Australia Day 2011 - All the challenge posts

I am delighted to be able to present to you a list of the Australia Day 2011 genealogy posts in reponse to my suggestion. So far I have only skimmed most of the entries as I compiled the list, but I am looking forward to visiting each of them as from what I have seen they make great reading.

I was amazed by the positive reaction to the idea and would like to thank Geniaus, Shauna Hicks, Judy Webster, Gould Genealogy and Inside History magazine for their tweets, posts and Facebook status updates. My apologies if I have missed anyone, every mention was appreciated. 

I will continue to update this page as I am advised of or find more posts, so please email me if you have posted but do not appear. If you can't wait for my next update, the tireless Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers has created a roll up of Australia Day posts by Geneablogger members, here.

The posts are:

Solving a family puzzle from 1788
Inside History magazine 
The discovery of an original document provides a breakthrough in family history research.

Australia Day 2011 My Earliest Documents
Shauna Hicks at Shauna Hicks History Enterprises
Discovery of a convict ancestor is a pleasant surprise.

Campbell immigration 1839: my earliest Australian document
Judy Webster at UK/Australia Genealogy
On 28 Feb 1839 Ellen Campbell and her 13 children arrived in Sydney from the Isle of Tiree, Argyllshire, Scotland. Ellen's sons later became pioneers of Gippsland, Victoria. Her daughters married COCKBURN, COULSON, HOLMES, LAMONT, MACDONALD, McKENZIE, McNAUGHTON, WEBSTER and WELLS. Her youngest daughter, whose name (believe it or not) was Duncan, is still a mystery. 

Ancestor of the week - George Bridges Bellasis and Ester King
Anglers Rest 
Not your typical genealogy document, this post is based on an 1803 painting of pink Hibiscus titled "The Carrajan" by Mrs Bellasis, Sydney.

Australia Day 2011 - The earliest documentation for my Australian ancestors
Aillin at Australian Genealogy Journeys
The passenger list for the barque 'Himalaya' which arrived in Melbourne on 30 September 1840.

Shifty Ancestors in The Lucky Country
Geniaus
Which document to choose? Something from Elizabeth Phipp's shady past, or something from one of her partners James Westbrook or William Magick?

Early Australian documents
Kerry Farmer at Family History Research
A document that dates from Perth in 1832, within 3 years of the new Swan River colony in Western Australia.

Australia Day 2011 My Earliest Document
Bobby at BobbyFamilyTree
Bobby's ancestor had a watch fetish back in England that landed him in deep water. The next thing he knew he was in the land 'down under’.

2011 Australia Day – the earliest documents of my Australian ancestors
Tanya Honey at My Genealogy Adventure
Tanya didn’t have a hard choice to make about who she would focus on for this post. Her 3rd great grandfather George SIMMONS/SYMONS arrived in Australia as a convict in 1840 and has, so far, provided her with the earliest  documented evidence of her Australian ancestors.

Australia Day 2011: Was my first Ancestor in Australia John Lee?

Shelley at Twigs of Yore

The time and circumstances of his arrival are not yet known - convict, ship's officer or some other answer? What we do know is that John Lee was living in Victoria, Australia in 1849.

Australia Day Challenge
John Patten at The Patten Project
As John has both European and Aboriginal ancestry he tackles the question in several phases. As the case demands with Australia Day / Survival Day / Invasion Day, it all depends on a point of view and perhaps thinking a little outside of the box.

Australia Day 2011
Pauleen/cassmob at Family History Across the Seas
A parish register record proves disappointing for Pauleen, until she discovers that a second register exists.

Australia Day Heritage: Meet Isaac Richardson, Labourer, Swing Rioter and Convict
Alona Tester at Genealogy History and News
Isaac Richardson is Alona's earliest ancestor, and only direct line convict found (at least to date). He was no criminal, he just happened to be caught up in riots at the time, was caught, and was "made an example of" by being sentenced to death. Thanks to the townspeople in his local village in Kent petitioning against this, his life was spared, and he was then transported for 'Life' instead to Van Diemen's Land.

Free Settlers in the Antipodes
William Skyvington at Antipodes
Aboard the Bellona, Thomas and his wife Jane Topp (1757-1827) were the first free settlers to arrive in New South Wales, on 15 January 1793. 

The Trial of Nicholas Delaney (Australia Day challenge)
Frances Owen at A Rebel Hand
Nicholas Delaney, a United Irish rebel in 1798, who was condemned to death for murder, reprieved, sent to Australia in the Atlas II in 1802 and built some of Australia's earliest roads. He became an innkeeper and farmer and was one of the first to settle West of the Blue Mountains.

Australia Day 2011 – Clark & Ansted
Jen Smart at Jen's Genealogy Pages
Canadian Jen doesn’t have any connection to Australia at all (except a desire to visit). So how did she find a way to participate? Her ancestors owned a company that shipped dried fruit to Australia in the 1850s.

Australia Day 2011- My earliest free immigrant
Sandra at My Family History Research
Joseph Dilworth arrived in New South Wales, with his first wife Elizabeth and son Josias Wilison on board the ship Wilson on the 7th January 1842.

Australia Day: Gateway to a new and better life
Caroline at Caro's Family Chronicles
This is the story of three young men, transported for breaking and entering a wealthy ancestor's house in Limehouse, and how they made new lives for themselves in Australia.

Australia Day Challenge – A Conditional Purchase Application 
Carole Riley at Carole's Canvas
Carole describes the excitement of the first time she obtained a Conditional Purchase application. Conditional Purchases were introduced in 1862 as a way of getting small landholders on the land.
Carole also published a modified version of the post here.

Australia Day Challenge
Sharon Brennan at The Tree of Me
Sharon was inspired by this challenge to start a genealogy blog! She kicks off with a post that shows us why you should talk family history with your relatives. Who knows what they have tucked away in a shoebox?

Australia Day 2011: The marriage certificate of William Joseph Henry BATEMAN and a mystery solved
John Gasson at The Wandering Genealogist
The story of how the marriage certificate for John's 2x great-uncle William Joseph Henry BATEMAN solved the mystery of his arrival in Australia.

Australia Day 2011: John Galligan joins the Queensland police
Alison at My Family Puzzles
Another new geneablogger kicking off with this challenge, Alison writes about an application to join the Queensland Police Force.