William Fryer KING

Story

Conditions in Bristol and other English cities were quite unhealthy in the first half of the 19th century with epidemics of cholera and other fatal diseases most years. At this time, cities had no sewerage system and, when it rained, houses in the lower areas were inundated with foul mud and water. Our KING family lived in Clifton, which was higher than much of the rest of Bristol and not as damp or smelly.

Leaving behind the heartache of three small graves – of children Emily, Thomas and William – William Fryer KING and his wife, Matilda (HALL) came to Australia with their only remaining child, two-year-old Sidney. William’s brother, Edward, had also lost a small child, Emily. Losing so many babies would be enough to encourage many families to try to find somewhere with a healthier climate, where small children could thrive, and may have helped set them on the move that would see most of their family living half a world away in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. That they chose Australia may be due to the changing fortunes of planters in Barbados, where the slaves had been freed and sugar tariffs reduced, making it no longer profitable. Other members of the family may have lived there as William did, before to returning to Bristol and marriage.

With a spirited rendition of ‘There’s a Good Time Coming’ and the passengers lining the rails marvelling at their first close sight of Port Phillip Bay, the SS Indian Queen made her way up to Hobson’s Bay looking every bit a queen. Although there were to be bad as well as good times for the KING family arriving on that April day in 1854, they were glad to arrive safely after three months at sea. It had been a long uncomfortable honeymoon for Henry and his wife, Betsy, married only ten days before the ship sailed.

A two-year old wooden sailing ship, the Black Ball liner, Indian Queen, had been on the Liverpool to Melbourne run for only a year when it brought the family to Melbourne. It was not uncommon for men to work their passage, but not as musicians, as our musical KING family did.

Edward, his son Alfred and his brothers, Thomas and Henry, formed two-thirds of the ship’s band. The other family members who came as paying passengers, including William, his wife, Matilda, and son, Sidney, and Henry’s wife, Betsy. There were two other Mrs KINGs, presumably Edward’s wife, Eugenie and 10-year-old Juliana.

The Argus of the time commented that the formation by the Black Ball line of a band was ‘particularly considerate, happy and a step in the right direction’. The ship carried 400 people and the trip took 93 days.

Their parents, Thomas and Ann, and sisters, Charlotte and Sarah, joined them later.

The KING family were typical of the settlers arriving in Australia at that time. Gone were the days of convict arrivals; Melbourne was becoming a boom city, thanks to the discovery of gold. Sailors deserted their ships, labourers their fields and factories and joined the crowds flocking to the goldfields, but many of the gold seekers were, or wanted to be, middle class. They financed their own way to Australia and expected to make their fortune and set themselves up as well-off citizens of their adopted land. By 1854, the alluvial gold had begun to run out and more money and work was required to follow the ‘leads’ ever deeper. No longer was it probable that a fortune could be just picked up off the ground; it was becoming hard, costly work.

Some of the family joined the migration north to Ballarat: Edward advertised in March 1857 that he had ‘returned from the diggings and was available for professional engagements’; Thomas lived in Ballarat for the rest of his life; Charlotte and Austin TURNER, initially, made their home in Ballarat, but later moved to Melbourne.

In 1854, Edward and Henry John were part of the fledgling Melbourne Philharmonic Society, which gave occasional concerts and left members free to undertake other engagements. With their families, they were living in Emerald Hill (now South Melbourne) by 1856. If any of them undertook any mining, it was not long before they returned to their musical occupations. William took up his trade as a tobacconist and went on to set up and write a newspaper.

We hope they found the good times they were looking for; sometimes they were living in the better areas of Melbourne, other times in the poorer areas. Their descendants are certainly glad they took the leap of faith and migrated to Australia.

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