Nepean Family History Fair 2010

 7 March 2010

We really enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones at the Nepean Family History Fair today!

Nepean Family History Fair - Sunday, 7th March 2010

5 March 2010 

Irish Wattle will have a table at the Nepean Family History Fair this Sunday, 7th March 2010, at the Penrith Library Lower Lounge & Theatrette.

We're always happy to answer any questions on Irish convicts in the early colony and researching genealogy.

If you have any questions or research you'd like us to do before the fair, then please contact us and we'll come to the fair with the answers. We're looking forward to seeing you all!

Help make the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct a heritage centre

2 March 2010

The historic Female Factory precinct in Parramatta, west of Sydney, was the location of Australia's first prison facility. Those who weren't assigned as servants or co-habiting with a man, or who re-offended in the colony, lived and worked here, cooking, sewing and making rope and wool. 

February Irish Wattle Newsletter

 23 February 2010

We have sent out our February newsletter. To catchup on what is happening here at Irish Wattle and in the world of genealogy go to Irish Wattle and get the rundown on events, new releases, sales etc.

You can subscribe on our website.  Hopefully we'll hear from you soon!

Talk at Randwick & District Historical Society

 20 February 2010

The talk is over, and we loved meeting the Randwick & District Historical Society.

Thanks Georgina, Ellen and Christine, for your help and kind invite to present. We'll hopefully see you again soon!

Patrick O'Farrell - His work on the Irish in Australia

 14 February 2010

Irish Wattle likes Professor Patrick O'Farrell. Sadly he has left us but his books and research live on. His site includes details of his Irish - Australian books and interviews, pictures and reviews.  

(See below - The Irish in Australia. Kensington: University of New South Wales Press, 1987)

Wicklow Gaol - Where the 1798 rebels were held

29 January 2010

The Wicklow Gaol was where those Irish patriots involved in the 1798 rebellion were held prior to transportation to Australia. Inmates included prominent rebels such as "General" Joseph Holt and Michael Dwyer.

The first Irish convicts were transported to the Sydney colony in 1791 and prisoners were sent there from Wicklow Gaol from 1796 until the 1850s.  You can find more history on the Wicklow Gaol website.

Read the Wicklow Gaol blog for stories of the ghosts that still haunt the gaol today!

Catch up with our newsletters!

21 January 2010

Subscribe to our free monthly newsletters for the latest news and events regarding convict history, plus biographies of Irish convicts and new research as we find it.  

Subscribe to future issues here.

Read a sample newsletter here.

And check out our new blog here 

Being Irish in New South Wales

13 January 2010

Check out Irish Community NSW, a terrific service for people living in and visiting NSW who are interested in finding out about events that the many Irish cultural and sporting groups and businesses put on throughout the year.

Visit their website here for the latest news and events! 

Check out our new blog!

3 January 2010

Happy new year! And 2010 is shaping up to be a busy one for Irish Wattle. First up, we're unveiling our new blog and news feed, for the latest on research, and other sites that we're following. Drop by and say hi here! 

Event: Talk at Randwick Historical Society, 20th February

30 December 2009 

Irish Wattle will presenting at the Randwick Historical Society, as part of its Saturday History Talk schedule.

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010

Time: 2:00pm - 5:00pm

Location: Vonnie Young Auditorium, Level One, Bowen Library, 669 Anzac Pde, Maroubra, 2035

More details to follow in 2010!  We look forward to you joining us for the talk.

Help stop the closure of National Archives of Australia offices

20 December 2009

It was announced recently that the Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart offices of the National Archives of Australia were to be closed, starting with the closure of the Darwin office in 10 months.

Happily, the closure of the Darwin office has been stopped, due the support provided by the public and petitions submitted.

Irish Wattle has petitioned against the closure of the National Archives offices and recommends that you do the same. The petition form is available on the WA History Council website.

Return completed petitions to Anne Picot
/- University of Sydney Archives, A14, University of Sydney, NSW 2006
for forwarding to the Parliament by 2nd February 2010.

Join the Save NAA offices cause on Facebook

December Newsletter - Merry Christmas!

10 December 2009

For Irish Wattle's latest news, check out our December newsletter

New stock arrives at Irish Wattle

5 December 2009

When we were based in the UK we searched high and low for a copy of Bob Reece's terrific book on Irish convict transportation to New South Wales.

Now we've secured brand new stock that is available for purchase! 

