National Museum of Australia Library
Irish
in Australia
The Irish form the largest ethnic minority group in Australia. The
literature and research concerning this group is enormous, and only a
representative sample can be included in this bibliography.
This bibliography traces the
origins of the Irish in Australia,
through convict transportation, the exile of political prisoners, and the
arrival of free settlers. It attempts to deal with their influence on
Australian life in many areas, including politics, the arts, education, and the
military. In deference to Irish characteristics and stereotypes, there is
consideration of Irish resistance to authority, religious preoccupations, and
discrimination. Well-known Irish people are listed under the heading ‘notable
or notorious’. The most notorious was probably Ned Kelly, but the literature on
that one man is so extensive that listing any here would seem to be
superfluous.
Although extensive, this bibliography is necessarily a work in progress, and it is hoped that readers will advise the National Museum of Australia Library of omissions or deficiencies. All such communications should be addressed to
National Museum of Australia Library.
Some hyperlinks are to subscription services available in the NMA Library. Readers at NMA can access them directly by clicking on the link. External readers can only do this if their institution also has a subscription to the relevant service.
Compiled by National Museum of Australia Library, October 2007
Contents:
Arts, Culture and Literature
Adair, D,
'Conformity, Diversity, and Difference in Antipodean Physical Culture: The
Indelible Influence of Immigration, Ethnicity, and Race during the Formative
Years of Organized Sport in Australia,
c. 1788-1918', Immigrants and Minorities v.17 (1), Mar 1998,
pp.14-48. A study of the immigrant and
colonial relationships between ethnic groups and sports development in the
first 130 years of white settlement in Australia brings to the fore
crucial questions of identity, ethnic, national, majority and minority, and
shows how an imported sporting culture which celebrated Englishness was
mediated and transformed through the immigrant experience. Sport is the vehicle
for examining the early history of immigration to Australia, the relationships
between and within groups, and the negotiation of separate and shared
identities through sport. The study explores the themes of inclusion and
exclusion, focusing on the prominent ethnic or racial groupings in colonial Australia, the
English, other Britons (Scots, Welsh and Cornish), the Irish (Catholics and Protestants),
non-English speaking background (NESB) white immigrants (specifically Germans),
and NESB non-whites (Aborigines, Chinese and Pacific Islanders).
Byrnes, G, 'James McAuley's 'On
the Western Line' : The Irish-Australian Background', The Australian Journal
of Irish Studies v.2 2002, pp.35-47.
James McAuley (1917 - 1976) was an Australian
poet of Irish descent, the son of a Catholic father and Anglican mother. McAuley converted to Catholicism in 1951 and was active in
Australian Labor Party (ALP) politics. This article interprets McAuley's 'On the Western Line', an autobiographical
sequence of twelve poems written between 1962 and 1969, as an exploration of McAuley's difficult personal Irish Australian background
and his paradoxical relationship with Irish Australia. The Irish Australian
theme of the poems in 'On the Western Line' is brought out through frequent
references to issues of social and cultural allegiance, mental health and
associated behaviours, sectarianism, religion and Catholicism. The sequence
traces the evolution of the poet's relationship with his father from puzzled
childhood through youthful rebellion to reflective maturity. The Irish element
in McAuley's ancestry was presented to him as
something of a problem, which it did become in later life.
Byrnes, G, 'The Gaelic League in Australasia, 1893-1993', In
Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian
Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing
Press, 1994), 243-251 pp. This paper
traces the history of the Gaelic League in Australia, beginning with some
examples from Catholic publications in the decade preceding the foundation of
the Gaelic League. These articles were open to news of the Gaelic Revival and
included exchanges of material between Ireland,
America, New Zealand and Australia. The League was founded
on 31 July 1893 to promote the maintenance of Irish language and culture in Australia. The
author takes a brief look at the Sydney Gaelic League's Patrick Pearse Branch founded by Fr Michael Ryan in 1922 which was
by far the most successful Australian branch, with its school, monthly journal
and annual music festival.
Chetkovich, J, 'The Scattered Re-Gather: Irish Clubs in Perth, Western Australia
in the Late Twentieth Century', The Australian Journal of Irish Studies
v.1 2001, pp.70-80. Since 1947, Western
Australia (WA) has had the highest proportion of Irish born in its population
of any Australian
State. This article shows
how the development of Irish clubs in Perth,
WA reflected the changing
profile, needs and attitudes of WA's Irish immigrant population in the 1980s
and 1990s. The conservative, Nationalist Celtic Club, established in 1902, was
the only Irish club until 1950, when the Irish Club was formed to preserve
Irish culture and provide a link to the homeland for immigrants who saw
themselves largely as exiles. The scene changed in the 1980s as those who were
arriving were generally better educated and had a higher propensity to make
return visits to Ireland
than earlier arrivals. Irish theme pubs and cultural, business and sports
groups grew, encompassing a wider breadth of Irish pursuits with a strong
social component and an orientation to the present rather than the past.
