An Australia Day 2025 Lunch with seafood at Yum Yum Cafe
I saw a suggestion a couple of years ago some family history
within an Australia Day theme. I decided
to get organised to write a bit about my husband’s family coming to Australia.
On his side the Fords, Hudsons and the Cassidys all came in
the second and third decades of the 1900s
My husband’s paternal grandparents Sidney Ford and Ethel Hudson
came as a married couple in 1913 just as the war was about to break out in
Europe, They had left from England where they both lived and had newly married.
He arrived to live officially in Melbourne on 20/6/1913 on a merchant ship Makarini.
He had travelled backwards and forwards before that in the Merchant Marines
between 1911 and 1913. Sid’s wife Ethel Hudson who arrived heavily pregnant gave
birth in Melbourne before arriving in Sydney soon after Alice was born.
James Cassidy arrived in Sydney 3/11/1927 on S.S.Hobsons
Bay
Do the the Fords and the Cassidys have Australian royalty?
Heaven forbid they were convict stock. Steve is an Australian mongrel. His relatives are largely English. Just so
happened his paternal grandfather Sid, was of British origin, but born while
his father worked on the Coast Guard in Donegal Island. No wonder they called
him Paddy.
Did any ancestors arrive under their own financial steam?
Yep, Paddy came out on a merchant ship (he jumped ship as
they say) and his wife followed. The Cassidys probably paid their own way.
Travel costs may have been paid by Hendersons who were looking for workers to
work in their hat factory.
How many came as singles?
James E Cassidy- grandfather was a widower. James came on the 3rd of
November 1927 leaving his motherless daughters, Winifred and Patricia back in
Bury , England with relatives. The girls were reunited with their father after
travelling to Australia unaccompanied under the watchful eye of a stewardess
after their father met and married May Davis.
May had come to Australia in 19 September 1926 with her
family from Bedworth in Warwickshire. James married the boss’ daughter!
How many came as couples?
Ethel Ford Nee Hudson arrived in December 1913 on the SS
Hobsons Bay H22. She had married Sidney in England and was expecting her first
baby by the time she arrived to meet up with her husband who had come across on
a merchant ship. She had to disembark to give birth in Melbourne. Then came the
happy reunion in Sydney with baby Alice.
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| Ethel's shipping documents 1913 |
Did one person lead the way and others followed? James E Cassidy found
himself a job and married the boss's daughter. Then his little daughters
Winifred and Patricia arrived in Australia in unaccompanied.
Wyn and Pat arrived on the 8th of December 1928 on the SS
Orsover via Ceylon, Columbia.. May had come to Australia in 19 September
1926.
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| Winifred's shipping documents - travelling unaccompanied |
What was the longest journey that they came to get here? They all
came from England directly.
Did any make two-step migration via another place?
No.
What state or colony did they arrive in? New South
Wales. All were aiming for Sydney. Ethel had a short stopover in Melbourne to
have her baby Alice.
Did they stay in their first state or did they move? All
made their homes in Sydney, Drummoyne and Ryde.
Do you have any first Australians in your tree? No.
Were any self-employed? Having seawater in his veins
Sidney the answer is No. Plying the
waters of Sydney Harbour on ferries was Sid's calling.
James fell into his job at Henderson Hats. It was a skill he
brought with him from Lancashire.
What skills or occupation did they make? Does anyone
still follow this occupation?
Sidney work on Sydney Ferries all his life.
Hats fell out of fashion in the 1960s and James moved on to
work as a watchman at Hoover in Meadowbank. However James's daughter Wynne did work in Hendersons before her
marriage . She met her future husband, Joe, via a note in the army hat she had
prepared that was issued to Joe during WWII. Patricia became a nurse.
Did any ancestors leave or go home? No. They all loved Australia and led
quite comfortable lives compared with their families back home.
Some questions for the Steve
What is your state of origin? New South Wales.
Do you still live here? Yep. Any special places you
like to holiday now? See other answers. Share your favourite spot in Oz
picture.
What's on your Australian holiday bucket list? I love a good railway
trip and I'm sure my wife has ideas.
How do you celebrate Australia Day? Surrounded by my
family, Aussie flags and after a few games eating a good barbecue.
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| The grandkids celebrating Australia Day 2021 in Yamba |
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