1870s travel from Fremantle to NSW?

[DarrenMW]

Hi all:

My convict relative Owen Clegg (of whom there is a long rootschat thread  ), was given his freedom in 1859. On 16 June 1873 he travelled to Sydney, NSW,....a distance of 2,500 miles! he dies there 29 August 1896.

Rail transportation was not present in 1870s WA, and the terrain is, I believe, inhospitable. So;

a) Was boat travel almost certain to be the means of transport?
b) Any longshot that any helpful records are searchable?

Perth area at that time had a population of  only approx 8,000

many thanks 

[PrueM]

Hi Darren 

I'd say it's almost certain that he travelled by ship - there was no railway into WA from the east until the early 20th century.

You could check for your man on this site:  http://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/  which gives inwards passengers lists to NSW...but often names were not given, just numbers of passengers in each class; or you might get a surname but no first name or initial.  Worth a punt, anyway!

Bear in mind, too, that he may have travelled to Adelaide or Melbourne prior to going to Sydney, and could have even travelled overland from Melbourne into NSW.

Cheers
Prue

[DarrenMW]

Hi Prue!

thank you kindly for taking the time to reply to me. It was most helpful.

I shall try the records link you provided, though I agree it is unlikely to be fruitful.

Without knowing the respective sizes and frequency of sailing routes from WA, it is tough to predict if he more liekly went direct to NSW or via SA/Vic, perhaps. It is always to tough to remember the vast differences in transport and population when researching.

I'm just amazed that having been given his TOL in 1857 and freedom in 1859, the Fremantle prison records have such a specfic date  of 16 june 1873 from him moving to NSW!

He obviously spent 14 years in WA after freedom, and with only a small population, id hope to find some record of him there.
 

[PrueM]

It is interesting that the authorities obviously kept tabs on him after all that time...

Have you tried the old newspapers available online from the National Library?  He might be mentioned...you'd be surprised what they used to report back in the good old days when not much "big" news went on!

Cheers
Prue

[DarrenMW]

Thanks again Prue. I hadn't checked the National Library  for newspapers,  but will do so.

EDIT: Couldnt see any link to newspapers on NLA? 

I rechecked his Fremantle convict page. he was  actually given his TOL 1859 and it says he was working for himself in 1857.

Known areas on his convict page listed 'Perth'

There was only 6,000 to 8,000  folks in Perth in that period.

I find no marriage record, but then again an illiterate English felon probably was much of a catch for the few local lasses 

[PrueM]

Here you go:

http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/

(the link is on the right side near the bottom of their homepage) 

I haven't checked to see if they have any papers from that early period of Perth's history, but it's worth you having a look...there is also plenty of early material from Sydney and other places so you might catch him after he arrived in NSW.

Cheers
Prue

[DarrenMW]

Thank you so much, what a wonderful resource you've led me to!

The following article is from your recommended site.

It lists an Owen Clegg playing in an 1875 cricket match in Sydney (ish) (ok, 300 kms!) area between the 'washers' and 'shearers' of a local company!

No proof it is 'my' Owen Clegg, who was in the textile trade when in England, but it is certainly very intriguing, as he arrived in NSW in 1873.

http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18800704?searchTerm=owen+clegg

Again, sincere thanks Prue 

Cheers
Darren