While browsing around today I came across a photo of the ship, Kapunda, on which my Great-Grandmother, Mary Kealy, emigrated to New South Wales. The photo was a catalyst for my search today on Trove.
I wanted to see if I could find out anything about the Kapunda's voyage that brought Mary to Sydney. Searching was a little tricky as the ship's name is not unique, there is a town called Kapunda in South Australia that was active in the 1870s at the time of Mary's emigration. However by using a selection of various keywords in several searches and narrowing by date I was successful in finding several references. I now understand a bit more about Mary's journey.
Mary set sail with 340 other immigrants from Plymouth in November 1876.
It was reported that on 27th December 1876 "The following vessels have been spoken -Kapunda, with emigrants, Plymouth to Sydney, all well, 27th December latitude S0 30s , longitude 27 W. she had been a week in company. December 20, Windsor Castle from Brisbane to London, latitude 24-20 S.. longitude."
1877 'ROYAL MAIL NOTICE, VIA AUCKLAND AND SAN FRANCISCO.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 5 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13389122
Mary's name appears further down this list, she would have been collected from the Depot at Hyde Park by her sponsor, Timothy Mahony, or his agent.
The Kapunda arrived on February 5th 1877.
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| 1877 'SHIPPING.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 6 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13392446 |
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| 1877 'ROYAL MAIL NOTICE, VIA AUCKLAND AND SAN FRANCISCO.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 6 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13392415 |
Three days after Kapunda arrived this report was in a Sydney newspaper.
Another positive report on the immigrants was published on February 9.
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1877 'The Sydney Morning Herald.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 9 February, p. 4. , viewed 30 Mar 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13387040
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My reading of these reports indicates that Mary had a relatively safe and comfortable journey to the colony in the company of a decent group of new settlers. Thank you Trove for shedding light on Mary's voyage.In a sad note Kapunda in 1887, after undertaking several more voyages, was involved in a collision at sea off Brazil en route to Western Australia with a large loss of life. A search on Trove will find many reports of the tragedy.
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