Hi J.J.,
Thank you so very much for the wealth of information you have given me. Firstly, I am not absolutely sure at this stage that this Clara and Harriet are the ones that I am looking for. I had made a fatal assumption that there would not be four children of the same names and ages born in the same area, however a very alert Rootschatter pointed out via a PM that in fact there were two Clara Hamptons born on Wolverhampton, one in the Dec 1/4 of 1896 and one in the June 1/4 of 1898. The 1898 one fits with both the 1901 Census and the shipping records.
This kind lady also pointed out that there were two Harriet Hamptons born in Wolverhampton, both in the December 1/4 of 1898, Vol 6b, pages 585 & 598, so either could be mine, or just possibly, the same entry could have been made twice. A really curly one that, however, the age again fits with the 1901 Census and the shipping records. Rest assured that I will note forget the check & check again rule ever again.
Now that brings us to the birth dates on the Middlemore Index, Clara's would be correct for the 1898 birth in the June 1/4 but Harriets is down as b August 22 which would not fit with the Dec 1/4. It would not fit in as the date of the admittance unless they were admitted in 1905, as the Siberian left Liverpool on 12 June 1906 and arrived in Halifax on June 23rd. My sincere apologies for rabbiting on like this, sorting these two out is driving me crazy.
As to Helen Mary, the only information I have on her is when she married Frank Smith in Sydney on the 3rd of December 1924. She was recorded as Helen Mary Bull, Widow, born Wolverhampton, England. Her Parents were listed as John Hampton, Hotel Keeper, and Mary Drayford. As I can't find any record of her coming out here under Bull or Hampton in the time frame I was looking at (family stories have it that her husband was killed in WW1 or died from woulds sustained therein), I had only looked between 1914 and 1924. I will definitely widen my search now and look for her coming as a Home Child. Thank you very much for that J.J., your help is very much appreciated.
I will certainly look into all the sites I can find regarding BHC in Australia and let you know. I did a quick Google a couple of days ago and there seems to be quite a bit.
Thank you once again for all your invaluable help.
Regards,
Tissy