Immigration to Victoria 5

Result:  There were four Smiths on board the Compeer when it arrived in March of 1864.  The family of James (24), Lucy (23) and Ann (1) are not related to William (20). The name Ann remains a mystery as her true name was Jane.  A problem with shipping lists is that the recorded names are often at variance with true names, most probably because the shipping scribe did not hear correctly and wrote down what they thought was spoken.  The journal written by James Smith records the fact that Lucy suffered from poor eye-sight which required James to read to her, which could account for the fact that the wrong name was recorded for her daughter. (Perhaps James should have been more attentive!).

Fig 4.5  A Family of Smith's arrive in Melbourne (Thursday 3rd March 1864)

Fig 4.6  Extract from Journal (Journals of a Voyage to Australia, James Smith, 1863-64).  The above extract was written at Oxley and refers to the start of the wagon journey from Melbourne to Oxley on Thursday 10th March 1864, seven days after arriving at Sandridge (Port Melbourne). .

James and Lucy, with toddler Jane, settled on the West bank of the King River at Oxley Plains, North East of Victoria, where they took up farming.  James was a pioneer of the Oxley settlement and amongst other achievements he was involved in the establishment of the first school. The school block was originally part of the Smith farm.  James was also a  champion ploughman with a team of horses.  The family lived adjacent to the old main-road that linked Benalla, Greta and Beechworth: the old bullock drivers track.  In 1878, James Smith and family left the Oxley Plains for the Buffalo River.  Ned Kelly, who lived in the neighbouring district of Greta, was about 14 years of age at this date.  We shall return to the Kelly connection shortly.

To continue our exploration of on-line indexes let's cross the border and look at the Birth, Death and Marriage Index for NSW. [ Click here to continue ]

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