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New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896
Name Richard Stapleton
Birth 1813
Arrival 17 Jul 1841 - Age: 28
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They came by the 'Royal Saxon' as Self-funded and as Bounty Immigrants in 1841
Royal Saxon
Arrived 17 July 1841, barque 510 tons, Captain Lodge master, from London 1 Mar 1841 then Cork 19 March to Melbourne.
Passengers Cabin Mrs Heywards and 4 chn, Rev Mr Richardson, lady and child, Mr and Mrs Eirey and child, Miss M'Gregor, Miss Gavin, Messrs Fripp, and Wilson. Intermediate Messrs Dickens, and Miller, 246 Bounty emigrants under superintendance of Dr Perrier
Cabin passengers - 4m, 5f and 7chn, Intermediate 2m, Steerage 10m, 4f and 5chn
The Recapitulation lists the total of 223 as Families 31 male, 32 female, 5m and 2f over 7, 5m and 2f over 1, 11m and 2f infants, total 83, also - from England (Oxfordshire 3, London 6, Kent 10, Staffordshire 1 and 3 from ?, total 17), Scotland none and Ireland lists 14 places for 206 people. There are 39 Protestants, 131 Roman Catholics and 3 'Other beliefs'
There are 68 single males - 5 shepherds, 3 carpenters and 62 Agricultural labourers,
72 single women - 1 weeds, 5 Cook or Laundress, 10 Dairy maids and rest are House maids.
The barque Royal Saxon sailed from Cork on 19 March 1841 bound for the Colony of NSW as Bounty Passengers for J B Were Esq who received 3962 pounds for his consignment of 231 immigrants, 17 from England and the rest from Ireland, including 22 from Limerick and the largest group of 73 whose Native Place was Tipperary.
Amos Shumack and his wife Mary were passengers, also Edmond Finn aged 20, kept diary notes and wrote Garryowen's Melbourne: a selection from the chronicles of early Melbourne, 1835 to 1852 by Garryowen, edited by Margaret Weidenhofer for sale.
The Royal Saxon berthed at Williamstown upon arrival in Port Phillip Bay on 17 July 1841. The Port Phillip Gazette of Thursday 21 July 1941 printed a detailed cargo list which included a large consignment of alcoholic drinks: brandy, gin, whisky, wine, ale, beer, stout; foodstuffs: bacon, cheese and hams; building materials: nails, slates, deals (boards or planks), dunnage boards; and general merchandise and apparel - all much needed goods for a young settlement.
Melbourne in 1841 was a busy port and commercial centre in an agricultural setting. Commodities and rent were expensive. For example: a single edition of the newspaper cost one shilling and the rent for a shop with a parlour and a kitchen in Queen Street was 2 pounds 10 shillings a week. There were advertisements for auctions of livestock, building materials and even food which reflected the demand for such goods. Entertainment included concerts and recitals and agents, accountants, architects and tailors were notifying the public of their professional services.
Barque: Royal Saxon
Total: 273 Staff: 5 Other: 39 Died: 3 Born: 0 Couples: 22 With chn: 12 Hus: 32 Wives: 32
Sons: 14 Daus: 10 Chn: 20 Bounty: 226 Families: 84 Un mal: 69 Un fem: 73
Others, who paid own fare - Cabin Mrs Heywards and 4 chn, Rev Mr Richardson, lady and child, Mr and Mrs Eirey and child, Miss M'Gregor, Miss Gavin, Messrs Fripp, and Wilson. Intermediate Messrs Dickens, and Miller.
The Royal Saxon passengers
In this ship list, people are numbered within the classified group - families or single male or single female.
Michael Andrigan 20 (single man 1) Waterford
Catherine Banquet 22 (single woman 2) Galway
Hannah Barry 19 (single woman 1) Cork
Mary Brodie 18 (single woman 3) Clare?
