#OnThisDay in 1857 the Fitzjames arrived in Sydney with 98 single females and their chaperone on the passenger list. The Matron, Susan Austen, kept a diary of the voyage, recording the dramas which unfolded, the fights, the theft, the sea-sickness, the tantrums and the despair she felt at their behaviour.
Source: Ship Index.org. Fitzjames. https://www.shipindex.org/ships/fitzjames
In this episode of Archives Behind the Scenes Emily shows us some assisted passenger lists, in particular the Board's Passenger Lists of arrivals to Sydney that date from 1848 to 1896.
Learn about the wonderful resources we hold to help locate the arrival of an ancestor in NSW.
Matron Susan Austen was chaperone to 98 single women travelling as assisted immigrants onboard the Fitzjames, which arrived in Sydney on 1 April 1857. Her diary provides a glimpse of what it was like for young women to make the voyage from Plymouth to Sydney in the 19th Century. The voyage included sea-sickness suffered during stormy weather, tantrums, fights, theft and aggressive behaviour.
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