Killarney,
Co Kerry.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Stacked
peat, Co Donegal.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Former
gatehouse, Dunfanaghy
workhouse, Co Donegal.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Cauldron,
Dunfanaghy workhouse.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Famine
memorial, Ardmayle,
Co Tipperary. [Cheryl Mongan]
Famine
graveyard at Carrick-on-
Shannon workhouse, Co Leitrim.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Shanagolden,
Co Limerick
[Cheryl Mongan]
Gap of
Dunloe, Killarney, Co Kerry.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Ennistymon
Falls, Co Clare.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Famine
graveyard, Carrick-on-Shannon workhouse, Co Leitrim.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Irish
Famine Memorial, Hyde Park
Barracks, Sydney.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Detail
from Irish Famine Memorial
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney.
[Cheryl Mongan]
Detail
from Irish Famine Memorial
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney.
[Cheryl Mongan]
The failure of the potato crop during the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1850 saw unprecedented numbers of men, women and children entering the Union workhouses. Amongst those who sought food and shelter in the workhouses as a means of survival, were many thousands of young women. Dispossessed of homes and families, nearly all having lost one, if not, both their parents or through circumstances beyond their control, the ability to care for themselves. A plan evolved to send considerable numbers of them to the Australian colonies.
The relocation of 4,114 of these young Irish women aged between fourteen and nineteen years, from famine-stricken Ireland to Sydney, Port Phillip and Adelaide was intended to have a three-fold purpose. The migration of the orphans reduced the numbers dependant upon the workhouses for shelter and sustenance, provided much-needed domestic servants to townspeople and settlers in the colonies and in part, was intended to address the imbalance of single men.
Upon their arrival the orphans often met with a mixed reception. While sympathetic employers, aware of the dire circumstances in their homeland, took the girls into their homes as indentured servants and trained them for domestic service, others merely sought cheap labour and denigrated them for their nationality, religion and poverty-stricken upbringing.Their stories embrace every human condition and emotion - from deprivation, hunger, separation and loss, to love, adventure, new opportunities and successes far beyond what they may expected when they set out from 120 workhouses spread across the then desperate Irish landscape.
Despite these initial setbacks the scheme which operated from 1848 to 1850, can and should be viewed as a success, especially when the young women were relocated in rural areas where they were able to use their existing skills in farm work and domestic duties to create new lives. They worked hard and saved money to assist with the passage to Australia of other family members. They married and raised families of their own, far from the famine that had instigated their removal from their homeland.
In just under two years, twenty ships carried 2,253 orphans, to Sydney, 1,255 to Port Phillip and a further 606 to Adelaide.
If you have an Irish female forebear who arrived on one of the following ships it is possible that you are descended from this particular group of young women.
|
Ship
|
Port
of Arrival
|
Date
of Arrival
|
| Earl Grey | Sydney |
6
October 1848
|
| Roman Emperor | Adelaide |
23
October 1848
|
| Lady Kennaway | Port Phillip |
6
December 1848
|
| Inchinnan | Sydney |
20
February 1849
|
| Digby | Sydney |
4
April 1849
|
| Pemberton | Port Phillip |
14
May 1849
|
| Inconstant | Adelaide |
7
June 1849
|
| Lady Peel | Sydney |
3
July 1849
|
| New Liverpool | Port Phillip |
9
August 1849
|
| Elgin | Adelaide |
12
September 1849
|
| William & Mary | Sydney |
21
November 1849
|
| Lismoyne | Sydney |
29
November 1849
|
| Diadem | Port Phillip |
10
January 1850
|
| Panama | Sydney |
12
January 1850
|
| Thomas Arbuthnot | Sydney |
3
February 1850
|
| Derwent | Port Phillip |
25
February 1850
|
| Eliza Caroline | Port Phillip/Geelong |
31
March 1850
|
| John Knox | Sydney |
29
April 1850
|
| Tippoo Saib/Sail | Sydney |
29
July 1850
|
| Maria | Sydney |
1
August 1850
|
The Ramilies which arrived in Adelaide in March 1849 may have carried a small number of orphans however these young women do not appear to have recorded as being part of the scheme and are likely to have come from English workhouses.
To celebrate the arrival of the first female Irish Famine orphans and to commemorate the lives of these 4,114 young women who left their homeland to make new lives in the Australian colonies, a special event will be held to coincide with the 160th anniversary of the arrival of the first ship, the Earl Grey.The organisers of the popular Shamrock in the Bush have created a special program of historical and cultural presentations for the descendants of these young women, to mark this significant occasion during the International Year of the Potato.
A panel of some fifteen speakers, including Irish archaeologist and historian Michael Gibbons, feature in a program of historical presentations related to the famine orphans,
There is always a heavy
demand for places at Irish events at St Clement's and accommodation for this
live-in gathering is limited to
100 participants.
The venue with its connections
to Irish Australia and the famine orphans is ideally suited to this event.
St Clement's is
located a short distance from the tiny village of Galong, free from the distractions
of the workplace and everyday life. It is the perfect place to relax, enjoy
the expansive rural landscape in the company of others with similar interests.
Details of the venue, accommodation, surroundings and directions are found elsewhere on this website.
No registrations will be taken in advance of the release of the program on this website when full details of the program, accommodation options, inclusions, fees and registration form will be available.
It is anticipated that this will occur soon after 3 June 2008 - the 160th anniversary of the Earl Grey embarking on its voyage to Sydney.
Prospective participants may submit their contact details to ensure they receive details of the event when they are released.
Bookings will be secured by the receipt of the registration form and the payment of a minimum deposit of $200 per person with the balance payable by 30 August 2008. Cheques should be made payable to St Clement's Retreat and Conference Centre.
Cancellations received after that date will attract a cancellation fee of $50.00.
Please direct all enquiries
regarding the event, availability of accommodation, payment etc to the organisers
as St Clement's Retreat
and Conference Centre is not able to assist with enquiries.
This
event has been made possible by the assistance of
Culture Ireland, the Irish State Agency that promotes
the best of Ireland’s arts and culture internationally
and assists in the development of Ireland’s
international cultural relations.
Far
from Famine is a special event
in the International Year of the
Potato - see www.potato2008.org
This page last updated: 3 June 2008
