I have almost entirely British, Irish and European heritage, and know all my ancestors arrived in Australia as either immigrants, or convicts. The majority of the free settlers arrived between 1800 and 1858, many as assisted immigrants and some as unassisted. They all made a big decision when they chose to move and live on the opposite side of the world.

Some have been easier to trace than others, as the records can vary in detail, and some have names which are common. In total, I have 38 direct ancestors who immigrated. They’re summarised below.

Mooney: Catherine McMahon nee Mooney was a free settler aboard the convict ship Minerva. Her then husband Terence McMahon was a soldier guarding the convicts. He died in 1801 and Catherine went on to marry my 5x great-grandfather Patrick Humphreys, a convict.

Spears: William Spears, my 5x great-grandfather, arrived on the Earl Cornwallis in 1801. He had a common law relationship with Sarah Robinson which resulted in a daughter, Mary Spears. He was posted to Norfolk Island for a couple of years, where he began a relationship with Mary How/Howe who he married in 1806. They had a large family together.

Reynolds: My 5x great-grandmother Mary Ann Reynolds arrived as a free settler aboard the William Pitt in 1806. She, her mother Sarah Reynolds nee Goodson, and three siblings travelled to join her father Edward who’d been transported as a convict in 1800. Sadly, a reunion was not to be, as Edward appears to have moved on with his life in the intervening years. In 1814, Sarah returned to England with daughters Amelia and Eliza, travelling on the Seringapatam. Mary Ann remained in Sydney and married convict George Dowling.

Thurgate: William Thurgate, my 5x great-grandfather, was an English-born sailmaker who arrived on the Brothers in 1825, and married convict Margaret Boyle in 1825.

Harris/Grant: Primeiron Harris/Grant travelled aboard the Jolly Rambler with his uncle, aunt and cousins as unassisted immigrants from England. They arrived at the Swan River settlement in 1831, living there for a short period before moving to New South Wales. He married Julia Collins there in 1844.

Collins: The Collins family including my 4x great-grandparents Robert and Eliza, arrived in Sydney in 1833, with their three sons and a daughter, my 3x great-grandmother Julia. They were unassisted immigrants from Ireland, travelling on a barque called the Eliza.

Carruthers: The Carruthers family from Cumberland migrated to New South Wales aboard the Formosa in 1840. They included my 4x great-grandparents William and Cecilia and their eldest son, John. My 3x great-grandmother Sarah and another son and daughter were born in New South Wales.

1841 was a peak for migration, certainly in my family, with at least four different ships that year carrying my ancestors to the colonies.

Hawkins: My 3x great-grandmother Sophia Willard nee Hawkins came to New South Wales with her first husband George Willard. They travelled on the Queen Victoria, arriving in 1841. After George’s death in 1843, Sophia married convict Thomas Hodge. Sophia’s younger brother George also immigrated, I believe via Tasmania, as did their oldest sister Caroline, who arrived in Melbourne in 1858 with her husband Charles Bolwell and their children.

Kells: The Kells family from Ireland, including my 4x great-grandparents Richard and Elizabeth Kells, and 3x great-grandfather Robert William Kells, were assisted immigrants on the Sir Charles Napier in 1841.

Maloney: The Maloney family, my 4x great-grandparents Patrick and Bridget, and 3x great-grandmother Anne, came from Ireland in 1841 aboard the Orestes.

Moss: The Bussorah Merchant which arrived in 1841 brought members of the Moss family including my 3x and 4x great-grandfathers Thomas and John Moss.

Steed: My 3x great-grandfather Henry Steed was one of four siblings who migrated to Victoria. He arrived in 1852 aboard the Martin Luther. Older brothers Charles and Edward, and sister Selina, also emigrated to Victoria. Henry, who was a boot and shoemaker, later married Irish immigrant Anastasia White.

Ashby: In 1857, my 3x great-grandfather John Ashby migrated aboard the Aloe. He married Sydney-born Frances Johnson in 1863, but died in 1871 less than a decade later, at the age of 36.

Barton: Also in 1857, Ellen Barton arrived on the Vocalist. She married my my 3x great-grandfather Robert Kells the following year, and they sponsored her brother William Barton, who arrived on the Abyssinia in 1859.

King: Thomas King, from Devon in south west England, migrated to Victoria, arriving on the Helen Lindsay in 1853. He married Rebecca Gilligan eight years later. Their daughter Mary is my my 2x great-grandmother.

White: Anastasia White, my 3x great-grandmother, was a single woman who travelled from Ireland on the James Fernie. The ship first docked in Adelaide, but Anastasia made her way to Melbourne and later to Kyneton where she married Henry Steed in 1857.

Dennett/Southern: My 3x and 4x great-grandmothers Margaret Dennett and Elizabeth Dennett nee Lunt/Southern migrated aboard the Admiral Lyons in 1858, along with my 3x great-grandaunt Ellen Dennett. They were assisted immigrants sponsored by Elizabeth’s son William Southern.

Gilligan: Another Irish woman, my 3x great-grandmother Rebecca Gilligan, arrived on the Evangeline in 1860. She met and married Englishman Thomas King.

Ritchie: The most recent of my migrant ancestors are my grandmother Margaret, great-grandmother Connie and her two brothers, and my 2x great-grandparents David and Margaret Ritchie. They left the UK on 22 May 1924 on the Aberdeen Line‘s Euripides.

Johnson, McGrath and Toms: I have three ancestors who arrived in the 1800s whose arrival I’ve so far been unable to find. John Johnson, was a sailmaker who arrived sometime before 1844
—he might have arrived as crew and remained here. James McGrath was from Ireland, and clues suggest he arrived sometime between 1850 and 1856. Francis Philip Toms arrived from England between 1854 and 1857.

How many direct immigrant ancestors do you have? Have you been able to trace their immigration journey?

Select references

Assisted Immigration Introduced, National Museum of Australia Digital Classroom, https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/assisted-migration-introduced, accessed 17 February 2026.

Passenger arrival records, National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/immigration-and-citizenship/passenger-arrival-records, accessed 18 February 2026.

Shipping and passenger records, National Library of Australia, https://www.library.gov.au/research/family-history/family-history-research-guide/shipping-and-passenger-records, accessed 18 February 2026.

Assisted immigrants digitised shipping lists 1828-1896, Museums of History NSW, https://mhnsw.au/indexes/immigration-and-shipping/assisted-immigrants-digitised-shipping-lists-1828-1896/, accessed 18 February 2026.

Nicholson, Ian Hawkins. 1990, Log of logs : a catalogue of logs, journals, shipboard diaries, letters, and all forms of voyage narratives, 1788 to 1988, for Australia and New Zealand and surrounding oceans / by Ian Nicholson. The Author jointly with the Australian Association for Maritime History Yaroomba, Queensland.