William Bennett
| Town/City | Ballarat |
|---|---|
| First name | William |
| Last name | Bennett |
| Country of Origin | Cornwall, England |
| Date of Birth | 1835 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1857 |
| Submitted by | Margaret Lewis |
Story
William Bennett was christened on 28th February 1835 in Camborne, Cornwall, the eldest child of James Bennett and Mary (nee Bennetts). His father James was a copper miner and the family of nine children lived at Rosewarne Lane, Camborne. William was also working as a copper miner by the age of 16 years. In later years William was to tell his grandchildren that both his grandfathers were killed in mining accidents, so it would seem that the family had a long history in the mining industry.
William probably left Liverpool in October 1857 onboard the ‘Turon’ which arrived in Melbourne in January 1858. He probably decided to leave Camborne because of the continuing decline of mining in Cornwall. There was a continual exodus of men from Cornwall, both single and married, to many parts of the world including the colony of Victoria which had been made famous by the gold rushes. Migration agents advertised for potential migrants throughout the mining areas of Cornwall.
Once in Victoria William continued working as a miner and by 1861 he was living in Carngham, a mining area a little west of Ballarat. On 4th July 1861, William, aged 26 years, married Elizabeth Knuckey at the Registry Office in Ballarat. Elizabeth gave her age as 21 years, however, she was actually only 16 years old, and was working as a servant in Ballarat, her father Richard having died in an accident in South Australia the previous year. Elizabeth signed her name on the register while William made his mark.
The couple settled in the Snake Valley Ð Carngham area and their first 4 children were born here Ð Eliza Ann (born 1862), Mary Jane (born 1863), William John (born 1865) and Joseph (born 1867). By 1871 the family had moved to Copperfield, Queensland, where Elizabeth\’s mother, now remarried, had moved to. Another 5 children were born in Copperfield Ð Ellen (born 1871), Richard Francis (born 1872), John (born 1874), James (born 1876) and Edward (born 1878).
The family of William, Elizabeth and 9 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). William\’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 William together with his daughter, Eliza, and son-in-law, John Moran, moved to Ravenswood, North Queensland. His wife Elizabeth decided to remain in Sydney with her younger children and she became a boarding house keeper in Macquarie Street South. Elizabeth died on 29th August 1900 at her son Richard\’s residence, 16 Railway Place, Sydney.
William Bennett and John Moran travelled to Ravenswood first and built a wattle and daub hut for the family to live in. After his daughter Eliza had given birth to her second child in Sydney in November 1885 she travelled to Townsville by boat with her two young children, sister-in-law Bridget Moran and possibly also her parents-in-law who also moved to Ravenswood around this time.
William continued living with his daughter & son-in-law and worked as a miner in Ravenswood. He died on 23rd November 1922 at the Railway Hotel, Ravenswood; the Hotel was owned & run by John Moran. William was buried the following day at the Ravenswood Cemetery where his gravestone still stands.