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Authors: Kay Moloney Caball
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would not have qualified anyone for a life of service in the outside world. Added to these difficulties was their lack of education. We know that the majority of the girls arriving could ‘not read or write’ according to their arrival records. This may have meant ‘could not read or write English ’ as Irish was their first, and in the case of the Dingle and some of the Kenmare girls their only, language. In any, case their English reading and writing would have been poor. It was too soon for the recently established National Schools, set up in 1838 in Ireland to have imparted these skills to this particular set of girls.
An upwardly mobile Australian middle class, particularly in the cities, were now looking for trained staff, those who had previous experience in upper-class homes as housekeepers, cooks, dealing with visitors, educating children and other domestic duties that would pertain in a great house. These girls were also expected to ‘know their place’, and that was one thing they didn’t know – they had spirit, fire and strong personalities, seen as insolence and impertinence by their employers.
Taking into account the disadvantages of their level of service experience, was the furore aroused in the Australian newspapers justified or were there a deeper political agenda at work in which the girls were unwitting pawns?
Mary (Maria) Conway, Listowel
Mary Conway’s address on the Minutes of the Listowel Board of Guardians on 11 September 1849 was Dromkeen, Causeway. She had a sad life from her initial accident, through the death of four of her children to her eventual death at the age of 44.
Patricia McGill, great-granddaughter of Mary, tells us her tragic story:
Mary Conway arrived on the Thomas Arbuthnot and in February 1850. She was one of a group of girls under the charge of Dr Strutt the Surgeon General on the ship, who were travelling inland for the purpose of being placed in service in the Yass-Gundagai area of New South Wales. When they were passing through the village of Camden west of Sydney, Mary and another girl, Mary Brandon were involved in an accident.
The two girls were unable to travel any further and after receiving treatment for their injuries, were left in the care of a Catholic priest. Following recovery, Mary returned to Sydney and on 1 August 1851, she married Benjamin Castle at St Mary’s Church in Sydney. For a period of time after the marriage the couple lived in Castlereagh Street Sydney. Benjamin was an English convict who had been transported in 1837 for housebreaking. He received his ticket of leave in 1844 and Conditional Pardon in 1847. As far as can be ascertained through official records, Mary and Benjamin had six children but only two survived until adulthood.
Between 1858 and 1859, the family was living in Glebe, an inner west suburb of Sydney. In 1860, at the time of Anastasia’s death, the family had moved west of Sydney to Picton, a small village. In 1862, when Joseph was born, the family was living at the Old Goulburn township which is further west of Picton.
Nothing further is known of their place of residence until 1876 when it has been established that the family was living in the vicinity of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina district of New South Wales where Benjamin held a farming lease on the Eunonyhareenyma pastoral run.
Mary died in a cart accident on 24 June 1876. She was a passenger in a horse-drawn spring cart driven by her husband Benjamin Castle. They were returning home to Eunonyhareenyma. Approximately five miles from Wagga Wagga the cart overturned and Mary was killed.
At the time of her death, Mary had two surviving children, James and Benjamin. Both of these children reached adulthood. James died on 23 September 1930, aged 76 years and is buried in Rookwood cemetery in Sydney. Benjamin was fatally wounded in a horse and sulky accident in October, 1935 near West Wyalong and is buried in the West Wyalong cemetery. Mary’s husband Benjamin died
An upwardly mobile Australian middle class, particularly in the cities, were now looking for trained staff, those who had previous experience in upper-class homes as housekeepers, cooks, dealing with visitors, educating children and other domestic duties that would pertain in a great house. These girls were also expected to ‘know their place’, and that was one thing they didn’t know – they had spirit, fire and strong personalities, seen as insolence and impertinence by their employers.
Taking into account the disadvantages of their level of service experience, was the furore aroused in the Australian newspapers justified or were there a deeper political agenda at work in which the girls were unwitting pawns?
Mary (Maria) Conway, Listowel
Mary Conway’s address on the Minutes of the Listowel Board of Guardians on 11 September 1849 was Dromkeen, Causeway. She had a sad life from her initial accident, through the death of four of her children to her eventual death at the age of 44.
Patricia McGill, great-granddaughter of Mary, tells us her tragic story:
Mary Conway arrived on the Thomas Arbuthnot and in February 1850. She was one of a group of girls under the charge of Dr Strutt the Surgeon General on the ship, who were travelling inland for the purpose of being placed in service in the Yass-Gundagai area of New South Wales. When they were passing through the village of Camden west of Sydney, Mary and another girl, Mary Brandon were involved in an accident.
The two girls were unable to travel any further and after receiving treatment for their injuries, were left in the care of a Catholic priest. Following recovery, Mary returned to Sydney and on 1 August 1851, she married Benjamin Castle at St Mary’s Church in Sydney. For a period of time after the marriage the couple lived in Castlereagh Street Sydney. Benjamin was an English convict who had been transported in 1837 for housebreaking. He received his ticket of leave in 1844 and Conditional Pardon in 1847. As far as can be ascertained through official records, Mary and Benjamin had six children but only two survived until adulthood.
Between 1858 and 1859, the family was living in Glebe, an inner west suburb of Sydney. In 1860, at the time of Anastasia’s death, the family had moved west of Sydney to Picton, a small village. In 1862, when Joseph was born, the family was living at the Old Goulburn township which is further west of Picton.
Nothing further is known of their place of residence until 1876 when it has been established that the family was living in the vicinity of Wagga Wagga in the Riverina district of New South Wales where Benjamin held a farming lease on the Eunonyhareenyma pastoral run.
Mary died in a cart accident on 24 June 1876. She was a passenger in a horse-drawn spring cart driven by her husband Benjamin Castle. They were returning home to Eunonyhareenyma. Approximately five miles from Wagga Wagga the cart overturned and Mary was killed.
At the time of her death, Mary had two surviving children, James and Benjamin. Both of these children reached adulthood. James died on 23 September 1930, aged 76 years and is buried in Rookwood cemetery in Sydney. Benjamin was fatally wounded in a horse and sulky accident in October, 1935 near West Wyalong and is buried in the West Wyalong cemetery. Mary’s husband Benjamin died
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