Cronin, M, ''When the World Soccer Cup is Played on Roller
Skates': The Attempt to make Gaelic Games International: The Meath-Australia Matches of 1967-68', Immigrants and
Minorities v.17 (1), Mar 1998, pp.170-188.
Australian Rules and Gaelic football were developed in the 19th century
within the anti-colonial mission of independence. As national sports, they
were, and continue to be, important in creating and sustaining national
identity and underpinning national cultural difference. Without an international
outlet, however, they cannot be a source of the national pride and unity that
flows from international competition. In an attempt to overcome this dilemma,
efforts were made in the late 1960s to internationalise Gaelic games by
promoting competition between the similar codes of Australian rules and Gaelic
football. Despite the popularity of a series of Gaelic football matches in Ireland and Australia in 1967 and 1968, the
tours did not lead to on-going genuine international competition. The failure
of the attempted internationalisation is attributed to difficulties developing
an agreed common code and lack of support from the custodians of Australian
rules and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).
Devlin-Glass, F, 'A Digression on Orangeism?: Joseph Furphy's
Uses for Irish History in 'such is Life'', In Bull,P,
et al eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity
and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000), pp.221-231 In the late nineteenth century there were
firmly demarcated discursive boundaries constitutive of race, religious sects,
and class. This essay argues that chapter two of Joseph Furphy's novel 'Such is
Life' offers an analysis of the Orange (Protestant) Catholic debate that
reflects Furphy's counter culture anti-sectarianist, assimilationist views and
contributed to the debate on nation building of the time. A major plank of
Furphy's anti-sectarianism is his utopian belief that Orange
and Green sectarianism is an old world disease which ought not to be replicated
in Australia.
Furphy also argued that what in the Australian
landscape both physical and moral looks monotonous to the emigrant should be
seen as 'ungauged potentiality of resource'.
Edwards, R, The Big Book of Australian Folk Song, (Adelaide:
Rigby, 1976). [NMA 784.4994 BIG]
Fahey, W, Eureka:
The Songs that made Australia,
(Sydney: Omnibus Press, 1984). [NMA 784.0994 FAH]
Fitzpatrick, D, 'Exporting Brotherhood: Orangeism in South Australia', Immigration
and Minorities v.23 (2-3), Jul-Nov 2005, pp.277-310. The idea of fraternity and how to organise it
was an invisible export from 19th century Europe to the 'New
World'. This paper explores the international diffusion from Ireland of the
Loyal Orange Institution, with comparative reference to its model of Freemasonry.
Explanations proposed for its appeal outside Ireland are facilitating the
assimilation of emigrants, transmitting 'tribal' Irish animosities to fresh
contexts, or adapting itself to pre-existing sectarian rivalries and factional
conflicts. These hypotheses are investigated and tested using evidence from
South Australia (SA) where Orangeism was modestly successful, in the absence of
Ulster
immigration. A collective profile of the Loyal Orange Institution of South
Australia (established in 1874) is derived from Lodge records showing age,
religious denomination and occupation. The appeal of Orangeism is related to
local religious and political contexts in SA, and it was primarily an export of
organisational techniques rather than of Irish personnel or bigotry. (Edited
author abstract)
Harvey, P, 'Guest, Foreigner, Son: Vincent Buckley and the
Matter of Ireland', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and H
Doyle eds. Ireland
and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.208-220. Vincent Buckley, poet and
academic, represents an Australian exile from Ireland who became more troubled
with his lost past the further he explored it. This essay traces five stages in
Buckley's relationship with Ireland,
as reflected in his writings, from his youth in Victoria to the consolidation of his ideas
in 'Last Poems'. Buckley's parents avoided speaking of their Irish past, so
that for Buckley Ireland was
an absence that he spent his life trying to fill, seeking to know Ireland from
the inside and find his own identify there. Buckley's journey of discovery is
reflected in 'The Pattern' and 'Cutting Green Hay: Friendships, Movements and
Cultural Conflicts in Australia's
Great Decades'. 'Last Poems' gives the impression that Buckley was ever
striving for an Ireland of
his own, and that the answers to his questions could not be found in Dublin, the Irish
Jerusalem, because they were in himself.
