My grandfather (Everest) was one of 4 young children whose father, a gold prospector, (Jules Francois - originally from Mauritius) died unexpectedly in 1876 in Parkes, NSW, and whose mother, shortly after, went to gaol for sly grog selling (to support the family!). Without any means of support, they were placed in institutions in Sydney - the 2 girls in "The Roman Catholic Orphanage" and the 2 boys on the decommissioned naval vessel, "The Vernon", in Sydney Harbour, where official records have him called "Everis". It was immediately noted that, at age 3, he was too young to be on the ship and so ensured a lot of correspondence between the Captain and the Colonial Office about what to do with him. It was resolved to send him to be with his sisters in the Orphan School, in January, 1877. However, I have been unable to confirm this. It was also the practice to have 'graduates' of the orphan schools (when old enough) to be indentured out to families to work for a few years. However, I can't confirm this either. An elderly living cousin of mine thinks Everest may have lived and worked on the river boats in Morpeth in the Hunter Valley, NSW. But electoral roles haven't helped me there either. Meanwhile, his mother, Mary, had remarried and moved to Broken Hill, NSW. She seemed to have found one of Everest's brothers and a sister through newspaper advertisements.The next event I have identified is his marriage, in Broken Hill, in September 1897. So the question is: "What happened to him in those 20 years between 1877 and 1897"?
Sorry about the long story, however, I'd be grateful for any suggestions!