Category Archives: immigrant ship names

‘A Ship of Contentment and Cheerfulness’: Further Researching on Nineteenth Century Queensland Immigrant Vessels

GSQ Blog Posted on by

The voyage to Queensland ports undertaken by so many of our ancestors represented a transition between one way of life into a totally unknown change in circumstances but was a challenge undertaken with optimism and a spirit of adventure.  After December 1848 most were hoping for an improved standard of living for their families and for themselves especially after Australia’s newest colony was opened to migration. To assist genealogists locate details, many lectures and journal articles have indicated advantages in … Continue reading

Thomas Muir and his Three Wives.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

My great-great-grandfather Thomas Muir married three times, and I am unclear what this says of his character. I have no image of him as he was born in Inverness, Scotland, in 1806.[1] Photography did not exist for most of his life, and he and his family were too poor for a portrait or sketch. I picture Thomas as of medium height, with grey hair and a beard. My long research of the Muir family helped me visualise Thomas from my … Continue reading

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

GSQ Blog Posted on by

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 others who could … Continue reading

Scrutinizing Passenger Lists: Missed anything?

GSQ Blog Posted on by

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 bountiful information which the … Continue reading

The Kate and her companions who brought immigrants into Brisbane.

GSQ Blog Posted on by

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