Inglis, KS, The
Australian Colonists: An Exploration of Social History, 1788-1870, (Carlton,
Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1974) [NMA 309.194 ING EDWARDS 994.02 ING]
Kiernan, Colm ed. Australia and Ireland 1788-1988: Bicentenary Essays,( Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, c1986). [NMA
305.89162 AUS]
Kiesling,
SF, 'English Input to Australia',
In Hickey,R ed. Legacies of Colonial English :
Studies in Transported Dialects, (Cambridge:
Cambridge Univesity Press, 2004), pp.418-439. This study aims to determine what dialects
served as the parents of Australian English and how this variety became so uniform
throughout the continent, using the tools and theoretical constructs of modern
sociolinguistics, information on settlement patterns in Australia, and
a comparison of modern and early modern dialects. The generally accepted view
that the London English variety probably had the most influence on Australian
English is supported, with Irish English having a lesser contribution because
of the lower social status of its speakers. It is argued that, rather than
inheriting many features from a single south of England dialect, Australian English
reflects a levelling of most common dialects, with
subsequent changes accounting for class varieties. It is claimed that the
specific circulatory pattern of internal migration, traced back to the first
colony, produced a uniform envelope of variability. Varieties of Aboriginal
English evolved from pidginisation of Indigenous
Australian languages.
Lonergan,
D, 'Music Out of their Mouths : Irish Language Speakers in Colonial Australia',
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.3 2003, pp.23-32. English was not
widely spoken in late 18th century Ireland,
consequently Irish was the dominant language of convicts transported to Australia. This
article examines the use of Irish in colonial Australia, touching on its
political, religious, social, economic and cultural significance. Speaking
Irish in New South Wales (NSW) after the 1798 Irish rebellion was viewed with
suspicion by authorities, and the difficulty rural Irish convicts would have
had acquiring English gave rise to the stereotypical 'stupid' Irishman. It is
argued that although Irish was disappearing in Ireland
by the late 19th century, and its use in Australia
after losing its political overtones was largely unrecorded, it was kept alive
in Australia
throughout the 20th century. Continued immigration of native Irish speakers and
the activities of Irish language revivalists and enthusiasts make it likely
that the use of Irish in Australia
is greater in the early 21st century than ever before.
Macintyre, C, 'The Adelaide Irish and the Politics of St
Patrick's Day 1900-1918', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at
the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 182-196 pp. St Patrick's Day in
Adelaide, prior to World War 1, provided celebrations that were little more
than a regular march and a programme of sports and speeches. There was little
that was obviously Irish about the festivities. The South Australian Irish took
care not to alienate their host community by the promotion of overt ethnic
division. Yet, by 1918, a more pronounced political identification with the
Irish Nationalists had emerged and participants were invited to show their
'Sinn Fein spirit' and to make the day an 'Irish festival'. This article traces
the history of this change, making a connection between the burgeoning
political demands of the Home Rulers and the growing influence and importance
of the emergent nationalist cultural expressions of the Irish. The nature of
the conflict between the Irish and the British changed during the First World
War, so the cultural and political dimensions of St Patrick's Day marches and
the political concerns of the Irish in South
Australia changed. It was the Easter Week uprising
and its aftermath that acted to change the way Irish-Australians saw themselves
and their relationship with the rest of the broader Australian community. The
fear of alienating the broader community had disappeared. (Author abstract)
MacLennan,
HD, 'Gu Fearann an Oir: To the Land of Gold [Scottish Emigration to Australia]',
Journal of Australian Studies (68), 2001 2001,
pp.44-53. Thousands of Scottish
emigrants who settled in Australia
in the nineteenth century brought with them a mix of Scots, highlander and
Gaelic identity and heritage, including language and sports such as the
traditional Scottish shinty. Cultural identity was
maintained through the establishment of Caledonian societies with their
highland games and gatherings. Ultimately however the number of people shipped
abroad by the highland and Island Emigration Society (HIES) did not provide the
critical mass necessary to sustain ethnic traditions, and the highland games
evolved from ethno-cultural tools of Scottish reinforcement to community
celebrations on a wider scale, with the marginalisation
of traditional sports like shinty in favour of new
'Australian' sports like football. This paper argues that shinty
survived to a greater extent than previously acknowledged, and that the
contribution of Gaelic culture to Australia's heritage in the wider
context has been underestimated. The situation is contrasted with that of Irish
culture and sport.
Manifold, JS, The Penguin Australian Song Book, (Ringwood,
Vic.: Penguin Australia, 1964). [NMA 784.4994 PEN]
McCarthy, N, 'Irish Rules: Gaelic Football, Family, Work
and Culture in Western Australia',
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.3 2003, pp.33-48. St Finbarr's Gaelic Football Club was formed in Perth, Western
Australia (WA) in 1972 with the aim of providing a
sporting outlet for Irish immigrants and a tangible link to Irish heritage
through sport. Modelled on the Gaelic Athletic Association for the Preservation
and Cultivation of National Pastimes (GAA), St Finbarr's
promoted itself as a family club by constructing an identity that encompassed
ethnicity, religion, work and sport. This article examines the cultural role of
GAA, the second largest organisation in Ireland
after the Catholic Church and arguably Ireland's most important cultural
institution, and the intersection of sport and society within St Finbarr's. It is argued that in providing a focus for
social interaction and support, St Finbarr's played a
prominent role in the construction and reinforcement of popular Irish culture,
identity and community in WA.
