Yearly Archives: 2023

Three different passenger lists, so who died on the Fiery Star journey of 1865?

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By Stephanie Ryan. In April 1865 a dramatic, unforgettable sea tragedy occurred which haunted many for years. The Fiery Star, formerly the Comet, which brought immigrants to Queensland in 1863 and 1864, was making a return journey to England when disaster struck. Its wool cargo spontaneously combusted; the fire was devouring the ship as it approached the Chatham Islands near New Zealand. The highly respected Captain W H Yule decided to abandon ship taking seventy-two people: the cabin passengers and … Continue reading

Researching the Whites of Bletchingley and Godstone in Surrey.

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As White was my paternal grandmother’s maiden name, it was a family that I researched very early in my ‘addiction’. This was in the 1990s, so genealogy records were not online and research was usually done using printed records, maps, lists and books. My husband and I began by frequenting the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) and going through their holdings and taking advice from the librarians there. One of the handy books at SLQ was the Genealogical Research Directory … Continue reading

History Repeating – Robert Moore and the Dakota Territory

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By Victoria MacGregor I get goose bumps when I pass along parts of my family’s story to anyone who will listen. I must bore a few people to tears. Much of what I like to write about involves a certain amount of creativity and loads of research. With any luck when I start to pull a story together, it’s a photograph that inspires my imagination. Storytellers don’t need to have actually lived through an event or during a particular time … Continue reading

Deviations: should they be avoided?

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I am often guilty of deviating from my family history research! I start out on solving a problem and suddenly I’m devoting hours to researching something not directly related to my ancestors. Should I try to be better disciplined? Recently I was on the trail of my Lovell family and quickly found myself researching the life of John Lovell who was totally unrelated to my ancestors, although I didn’t realize it at first. I became increasingly enthralled with his story … Continue reading

A long way to Queensland: The wreck of the Dacca 18 May 1890

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The Illustrated London News published on 31 May 1890, on page 675, included a sketch of the Lighthouse at the Daedalus Reef in the Red Sea at the mouth of the Gulf of Suez, offshore from Marsa Alam, adjacent to the Two Brothers rocks. These dangers named for the vessel which originally surveyed the Red Sea lay on the direct route of ship traffic along the Suez Canal.  The Reef had undergone a name change by sailors who, well aware … Continue reading