Georgiana Brown - (Steerage 5)
Samuel Brown - (Steerage 6)
Mary Brown 24 (single woman 5) Limerick
Thomas Burke 23 hus (family 1) Galway
Catherine Burke 23 wife of Thomas (family 1)
Ann Burke 1 dau of Thomas died 15 Apr aged 16 months (family)
Michael Burke 21 (single man 2) Tipperary
Margaret Bourke / Burke 18 (single woman 4) Galway
Michael Byrns / Bynes 26 hus (family 2) West Meath
Mary Byrns / Bynes 21 wife of Michael (family 2)
Pierce Carney 27 hus (family 7) Tipperary
Johanna Carney 25 wife of Pierce (family 7) Tipperary
Edward Carroll 21 (single man 6) Kings County
Margaret Carroll 20 (single woman 11) Tipperary
James Carty 28 hus (family 8) Kings County
Julia Carty 24 wife of James (family 8)
John Carty 6 months son of James (family 8)
Patrick Carty 22 (single man 9) Galway
Phoebe Chainer 20 (single woman 8) Galway
William Charlesworth 1st Mate (Staff 3)
Susan Chawner 22 (single woman 7) Galway
Robert Chawner 18 (single man 5) Galway
Edward Chillingsworth 28 (single man 7) Cork
John Cleary 25 hus (family 6) Tipperary
Anne Cleary 36 wife of John (family 6) Tipperary
Patrick Cohalan 26 hus (family 3) Cork
Ellen Cohalan 25 wife of Patrick (family 3)
Daniel Collins 22 hus (family 9) Tipperary
Judith Collins 20 wife of Daniel (family 9)
Daniel Connell 22 (single man 11) Kings County
Margaret Connell 22 (single woman 12) Tipperary
Julia Conolly 19 (single woman 10) Galway
William Corbitt 21 (single man 3) Tipperary
Bridget Cordy 21 (single woman 9) Tipperary
James Croft 20 (single man 10) Kings County
James Croker 25 hus (family 4) Tipperary
Alice Croker 27 wife of James (family 4) Tipperary
Patrick Cronin / Cronie 23 hus (family 5) Limerick
Johanna Cronin / Cronie 26 wife of Patrick (family 5)
Patrick Cronin / Cronie 3 months son of Patrick (family 5)
Patrick Crotty 28 (single man 4) Tipperary
Lawrence Curran 20 (single man 8) Cork
Emma Currant 18 (single woman 6) London
Margaret Day 19 (single woman 15) Clare
Henry Delmote 23 hus (family 12) Limerick
Catherine Delmote 19 wife of Henry (family 12)
Julia Dempsey 21 (single woman 14) Cork
Patrick Denally 21 (single man 11) Galway
Mr Dickens - (Intermediate 1)
John Diggs 20 (single man 12) Galway
Nora/Hannah Donaghoe 25 (single woman 13) Tipperary
Mary Donaghu 28 (single woman 17) Limerick
John Dunovan / Donovan 24 hus (family 10) Wexford
Mary Dunovan 19 wife of John (family 10) Waterford
Mary Durney 18 (single woman 16) Kilkenny
James Dwyer 32 hus (family 11) Tipperary
Julia Dwyer 18 wife of James (family 11) Tipperary
Margaret Edwards 22 Page 2 (single woman 20) Cork
Mr Arey / Eirey - hus (Cabin 12)
Wife With Arey / Eirey - wife of (Cabin 13)
Child With Arey / Eirey - Child (Cabin 14)
Mary Eyles 30 (single woman 18) Shrewsbury
Maria Eyles 22 (single woman 19) Shrewsbury
Thomas Finesoy / Finepy 28 hus (family 14) Tipperary
Ally Finesoy / Finepy 28 wife of Thomas (family 14) Tipperary
William Finn 39 hus (family 13) Tipperary
Catherine Finn 38 wife of William (family 13) Tipperary
Edmund Finn 20 (single man 14) Galway
Patrick Finn 19 (single man 13) Galway
Mary Finn 15 dau of William (single woman 22) Tipperary
Honora Finn 12 dau of William (family 13)
William Finn 7 son of William (family 13)
Miles Fitzgerald 28 (single man 15) Coleghin?
William Fitzgerald 20 (single man 16) Limerick
Patrick Fitzgibbon 29 (single man 18) Limerick
Henry Flack - (Steerage 8)
Mary Flinn / Flynn 19 (single woman 21) Cork
John Fogarty 22 (single man 17) Tipperary
Anastasia Ford 22 (single woman 25) Kilkenny
Maria Franklin 28 (single woman 23) Tipperary
Margaret Franklin 26 (single woman 24) Tipperary
Mr Tripp / Fripp - (Cabin 15)
Miss Gavan - cabin (Cabin 1)
James Gleeson 21 (single man 20) Templeman
Mary Graham 21 (single woman 27) Cork
Bridget Graham 20 (single woman 26) Cork
William Graham 19 (single man 19) Limerick
Mrs Graham cleared 7 Aug 1841 for Madres
Child With Graham cleared 7 Aug 1841 for Madres
William Habborlain 27 (single man 24) Waterford
Thomas Hallman 27 (single man 22) Tipperary
John Hallum 30 (single man 25) Cork
James Hardy 26 (single man 28) Galway
Mary Hardy 23 (single woman 73) Cork
George Harris 28 hus (family 15) Oxfordshire
Susan Harris 25 wife of George (family 15)
Charles Harris 5 son of George (family 15)
Michael Hayes 21 (single man 27) London
Margaret Hays 24 (single woman 35) Limerick
Mrs Hayward - wife (Cabin 3)
Mr Hayward 34 hus died June 10 aged 34
01 Children With Hayward - son (Cabin 4)
02 Children With Hayward - dau (Cabin 5)
03 Children With Hayward - son (Cabin 6)
04 Children With Hayward - dau (Cabin 7)
Ellen Heatherman 18 (single woman 29) Tipperary
Michael Henrich 26 hus (family 17) Tipperary
Margaret Henrich 24 wife of Michael (family 17)
Mary Henrich 2 dau of Michael (family 17)
Peter Henrich 6 months son of Michael (family 17)
Patrick Hickey 23 (single man 23) Tipperary
Catherine Hickle 20 (single woman 33) Galway
Ann Higgin 22 (single woman 28) Tipperary
Mary Hogan 25 (single woman 30) Tipperary
John Hogan 21 (single man 21) Templeman
Honora Holden 18 (single woman 32) Galway
Nora Holly 17 (single woman 31) Tipperary
Frederick Hoyle 19 (single man 26) London
John Hukey 21 hus (family 16) Galway
Mary Hukey 22 wife of John (family 16)
John G Hunter - (Steerage 9)
Malachi Kelly 24 (single man 31) Galway
Ellanor Kelly 19 (single woman 39) ?
