William Henry Moore
| First name | William Henry |
|---|---|
| Last name | Moore |
| Country of Origin | Northern Ireland |
| Date of Birth | c.1797 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1841 |
| Submitted by | Diane Budd |
Story
William Henry Moore (born c.1797), his wife Mary Ann Montgomery and their children: Louisa, John, Andrew, Eliza, George, Margaret, Henry, Edward and Annie were Bounty Settlers who took up the offer of a paid passage from Ireland to Australia in exchange for a contract to work for 2 years in the fledgling colony of Port Phillip.
In 1840, they left the dire economic conditions of agricultural life in County Tyrone where it was becoming more and more difficult for a labourer to feed a family on the smaller farms, in order to seek a better life for themselves and their children. Their 5 month voyage on the SS “Argyle” from Liverpool to Melbourne, via the Cape of Good Hope was one full of drama and tragedy: storms which crippled the ship, becalming, threatened mutiny, pirates and imminent shipwreck. The ship became a “fever ship” where typhoid, dysentery, small pox, measles and whooping cough took its toll. 196 of the passengers succumbed to illness and 5 adults and 40 children died, including the Moore’s infant daughter, Annie, who was buried at sea. On reaching Port Phillip, the ship was permitted to dock only because the ship’s captain and surgeon lied to the Port authorities about the health status of the passengers.
Following the completion of their 24 months of farm work near Melbourne, the Moore family moved to NSW to work. In 1857, when William was 60 years old, the family travelled by boat to the Hunter River and then trekked through the bush with horses, drays and all their worldy goods to Cooper’s Plains (near Singleton) where they took advantage of a Land Purchase Scheme to finally realise their dream of becoming self -sufficient farmers. They lived in tents until they cleared the land and built a house. Grandchildren were born, with Mary Ann acting as mid-wife to her daughters and daughters-in-law. This immigrant family sought nothing from their new homeland other than the chance to work hard for family security. Over the next few decades, they were increasingly recognised as generous, hospitable and successful members of their community. They became the first Australians of a large extended family of thousands who today are spread throughout the land and have reached the ninth generation of Australian citizenship.