In The Origins of Irish Convict Transportation to New South Wales Reece explores the pre-history of Irish convict transportation to New South Wales, which began with the Queen in April 1791. 

We have limited stock so visit the Irish Wattle shop to order a copy. If you would like to place a large order please allow around four weeks for delivery.

Irish Wattle visits John Hunter's East London grave

 4th December 2009

Irish Wattle visits John Hunter's grave in Hackney, East London. Read about NSW's 2nd governor (1795 - 1800) on Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. Visiting John Hunter's grave on a cold, wet English winter day definitely made us miss the colony which this old governor once lead.

New this week! Pat Moore's Swamp: An Irish Family in Botany Bay

29 November 2009

Irish Wattle has released a new book - Pat Moore's Swamp: An Irish Family in Botany Bay.

Irish convict Patrick Moore arrived in Sydney aboard the horror ship Britannia in 1797. Over the next 54 years his story, and that of his wife's Rose Green, would be one of hardship, and also reward.

Pat Moore's Swamp is a PDF booklet that traces their journey from Ireland to the lives they carved out in Sydney. They were among the first European families to live in and raise their children in Botany Bay.

This booklet is 53 pages including references and is available as a PDF document.  Go to the Irish Wattle shop to order!

Carlow Nationalist Writes About The Queen

 22 November 2009

Willie White writes about the Irish convict ship, The Queen, in the Carlow Nationalist.  For more information about the convicts on The Queen, check out Barbara Hall's new book - The Irish Vanguard

Mutiny on the Marquis Cornwallis

21 November 2009

The log book from Marquis Cornwallis detailing the mutiny enroute from Ireland to Sydney in 1796 is now on file at the State Library of NSW.  See Barbara's book - A Desperate Set of Villains - on the shop for more on Marquis Cornwallis and the mutinous convicts on board.

Irish Wattle in the news

4 November 2009

This week Irish Wattle talks to The Irish Echo, Australia's only Irish newspaper, about the first Irish convicts in early Sydney. Read the interview here.



Society of Australian Genealogists reviews The Irish Vanguard

2 November 2009

The Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) reviewed The Irish Vanguard in the September edition of Descent. Read what they thought of Barbara Hall's latest book here.



Heritage projects to go ahead in Tasmania

13 October 2009

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown today announced that the Greens had secured 5.8million for nine heritage projects in Tasmania.

Among them, 400,000 thousand for work on the Sarah Island Historic Site in Strahan. It’s Tasmania’s oldest convict settlement, operating from 1822 to 1833. There’s also 800,000 thousand for maintenance and interpretation works to the outbuildings and garden at Clarendon in Evandale, Tasmania, one of Australia’s largest and best known early colonial houses.

Start spreading the word...

9 October 2009

We often put genealogists in touch with others who are researching the same convict. So if you’d like to know if anyone else is researching your ancestor transported from Ireland between 1791 and 1806, please contact us and we’ll include your details in our next newsletter so people can contact you.

Similarly, if you have an event coming up related to convict history, or a recent publication you would like to let people know about, please contact us with the details and we’ll put it on our news page.

And be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter for exclusive news on our research!
 

Meeting the relatives of Patrick Marmion

25 September 2009

Great news!

Since our last news item on Patrick Marmion (18 September 2009) we’ve been contacted by Pat’s descendents in Ireland! His family is still in County Down where young Pat originated, and are very active in tracing the Marmion family tree. We’ve been able to link their ancestor to the one transported on the Marquis Cornwallis in 1796.

Even though Pat’s sentence was only for seven years, he never returned to Ireland. We think he’d feel pretty grand to know that history hasn’t forgotten him.

Here’s to the convict origins of one of Australia’s oldest pubs

18 September 2009

The Hero of Waterloo, a grand old pub in the Rocks area of Sydney, has always had a nefarious past. Built in 1843, it was a favourite haunt of the Garrison Troops, and used for rum smuggling.

But research by Barbara Hall shows that even before The Hero was built, the parcel of land on which it stands in Lower Fort Street was garnering an infamous history by association.

It was first granted by Governor Lachlan Macquarie to 57-year-old Irish convict Patrick Marmion in 1814. Patrick had been a prisoner in Sydney since his arrival in 1796 aboard the Marquis Cornwallis. He was a stonemason, so it’s very possible that he built a house on the block, but this is not known for sure. He sold the land to a Mrs Leighton a few years later. It was then sold in 1842 for £350 and the rest is… well… history!