Molloy, F, 'The Celtic Twilight in Australia', The
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.1 2001 2001,
pp.99-106. In the era of agitation for
Home Rule in Ireland,
the Australian media debated where the loyalties of Irish Australians should
lie. Irish cultural distinction through Celtic literature was strongly advanced
by some. The 'Celtic Twilight' was a poetic movement promoting Irish folklore
and mythology that was bound up with Irish nationalism. This article questions
the extent to which Irish Australian poets such as Victor Daley and Roderic Quinn were influenced by the movement. Examination
of their work suggests that despite their Celtic influences, Daley and Quinn
did not seek careers in an ethnic poetic enclave and saw themselves as
Australian poets. The 'Celtic Twilight' was successful in Ireland but remained an Irish phenomenon and did
not become firmly established in Australia which had its own destiny
to pursue. The movement did not reflect the actualities of colonial life and
was of little relevance to the lives of Irish Australians.
''Affection's Broken Chain' : The Irish and Colonial
Poetry', The Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.2 2002 2002, pp.122-134. This article explores attitudes of
nineteenth century Irish immigrants towards their homeland and towards their
adopted land of Australia,
as expressed in poetry of the time. An Irish presence in Australian poetry can
be dated to the early 1800s. The early poetry reflected two alternative
responses to migration, restless rebellion that cannot shake off the homeland,
and enthusiastic assimilation. Indeed, these themes recur in poetry throughout
the colonial period. From the 1820s, Irish bushranger ballads celebrated
rebellion of the convict Irish, and adaptations of Gaelic poetry glorified a
distant land that contrasted with antipodean isolation and joylessness. By the
late nineteenth century, nostalgia was accompanied by awareness of a new
identity, a dual loyalty that proclaimed Ireland
as their home but Australia
as their country. The transfer of identity from Ireland
to Australia
was not yet contemplated, but by the 1880s the Irish Australian psyche had
moved firmly towards integration.
'A Woman's Place: Irish Australian Women in the Novels of
Ruth Park, Criena Rohan,
and Ann Clancy', Remembered Nations,
Imagined Republics: Twelfth Irish-Australian Conference, Galway, June
2002 Irish Australian authors Ruth Park, Criena Rohan (Deirdre Cash) and
Ann Clancy wrote in different times between the 1940s and the 1990s, but all
three located their narratives firmly in a place and time. This article
explores how and to what extent their heroines' Irish origins shaped the
characters' responses to the circumstances in which they found themselves.
Park's 'The Harp in the South' and 'Poor Man's Orange', Rohan's
'Down by the Dockside' and Clancy's 'The Wild Colonial Girl' all follow the
fortunes of young single women, women on the threshold of life with some
similarities to the authors themselves. What the authors made of their
characters was largely determined by the authors' own views on the role of
women in Australian society, views that have changed radically from Park's
1940s to Rohans's 1960s and to Clancy's 1990s.
O'Connor, A, 'Memory and Cultural Identity: Collecting
Folklore in Australia',
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.286-292. This article reports on a folklore collection
project that aimed to determine whether it is possible to identify the
contribution of Irish folklore to the folklore of Australia, and to the construction
of an Irish-Australian cultural identity or identities. The collection aimed to
cover the breadth of the diversity of the Irish experience in Australia.
Material was collected in six major areas, family background and settlement
history, religion and religious practices, festivals, rituals, including birth,
marriage and death customs, stories and sayings, and songs and music. The
constitution of identity is a complex, dynamic and often transformational
process. The preservation of traditions by remembering, communicating and
performing folklore produces shared understandings, memories and identities
that are continuously being re-shaped and re-created.
O'Connor, L, ''The Hooligans' of Australia and Cathleen Ni
Houlihan: '98 Insurgency, Song, and Clan Remembrance', In Bull, P, F
Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in
Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.71-79. The Irish race, though
scattered, is held together by song. This essay explores the role of song in
shaping an oppositional political will and common memory among the diasporate Irish, focusing on the tension between
spontaneity and political consciousness in political balladry. Around the close
of the nineteenth century, the play 'Cathleen Ni Houlihan', by W.B. Yeats and
Lady Gregory, was released coincidentally with the circulation of the neologism
'hooligan', apparently derived from an Irish Australian song 'The Hooligans'.
Both names are from the Gaelic clan name O'hUallachain.
The author explores three themes, the relationship between the anglicisation of Ireland and the stereotyping of the
Irish as violent atavists, the ambiguously amnesiac and mobilising
impact of political balladry, and selective remembrance in commemorative
discourse, through a comparison between the rallying force of the song and the
play and the O'hUallachain clan war cry.
