Category Archives: immigrant ship names

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

Scrutinizing Passenger Lists: Missed anything?

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By Dr Jennifer Harrison. How exciting it is to finally identify the ship on which our forebears sailed from Europe to start new lives in Queensland!  Taking the next step by consulting the actual passenger list and sharing the voyage with an ancestor, often proves even more informative. How many, both new dabblers or quite experienced researchers, really consider the listing and scrounge all the information available on each Queensland passenger record.  Many deplore that we do not share the … Continue reading

The Kate and her companions who brought immigrants into Brisbane.

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Stephanie Ryan State Library of Queensland A researcher was intrigued to learn that her ancestors, who arrived by the Susanne Godeffroy and Melmerby in 1865, Wansfell in 1866 and Royal Dane in 1869, all made the trip from Moreton Bay to Brisbane in the Kate. What was the Kate? What was the journey from the bay to Brisbane like? The Kate, a 150-ton iron, paddle-wheel steamer especially designed for Brisbane’s bay and river trade, was built in 1864 at Newcastle-on-Tyne … Continue reading

A life on the ocean wave!

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Two things prompted me to write about life on the ocean wave – in my family’s case the merchant marine and the Royal Navy. The first was a book I bought at the Lifeline Bookfest and, serendipitously it seems, an article in the latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.  The book is called Passage to America by Terry Coleman (1972, Pimlico Books, London). It tells the story of the, mainly Irish, emigrants ‘shovelled out’ from Britain … Continue reading

Immigrant ship names: Laurie Schell, Laura Schell, Lalashelley, La Rochelle

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Laurie Schell, Laura Schell, Lalashelley, La Rochelle – How many different ships were there with these similar names? These were the names for one and the same ship as handed down through families and recorded in bibles, obituaries and other newspaper and magazine articles. The ship was named the La Rochelle, commemorating a seaport in western France. The names took on an added veracity because of the purported origin from the immigrants themselves and frequent repetition. Copyright free, State Library of … Continue reading