Mary Kelly 24 (single woman 38) ?
William Kennedy 23 (single man 29) Tipperary
Edward Kenny 21 (single man 30) Tipperary
Margaret Killeen 20 (single woman 37) Kings County
Bridget Killeen 18 (single woman 36) Kings County
Alicia Konan 28 (single woman 41) Tipperary
Patrick/Peter Laffy 25 hus (family 18) Galway
Mary Laffy 24 wife of Patrick (family 18)
George/James Lamphir / Lamper 26 (single man 36) Cork
Michael Landers 28 (Steerage 20)
Patrick Landrigan 27 (single man 33) Tipperary
Michael Landrigan 20 (single man 35) Tipperary
Ellen Landriggin 19 (single woman 42) Tipperary
Emily Layfield 18 (single woman 43) Sligo
John Leary 26 hus (family 20) Tipperary
Bridget Leary 24 wife of John (family 20) Tipperary
John Lee 36 hus (family 19) London
Harriett Lee 32 wife of John (family 19)
Morris Lee 18 months son of John (family 19)
Judith Leeson 28 (single woman 44) Lepany
Joseph Lewis 19 (single man 34) Staffordshire
Francis Lodge Captain (Staff 1)
Martin Lynch 19 (single man 32) Galway
Michael Lyons 23 hus (family 21) Galway
Mary Lyons 22 wife of Michael (family 21) Galway
Michael Mahony 24 (single man 42) Waterford
Patrick Maloney 21 hus (family 24) Cola
Catherine Maloney 23 wife of Patrick (family 24)
Mary Mangen 20 (single woman 51) Galway
Thomas Mannin 28 (single man 38) Rosecomwen
Mich Mansell 29 (single man 41) Tipperary
Judy Mansell 25 (single woman 47) Waterford
Margaret Mansell 22 (single woman 46) Waterford
Denis Mard 22 (single man 43) Limerick
Anne Marmion 21 (single woman 45) Lepany
Mary Mccallipth 19 (single woman 50) Cork
James Mccarthy 29 (single man 46) Cork
Thomas Mccarty 38 hus (family 23) Cork
Margaret Mccarty 35 wife of Thomas (family 23)
Mary Mccarty 16 dau of Thomas (single woman 53) Tipperary
Joseph Mccarty 12 son of Thomas (family 23) Cork
Margaret Mccarty 11 dau of Thomas (family 23)
Julia Mccarty 9 dau of Thomas (family 23)
Thomas Mccarty 7 son of Thomas (family 23)
Michael Mccarty 5 son of Thomas (family 23)
Ellen Mccarty 3 dau of Thomas (family 23)
John Mcdermot 23 (single man 39) Rosecomwen
Terence Mcgrath 19 (single man 40) Tipperary
Bridget Mcgrath 22 (single woman 49) Clare
Miss Mcgregor - (Cabin 2)
Ansema/Anne Mcherne / Mcherst 20 page 3 top (single woman 52) Galway
William Mclelland 23 (single man 44) Tipperary
Mr Miller - (Intermediate 2)
Michael Miris 21 (single man 45) Clare
Patrick Moore 21 (single man 37) Limerick
Jonas/James Morris - (Steerage 11)
Martha Morris - (Steerage 14)
Richard Morris - (Steerage 19)
Dorothea Morris - (Steerage 12)
Charles Morris - (Steerage 13)
Barbara Morris - (Steerage 15)
Ernest Morris - (Steerage 18)
Robert Morris - (Steerage 16)
Elizabeth Morris - (Steerage 17)
Mr Morris cleared 7 Aug 1841 for Madres
Hanah Moryravan 16 (single woman 48) Cork
Patrick Murphy 25 (single man 47) Tipperary
Michael Murphy 22 (single man 48) Galway
Edward Murphy 23 (single man 49) Clare
Edmund Murphy 24 (single man 50) Tipperary
James Murphy 28 (single man 51) Tipperary
John Murray 30 hus (family 22) Tipperary
Eliza Murray 26 wife of John (family 22)
Margaret Neil 20 (single woman 56) Tipperary
David Nelson 22 (single man 50) Clare
William Norman 2nd Mate (Staff 4)
Catherine Norris 21 (single woman 54) Tipperary
Margaret Norris 19 (single woman 55) Tipperary
Owen Obrien 33 hus (family 26) Tipperary
Mary Obrien 25 wife of Owen (family 26)
Martin Odonnel 34 hus (family 25) Cola
Margaret Odonnel 28 wife of Martin (family 25)
