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This research in Perth Australia was started after I was sent an old letter from Marjorie Corbett Allison which was found in her Uncle John's papers when he died. I did some preliminary research and did not make a connection in Perth Australia. I then heard of a column "Can you help?"in the West Australian Newspaper. I received an answer online from Terry Walsh who lives in Perth and was on holiday from work he did some excellent research. This page is a result of our combined efforts. Howick St
I came to West Australia in September 1853. I had correspondence with my brother John for 4 or 5 years after I arrived here but since then I have heard nothing of him nor of my two sisters or my brother Roger until I received your letter. I shall be very glad if you can give me any information about them. I got married 4 or 5 years after my arrival here and settled in Perth where I have remained ever since. I have six sons and one daughter living. Two of my sons (and also my daughter) are married. John Noonan came here years ago. He got married in this colony and afterwards went to Melbourne to his brother-in-law. He could have done well here but his wife persuaded him to leave. He went from Melbourne to New Zealand and died at Christchurch about 15 or 18 years ago. About the time John Noonan was here I received a letter from Pat Theilly from Rasmoro and also from Pat Condon who was a shoemaker in Rasmoro both of whom I believe are in New Zealand now. James Corbett Dee did not come to this colony.
I had ever heard anything of Patrick Conway, I remember him well but I don't think be came to Western Australia.
The two oldest sons John and Michael are on stations in the north of W.A. The third, James, is the Accountant in the office of Perth City Council and is married. Tom, my fourth, is also married. He is a blacksmith and lives at Fremantle the chief port of the colony about 12 miles from Perth. My daughter also lives at Fremantle and is married to the Railway Station Master there. I have one son, Patrick, living at home at present and Joe the youngest is a clerk in the Railway Department living at Fremantle.
James CORBETT. Born 1836 in Tipperary Ireland. Died 20 Dec 1908 in Perth Western Australia. Occupation Carpenter.
Bricklayer. (employed 2 T/L men 1864) Carpenter & builder 1860's-1870's. Bought his father-in-law's farm "Ravensdale" in 1878 after the latter's only son was lost at sea. Employed 10 T/L men at Perth & Wandering, 1868-1881 including 2 lime burners & 3 carpenters.
James married Ann HUGHES, daughter of John HUGHES & Sarah Monagh, 1858 in Perth Western Australia. Born About 1837. Died 2 Nov 1909 in Perth Western Australia. Her father was a convict and when he got his condition pardon he applied for his wife Sarah and his six children to come to West Australia. The family including Anna arrived in Fremantle on the 24 April 1857 per the "Travancore".
James Corbett and Ann Hughes had the following children:
John CORBETT (1859 - 3 Jan 1916) marr Mary Josephine BOLADERAS (1861 - 1883)
Michael CORBETT; Born 3 Aug 1860 in Perth Western Australia.
Worked for three years in his father's building business, also on his farm at Wandering. Had pastoral interests in Northwest "Warrawagine" then "Muccan Station". In 1907 bought "Telyarup" Broome Hill, stocking it with stud sheep, horses and pigs, touring Continent and USA in 1911 to acquire blood lines. 1910 at Port Hedland "Pier Hotel"
Chairman local Progress Assoc. JP, Member of Road Board. Chairman of Broome Hill Racing Club. RC
Mary CORBETT; Born 1862 in Perth Western Australia. Died 1863 in Perth Australia.
James CORBETT. Born 1863 Karrakatta Perth Western Australia.
Thomas CORBETT; Born 1866 in Perth Western Australia.
Ellen CORBETT; Born 1868 in Perth Western Australia.
Sarah CORBETT; Born 1871 in Perth Australia.
Patrick CORBETT; Born 1873 in Perth Western Australia.
Manager of "Telyarup" Gnowangerup for his brother, Michael. Member of the Road Board. Gave evidence 1917 to Royal Comm. on Agriculture Industries. RC.
Joseph CORBETT; Born 1877 in Perth Western Australia.
This 655 ton ship was built at Newcastle in 1835. It was employed as a convict transport for Western Australia and left London, England on May 1, 1853 bound for the Swan River Colony. She carried the tenth of 37 shipments of male convicts destined for Western Australia. The voyage took 110 days and the Robert Small arrived in Fremantle on August 19, 1853 with 99 passengers and 300 convicts [Erickson]. J.H. Walker and Harvey Morris were the captain and surgeon respectively.
HUGHES, John. Convict No2352. Ship Name. Phoebe Dunbar. Ship Arrival Date 20 Aug 1853. Birth Date 1803. Deceased 8 Nov 1880. Marital Status Mar 6 children
Occupation farmer. Sentence Date24 Jul 1851. Sentenced in the Province of Tyrone
Ireland. Length of Sentence 7years. Crime forgery on Bank of Ireland. Ticket of Leave Date 27 May 1862.
Butler Homestead
John Hughes, an ex-convict, cleared the land and built a limestone cottage, which was completed in 1855. The property was called "Ravendale" then "Bluebeard" and "Blue Hole Farm" because of the bluish colour of the water from his well.
