Sean Haydon Griffin's Family Tree

Walker, John

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Arrived in Australia in May 1855 at Sydney on the Himilaya with his first wife (Rhoda Parker) and young daughter Emily.

.....THE BEAR FACTS. [Information supplied by Sue Hewitt 1991]

John WALKER was born in the parish of Almondsbury (written ORMSBURY on the ship's passenger list, the shipping clerk obviously was not a native of Gloucestershire and he was writing merely what he heard) in the year 1832. He was the first known son of Thomas WALKER and Elizabeth who were married in that parish on the 3rd June 1830. John had a younger brother, Thomas of whom nothing is known other than that he was born in 1835. There is no record of either child being baptised in Almondsbury Parish. In the 1841 census John and Thomas were both living with their parents at Almondsbury. The first day school (as opposed to Sunday School) began in 1833. The boys probably did not attend as John stated he could neither read nor write upon his arrival in Australia in 1855.

John was 21 when he married Rhoda PARKER in the Church of St Mary, Almondsbury on the 3 July 1853. They were both living in Almondsbury at the time of their wedding, although Rhoda, the daughter of John Parker and Sarah Cam, came from the parish of Coaley, some little distance NE from Almondsbury. Thomas Pitman and Charlotte Thomas witnessed the nuptuals. there is no evidence to date to link either to John or Rhoda.

By the end of 1853 baby Emily was born.

For most of its history Almondsbury has been an agricultural village. By the time John and Rhoda were looking to make a living and raise a family, all farmland was enclosed in a pattern of fields with tenant farmers. Alternatively, they could look to being engulfed into the fast growing manufacturing industries of the nearby city of Bristol.

Life surely held little promise for them in England, hence in May 1855 they arrived in Sydney as government assisted immigrants, (they paid one pound)on the 'HIMALAYA'. The ship was relatively new having been built in 1853 so it would seem ship-board conditions weren't too onorous for them and their 179 shipmates. However, a notation on the passenger list indicates they [and others] had a complaint regarding the quality of the provisions on board.

Being an agricultural labourer, it is assumed John would be on the lookout for rural employment to support his wife and child. Whether they stayed in Sydney for any length of time is unknown.

The family's movements next centre on the Kangaroo Valley area, particularly Broughton Creek, which is a rivulet running into the Shoalhaven River. John and family propbably travelled tot he South Coast via one of the steamers of the Illawarra Steam Navigation Co. which ran services to Kiama, Gerringong and Shoalhaven. Broughton Creek (now the town of BERRY) developed as a private estate town for a property near the Shoalhaven Heads known as Coolangatta. The land was part of a 4,000 hectacre grant madeby Gov. Brisbane to Alexander Berry and Edward Wollstonecraft in return for the upkeep of 100 convicts during the early 1820's. Broughton Creek did not change its name to Berry until 1890. By the time the Walker's had arrived in the area, cedar timber supplies and dairy produce - particularly cheese and salted butter - were well established.

On the 24th May 1865, Emily's two brothers - Thomas and John - had a sister, Sarah. All were baptised at Broughton Creek. Thomas was almost 6 years being born in August 1859, Sarah was born in Sept 1860 and Young John was born in October 1861. The familyhad certainly arrived by the time young John was born as his birth certificate claims his birthplace to be Broughton Creek. Another 3 years passed before the arrival of John and Rhods's third daughter, Anne Maria (Sue Hewitts's gt Grandmother and affectionately called Ma by all those who knew her).

The year 1867 was significant to John for two reasons. In January he became a Landowner in his new country, but in November his wife died. John purchased his 52 acres of land from Neil Harpur who selected the land in 1865, under the guidelines of the Robertson Land Acts of 1861, which permitted a person to stake out a piece of land and claim it as his own with the required surveys and titles being formalised at a later date. John was then a farmer from Kangaroo Ground.

Anne Maria was only a babe of 22 months when her mother died 'from injuries received by her clothes catching fire'. It is said Rhoda was making jam at the time of the accident in November 1867. She was buried at Gerringong Cemetery the following day.

John was left with 5 children ranging in age from 22 months to 14 years. One imagines most of the daily chores fell on the shoulders of the eldest child, Emily, perhaps with Sarah, now 7 years doing her share and helping to look after little Anne. Assumedly the boys, Thomas - 8 and John - 6 years would be helping their father.

It would seem John quickly alleviated the problem of child care. By the end of November John was married, in his own home to 20 year old Elizabeth VALLIS, the daughter of John Alexander VALLIS and Mary Ann THOM. John and Elizabeth's first child, Mary Annwas born the following year in 1868, followed by George Edward in 1870, Frederick James in 1872 and Elizabeth Ellen in 1873.

In March 1869, John sold the land for one hundred pounds to George Lawrence FULLER, Gentleman of Kiama. john and family probably continued to live on the land as tenant farmers. The nature of the relationship between George Fuller and John Walker is unknown but in 1877, 3 years after John's death - George Fuller subsideised the education of 3 of John and Rhoda's children. In letters to Mr Edwards, (Emily's husband of 15 months, a storekeeper in Sydney) George Fuller sent money to pay for 6 months education for John jnr - now 16, and later that year money for 4 months education for both Sarah - 17 and Anne Maria 11 - Emily's sisters. there was also a promise from Fuller to help John jnr obtain a 'situation' in Sydney if he could read and write at the completion of his 6 months of education. So it would appear that all 3 children were now residing in Sydney, if not with their elder sister then most certainly in a position near her at Balmain. the question still remains - why should George Fuller, a prominent citizen of Kiama property owner of Dunmore estate and having 6 children himself be benefactor to 3 orphaned almost grown up children? John had died in July 1874 as a result of 'vegetable poison in a wound', leaving his second wife with 4 of their children under the age of 8.

Life goes on and by April of 1875 Elizabeth had married again, Charles McLaughlan who was a witness at her husbands burial at Kangaroon Vallley. Charles and Elizabeth had 4 children. Elizabeth died in 1918 and is burried in Berry Cemetery.

From the Walker Newsletter #5, Dec 1998.

NEW JOHN WALKER RESEARCH

The 1851 census revealed that John was living with his parents in Stapleton, which is near Bristol, a long way from Almondsbury, which he stated on his immigration record. He was born in Olveston, the parish next to Almondsbury as were his parents and brother Thomas.

As we know, John's father was a "Thatcher" and as such his trade meant he had to move about a lot in order to work. I got very excited seeing thatched roofs in Gloucestershire, though they would have been a more modern version of the method usedin the 1850's.

The records for the parish of Olveston were not on the Gloucester Record office but held in Bristol Record office. That would have been like retracing our steps so I decided to leave that and order a microfilm of Olveston parish register when I returned to Sydney. Needless to say, all manner of things to be attended to arose upon my return and now it looks as if I'll have to attempt Olveston records next year.

Ancestors