Vincent Parrin Surg Supt (Staff 2)
Elizabeth Parrott 20 (single woman 57) Limerick
Edward Jas Peacock 26 hus (family 28) Galway
Rebecca Peacock 32 wife of Edward (family 28)
Thomas Peacock 3 son of Edward (family 28)
William Peacock 1 son of Edward (family 28)
Rebecca Peacock 0 dau of Edward (family 28)
Joseph Pilley / Pelley 28 hus (family 27) Galway
Catherine Pilley 23 wife of Joseph (family 27) Galway
Patrick Pendrigist / Pendergast 22 (single man 55) Templemen
William Piper 19 (single man 52) Limerick
Michael Poron 27 (single man 56) Templemen
Ellen Power 22 (single woman 58) Tipperary
John Purcell 21 (single man 53) Templemen
Joseph Purcell 26 (single man 54) Templemen
Mr Purier cleared 7 Aug 1841 for Madres
John Quinn 22 (single man 57) Templemen
Bridget Quinn 21 (single woman 59) Waterford
Charles Rachford 20 (single man 59) Clare
William Richardson Reverend hus (Cabin 8)
Wife With - Ellen Richardson - wife of William (Cabin 9)
Eliza Richardson 2 dau of William (Cabin 10)
Henry Richardson 0 son of William (Cabin 11)
Catherine Rigney / Risby 22 (single woman 74) Kings County
Maryann Roach / Roche 17 (single woman 62) Cork
John Russell 31 hus (family 29) Bent?
L Anne Russell 30 wife of John (family 29)
Harriet Russell 9 dau of John (family 29)
Mary Anne Russell 10 weeks dau of John (family 29)
Louisa Russell 34 (single woman 60) Tipperary died
Catherine Ryan 29 (single woman 75) Tipperary
Patrick Ryan 28 (single man 60) Clare
John Ryan 25 (single man 61) Clare
William Ryan 22 (single man 58) Templemen
Bridget Ryan 20 (single woman 61) Tipperary
Catherine Ryan 30 (single woman 63) Tipperary
Mathew Scott 3rd Mate (Staff 5)
John Scott - (Steerage 10)
George Scott 22 hus (family 32) Limerick
Nora Scott 25 wife of George (family 32)
Patrick Scott 0 son of George (family 32)
John Shea 29 (single man 62) Clare
Eliza Shea 20 (single woman 64) Limerick
Catherine Shea 20 (single woman 69) Tipperary
Honora Sherlock 25 (single woman 68) Tipperary
Mary Shire 24 (single woman 65) Limerick
Lucy Shire 20 (single woman 66) Limerick
Amos Shumack 26 hus (family 30) Limerick
Mary Shumack 24 wife of Amos (family 30) Tipperary
John Slattery 28 (single man 63) Kilkenny
Alice Slattery 19 (single woman 67) Tipperary
Richard Stapleton 28 hus (family 31) Tipperary
Ellen Stapleton 27 wife of Richard (family 31) Tipperary
Mary Stapleton - (Steerage 7)
Mary Tobin 19 (single woman 70) Tipperary
James Tygwin 24 (single man 64) Tipperary
John Wall 21 (single man 65) Tipperary
James Ware - (Steerage 1)
Jane Ware - (Steerage 2)
John Ware - (Steerage 3)
Mary Ware - (Steerage 4)
Patrick Welsh 25 (single man 66) Limerick
Jane Welsh 22 (single woman 71) Galway
James Whelan 22 (single man 67) Tipperary
Mr Wilson - (Cabin 16)
Ellen Woods 18 (single woman 72) Cork
7 Aug cleared for Madras in ballast. Passengers Mrs Graham and child, Messrs Morris and Purier
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Richard and Ellen Stapleton were classified in the above list of passengers as Bounty Immigrants:
Bounty immigrants were free immigrants whose passage was paid by the colonial government under the `bounty scheme'. Under this scheme, an incentive or reward (i.e. bounty) was paid to recruiting agents in Britain to find suitable skilled labour and tradespeople, then ship them out to the new colony which urgently needed the working class people to do the manual labour in this new and untouched land.