Patrick’s full bio appears in A Desperate Set of Villains, available from Irish Wattle.

Our online shop is here!

5 September 2009

Our opening hours? Whenever suits you! We are delighted to say that our online shop is up and running. Choose your books, add them to the secure cart, and we will post out your order by air mail the following business day to wherever you are. 

Irish Wattle heads to the UK

18 August 2009

We've been doing a spot of freelancing at Irish Wattle.

Helping genealogists find long-lost relatives is one of our goals, so if you're just starting out researching your ancestors, have a read of our recent article that appeared in a UK-based magazine called Australian & New Zealand here. We hope it helps you to start tracing your family tree.

Guilty! Irish Wattle uncovers convict trial information

4 August 2009

The buzz surrounding Britain's National Archives digitisation of 1.4 million documents on criminal trials in England and Wales shows how much genealogists value trial and conviction records.

This is great news for those researching ancestors from Britain. But what about those from Ireland? As many family historians know, Irish convict trials are incredibly elusive due to the destruction of Dublin's Four Courts in 1922.

But often trials, convictions, and gallow confessions were reported by the press of the day.

Barbara Hall has combed Irish newspapers on microfiche and found many trials for the first 1000 Irish transported to Australia. Uncovered was the story of the three highwaywomen who dressed as men to rob the Wickow Mail and became the laughing stock of the town; the father who begged the court to transport his son to avoid seeing him hang; the convict who picked the pocket of the prisoner next to him in the dock – while being sentenced for theft; the tale of Jemmy the Schemer, who was shot in the shoulder while trying to escape transportation; and many, many more.

If you're looking for trial information on ancestors convicted in Ireland between 1780 and 1806 then contact us – we've done the hard work for you.

The promise of money (or wheat)

12 July 2009

You may have read reports in the media late last year of a very early and exceedingly rare Australian promissory note being sold at auction for 50,000 dollars.

The note had been part of a private collection and was expected to sell for 30,000 dollars. The debt itself was drawn in 1807 on behalf of James McCarr of the Hawkesbury for two pounds and two shillings, to be paid in wheat to Mr Martin Mason.

Here at Irish Wattle, Barbara Hall has documented James McCarr’s life. A highwayman from Ireland, James's actual surname was Magan alias Maguire. Described as an “ill-looking man”, he arrived as a convict on the Boddingtons in 1793 and ran up a few other debts during his time in the colony. You can read James’s complete biography in Of Infamous Character.

What else is out there in people’s collections and Barbara’s books?!

Photo: The promissory note for James McCarr

All hail the Queen, the convicts have arrived

28 June 2009

Here at Irish Wattle we’re delighted that Barbara Hall’s latest book is now available.

The Irish Vanguard traces the lives of the first convicts exiled from Ireland to Port Jackson aboard the Queen in 1791. On arrival, the cargo quickly became synonymous with seditious behaviour by often escaping into the bush, and encouraging other convicts to follow their lead.

These convicts were transported with no official court records, so the details of their trials and convictions have always been a mystery. But during her research, Hall uncovered many of their trials in Ireland by combing contemporary newspapers on microfiche. An arduous task, but one that proved very rewarding.

Barbara Hall again demonstrates her skill for meticulous research by chronicling each convict on board, and the stories they left behind. The Irish Vanguard is available now for purchase.

Please see our product page for more information.

Redcoats and Convicts

27 June 2009
We braved the cold and dodged the musket fire to visit the recent Redcoats and Convicts exhibition at Hyde Park Barracks on 31 May in Sydney. A working blacksmith workshop, convict kitchen and carpentry work site were just some of the terrific attractions set up in the Barracks courtyard.

Uniformed soldiers fired a deafening volley of warning shots each hour and, because we were there at 1pm, we could hear the cannon of Fort Denison firing in the background. Brilliant!

Photo: Ben Mercer

Introducing Irish Wattle

26 June 2009

Irish Wattle connects you to the latest research on Irish convicts transported to Sydney between 1791 and 1806.

We have a number of publications that make excellent resources for historians, genealogists and academics wanting accurate and detailed research on those very early prisoners in the colony. We’re always thrilled to meet descendants so if you had an ancestor on one of the early convict ships, please do contact us.

We’re launching an online shop very soon, plus we’ll be featuring snippets of new research as we find it right here on our news page. Stay tuned!