Introduction

On November 7th 1907 my Great Grandparents (George Edis and Mary Ann Kate Butler) set sail for a new life in Australia. I knew little about their journey or their life out in Australia other than the occasional story told to me by my Grandfather (Bert Butler) and by my Uncle Neville. Sadly neither are alive today. I have pieced the following together from shipping records, Australian records, newspaper reports and other people's historical accounts.

Why emigrate?

Prior to WW1, there was mass migration and travel was by boat. An estimated 25,000 British people emigrated to Australia every year between 1890 and 1914.

What did they know about Australia?

I am assuming that as poor agricultural labourers my great grandparents had little education and any stories of foreign places were passed on by word of mouth.

Reports from the times. Details for the Australian Handbook.

What was the journey like?

Shipping records from the times. Extracts from Catherine Bond's diary.

Life on the goldfields of Western Australia in the 1900s

'..not a tree, not a shrub, not a blade of grass; always brown sand.' Catherine Bond, an English woman, describing the area around Coolgardie in 1896 .

Coolgardie was at the heart of the Western Australian goldfields. Gold had been discovered in the area in the 1890s and prospectors rushed from all over the world to try to make their fortunes. In the early days, their lives were extremely harsh; many arrived in the area on foot and lived in hessian tents and huts. Water was in short supply and disease was rife.

By the time George and Kate Butler arrived a water pipeline had been laid and living conditions had improved tremendously. But it must have seemed a very alien landscape to the one they had left behind in England. For people who had grown up in such a fertile agricultural area of England it would have been difficult to cope with the arid and dusty Australian outback. And the heat must have really taken its toll.

At its peak in 1900, Coolgardie had 23 hotels, 3 breweries, 6 banks, 2 stock exchanges and 3 daily and 4 weekly newspapers. The population then was 15,000 with 25,000 more in the area. Deep mining was the norm.

Did they go with the view to making their fortune and returning to England or were they seeking a better life?
What happened to Selina and Joseph - Connie said they stayed as far as she is aware, but can't find anything definite in BMD.
Sidney Read Taylor's birth was registered in 1906 (Ref: Peterbro' 3b 215 April-June)
Sidney Read Taylor's death is registered in 1907 (Ref: Huntingdon 3b 135 October-December).

Creating gardens in the goldfields