Help with finding a passenger list record

[IrishAussie16]

I am trying to find a record of my 2nd great grandfather who came to Australia from Ireland. I have him marrying in 1888 in Brisbane and living in QLD for the rest of his life. Prior to that he came from Armagh, Northern Ireland. I haven't been able to find a record of the ship he arrived on. I've searched Qld's assisted and unassisted passenger lists. I'm not sure when he would have arrived either. Apart from his wedding date, I don't have any other dates for anything to give me a clue. I am guessing in the 1880's would be most likely.

But there is a discrepancy with his age, as on his wedding certificate it states his age as 22 in 1888, but on his headstone in 1955 it says he was 95 when he passed. Now I am not the best at maths, but even to me that seems a bit off. As I haven't found any birth/baptism record for him in Ireland I believe he was born before their official records were brought in in 1864. So I am estimating he could be born from 1860-1865.

I've started searching NSW passenger lists. So far I've searched the assisted lists of the 1880's up to 1888 and back to 1875. No hits yet. I should probably try Victorian records as well. I just thought it was more likely that he would have arrived somewhere in Qld.

His name is William McKnight. I have tried looking for MacKnight, McKnight, Knight in case spelling was incorrect. I can't really go on age, but location should be Armagh and occupation is Tailor. I'm not definite on religion, it could be Church of Ireland or Presbyterian. His younger siblings were baptised in church of Ireland but he got married in a Presbyterian church.

Does anyone have any suggestions of where else to look or any other details I should be considering to look at during the search? I have found other relatives on passenger lists before, but this one is eluding me. Any help or tips would be appreciated. 
 

[garstonite]

if he had children in Australia - can you post their name and year of birth - we might find a family tree for one of them ??
added
Whom did he marry in 1888 ??

[IrishAussie16]

I do have the whole family from him, I am just missing his details of arrival, ship and year etc.
but he married Sarah Jane Kavanagh in Jan 1888 and had at least four children, John, Ivy, Sarah and William Jr. I have them living in Brisbane up to 1905 ish and then they moved out to Charliville. I have his wife's arrival in Australia when she was 3. But I think William came over as an adult. His uncle was a Tailor in Ireland and passed in 1874 so I have a feeling that was where he learnt his trade. Maybe after he passed he decided to come to Australia?

[cupoflife]

Marriage registration: 1888/B/12034
Marriage date: 10/01/1888
William McKnight and Sarah Cavanagh

[IrishAussie16]

Yes that is the correct marriage record. So I'm trying to find when he arrived, on what ship and what port.
I have the Kavanagh's arrival in qld when Sarah was 3 yro. But I can't find William McKnight so far.
I've been through the qld archives for the 1800's covering ,I think, all of the different ports and assisted passengers and unassisted passengers. Not sure if there are any other options other then looking through the other states passenger lists?

[Ruskie]

His death certificate might be worth buying if you don’t already have it. It should tell you how long he had been in Qld, if known by the informant.

As far as I am aware there is not a record of every person who ever emigrated to Australia, particularly those who paid their own fare, which William may have done.

[IrishAussie16]

That would be just my luck! He was born before they did official registration in Ireland and now may not have recorded his entry! Boy oh boy, what about citizenship? in the 1880's would he have had to become a citizen to stay living in the country or did they not even worry about that back then?

I don't have the death certificate for him, would it really state how long he lived in Australia? 

[bikermickau]

Have you found a Death Notice or Obituary for him, sometimes that gives further information.

ie A obituary for one of my ancestors has "was born in England 56 years ago,
and come to Queensland when about 23 years of age" which is more or less correct.
Some of Irish ancestors have also stated what ship and year they came over on.

[Dundee]

There was no such thing as Australian citizenship before 1949, we were all British Subjects.

The death certificate should record how long he had been in the colony.  This information would be given by the informant so the accuracy would depend on who the informant was and whether they knew anything.

As Ruskie has said, if he paid his own fare then it is unlikey you will find him.  Added to this, many of the records were lost in the 1893 floods.

Debra