Bounties were paid to the ships' masters for the safe delivery of their passengers under the scheme. The typical bounty was 19 pound ($38) for an adult and 5 pound for a child. Bounty for the amount of 4,956 pound was claimed for the agent, AB Smith & Co. of Sydney, for the safe and healthy arrival of the immigrants on the "England" in July 1841.
Under the `bounty scheme' newly married couples, or single men and women were given preference. Large families were rarely accepted. Selected immigrants were generally shepherds, ploughmen and agricultural labourers, with a lesser number of tradespeople such as brickmakers, carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors and needlewomen.
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The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 29 June 1867, page 5
TIHE FLOOD IN THE NEPEAN
(FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER)
The people of Penrith, are about to illustrate the truth of the adage which says that " Misfortunes never come singly". One great calamity has befallen them, and another - by some people considered almost as great - follows close upon the heels of the first, The dreadful flood which has laid waste their meadows and desolated so many homes, was a very heavy visitation, and one that was of itself almost more than the district could bear, but the subsidence of the flood does not relieve them, and the agriculturists are now looking forward with the gloomiest forebodings to the opening of the railway extension to Weatherboard Creek. Most people - if they had no property in the town of Penrith - would, I fancy, regard the opening up of easy traffic to the interior as a blessing to the colony at large. It is no doubt a national blessing, but then, in the case of Penrith, it is a local grievance. The residents of that town regard it as such. The freeholders are trying to sell out and betake themselves elsewhere. The leaseholders will not make improvements on the land, because they think that the extension of the railway beyond Penrith will destroy their chance of obtaining a good profit for their trouble. Some say that the flood and the railway together will completely ruin the district; that they might have contended against either misfortune if it came alone, but the double trouble is more than they can conquer. There is no doubt some reason for the fears which are thus expressed. The most eligible situation that a settler or tradesman can occupy along a railway line is at the terminus, and, of course, when the terminus of the Great Western line is removed from Penrith to a spot many miles inland, a good share of the trade of the former place will be transferred to the latter, therefore, no doubt, some diminution of prosperity will be caused in this way. But Penrith will not be affected so much as other towns have been by similar circumstances. The country through which the extension passes is most precipitous, barren, and miserable. There are but the smallest patches - few and far between - on which agriculture could be carried on with any hope of success, and therefore it is not likely that people who take up land there will take much of the trade from Penrith.
While the effects of this dire visitation has in a great degree paralysed the energies of the people, it has aroused in all a touching generosity and kindliness to each other, the injunction to "Help one another" is obeyed by these poor sufferers to the letter. Many a settler who has managed to save a pittance from the wreck of his home shares what he has got with his poorer neighbours. In many a wretched hovel on the banks of the Nepean there is a daily exhibition of the purest charity and brotherly love. Those who have but a loaf will share it with those who have none, and many stint their own food in order to feed others. This is true charity. Anyone who visits these people, and who sees their self denial, their care for their comrades, even in the extremity of their own distress, must be touched and instructed by the sight.
There is great misery among these people. The fancy cannot paint, the pen cannot describe, the squalor and wretchedness that exist in some places. If ever there were suffering men and women in need of aid, these men and women are. Homeless, penniless, utterly forlorn and destitute, some without clothes, some without food to eat, or a bed to lie upon, their condition is something terrible. It is so because the poverty is extensive. It is not the poverty of half a dozen families, but of a whole district. The trials of a few mendicants could be relieved with ease, but how is this army of unfortunates to be raised from the depths of beggary? In one way only and that is by following the example of the sufferers themselves, and practicing benevolence, at the expense of personal comfort. Every one should help to remedy such destitution as this, I am sure that no man however niggardly, could look upon that scene of desolation, and refuse to aid in remedying it.
The flood has wrought ruin so generally throughout the district, that it would be difficult to say where the worst spot is to be found. Perhaps the residents below the town of Penrith have sustained the greatest injury. The whole country in that direction has been overwhelmed. The resistless waters have swept away everything that was moveable and within their reach. Fences are laid low, hay stocks are gone, barns are in ruins, houses are shattered or swept away, even the very land itself has been torn up by acres. Heaps of drift wood and immense beds of sand and mud cover the fields, and almost smother the buildings that remain. The roads are impassable, being covered with soft mud to the depth of three feet and more, and in some places washed into vast chasms. The river cannot be approached by horsemen, who have to keep on the high ground at the back, from whence they can see the destruction that has taken place. In any case, one cannot go farther than Yerramundi at present, as the country is so boggy. The people who were flooded out of their homes, have all returned to them - or rather to the sites of them. There are only two families now in the Penrith hospital, and they remain on account of the children being ill with the measles. Among those who have suffered most severely, I may mention the following persons.
