Orphan Number: 4044
| Orphan: | Rachel MURPHY |
|---|---|
| Mother: | DOOLAN, Bridget |
| Father: | MURPHY, James/DAWLEY Michael |
| Mother's ship: | Australasia |
| Father's ship: | Tory 1 |
| Age when admitted: | 2yrs 9mths |
| Date admitted: | 1865 |
| Date discharged: | |
| Institutions(s): | Queens Orphan School |
| Discharged to: | |
| Remarks: | father died 1864 - unsure whether admitted to Queens Orphan School |
| References: | SWD26/8 |
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Mary Vanderfeen wrote:
Rachel Murphy Queens Orphan reference # 4044
Appearing in application forms for admittance to the orphanage as Rachel Murphy, Rachel was born with a variation of the Daley family name. Daley is the name she used in official records. [see 1886 'Family Notices',The Age (Vic), 2 Jul, p.1 Vic 1886 # 3792]
Rachel Ann Daley, was born near Duck River 10 5 1861 where her father Michael Dawley was a sawyer and farmer, and her mother Bridget Dooling a runaway convict. WEhen her father died in July 1864 the family was already flat broke and required assistance. Her mother struggled with rations and a government grant for rent and remarried in January 1865. 2 sisters and 2 brothers joined the family. Tough times continued and her stepfather was gaoled. This was the cause of Rachel's potential arrival at the Orphan School. Rachel and her biological siblings remain hidden from view after the orphanage until they arrive on the mainland and marry.
Having moved to the mainland with the family, Rachel provided authorities with the occupation “lady,” on her marriage certificate. Husband, James Alexander Thomson, was an English coppersmith. The wedding announcement acknowledged, in the fashion of the day, her father Michael Daley, and stepfather, John, using his original family name. Rachel was the informant when step dad John Sullivan died in Rachel's home in Ballarat, November 1889.
Moving to Western Australia with the gold rush, the Thomsons are difficult to trace until they move into Perth. Their daughter, Dorothy Furness Thomson became the wife of solicitor Arthur P. Watts. Arthur was elected Country party member for Katanning and later leader of the Opposition. At the time of Dorothy’s death in April 1947, Arthur was the Western Australian Deputy-Premier. Dorothy had two children. N.B. No birth record has been found for Dorothy [1897-1947], she may have been adopted.
Widowed, Rachel died aged 85 in June 1947, her daughter Dorothy had died just months before. Rachel's early life was not known by her daughter and grandchildren.
Rachel's father, Michael Dawley was born in Co Monaghan and convicted of assault and theft. He was transported Tory in 1847. Following probation on Maria Island and time working in Hobart, Michael accompanied partner Bridget as they evaded authorities until her 15 year sentence had expired. Already ill with heart disease when they married in April 1864, Michael died in the Hobart Hospital in July that year. Michael opposed his children being placed in the orphanage when he was ill in Hobart Hospital. He was known as James Murphy when he died
Rachel's mother, Bridget Dooling b ca 1829 Coppoquin, Waterford, Ireland, was convicted of arson at Waterford in 1849. Caught setting a fire Bridget, after 6 years "on the town," received a 15 year sentence. A convict on the Australasia 1849 to VDL Bridget was to become a three time absconder from contracted work as a pass holder. Bridget spent more than ten years on the run, reappearing in Hobart to collect her Certificate of Freedom when the 15 years had ended. 5 children were born while Bridget and her partner Michael Dawley worked the timber camps of the Tasmanian bush. With 4 surviving children Bridget and Michael left a productive leased farm at Duck River to head to Hobart. They married but Michael was already terminally ill. Destitution followed and interactions with bureaucracy worsened over time. A rocky beginning to a second marriage and a blended family of 8 aged 10 and under meant tough times got tougher. Bridget, back in old Hobart haunts returned to an old habit, alcohol. Despite continued family unrest he blended family, Bridget and new husband John survived. Three Sullivan babies were born, Bridget died in her youngest son's home in Brunswick, Victoria, 1892.
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