Elizabeth Knuckey
| Town/City | Ballarat |
|---|---|
| First name | Elizabeth |
| Last name | Knuckey |
| Country of Origin | Cornwall, England |
| Date of Birth | 1/9/1845 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1854 |
| Submitted by | Margaret Lewis |
Story
Elizabeth Knuckey was born on 9th January 1845 in Gwennap, Cornwall, the eldest child of Richard Knuckey and Mary Ann (nee Thomas). She was born into a large family with her close relatives and more distant cousins all living in Gwennap and the surrounding areas.
When Elizabeth was just 9 years old, she and her 3 sisters accompanied their parents on a voyage to Australia. With the down turn in the copper industry in Cornwall, her father Richard was attracted by the promise of work at the Burra Burra mine in South Australia. They and many other Cornish migrants arrived in South Australia on 24th October 1854 aboard the ‘Lord Raglan’.
Once in South Australia the family moved to Kooringa where Richard worked at the Burra Burra mine as an engine driver. Four more siblings were born in South Australia, but life was obviously very hard in Kooringa for only one, a brother Richard Francis Knuckey, was to survive infancy. When Elizabeth was 15 years old, her father Richard failed to come home one night, and was discovered the next morning, having died after being thrown from his horse.
Her mother Mary Ann was now left with 5 children between the ages of 1 and 15 years. Life was difficult for the family as evidenced by her mother\’s need to apply to the Destitute Board on a number of occasions. Two of Elizabeth\’s paternal uncles had migrated to the gold mining area of Clunes, Victoria, and presumably Elizabeth was sent off to live with them, as we next hear of her in Ballaarat, Victoria, where she worked as a servant.
When just 16 years old, Elizabeth Knuckey married William Bennett, a 26 year old Cornish miner, at the Registry Office in Ballaarat on 4th July 1861. Elizabeth, claiming she was 21 years old, signed her name on the register while William made his mark. William lived in the nearby Snake Valley Ð Carngham mining area, and the couple settled there. Their first 4 children were born here Ð Eliza Ann (born 1862), Mary Jane (born 1863), William John (born 1865) and Joseph (born 1867).
In the meantime, Elizabeth\’s mother, Mary Ann Knuckey had remarried a widower, Tristram Bath, and in 1868 they moved from South Australia to Copperfield, Queensland. William and Elizabeth followed them to Copperfield and another 5 children were born there Ð Ellen (born 1871), Richard Francis (born 1872), John (born 1874), James (born 1876) and Edward (born 1878).
The family of William, Elizabeth and nine children then moved south to Cobar, NSW, again following Elizabeth\’s mother, who was now with her third husband, William Penhallurick. Two more children were born in Cobar Ð Lily Maude (born 1880) and Arthur Charles (born 1882). Elizabeth\’s two eldest daughters were married in Cobar.
In late 1883 the extended family moved to Sydney where young Arthur Charles died in January 1884 from diarrhoea. The following year, her husband William together with her daughter, Eliza, and son-in-law, John Moran, moved to Ravenswood, North Queensland.
Elizabeth decided to remain in Sydney with her younger children and she became a boarding house keeper in Macquarie Street South. Her youngest daughter Lily died in Macquarie Street in 1889 of diphtheria. Elizabeth died on 29th August 1900 at 16 Railway Place, Sydney, probably at her son Richard\’s residence. She was buried the following day at Rookwood Cemtery.