O'Mahony,
B and G Box, 'From Behind the Scenes to Behind the Bar: The Cultural
Contribution of Migrant and Transitory Employees to Irish Theme Pubs', In Bertone, S and H Casey eds. Migrants in the New Economy:
Problems, Perspectives and Policy, (Melbourne: Victoria University.Workplaces
Studies Centre, 2000), pp.131-151. The popularity of Irish theme pubs in Melbourne, Victoria
has resulted in a major growth within this sector with a subsequent benefit to
the Victorian economy. This study sought to identify the reasons why people are
attracted to Irish pubs. The study found that the majority of respondents
believed that a visit to an Irish theme pub provided an insight into Irish
culture. In addition, most of the respondents identified Irish pub staff as an
important component of the service experience. This is in contrast to the
traditional role of migrants as 'back of house' staff in many hospitality
establishments such as hotels. Irish pub operators indicated that current equal
opportunity legislation was a barrier to the recruitment of Irish born
employees. An examination of the legal issues involved suggests that Irish pub
owners may be in a position to argue for an exemption from the legislation.
(Edited author abstract)
Richards, E, 'An Australian Map of British and Irish
Literacy in 1841', Population Studies v.53 (3), Nov 1999, pp.345-359.
This contribution to the study of literacy transition in Britain, Ireland
and Australia
also touches on the relationship between literacy and international migration.
Some 20,000 emigrants arrived in Australia
in 1841 and their literacy is here established at the individual level, and
then related to regional origins, occupations, religion, sex and family status
in the British Isles. The new Australian data
offer unusual evidence to juxtapose with the prevailing account of British and
Irish literacy. The paper makes systematic comparisons of the immigrant evidence
with existing literacy findings for the populations of England and Wales,
of Ireland, and the colonial
population of Australia
in the year 1841. The results also show extraordinary similarity of rank
orderings between the Australian data and the conventional sources. The results
show that the immigrants were consistently more literate than the home and the
receiving populations and indicate a substantial link between migration and
literacy. (Author abstract)
Semmler,
C, 'From Dublin to the Bush (on the Irish Influence in Australian Ballads)', Quadrant
(Sydney) v.23, Jan/Feb 1979, pp.48-53.
Strugnell,
M, 'It's a Long Way from Home: Irish Exiles in Australian Drama', In
Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian
Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing
Press, 1994), 111-119. Vincent Buckley,
in an article entitled Imagination's home developed the concept of a 'source
country' from which people derived their most meaningful images, feelings and religious
impulses. Strugnell explores this concept from the
viewpoint of Irish exiles in Australian drama. With the exiles came a sense of Ireland's long history of persecution, and an
adherence to the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church with which the
history, language, social structures and mythology of Ireland were
intricately woven. In analysing the work of playwrights Peter Kenna (The Slaughter of St. Teresa's Day and A Hard God),
Barry Oakley (The Feet of Daniel Mannix) and John O'Donoghue
(A Happy and Holy Occasion), Strugnell examines the
tensions between the 'home' of their characters' imagination and the Australian
reality in which they find themselves focusing particularly on the dilemma of
the children of Irish exiles. (Author abstract)
Williams, C, 'Moran, Mannix and St Patrick's Day [Cardinal
Patrick Moran and Cardinal Daniel Mannix]', In Bull, P, F Devlin-Glass and H
Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity
and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000), pp.143-151. From the end of
the nineteenth century the Catholic Church sought to transform the 'Irish
National Celebration' on St Patrick's Day into a demonstration of the strength
and unity of the Catholic body in Australia. Cardinal Moran of Sydney and Cardinal Mannix of Melbourne recognised the significance of the
celebrations in fostering a collective identity and memory among Irish
Catholics. This essay explores the relationship between the church and St
Patrick's Day in Melbourne and Sydney in the early decades of the twentieth
century, the impact that the onset of clerical control had, and how this
differed between the two cities. Although some scholars have argued that
clerical control of St Patrick's Day eroded authentic Irishness from the
celebrations, the church's role in sustaining ties between Ireland and Irish
Australians should be acknowledged, and Irishness and Catholicism seen not as
opposing but interdependent, complementary elements of Irish Catholic identity
in Australia.
Wooding, JM, 'Irish-Australian
Monuments and the Discourse of the
Celtic Revival', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the
Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 1-14. Grave markers, ornamented tombs and
churches may be seen as objects which are interactive with social discourse, or
which contribute to the formation of cultural identity. In this paper, the
author looks at Irish-Australian monuments from two viewpoints - the first
being 'contribution' commemoration, that is, a contribution to Australian
history by reminding the viewer of an Irish presence; the second being
'compensation' history which is concerned with retrospectively commemorating
the deeds of forgotten individuals. Wooding discusses various Irish-Australian
monuments around Australia,
linking them to the Celtic Revival. Of particular interest are monuments such
as the 1798 Monument at Waverley, a shrine to the Fenian tradition, used as an
example of 'compensation' history, and the crypt of Sydney's St Mary's
Cathedral used as an example of 'contribution' history. The use of round towers
and high crosses in Church architecture, and the use of ornament in Australia paralleled Celtic Revival interests in
Europe.