The first on my list is George Barlow, a farmer, resident about two miles below Penrith. He is a married man and the father of a large family, but fortunately all his children are able to earn their own living. He himself has lost every thing that he possessed, and is in a state of abject destitution. His house has been swept away, and with it of course all his furniture and goods. He and his wife are now living with their neighbours, upon whom they are dependent for food and shelter.
The next case is that of a settler named Mason, who lives close to Barlow, and who has also lost his all. He is a married man, with a large family to support. His house has disappeared, and he has naught save the rags that cover him. He also is at present fed and clothed by persons living in the locality.
A farmer named Staunton, residing about four miles below the town, has lost all his furniture, &c. His house is standing, but it is so covered with drift and mud that nothing can be got out. He has a wife and family dependent upon him for support, and he is an utterly ruined man.
An elderly labouring man, named Joseph Griggs, who resides about five miles down the river, is in a most pitiable state. He has a wife and three helpless little ones. The flood swept away everything he had. Previous to the disaster he had a p1 note, and three shillings, which was all the money he possessed. When the flood went down he recovered the box in which he kept his money, and found the p1 note gone and the silver alone remaining. He has to begin the world afresh with three shillings in his pocket.
Mr. Rigney, a prosperous farmer residing upon his own freehold, which is situated about four and a half miles below Penrith, has lost a great deal of property. His furniture and goods are destroyed, and his horses, cattle, and pigs are drowned. His family is large, but most of them are able to help themselves.
John Byrnes, a labouring man, residing about four miles below Penrith, has lost everything he possessed. He has a wife and two or three children. He is very destitute.
Mr. Parsons, a storekeeper, living some distance down the river, has lost over p400 worth of goods.
A farmer, named John Tompkins, living some distance down the river, has lost everything. His goods are all either spoilt by the water or swept away entirely. He has a wife and family to provide for.
Jeremiah Hansel, who is also a farmer, and lives close to Tompkins's place, is in a similar position to him. He has lost all, and has to commence the world afresh without money or goods.
A person, named Hadley, who cultivated a nice little farm of his own, about nine miles below Penrith, has lost his furniture and goods. Everything on his place was carried away, but he is said to be somewhat better off than many of his fellow-sufferers. He is a married man with a grown up family.
A farmer, named Childs, also residing about nine miles down, has been ruined by the flood. He is an old man, almost helpless, and nearly blind. His family is grown up and able to provide for their own wants. The old man himself is utterly ruined.
A Mrs. Lavender, who resides on a farm nine miles down the river, has lost everything. Her husband is up the country, where he has been for some time past. She has a young child, and was lying ill in bed when the flood came down upon her house. She got up into the loft, and when rescued by the boats had to be taken, with her infant, out through the roof. She was very weak and ill, but has since recovered. She has lost everything, and is now quite destitute.
James Anderson, a schoolmaster, residing next door to Mrs. Lavender, has lost all his property.
Mr. William Landers, a farmer, living about nine miles down the river, has lost all that was on his farm at the time of the flood. Everything was swept away.
Mr. Thomas Robinson, a well-to-do farmer, residing about the same distance down the river, lost everything except the clothes that he wore. The house went into the river with the bank on which it stood. Barns, stacks, fences, furniture, and produce, were all washed away. His loss has been very great.
Next door to Mr. Robinson, lives a farmer named Richard Stapleton, who has a wife and three children to provide for; he is a ruined man; his furniture and goods were swept away; his house stood, and is now surrounded by timber drifted against it. There are tons of drift around the building.
All the above named persons are resident in the parish of Castlereagh alone, and they form but a tithe of the sufferers in that locality. Owing to the boggy state of the country, it was impossible to reach many places; in fact, only one or two could be visited. The Castlereagh township could not, be reached at all, nor was it possible to get near the river. There are scores of persons, not mentioned in the above list, whose houses could not be visited at all. Barlow's and Lander's farm formed the extreme points, and from one to the other by nine miles. It was impossible to get below Lander's, but I believe that constable Warren succeeded yesterday in getting to Yerramundi. No one would credit the state of the country unless upon the evidence of his eyesight. Many houses have been carried into the river by landslips, others are still standing, but cracked and tottering. Half the barns in the district are washed away, and other buildings are shattered and broken in every direction. The river is on an average about half as wide again as it was before the flood, and in some places very extensive landslips have occurred. Five, eight, and, it is said, even as much as fifteen acres have been taken away at a sweep. Since the subsidence of the flood a large corner on the western side below the bridge has slipped away.
It is said that the house of a man, named Jeremiah Lang, residing at Bird's-eye Corner, has been entirely swept away. The place was about four miles down the river on the western bank. The man was a farmer and pretty well to do. He is elderly and has a wife and family. Lang has lost all he had in the world, and has to begin life afresh with nothing in his pocket.
