Arrival of the William Stewart May 1848

My 3rd great-grandparents Andrew and Ellen FLEMING (nee FINDLAY) and their six children, originally from Scotland, arrived from Plymouth Sound into Port Phillip Bay on the 15th of May 1848.

SHIPPING AND COMMERCIAL GAZETTE. (1848, May 15).
Port Philip Gazette and Settler's Journal (Vic. : 1845 - 1850),
p. 2. from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223152685

 Arrived

A large vessel, supposed to be the William Stewart with emigrants, was in the bay last night, but in consequence of the head wind she had not come up when our reporter left Liardet's this morning.

ENGLISH NEWS. (1848, May 17).
Port Philip Gazette and Settler's Journal (Vic. : 1845 - 1850),
p. 1. from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223151527

English news.

The "William Stewart" brings news on the 22nd January, from England,

having left Plymouth Sound on the25th. The news is of little importance to us having had fully as late accounts by way of Singapore. By, private accounts we hear that business continued very bad, and Scotland was feeling the pressure. Mr Leadbetter, the chairman of the Glasgow, and Edinburgh railway having failed.in addition to many other merchants in Glasgow.

SHIPPING AND COMMERCIAL GAZETTE. (1848, May 17).
Port Philip Gazette and Settler's Journal (Vic. : 1845 - 1850),
p. 2. from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223151526

 The William Stewart made a good passage of 110 days but experienced severe westerly winds since she left the Cape. On the passage, three infants died and there were seven births; the majority of the emigrants are from England, there are a few single women from Ireland and Scotland, the emigrants are in a very healthy condition. There are 47 single men and 54 single women.

Local Intelligence. (1848, May 17).
The Port Phillip Patriot and Morning Advertiser (Vic. : 1845 - 1848), p. 2.
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226355017

 Boat Excursion Extraordinary. — Yesterday afternoon, two gentlemen came to the " Beach Hotel," requiring a boat to put off to the William Stewart, but could not be accommodated, as the boat used for that purpose was then in use, and alongside the vessel, they were desirous to reach. They expressed great disappointment at this and said they would, with Mr Liardet's permission, take the dingy which was at the jetty, and pull off without other assistance. Seeing their anxiety in the matter, Mr Liardet consented, when the youths, desiring to reach the vessel in quick sticks, jumped into the dingy and pulled out manfully. They had not, however, proceeded very far, when a stiff northerly breeze sprung up, and, despite the most energetic endeavours, the dingy and her cargo were carried out of sight. After struggling to make way against the wind, they both gave it up as a bad job and lay down in the bottom of the boat. It is not improbable that they will be stranded somewhere about Arthur's Seat. Mr Liardet has, we believe, sent a boat after them.

SATURDAY MORNING, MAY 20 (1848, May 20).
Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1847 - 1851), p. 2 (MORNING).
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91458443

EMIGRANTS.- Mr Commissioner Addis proceeded to Melbourne, shortly after the announcement of the arrival of the William Stewart, to adopt such measures as would be necessary to secure a share of the newly arrived emigrants, to residents and settlers in the Geelong District. Of the last shipment of emigrants, scarcely one was engaged for the Geelong side, the Melbournites having taken them up before any one could have time to engage them. It is to prevent, if possible, a repetition of this, that Mr Addis has undertaken this journey.

THE Moreton Bay Courier (1848, June 10).
The Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861),
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3709926

On the 15th ultimo, the ship William Stewart arrived at Melbourne from England with 324 immigrants. This ship made rather a long passage, and of course, the news brought by her was anticipated. Loud, and apparently well grounded, complaints had been made by the public of the discourtesy shown by the officers of the ship to such of the inhabitants as had proceeded on board for the purpose of hiring the immigrants, and the obstructions thrown in the way of their doing so a course of conduct which we should think the local Immigration Board might very speedily put a stop to. It is no doubt very hard that the colonists, who virtually supply the funds to bring out the immigrants, should thus be bullied and defied by the masters, or, as they call themselves, captains and other officers of the ships to whom the conveyance of the immigrants is entrusted. A recent instance has been made public in which betrayal of trust the most base, and conduct the most flagitious, has been proved to have existed, and we hope that an adequate punishment may yet overtake the parties guilty of it. We know of nothing connected with the subject of immigration on which it appears more necessary to insist than that the duty of conveying the immigrants to these shores shall be executed with honour and good faith. This is a condition strenuously to be insisted on, and to connive at any breach of it is to become accessory to the introduction of vice and immorality into the colony.

Thank you for reading my Trove Tuesday post for this week.

Travel Tuesday - Fleming Family from Scotland to Australia

FLEMING

Andrew and Ellen/Helen Fleming (nee Finlay) and their six children traveled to Australia from Scotland in 1848 on the barque "William Stewart"  Their son William Finlay Fleming was my great great grandfather.  He and his wife, Ann (Jane) Knight  moved to Whitfield in 1901 but before that spent many years at  Kotupna (near Nathalia).


"Pioneers of Nathalia and District"

FLEMING
The Chairman of the immigration board at Port Phillip, was not overly impressed with the appearance of the immigrants who had arrived after a voyage of 111 days, on board the "William Stewart", on 15th May 1848.
"Although three young children have died, the remainder of the passengers have remained remarkably healthy", he wrote "but the description and general appearance of the passengers appears to be amongst the most miserable that have here-to-fore reached the district".
Not a wonderful description of the Fleming Family who were amongst the 233 passengers on board.  Andrew and Ellen Fleming, both aged 38, and their six children, William Finlay 17,  Annie 12,  Ellen 11,  Mary Ann 7, James 6 and Andrew 4, had left their home in Galloway shire, Wigton, Scotland, to make a new life in Australia.
William had travelled in the "unmarried males" quarters and was hired immediately upon arrival while still on board, by David Anderson, to work as a waiter at his hotel at Burbank (Lexton).
The remainder of the family were sent to the Government Depot before they could find employment.
Ellen was the daughter of William and Marion Finley, nee Bride, and this name Finley/Finlay, is carried through later generations as a forename.
It is not known what became of Andrew Snr, but his wife Ellen died at Nhill in 1885, where she had been living with her granddaughter Mary Connary. (sic)  ...(Convary)
William spent some years in the Clunes area working as a shepherd, farm hand and miner.  He later purchased a team and worked for some years in the carrying business, before moving to Melbourne where he was employed as the the town Herdsman.
Before coming to Kotupna where he selected Allotment 22, he was a butcher at Creswick.
By 1897 he and his family were living in a four roomed weatherboard house, lined inside with deal and measuring 25 x 21 feet.  His land was well fenced, some four acres were sown with wheat, 22 acres of trees had been rung with the dead wood cleared, and he had established an orchard containing 60 fruit trees.
William had married Ann Jane Knight in 1852 with their family of thirteen children, Anne Jane, William James, Ellen,  Sarah, Donald, Alice, Finlay, Moses, Ruth, Matilda, Christina, John Knight and Selina, all being born before the family moved to Kotupna.  Three of these sons, William James, Finlay and Moses also farmed at Kotupna before most of the family moved to the Wangaratta area in the early 1900's.
William Finley died in 1911 at Whitfield, with his wife living another nine years before she passed away at Wangaratta in 1920.
A great grand daughter of William Finley Fleming, Mrs Joe Waite, still lives at Nathalia and her great grandchildren make the 7th generation of this family to live in the Nathalia Shire.