeth Hawkins is being investigated—her name appears on a record of departures for the Brig “SWAN” which sailed for Port Phillip on April 26th.1849. This listing was made by Police at Georgetown (Launceston), to ensure that only “authorised persons” left Van Dieman’s Land.
This lady maintained that she had arrived in Tasmania aboard the “ROYAL SAXON,” a ship which made several journeys to Tasmania. No shipping list has yet been found to confirm this.
Elizabeth Morton (nee Hawkins) died of stomach cancer at Waanyarra on May 24th.1909, aged (78?). She is buried with Michael in the family grave at Waanyarra.
Michael and Elizabeth ?
Michael and Elizabeth were in the County of Gladstone (probably at Waanyarra) when their first child Catherine was born, c.1855. About this time Michael began to establish himself in business in the area, erecting a substantial stone building as a combined dwelling and store, much of which still stands today on the road called Morton’s Lane at Waanyarra.
Morton’s store soon became one of the main sources of provisions for the many gold miners in the area, and it seems that Michael soon realised that there was money to be made by adding the sale and serving of stimulating alcoholic beverages to his business. Unfortunately he neglected to obtain the necessary licence for this part of his business, and eventually fell foul of the law.
In April 1865, Constable Patrick Fahey carried out a Court Order issued by the Tarnagulla Court of Petty Sessions, confiscating a quantity of liquor in Michael’s possession. On February 2nd. 1866 he was granted a licence, and by 1872 the establishment was known as “MORTON’S WELCOME INN.”
The “WELCOME INN” and Catherine Morton both feature in the recorded details of the inquest into the death of Swiss miner Stephen Pozzi on September 17th. 1872. The body had been brought to the inn late that day. At the inquest the following day Catherine gave evidence that she had served the deceased with a number of beers, not long before his death.
Buying and selling gold became another branch of the business.Michael’s gold measures are today looked after by one of his great-grandsons. The only other possession of his known to exist is his three quarter Hunter silver pocket watch-still in the family, and still working.
Undoubtedly Michael overcame many disadvantages to become a respected citizen in the Waanyarra community. He was unable to write in 1863, the year in which the inquest into the accidental death of his second daughter Elizabeth was held. Michael signed his testimony with a cross. He was able to sign his name by November 1865, when he was one of the jury at the inquest into the death of Alexandrina Draper at Grassy Flat.
The only public office he seemed to have held was that of Trustee of the Roman Catholic section of the Waanyarra cemetery, to which he was elected in 1871.
Sadly very little verifiable information can be found to build an accurate image of this somewhat mysterious man. That he possessed great resilience, determination and resourcefulness is beyond question. Regrettably he did not pass on details of his adventurous early years to his family, but then how was he to know how prestigious having a “Convict” in the family was to be today?
Michael died of asthma and senility in 1905, aged 77. He is buried in the family grave at the Historic Waanyarra cemetery in Central Victoria.
Michael and Elizabeth appear not to have registered the birth of all of their children, even though the law requiring this was established in 1853. Maybe Michael’s inability to read at this time meant that they were ignorant of this law.
In order of birth, their children were:
CATHERINE TERESA Born 1854? or 1856?
MARY MAUDE Born 1857.
ELIZABETH Born 1858.
THOMAS Born 1861.
JOHN * Born 1862.
MICHAEL Born 1864.
EDWARD * Born 1866.
MARGARET * Born 1868.
* Births registered.
The years of birth shown for the unregistered children have been calculated from information in Marriage, Baptism or Death records.
Henry Raven
The Williams Family By: Nell Callister
“There were eight of them, Dave, Bill, Jim, Tom, Ted, Jane, Emily and Alice.
Along with the Raven kids, they walked two and a half miles to attend the Waanyarra School. The families had no money but they had plenty of fun, and my brother and I were made to feel quite envious when we’d hear some of their stories.
Jane married a garage owner by the name of Frank Zinnecker. With their daughter Hazel and friend they decided to be the first to cross the Nullabor Plain by car from Perth to Melbourne, which they did in 1926.
There was no real road to follow, only telegraph poles. As they left each outpost a phone message was sent to the next stop to say there were travellers on the way, so that if they did not make their destination in a certain time a search party would be sent out. Fortunately, this measure was never used. They had many stories to tell about the trip. The Melbourne ‘Herald’ had a large spread on the journey when they arrived in Melbourne.
JANE WILLIAMS c1870
My parents were Jane Raven, the youngest of the Raven children and Thomas Williams. Being the youngest, my mother wore all the hand-me-down shoes and never had a new pair all her childhood. One time she had no shoes as there were none ready to be handed down so could not attend a picnic. I remember my mother being very conscious of the upkeep of her shoes, and would have them repaired immediately they became slightly worn, probably the memories of being shoeless remained with her all her life.
My parents were born and bred at Waanyarra. Henry Raven and his wife raised a large family, five girls and two boys and there is not one ‘Galah’ amongst all the Ravens.”
Emily Williams c1870