Author Archives: Christine Leonard

Threads of memories

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‘Weaving threads of memories’ a phrase from the subtitle of my book on the Wall family, remains ever constant through my ongoing interest in family history. Those words manifested recently, demonstrating to me how memories and past events linger in archival records and family correspondence only to emerge in surprising ways as golden threads in the tapestry of our research or quest. The Internet can be the cause of a lot of problems, but it is also a source of … Continue reading

Ann Simmons – the gift of resilience.

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My three times great grandmother Ann Simmons had an extensive charge sheet long before she was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1822 for larceny.[1] Without proof of a birth date or who her parents were, Ann was likely born between 1793 and 1795 in London around Southgate, an assumption based on the location of future events. This put her at 14 years in 1807 when she was brought to the Old Bailey to face charges for stealing 14 yards … Continue reading

The elusive background of Mary Sheehy.

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Mary Josephine Sheehy left Plymouth on the 2000-ton immigrant Royal Mail Ship (RMS) SS Almora on 12 March 1884. After calling into Queensland’s northern ports, Thursday Island, Cooktown, Townsville, Bowen and Mackay, the steamer dropped anchor off Rockhampton seven weeks later. Along with blacksmiths, carpenters, farm labourers and more, the eighteen year-old was but one of 336 immigrants, 57 being Irish like herself. Most of the single women on board were Irish and ‘nominated’, indicating that someone in Queensland likely … Continue reading

Death of a blacksmith.

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The body of a 69-year-old man was found by a fisherman on the western breakwater of Townsville’s waterfront. It was Thursday 15 June 1916, when Don Ingham, deep in thought about hooks and bait, nearly fell over a dark shape sprawled across the stony path on the way to his favourite fishing spot. As evening light fell on the becalmed water, this was when Don loved to fish, an incoming tide, a quiet reprieve after the day’s work: but not … Continue reading

Finding my father.

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by Christine Leonard. My father died when I was sixteen. At the time I was in my seventh year of boarding school in Australia as my parents lived in Papua New Guinea, where I was born. Dad’s death was a shock, completely unexpected; he was tall, lean, strong and fit. We, as in my brother and I, assumed Mum would go first; she was the one with a heart condition. There again, Dad smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day, … Continue reading