Richard Ellem
| First name | Richard |
|---|---|
| Last name | Ellem |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 1/6/1800 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1818 |
| Submitted by | Lewis & George Ellem |
Story
Richard Ellem, the founder of the huge Ellem clan in Australia, was born in Warrington, Lancashire. His family was heavily involved in the rope making industry. The uneducated Richard, at the age of 17 was found guilty of stealing a plough beam worth threepence and sentenced to transportation.
He began his seven year sentence in the hulks on the Thames and after nearly six months, on 3rd April 1818 boarded the ‘Isabella’ for the 164 day voyage to Port Jackson. The voyage, although no pleasure cruise, was fairly uneventful. On arrival Richard was assigned to Richard Kelly at Lower Portland Head where he learned to rudiments of farming.
Thanks to Richard Kelly, he secured his Ticket of Leave (no. 496) in March 1823. He was awarded his Ticket of Freedom (No. 83/3206) on 17th February 1825. Between these dates he formed an association with Charlotte Huxley, a daughter of Ann Forbes, a well known and incidentally, the last First Fleeter. They raised a family of eight sons and two daughters on 32 acres at Mangrove Creek. A palque at Central Mangrove Sports Ground records their second child was the first white baby born on the Mangrove.
All the family were farmers. When Richard died in 1857 they moved to the Hunter area around Wollombi. Their wheat crops failed in the 1860s and lured by the availability of cheap rich land (one pound per acre), they trekked to the Clarence carrying their belongings in wagons and carts. They camped in the open on roads that could barley be called tracks. The men supplemented their food supply by shooting pigeons, parrots, ducks and turkeys, while the women boiled fat-hen weed as a substitute for vegetables.
They settled on the rich lands around Grafton, prospered as farmers and teamsters, bringing with them from the Mangrove their great love of cricket. For over 100 years they have been renowned as the longest playing family team in Australia. In a five year period after World War II they played 33 matches against inter-district teams losing only three. Ellem Oval in Grafton is named in recognition of their contribution to cricket.
Family members responded magnificently to their country\’s call in World War I (two military medals), World War II (68 enlisted in all arms of the Services – some re-enlisting after service in the AIF), Korea, Malaya, and Vietnam: several paid the supreme sacrifice.
The family proliferated in Northern NSW and Queensland and has now spread to every State and Territory in every field of endeavour. At a reunion in 1988, historian W.S. ‘Stan’ Parkes spoke of teachers, university lecturers, medical researchers, servicemen, notable public servants, ministers of religion, missionaries, war heroes, members of parliament (one was speaker in the Whitlam government), battlers, and farmers. All people of great vitality: achieving at a high level in all walks of life.
As a testament to their collective abilities Ellems have been awarded: one Officer of the Order of Australia for medical research, two military medals, two British Empire medals (Military Division), two Civilian Service medals, three Australian sports medals, two Centenary medals and 23 national medals. Many more have been earned by descendants with ‘marriage-changed’ names, that is the female line.
Richard Ellem, convict 3206 would have been proud of his 10 children, 87 grandchildren and some 12,000 descendants and felt his trials and tribulations had borne excellent fruit in the land to which he had reluctantly ‘immigrated’ as a youth of 18 years.