In Norval's Lane the floods were severe, and many people were stripped of their property. A Mrs. Gale living there would not quit her house when the boat went for her, but took her children up into the loft, where she and they remained in safety until the flood abated. A family, named Stewart, living next door to Mrs. Gale, acted in a similar way. The father and mother refused to leave the house because one of their children was laid up with the measles. They remained in a loft, and when the boat went for them the water was up to the top of the verandah. They did not leave, however, but stayed there until the waters fell. A Mrs. Dorrington, or Baldwin, as she is called, resides in the same locality, and has lost everything. Her haystacks, cornshed, and furniture, are all gone, and she is now very poor. She has a family. A man, named Doolan, close by was flooded out. His things were washed away, but he managed to get a good many of them again.
The family of a farmer, named Joyce, residing at Regentville, above Penrith, had a narrow escape. They were rescued by boats which were only just in time to save them. Joyce, with his wife and mother and eight children, was saved. He has lost nearly all he possessed, and states his losses at about p500 worth of property. His house is still standing. Welsh - next door neighbour to Joyce - also had a narrow escape. He was a well-to-do farmer, with a wife and no family. He has lost everything. He stopped in his house to the very last moment, and when the boats were rescuing Joyce's family he hailed them and begged to be taken off. Poulton, Wilson, Hubbard, and others residing on the Woodruff estate, Lower Penrith, have lost all they had in their houses. They lived close to the Peach Tree creek. Poulton, who has a wife and two or three small children, is a ruined man. Wilson is a butcher, and is better off. At Emu Plains many people were flooded out, and there is a good deal of distress among them. The house of Constable Rutledge, on the Western bank was nearly washed away, and would have been, had it not been fastened with chains to the bridge. A house next to it fell into the river, and now lies just below the bridge with the gables out of water. Constable Rutledge has lost everything.
There were some very narrow escapes, and had not the Government boats been sent up there would no doubt have been great loss of life. A couple of boats ought to be kept at Penrith in readiness for such emergencies.
The river is falling slowly but is still about ten feet above its ordinary level. No traffic except that of foot passengers is permitted to cross the bridge, and travellers have to get their goods conveyed over the river in boats. There are four boats constantly at work. Horses are made to swim across, and in doing so there is some little risk, as they are carried a long way down the stream, and landed on the island below the bridge. They have another short swim to the main land, and thus the passage of the river is to the poor animals a work of danger and difficulty. The men engaged in this work are reaping a rich harvest, as the prices they charge are most exorbitant. Most of them are evidently unused to aquatics, and are almost as awkward in a boat as a wild bull is said to be in a china shop. Their labours at the oars combine the maximum of energy with the minimum of skill, and consequently the course taken by each boat in fording the river is singularly eccentric. A number of police on their way to Bathurst crossed the day before yesterday, and had much difficulty in swimming their horses, owing to the strong current. It was nightfall before they got clear of the river, although they commenced the work early In the morning. The piles of the old bridge began to show above water yesterday morning, and they are now three feet out. From the manner in which the flood has washed away the banks of the river, it would seem as if the stream were changing its course. It is taking away the western bank below the bridge, and the chief strength of the current is now upon that side, although the main channel is on the eastern side of the bed. The sandbank on the island has been raised several feet, and from the break of the water between the island and the eastern bank it is evident that the channel there has been dammed up to a considerable extent. Some idea may be formed as to the violence of the current, when it is stated that the whole of the soil and gravel at the bottom of the river has been swept away to within three feet of the rock. The foundations of the stone piers are therefore nearly bare, and the tiers of piles that were washed away must have had all the earth taken from around them. Strata of soil and gravel, twenty-six feet in depth, have been swept away, and the river bank on the western side, for a distance of 130 feet back from its original slope, has disappeared.
The difficulty of procuring suitable timber has prevented the repair of the western approach to the bridge. Beams, eighty feet long, are required, and are now being obtained from Liverpool. The plan adopted for bringing the sunken portion to its proper level is this. Eight beams, each eighty feet long, will be laid across from the stone pier to the outermost tier of the approach. The piles which have been washed away will not be replaced - they could not be, in fact, as there is no bottom to hold them. After the beams have been laid, the depression of the arch will be removed by the use of iron ties three to each beam and screw bolts. The ends of the upper ties will rise above the level of the roadway and catch the ends of the beams, through the centre of which thick bolts will pass to keep them from curving. This will make the bridge quite strong enough for traffic, and the train will in all probability be able to run over it within the next ten days. The ties are to be of flat iron, 3 inches by 1, and altogether they will weigh about thirty tons. Of course, these repairs will be merely temporary. The bridge is to be permanently strengthened by the erection of three stone piers similar to those now supporting the main bridge, to carry the approach. This will effectually prevent damage from future floods. When this bridge was in course of erection it was thought that the western bank would increase instead of decrease. It has been noticed that slight freshes in the Nepean deposit large quantities of soil on that side. It now appears that a high flood carries away those deposits, and washes the western bank with a great scour.
