The average married female v/as between twenty-five and forty, a Protestant from the South of England or Scotland, arrived in 1838,
either accompanied her husband to the country or remained in Sydney, and was probably an agricultural worker or servant. In contrast, the
typical single female was between eighteen and twenty-four and a domestic and general servant who found employment in Sydney, and was likely to be a Protestant from the South of England or Scotland. Samples were Sarah Fainton, a twenty-three-year-old Baptist and a 'Lady's Maid'
103
from Nailsworth who found her own employment in Sydney, and Ellen McNab, a nineteen-year-old Presbyterian and house servant from Inverness- shire who was hired by Mr Hashingden of Sydney at £12 per year with
. 104
rations.
The average single male among the government immigrants was represented by Wickham Whitemarsh, and eighteen-year-old Protestant
Ibid., 4/4780, pp.110-1.
Ibid., pp.318-9. Sarah Fainton arrived in New South Wales on 3 September 1839, aboard the Bussorah Merchant.
Ibid., pp.78-9. Ellen McNab arrived in New South Wales on 21 August 1838, aboard the Lady Kenaway.
129
farm labourer from Sussex," and Donald McGilvary, a twenty-two-year- 106
old Roman Catholic shepherd from Ardnamurchan.
Ibid., pp.352-3. Wickham Whitemarsh arrived in the colony on 26 October 1839, aboard the Florist. He was hired by Mr Bucknell of Paterson at £18 per annum with rations.
Ibid., 4/4781, pp.91-2. McGilvary arrived on 23 January 1840, on board the George Fyffe. He was engaged by H. McArthur of Vineyard at £25 per annum with rations.
CHAPTER III
THE BOUNTY IMMIGRANTS ARRIVING IN NEW SOUTH WALES, 1837-1850
Introduction
More than 46,000 bounty immigrants arrived in New South Wales between 1837 and 1850. Of that number, almost 11,500, or 25 per cent were children under fourteen and more than 34,000, or 75 per cent
statutory adults over fourteen.^ Those immigrants came from all parts of the British Isles, as well as from Germany, the United States of America and Quebec. Not only were they from diverse national back grounds, they also included a large variety of occupations and
professions, ranging from illiterate unskilled workers and farm labourers through brickmakers and stone masons to techers, surgeons, veterinarians and at least one classical scholar. The children varied in age from those born en route to the colony to those who were just a few days under fourteen. The ages of the adults ranged from those over fourteen to grandparents in their sixties. They were just as varied in their religious allegiances as in their ages and occupations, and included not only Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Brethren,
1
131
Lutherans and Quakers, but also Jews and Roman Catholics as well as atheists and freethinkers. Among them were married males and females, single persons and orphans of both sexes, widows and widowers, wives and families of convicts in New South Wales, thieves, immoral women and opportunists. In sum, they were as diverse a group as one could expect, except for one thing: nearly all of them were from a British working-class background, either rural or urban. They also had one
factor in common; all were selected immigrants and brought to New South Wales by private agents under contract to the Colonial Government. The Bounty Immigrants
Three-fourths of the bounty immigrants who arrived in Nev? South Wales between 1837 and 1850 were over fourteen and classified
2
as statutory adults for purposes of immigration. Among the adult immigrants, more than 46 per cent were males and more than 53 per cent females. Of the adult males, 51 per cent were single, 48 per cent married and 1 per cent widowers. Among the adult females, 57 per cent
3
were single, 43 per cent married and 1 per cent widows. Of the total number of males for whom ages were recorded, 27 per cent were under fourteen, 59 per cent between fourteen and thirty, and 14 per cent over thirty. On the other hand, 12 per cent of the females with
recorded ages were over thirty, 66 per cent between fourteen and thirty, and 23 per cent under fourteen.
2 Ibid. 3
132
Of the adult males, 56 per cent were agricultural labourers 4 and 67 per cent of the adult females domestic and general servants. The bounty immigrants came from ail parts of the British Isles, but of the adult males over 25 per cent were from the South of England, 10 per cent from Scotland and 50 per cent from Ireland (39 per cent from Leinster, Munster and Connacht and 11 per cent from Ulster). Among the adult females, 19 per cent were from the South of England,
8 per cent from Scotland and 64 per cent from Ireland (52 per cent from Leinster, Munster and Connacht and 12 per cent from Ulster).^ Of the adult males 65 per cent were Protestants and 35 per cent Roman
Catholics but only 53 per cent of the adult females were Protestants
6
while 47 per cent were Roman Catholics. Of the adults 63 per cent
were recorded as knowing how to read and write, 21 per cent as being 7
able to read, and 16 per cent as illiterate. In general, the bounty
immigrants were as diverse in ages, marital status, native places, occupations and religious allegiances as the government immigrants.
