Spades
I don't know whether or not George Peter DONOVAN (GPD) went to NZ first. As I said, the circumstances of his arrival in the Australian colonies is not known; he doesn't appear on NSW Records online, in this respect. He might have been one of the crew of a ship & absconded, or he may have arrived in what is now Fremantle, WA as a convict, then moved east; I think the latter is is unlikely but there was a George DONOVAN convicted Middlesex, Clerkenwell Sessions transported to the Swan River Colony; about a third of the convicts left that colony after serving their time; IAW his age at trial he was born ca 1839, hence several years older than my GPD.
I doubt that Lucy Donovan would have moved from NZ to Australia, as I expect her relatives would have known & passed it on. The Lucy who died in Sydney had the wrong parents; I know from GPD's church record of marriage that their parents were Peter DONOVAN & Mary BOYLAN. The marriage in Orange, NSW in 1888 may be a little late for a woman possibly born around the 1840s (GPD was born ca 1844/1845) & that Lucy may have been the one on the index born in Orange in 1870, hence marrying at an appropriate age of 18 yrs. There is no death of a Lucy JORGER on the NSW BDM index (which might have provided names of her parents).
Have you tried variations of "Lucy", such as "Lucinda" & "Lucynda" in case NZ indexes are as sensitive as the NSW BDM? GPD married a Lucy who was christened Lucinda!
Your interest is much appreciated. Kind regards
KF