'The 'Language in which they Spoke in '98': The Irish
Language and the Centenary of 1798 in Ireland and Australia', In Bull, P, F
Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in
Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.64-70. One of the more compelling
debates of the bicentenary of 1798 has been over the role of the Irish language
in the 1798 rising. In Ireland
in 1798 the Irish language was a basic means of communication for people of all
faiths and classes, but was neither synonymous with separatism nor had achieved
sufficient minority status to be useful as a vehicle for covert discourse. This
essay explores the complexities of the role of Gaelic revival discourses in '98
centenary histories and monuments, with particular reference to the Australian
'98 centenary celebration, and the degree to which the language was used as
covert discourse or promoted as a symbol of nationalism. It is concluded that
the Irish language should be made a part of the historiography of the 1898 centenary
Return to Contents
Australian Capital
Territory
Lehane, R, Irish Gold: A Tale of
Two Pioneer Families, (Charnwood, ACT: Ginninderra Press, 2002).
Reid, R and A Fitzgerald, 'Ireland
and Australia
-Series of 2 Parts-: Part 1: Irish/ Australians since 1788 have been Famous and
Infamous. Part 2: Irish Links with the Canberra District', Canberra Times, 4 June 1985: 10
4 June 1985: 11.
Return to Contents
Bibliographies and References
Australia/Irish
Web Pages, (2007) http://users.bigpond.net.au/kirwilli/aussieirish/aussie_irish.htm
Bolton, G, 'The Irish in Australian Historiography', In Kiernan,C ed. Australia
and Ireland,
1788–1988, (North Ryde, N.S.W.: Angus and Robertson, 1984). [NMA 305.89162
AUS]
Centre for Irish Studies, (Murdoch University. Centre for Irish Studies, 2007), www.soc.murdoch.edu.au/cfis
Griffith University. Faculty of Arts, 2914HUM
P: The Irish in Australia
[Study Guide], Revised 2003/2, (Griffith
University, 2003).
Irish Australia on the Web, (2005) http://www.irishaustralia.com/
Irish Convicts to Australia: Links to Australian
Convict Sites, (2007) http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/austlinks.htm
Macdonagh,
O and others, 'Irish [History of Australia's Irish Community]', In Jupp, J ed. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of
the Nation, its People and their Origins, 2nd ed, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001),
pp.443-486. [NMA REF F 994 AUS] The
first Irish to come to Australia
arrived on convict ships, and it is estimated that between 1791 and 1867 some
40,000 male and female convicts were transported from Ireland to Australia,
and a further 8,000 to 10,000 Irish born convicts were transported from England.
Thus began the legacy of the Irish in Australia. This article examines
the economic, social and political conditions in Ireland
in the 18th and 19th centuries and the circumstances which prompted mass
emigration from Ireland
between 1840 and 1914. Specific attention is paid to the Irish women immigrants
in the 19th century, the Irish character of the Australian Catholic Church,
Irish-Protestant settlement, Anglo-Irish, Irish in Victoria and New South Wales
(NSW) in the 19th century, Irish in Australian politics, Irish influences on
Australian culture, Irish immigration after 1945, emigration from independent
Ireland to Australia from 1922 to 1970 and modern Irish in Western Australia
(WA).
'Places of Birth [List of People of Irish Birth in the
Australian Dictionary of Biography]', In Ritchie, J ed. Australian
Dictionary of Biography: 12 Vols and Index 1788-1939, (Melbourne: Melbourne
University Press, 1991), pp.146-153.[NMA REF 920.094 AUS Index].
Press, K, Bibliography for Researching Irish Family
History in the Victorian State Library, (Malvern, Vic.: Kate Press,
1994). In her introduction to this
excellent book, author Kate Press states that `it is the result of many years
of research' and this is easy to believe when you scan through the pages which
are crammed with summaries of the books and other resources of use in
researching Irish Family History held in the Victorian State Library. The holdings naturally have been grouped into
appropriate classifications but it doesn't end there; each classification has
an introduction giving the history and background to the resources contained
therein, related resources and where they can be accessed if not held by the
Victorian State Library. Research hints and examples are scattered throughout
the text at the appropriate points, to demonstrate the usefulness of the
various records.’
University Theses on Irish Topics, (Murdoch University. Centre for
Irish Studies, 2007), http://www.soc.murdoch.edu.au/cfis/
Return to Contents
Convict
Era
Adam-Smith, P, Heart
of Exile Ireland, 1848, and the Seven
Patriots Banished ... (Melbourne: Nelson, 1986). [NMA 941.5081 ADA]
Amos, K, The Fenians in Australia 1865-1880, (Kensington,
N.S.W.: New South Wales University Press, 1988). [NMA 994.0049162 AMO]
Bolton, G, 'The Fenians are Coming, the Fenians are Coming', Studies in
Western Australian History (4), Dec 1981, pp.62-67.