4
Ibid., Table V. 5
Ibid., Table VI.
6
Ibid., Table VII. 7
Those percentages are markedly different from the figures presented in R. J. Shultz, 'Immigration into Eastern Australia, 1788-1851,'
Historical Studies, Vol. 14, No. 54, April 1970, Table V, p.281.
The figures in that table were preliminary results and were erroneous concerning the literacy of the bounty immigrants who arrived in New
South Wales between 1837 and 1850. The errors in Table V of the review
article resulted from incorrect instructions being given to the
computer processing the data and improper handling and interpretation
of that data. The corrected figures are shown in Appendix E, Tables
133
However, the bounty immigrants were different from the government immigrants in general characteristics as well as specific details. The Sex, Marital Status and Ages of the Bounty Immigrants
Of the bounty immigrants who arrived in New South Wales between 1837 and 1850,48 per cent were males and 52 per cent were females. Of the total number, 46,064, 35 per cent were adult males, 13 per cent male children, 40 per cent adult females and 12 per cent female
O
children. Among the adult males, 51 per cent were single, 48 per cent married and 1 per cent widowed. On the other hand, 57 per cent of the adult females were single, which was a higher percentage than that of the adult males, and 43 per cent were married, which was somewhat lower than the adult males. However, fifty-six more females than males were single, a fact partly explained by the introduction of some wives and families of convicts into the colony. Of the adult females, 1 per cent were widows such as Margaret Forsyth, a thirty-one-
9
year-old house-keeper. In total, 2,290 adult females, most of them Irish orphans, outnumbered the adult males introduced into New South
Appendix E, Table I.
ibid., Table II. For wives and families of convicts who were k rought to New South Wales, see 'Wives and families of convicts on bounty ships, 1849-55. 1 4/4819. Margaret Forsyth was a Protestant who was recorded as being able to read and write and from County Louth. She was declared ineligible for bounty because she was 'overage & a widow.' 'Persons on bounty ships (Agents' Immigrant Lists), 1838-96.' January-August 1842. 4/4783, p.37.
134
Wales through the bounty system. The Irish orphanages were an obvious and manageable source of single female immigrants and were exploited in the late 1840s. Eleven ships carrying 2,223 female Irish orphans arrived at Port Jackson between 6 October 1848 and 29 July 1850."^ jf they are not counted, the ratio was nearly equal between males and females: 7,797 married males and 7,853 married
females; 132 widowers and 155 widows; and, 8,217 single males and 8,236 single females. The marital status of the adult males and females was also similar when the female orphans are not considered. However, the conditional equality was not true of the ages of the bounty immigrants.
Ibid., Table lV, b. Only 31 orphan males were introduced to New South Wales.
The Earl Grey arrived on 6 October 1848, with 183 orphan females; the Inchinnon arrived on 13 February 1849, with 160 orphan females; the Digby arrived on 4 April 1849, with 229 orphan females; the Lady Peel arrived on 3 July 1849, with 160 orphan females; the
William and Mary arrived on 21 November 1849, with 155 orphan females; the Lismoyne arrived on 29 November 1849, with 166 orphan females; the Panama arrived on 12 January 1850, with 157 orphan females;
the Thomas Arbuthnot arrived on 3 February 1850, with 194 orphan females; the John Knox arrived on 29 April 1850, with 279 orphan females;
the Maria arrived on 29 June 1850, with 243 orphan females; and, the Tippo Saib arrived on 29 July 1850, with 297 orphan females.
'Persons on Bounty Ships (Agents' Immigrant Lists), 1838-96.' February 1848 - January 1850. 4/4786, pp.155-62, 273-9, 307-17, 398-405, 484-90, 503-9, 531-7, 538-46, 577-89, 607-18, and 619-31.
135
The ages of all but one hundred and five adult males and two hundred and seventy-six adult females were recorded. Of the adult males 80 per cent were between fourteen and thirty, but among the
adult females, 87 per cent were between those ages. Generally speaking, the adult females were younger than the adult males. For example,
12