Migration from Plymouth to Australia 1881 Catherine (Kate) MC ELROY

[Doreen Peacock]

My Gt.G.Mother Catherine (Kate) MC ELROY  LEFT Plymouth(?) Aug 1881 arrived in Australia Jan/Feb 1882.   On a ship owned by COMPTA(?)

Did she travel alone?
Did she have an assisted passage?
Where did she alight in Australia?
How much approx would fares be back then?
Was there another name for the ship that I can get more details of age and state of the vessel?

I found information of her future husband's family's (Musgrave) journey from Cork years earlier in a ship called The LIGHT BRIGADE, when the whole family travelled from Ireland  to Australia.

I'm trying to piece her chaotic life together, after giving birth, and handing over her son for adoption before leaving for a new life....short though it was.

[Neale1961]

Information about the voyage of the COMPTA
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/52059760

And
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3406848

[Neale1961]

Link to passenger list of the COMPTA

https://www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/api/download_file/DR38083

Kate McElroy age 25
Listed as a Free passage to Rockhampton

Scroll down to about 10th page

[Doreen Peacock]

My Word, you Guys and Gals are Good! Thankyou So much. Naughty Catherine, she took 2 years off her age - just like a woman eh? But I won't hold it against her.  She got a younger husband soon after she arrived. Quite and interesting and hard life. Now I can put more flesh on her story to pass onto the younger members of the family and keep her trials and tribulations alive; and to show the determination she had when faced with adversity. Quite a lady in a distant, strange and harsh land, so far away from all her family. Thankyou all so very much in helping keep her memory and life story alive 140 years plus from the start of her final adventure.  It's been a long time to locate her and round off her life and make her an inspiration on not allowing problems to get her down. "There's always a variety of answers to problems, we can chose in our lives". I wonder how our generation would have dealt with the cards of life she was dealt, back then? What a Woman!     Thank you all so much for bringing her story to life. She is no longer just a name without substance - but a real person in harsh times, making the most of little resources, to make a better life for herself and a new family in a strange and hostile land. "Good on yer Sheila. I'm proud to call you my Gt. Grandmother!"

[Doreen Peacock]

Neale 1961 my previous post was actually meant for you; but I do also appreciate all the input from everyone else from the start of my search, when I was tracing the false lead of the NUN STORY! Thanks to the tenacity and skill of you all, you guys and gals put light onto the hidden story surrounding my quest.     The last information you gave, is amazing, and full of insight of her journey and arrival. It has put mental pictures into the forefront of my mind's eye.  The restriction of space on the ship. Weather conditions. Grumbles from other travellers. Timed exercise, so as not to upset the fee paying passengers! Snobs. Restrictions of social activities. Loneliness and fear for the future, and perhaps  having made a wrong decision? Not a happy journey, all in all.   Thanks a MILLION FOR YOUR STIRLING WORK IN FILLING IN THE BLANKS OF HER LIFE STORY THAT CAN NOW BE PASSED ONTO MY DESCENDENTS.  YOU ARE A GENIUS.