Christie, EM, The Fenian Prisoners in Western Australia: Extracts Relating to
their Escape by the American Barque 'Catalpa', 1876, (1955)
Collins, P, Hell's Gates: The Terrible Journey of
Alexander Pearce, Van Dieman's Land Cannibal, (South Yarra, Vic.: Hardie Grant
Books, 2002). [NMA 365.6092 COL]
Costello, C, Botany
Bay: The Story of the Convicts Transported from Ireland
to Australia,
1791-1853, (Cork: Mercier, 1987).
Davis, R, 'Unpublicised Young
Ireland Prisoners in Van Diemen's Land', Papers and Proceedings (Tasmanian
Historical Research Association) v.38 (3-4), Dec 1991, pp.131-137.
Davis, RP, Revolutionary Imperialist: William Smith
O'Brien 1803-1864 (Darlinghurst, N.S.W: Crossing
Press,1998). [NMA 941.5081 DAV].
Devoy, J,
P Fennell and M King, John Devoy's Catalpa
Expedition, (New York: New York University
Press, 2006). "The story of John Devoy's 1876 Catalpa rescue is a tale of heroism,
creativity, and the triumph of independent spirit in pursuit of freedom. The
daily log on board the whaling ship Catalpa begins with the typical recount of
a crew intact and a spirit unfettered, but such quiet words deceive the truth
of the audacious enterprise that came to be known as one of the most important
rescues in Irish American history. John Devoy's men
aided in the break-in and subsequent rescue of Irish political prisoners from
the Australian coast, allowing millions of fellow Irishmen and
American-Fenians, many of whom secretly financed the dangerous plot, to draw
courage from the newly exiled prisoners."; "Philip Fennell and Marie
King, both descendants of a pardoned Fenian prisoner, tell the story from John Devoy's own records and from the ship's logbooks. John Devoy's Catalpa Expedition includes an introduction by
Terry Golway and the personal diaries, letters, and
reports from John Devoy and his men."--BOOK
JACKET.
Donohoe,
JH, The Convicts and Exiles Transported from Ireland,
1791-1820, ([Sydney]:
J.H. Donohoe, 1990). [NMA REF 929.394 DON]
Gapps, S,
'Performing the Unknown: The Re-Enactment of the 1804 Battle of Vinegar Hill. [the Combination of
Live Performance and History can Work Wonders.]', History Australia v.1
(2), July 2004: 308-313. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200406788>.
Glover, M, A MacLochlainn and
Tasmanian Historical Association, Letters of an Irish Patriot: William Paul
Dowling in Tasmania, (Sandy Bay,
Tas.: Tasmanian Historical Research Association,
2005). [NMA 994.6031 LET]
Graham, M and D Bamford,
'Chartists and Young Irelanders: Towards a Reassessment of Political Prisoners
in Van Diemen's Land', Papers and
Proceedings (Tasmanian Historical Research Association) v.32 (2), June
1985:, pp.68-74.
Hall, B, A Desperate Set of Villains: The Convicts of
the Marquis Cornwallis, Ireland to Botany Bay
1796, (Coogee, N.S.W.: B. Hall, 2000).
A Nimble Fingered Tribe: The Convicts of the Sugar Cane,
Ireland to Botany
Bay, 1793, (Coogee,
N.S.W.: B. Hall, 2002). [NMA 929.3944 HAL]
Of Infamous Character: The Convicts of the Boddingtons, Ireland to Botany Bay,
1793, (Coogee, N.S.W.: B.
Hall, 2004).
Death Or Liberty: The
Convicts of the Britannia: Ireland
to Botany Bay 1797, (Coogee, N.S.W.: B. Hall, 2006). [NMA
929.3944 HAL]
Halls, C, 'The Great Escape: Fenians at Fremantle 1868-1876',
Port of
Fremantle v.7 (4),
1982, pp.14-18.
Harrison, J, 'Governors, Gaolers and Guards: Irish Soldiers
at Moreton Bay, 1824-42', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at
the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,
R ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 300-310 pp.
This paper looks at the Irish members of the six British foot regiments
which administered the Moreton
Bay penal settlement
between 1824 and 1842. These regiments were the 4th, the 17th, the 28th, the
40th, the 57th and the 80th. By analysing the backgrounds of the Irish members
of the foot regiments, Harrison provides case
studies which reveal several similarities between the soldiers who had the
responsibility of guarding convicts and the convicts themselves. Examples are:
the Irish soldiers came from precisely the same townlands and parishes in Ireland as the convicts; both groups were
serving in institutions, strictly bound by rules and regulations administered
by the British government; and both had come to Australia under orders. Harrison cites many other similarities, and considers the
implications of such similarities when assessing the relationship between the
two groups. It would not have been unusual for some of them to have known each
other in Ireland, and to
continue their friendship at Moreton
Bay. Because there were
only two classes of people at Moreton Bay, Harrison suggests that some of the
goodwill which existed there, could be attributed to the similarities between
some of the governors, gaolers and guards and their prisoners due to shared
Irish origins.
