Patrick Quinane, (See Patrick's Family Chart) was born in 1821 at Upperchurch in County Tipperary, Ireland. His parents were Patrick Joseph Quinane and Annie Flynn. At the age of 23, Patrick married Mary Ryan on the 11th February 1844 at Upperchurch.

Patrick and Mary had three children in Ireland Jeremiah (born 1845), Nancy (born 1846) and Honora (born 1850).They emigrated to Australia on board the "Wanata".

The Wanata departed Liverpool on 10 June 1852 and arrived Melbourne 4 October 1852. During the voyage, Patrick and Mary’s fourth child, Johanna was born, but unfortunately Honora and Nancy died without seeing Australia.

Courtesy of  Lois Vivienne Whimpey Willis - Refer http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~loiswillis/index.html )

THE ARRIVAL OF THE "WANATA" IN PORT PHILLIP BAY, 1852 -

      The Research Department of the Victorian State Library has made a search of the contemporary newspaper reports of the arrival of this ship. Its findings are as follows:

      "On September, 1852, the ship "Wanata" arrived in the Bay and anchored off Gelibrand Point (near Williamstown), with 796 government emigrants aboard. She had left Liverpool on June 19th with 820 emigrants. Thirty-nine of these died during the voyage. Of these thirty-nine, thirty-three were children. The discrepancy in the total is most probably explained by births during the voyage.

      The six adults died as follows - one from apoplexy, one from consumption and four from fever (probably typhoid fever).

      Dr Thompson was the superintending surgeon on the ship, and Dr Dobbin was his assistant. Dr Hunt, the Health Officer of the port, visited the ship and ordered her to quarantine offshore between Brighton and St Kilda. The schooner, "Apollo", was stationed nearby as a guard ship to prevent passengers from escaping from the "Wanata" until the quarantine restrictions were lifted by the authorities. It was proposed to release the ship from quarantine after a week had passed but, on September 23rd, a new case of fever was reported.

      All the sick passengers were then transferred to the schooner "Fanny", which lay nearby, and this ship (the "Fanny") was then also placed in quarantine.

      On October 4th, the "Wanata" was allowed to leave the quanartine (sic) area and join the other ships in the Bay, and arrangements were made for the migrants to disembark.

      There was much criticism in the newspapers regarding the overcrowding permitted on the "Wanata", although she was a large ship of 1412 tons under the command of Captain Lee."

It would appear that on arrival in Australia, the family moved straight to the Ballarat Gold Fields. We know this  because their fifth child, Patrick was born at "Jim Crow Ranges", near Daylesford on 3 October 1854, some 2 months before the Eureka uprising. We also know from Patrick's birth certificate that Johanna who was born on board the Wanata had died. Further, we know that Patrick senior and presumably his wife and two sons (Jeremiah & Patrick) had travelled the 45 kms from Daylesford to Ballarat when the "Eureka Uprising" took place because on the 26th of December 1854, he swore the following statement:

"I, Patrick Quinane, of the Eureka, Ballarat, in the colony of Victoria, gold digger, do solemnly and sincerely declare that on Sunday morning, the third day of December instant, my tent with all the property therein, of the value of £60, was set fire to and consumed or destroyed immediately after the attack of the military and police on the stockade of the Eureka aforesaid, on the said third day of December, and I further solemnly and sincerely declare that I took no part in the riot, directly or indirectly, and I further solemnly and sincerely declare that I did not leave my tent until I heard orders given to have the tents burned. I further solemnly and sincerely declare that on Sunday, the third day of December, on my return to my tent aforesaid, I found my tent and all the property therein consumed; I further solemnly and sincerely declare that my tent was on the outside of the stockade; and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and correct, and by virtue of the provisions of an Act made and passed in the ninth year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled, "An Act for the more effectual abolition of oaths and affirmations taken and made in various departments of the Government of New South Wales, and to substitute declarations in lieu thereof and for the suppression of voluntary and extra-judicial oaths and affidavits."
(Signed) PAT. QUINANE

 

Patrick's claim for compensation was granted, although it seems the wheels of Government did not turn any faster in the 1850's than they do now, because the decision to reimburse Patrick was not made until February 1856, some 14 months after the date of his claim.

Sometime between 1854 and late 1856, Patrick and his family moved to the Bellarine Peninsula, south of Geelong, because their son Peter Joseph was born at Indented Head in October 1856. The family remained in this district until the late 1870's and the rest of their children were born here; Cornelius (5/11/1858), Honora Mary (20/5/1860), Anne (23/7/1864), Daniel (23/9/1866), Michael Francis (1867) and Mary (23/4/1870).

In 1866 Patrick Quinane, along with Thomas Carruther and Thomas Peel were appointed by the Shire Council to manage the No. 9 Drysdale old commons and reserve lands lease and Patrick was still mentioned in Shire documents in June 1878.

The index to the Bellarine Rate Books has Patrick as a rate payer from 1864 to 1882 and he also gets a mention in the Drysdale Courts Index in 1859, 1860,1862, 1865 and 1870. Post Office Directories for 1868 to 1870 show him in the Bellarine area.

It must have been shortly after 1882 that Patrick and his family, along with Mary Whelan, the wife of his eldest son, Jeremiah moved to the Tungamah/Boosey district. Jeremiah and Mary already had three children, Patrick John, Ellen and Denis Francis all born in the Bellarine district.

Patrick died on 17/11/1887 and is buried in the Tungamah Cemetery. After his death, his wife Mary lived with their youngest son Michael until her death on  2 January 1915 and she is also buried in the Tungamah Cemetery.

Patrick's headstone in the Tungamah Cemetery
(Unfortunately some time during 1999, this headstone fell over and broke)

Information on Patrick's Children:

Jeremiah Nancy Honora
Joanna Patrick Joseph Peter
Cornelius Honora Mary Hannah
Anne Daniel Michael Francis
Mary    

Patrick's Tree for this Generation


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