In 1857 his wife Sarah arrived from Ireland with 5 of their children. In 1869 he purchased the land and became the first landowner in the area. Manning, Perry and Hamersley families were also early settlers in the area.
Thank you for visiting my page at Angelfire. Please come back and visit again!
THE CORBETT'S of PERTH AUSTRALIA
The hardship that these Irish convicts under went is beyond our experience. However their character and determination to better themselves comes through in the descendants who continue to contribute to the fabric of our society and culture.
Extracts from James Corbett's Letter to his New Zealand Cousin
Perth W.A.
27 Jan 189?
My Dear Cousin
My wife and children join me in sending fond love to you and your family.
Your affectionate Cousin James Corbett
Departed from Portland Arrived in Fremantle on the convict ship named "Robert Small" on the 19 Aug 1853. James Corbett Convict No.2241 Acc128/1-43. CORBETT (CORBITT) James (2241). B1826 D20.9.1908 Perth - Unemployed Carpenter, convicted County Tipperary 25.10.1850 for Cow Stealing, Sentenced to 15 years Ticket of Leave 28.7.1855; Conditional Pardon 31.7.1856 Perth. Married Ann Hughes 19.9.1858 Perth. Roman Catholic. Daughter of John Hughes.
Children
1. Mary CORBETT (1883 - 1883)
John CORBETT (1859 - 3 Jan 1916) marr Mary MURPHY (1863 - 1937)
Children
1. Gertrude Mary CORBETT (1900 - )
b. Perth, Western Australia; marr.
Catherine Jemina (nee Scanlan)
Notes for MICHAEL CORBETT:
He married Helena Boladeras.
Children
1. May Gertrude CORBETT (1889 -)
2. Josephine Mary CORBETT (1890 - 1893)
3. Edward Joseph CORBETT (1892 - 1893)
4. Hilda Mary CORBETT (1894 - 18 Dec 1983)
5. Kathleen Mary CORBETT (1895 - 1896)
6. Francis Joseph CORBETT (1896 -)
7. Lawrence James CORBETT (1896 - 29 Jan 1971)
8. Aileen Mary CORBETT (1900 -)
9. Gerald Aloysius CORBETT (1903 - 1904)
10. Ignatius Cyril CORBETT (1903 - 1905)
Died 1904 in Perth Western Australia.
She married William Guilfoyle, 1889.-)
Children
1. Ethel Mary GUILFOYLE (1890 -)
2. Wilfred GUILFOYLE (1894 -)
3. Joseph Hilary (1897 -)
Notes for PATRICK CORBETT:
Manager of "Telyarup" Gnowangerup for his brother, Michael. Member of the Road Board. Gave evidence 1917 to Royal Comm. on Agriculture Industries. RC.
4. Stillborn GUILFOYLE (1898 -)
5. Dorothy Anne GUILFOYLE (1899 -)
6. Eileen GUILFOYLE (1902 -)
7. Frederick James GUILFOYLE (1901 -)
Died 1873 in Perth Australia.
Died 30 Jul 1950 in Karramatta Western Australia.
He married Margaret Anastasia DWYER, 1904.
Notes for Patrick CORBETT:
The Convict ship Robert Small
There were ten deaths recorded on the convict shipping and description lists. They said eight men died at sea, one died in the harbour and one in the Convict Establishment Hospital. Michael Crolly (2051) was the harbour death; John Curren (2196) the hospital death; and John Reilly (2019), William Burke (2131), Patrick Donnellan (2138), John Dea (2171), Patrick Cullen (2205), Edmund Halley (2256), Michael Meehan (2268) and Thomas Beadle (2313) died at sea. Cholera and typhus were mentioned as the cause of death in some cases.
There were 309 convict numbers assigned for the voyage ranging from (2005 to 2313) but [Bateson] claimed that 312 convicts embarked and 303 arrived. The 8 deaths at sea and the death in the harbour tally with the [Erickson] arrival figure of 300.
Of the 99 passengers mentioned above, 98 were pensioner guards and their families, the number being made up of 29 pensioner guards, 23 wives, 20 sons and 26 daughters. The remaining passenger has not been accounted for but was possibly a cabin passenger or a regular soldier.
Harvey Morris' surgeon's journal for the voyage is preserved in the Public Record Office (PRO) in London. Researchers can view a copy on the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) microfilm reel 711, which is held in most major libraries and archives offices throughout Australia.
Tragedy struck the Hughes family when their son and his wife drowned as the ship on which they were traveling struck a submerged rock near Fremantle, on their way to WA.
John took the news so badly that in 1876 he left the farm. In 1878, John's daughter married James Corbett and they took over the ownership of the cottage for a holiday home. During the following 30 years the St Bridgid Sisters, from West Perth, used the cottage as a summer resort. John Hughes died in 1880 aged 75 years.
In 1916 the property was sold to an estate agent who rented it out until the last owner, Tom Butler, purchased it in 1933 and it became known as the "Butler's Dairy".
For many years the limestone cottage was left empty, and as the National Trust' s proposal to restore the cottage to its former glory was rejected, the oldest building in the area was bulldozed in 1967.
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