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The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 3 July 1867, page 2
TO THE WATER POLICE and GOVERNMENT BOATMEN; and to Messrs. WILLIAM PIKE. JOHN GUNNELL, and JAMES MILLS, Guides in the Boats in the recent FLOODS on 22nd June, 1867.
We, the undersigned, beg to tender to all of you our heartfelt and unfeigned thanks for your timely assistance in rescuing us from our perilous situations during the late recent calamitous floods that pervaded this district of Penrith, and our locality on the banks of the Nepean River at Castlereagh in particular, on Saturday, 22nd June, 1867; and we are persuaded, had it not have been for your united indefatigable exertions, many of us, our wives, and our little ones, must have perished. We, therefore, feel bound to offer to you all our kind acknowledgments, and wish it were in our power to award you all a more substantial token as a mark of your manliness and bravery on this to us most melancholy occasion.
Castlereagh, Nepean, Penrith District,
27th June, 1867
Joseph Griggs and family (4)
Samuel Byrnes and family (9)
Christopher Parkin and family (6)
Robert Hattley and family (3)
John Byrnes and family (7)
Richard Stapleton and family (5)
Alexander Johnson and family (7)
James M'Cabe and family (5)
William Rigney and family (8)
Jeremiah Hansell and family (11)
Cornelius Lees and family (8)
Peter Forcett and family (8)
Robert Brinckley and family (3)
William Landers
John Jackson and family (8)
James Parker
John Frazer
Richard Betts
FLOODS RELIEF FUND CONCERT
Victoria Theatre.
The Committee and Glee Union beg to thank Colonel WADDY and the Officers of the 50th Regiment, for their generosity in granting their magnificent Band for the above Concert; also to thank Mr. J. F. Josephson for the use of the Theatre, and Messrs. Elvy and Co. for lending their Grand Pianoforte; and the following Artistes who kindly gave their gratuitous services - Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Cordner, Mr. Alfred Anderson, R.A.M.; Messrs. Hall. Fairfax, Harper, Hellyer, Hodge, and Hare; also, Herr Sussmilch, and the gentlemen of the Glee Club Concordia.
JOHN FOSTER, Hon. Sec.
FLOODS RELIEF CONCERT
All ACCOUNTS are requested to be forwarded to the Treasurer, Mr. J. A. ROBINSON, Forbes Hotel, King and York street, on or before THURSDAY, 4th July.
JOHN FOSTER, Hon. Sec.
FLOOD RELIEF. - RICHMOND. - Contributions in aid of the Sufferers by the late disastrous Flood, of Flour, Beef, Blankets, Clothing, Boots and Shoes, &c, will be thankfully received by W. G. AINSWORTH, 187 and 189 York Street, on behalf of the committee.
SLOPER COX, Treasurer.
N.B.- Mr. GEORGE BURROWS, Parcel Delivery, has kindly offered to convey any contributions to the above free of charge.
FLOOD RELIEF - RICHMOND - CONTRIBUTIONS in aid of the sufferers by the late disastrous floods, of Flour, Beef, Blankets, Clothing, Boots and Shoes, &c or of Money, will be thankfully received by the Committee of The Richmond Flood Relief Fund.
JOHN SELKIRK, Hon, Secretary.
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Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985
Name Richard Stapleton
Father Owen
Mother Mary
Death 1886 - Penrith, New South Wales
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Nepean Times (Penrith, NSW : 1882 - 1962), Saturday 30 January 1886, page 2
DEATH OF OLD RESIDENTS. - In our last issue we had to record the death of a very old resident of the district, Mr, K. Hogan, now we have two more to add to the list. On Saturday last Mr. Richard Stapleton, one of our oldest residents, joined the great majority. Mrs. Stapleton died about a year or so ago, and shortly after her husband was stricken, but although he wavered between life and death for some days he again regained his usual health, and was to be seen daily passing our office. About a fortnight ago he was again taken ill with congestion of the lungs, and suffered fearful agony until his death. Another old and respected resident of Mulgoa, Mr, James Smith, who was well and favorably known throughout the length and breadth of the district, died on Tuesday. Mr. Smith has been a great sufferer, and during the last few years appeared to be gradually sinking, although he kept up his usual spirits until the day of his death. At the time of his death he was residing at Jamison Town, having sold out of his general storekeeping business at Mulgoa to Mr. E. Holm some little time ago. Yet another. On Thursday Mr. Harvey, a very old resident of Eastern Creek, and who had been suffering from cancer for the last two or three years, was taken off. He was a great sufferer.
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The cemetery records show that the following family members are buried together:
Owen and Mary Stapleton
Owen and Mary's son Richard and his wife Eleanor
Richard and Eleanor's children Ellen and Owen Stapleton
Owen and Mary's daughter Margaret Neville
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