→ George Robert Blinkco (1837, Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, England) → Sydney, NSW. Arrived: 1856.
Note: Emigrated to Australia on an assisted passage. a single man, arrived on the ‘Morayshire’ Departed: Southampton, England – 9 October 1855 Arrived: Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales – 19 January 1856 Family note: Sister Anne had emigrated to Adelaide SA in 1853 with husband Robert Steven’s and children
→ Sarah Reeves age 14 emigrated with her parents and siblings in 1857 on board the ship Alfred arriving in Melbourne
Travel party
Henry Reeves 36
Margaret Reeves 36
Sarah Reeves 14
Henry Reeves 12
John Reeves 8
William Reeves Baby
Homeplace dates
The Voyage
The ship Morayshire having left Southampton on October 9 1856 arrive in Sydney 19th January it seems it was a “fever free’ voyage and all arrived safely Historical note: Shortly after George disembarked in Sydney, the Morayshire was chartered for a historic government mission: The relocation of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island. The Passengers: 194 souls (including 96 males and 102 females). She left Sydney in February 1856 to pick up the descendants of the Bounty mutineers who had outgrown Pitcairn Island.
George Robert Blinkco a Farm Labourer age 19 from Swaffham Prior in Cambridge arrives in Sydney. Although George stated he had no relatives we do know that his sister Ann and her family had arrived in South Australia in 1853. The emigrant ship Morayshire arrived in Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales, on January 19, 1856. It had departed from Southampton, England, on October 9, 1855, carrying assisted immigrants to Australia.
The ships log unusually in my experience lists his birthplace and the parents of George ie Robert Blinco, b. Abt 1789, Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, Sussanah Jefferey, b. 1800, Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire leaving no doubt this is George Blincko.
The last column of the entry say £1 AI Act and refers to the act and the fee schedule in 1856
Under the Act at that time, the “contribution” paid by the immigrant (or their sponsor) was strictly based on age and occupation. For a single person in 1856, the fees were set as follows:
| Category | Age 12 to 40 | Age 40 to 50 |
| Agricultural Labourers (George’s class) | £1 | £5 |
| Shepherds / Herdsmen | £1 | £5 |
| Domestic Servants (Female) | £1 | £5 |
| Mechanics / Artisans (Blacksmiths, etc.) | £5 | £8 |
Woolongong, New South Wales
Wollongong in 1856 wasn’t that much different to Swaffam Bulbeck where George had come from a population in the 800 it was rather a big village around the harbour. Cedar wood cutting and Grazing its main occupations. An Agricultural Labourer George was likely used in one of these two main occupations.
Sarah Jefferey landed in Victoria in 1857 , and it seems to me was likely known to George because they came from adjacent villages in Cambridgeshire. Within walking distance from each other, she was younger and only 15 possibly 16 when then married in Wollongong St Michaels Church in December of 1858. The likelyhood that they already know each other is re-enforced by her arrival in Victoria and subsequent move to Wollongong in New South Wales.
On arrival in Wollongong George was likely immeadiately employed by one of the landowners in the area. The harbour had just started to ship coal and that would be a source of employment for the next generation but it seems George spent his life in Farm labourer work.
George and Sarah had nine children most in Wollongong in the 1860’s but a daughter Emily was born when George was 50 and Sarah 45 in Bulli, NSW
By the time he was retired George and Sarah were living inland at Sherbrooke and their last and very late child must have grown up there Sarah survivng George by 30 years
Timeline
| Event | Date/Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | George Robert Blincko | |
| Birth Date | 1837 | |
| Birth Place | Swaffham Prior, Cambridgeshire, England | |
| Census UK 1851 (30 Mar) | 30 Mar 1851, Swaffam Prior, Cambridgshire | Robert Blincoe 60 Head Ag Labourer Susan Blincoe 52 Wife George Blincoe 14 Son Ag Labourer |
| Emigrated | 1856, Sydney, NSW | Emigrated to Australia on an assisted passage. a single man, arrived on the ‘Morayshire’ Departed: Southampton, England - 9 October 1855 Arrived: Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales - 19 January 1856 Family note: Sister Anne had emigrated to Adelaide SA in 1853 with husband Robert Steven’s and children George Robert Blinkco a Farm Labourer age 19 from Swaffham Prior in Cambridge arrives in Sydney. Although George stated he had no relatives we do know that his sister Ann and her family had arrived in South Australia in 1853. The emigrant ship Morayshire arrived in Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales, on January 19, 1856. It had departed from Southampton, England, on October 9, 1855, carrying assisted immigrants to Australia. |
| Sarah Reeve Emigrated | 1857, Melbourne Vic | Sarah Reeves age 14 emigrated with her parents and siblings in 1857 on board the ship Alfred arriving in Melbourne |
| Marriage | 5 Dec 1858, Church of St Michaels, Woolongong, NSW | To Sarah Reeve |
| Birth of Daughter Mary Ann | 2 Dec 1861, Wollongong, NSW | |
| Birth of Daughter Eliza Jane | 21 Sep 1863, Wollongong, NSW | |
| Birth of Son John Jeffery | 1865, Wollongong, NSW | |
| Birth of Son George Henry | 27 May 1868, Wollongong, NSW | |
| Birth of Daughter Ada Francis | 1869, Woonona, NSW | |
| Birth of Son William Charles | 21 Sep 1870, Wollongong, NSW | |
| Birth of Daughter Elizabeth Margaret | 31 Dec 1873, Wollongong, NSW | |
| Birth of Son Charles Robert | 13 Jan 1875, Woonona, NSw | |
| Birth of Daughter Emily Avis | 9 Oct 1887, Bulli, NSW | |
| Death | 13 Jun 1889, Wollongong NSW |
Death Obituary
Bulli Anglican Cemetery
Bulli, City of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Descendants
Sources
- New South Wales Public Records
- Trove Newspaper archives
- Daphne Austin Blencowe Database
- Ancestry and Family Search
- Wollongong Heritage Study and the 1856 New South Wales Census
- Illawarra Heritage Trail and University of Wollongong (UOW) Archives.