''I Beg Leave to Acquaint You': Irish-Australian
Improvements to Convict Transportation', In Bull,P, F
Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland
and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000). In its
management of convict transportation, the British Government was primarily
concerned with despatching criminals onto vessels in the most economical way
possible. As receiving agents, it was the colonial authorities in New South Wales and Tasmania who were most aware of problems
arising during transportation and potential solutions. This article reviews the
progress in improvement of conditions for transported convicts, highlighting
the initial difficulties in getting officials in London to respond to recommendations from
colonial authorities, and the factors which opened the way for reform from
1820. Irish prison medical officer, Dr Edward Trevor, and Australian officials
including William Redfern, initiated improvements in health, education, and
gainful employment of prisoners before, during, and after their transportation,
which set sound precedents for migrant ships. Other issues addressed included
misconduct by captains who sold goods intended for transportees or official
use, and transmission of information about convicts.
Howard, P, To Hell Or to Hobart, (Kenthurst,
NSW: Kangaroo Press, 1993). [NMA 941.5081 HOW]
Irish Convicts to Australia: Links to Australian
Convict Sites, (2007). http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/austlinks.htm
Keely, V,
Dixon of Botany
Bay: The Convict Priest from Wexford, (Strathfield,
N.S.W.: St Pauls Publications, 2003). [NMA 282.415092
KEE] The remarkable story of James Dixon an Irish priest wrongly accused and
convicted of taking part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and transported to Australia.
Keneally,
T, 'The Great Shame [Irish Emigration]', The Sydney Papers v.11 (1),
Summer 1999, pp.85-94. This article
discusses the author's book entitled The
Great Shame. The purpose of the book is to recount part of the history of
Ireland in terms relevant to Australia, in terms which make everyone's
motivation, from Westminster's to that of the most remote rural protestor in
Western Ireland, credible. It seeks to set the record of how many of the crimes
committed by the Irish arose from a sense of being trapped in a marginal
condition in a disastrously maladministered society. To illustrate this
history, it examines the careers of particular convicts to illustrate how Australia, and later America, acted upon some of the
political dissidents, and the way new countries made their own scale of demands
upon the newcomers.
Kiely, B,
The Waterford Rebels of 1849: The Last Young
Irelanders and their Lives in America,
Bermuda and Van Diemen's Land, (Dublin:
Geography Publications, 1999). [NMA EDWARDS 941.91 KIE].
Kiernan, Colm ed. Australia and Ireland 1788-1988: Bicentenary
Essays, ( Dublin:
Gill and Macmillan, 1986). [NMA 305.89162 AUS]
Kiernan, TJ, The Irish Exiles in Australia, (Melbourne: Burns
& Oates, 1954).
McIntyre, P, ''Reduced to Great and Deep Distress':
Families Abandoned because of Transportation to New South Wales', Australian Journal of
Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.152-161.
Many Irish women and children were left with no means of support when
their husbands and fathers were transported to New South Wales (NSW). This
article examines the plight of these families and their options for government
or non-government assistance. Some wives, such as Julia Whitehill,
were able to join their husbands in NSW under a policy of family reunion based
on good behaviour by the convict husband and respectability and moral behaviour
on the part of the abandoned wife. This policy continued for some years after
the official end of transportation in 1840. However, as Ireland lacked a parish
relief system and the Poor Law and workhouse system were introduced too late to
help most convict families, those remaining behind were vulnerable to poverty,
depending with variable success on the limited and selective charity of
voluntary organisations or the support of relatives, landlords, neighbours and
friends.
McQueen, H, 'Convicts and Rebels', Labour History
v.15 November 1968, pp.3-30.
Mitchel,
J and P O'Shaughnessy, The Gardens of Hell: John Mitchel
in Van Diemen's Land 1850-1853, (Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Kangaroo Press, 1988). [NMA 941.50810924
MIT]
Moore, A, 'Phil Cunningham: A Forgotten Irish-Australian Rebel
[this is the Text of a Presentation Delivered at 'Remembering Vinegar Hill'
Seminar, Blacktown City Council, 7 March 2004.]', Hummer (Sydney) v.4
(2), Winter 2004, pp.7-12. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200409924>.
Murray, R, 'Sydney's Brush with Bonaparte', Quadrant
(Sydney) v.48 (1-2), Quadrant (Sydney), v.48, no.1-2: 34-41. http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200400670; http://www.quadrant.org.au/php/archive_details_list.php?article_id=584 [NMA S 052 QUA].
O Luing, S, Fremantle Mission,
(Tralee, Ireland: Anvil Books, 1965).
O'Donnell, R, 'Michael Dwyer: Wicklow
Chief and Irish-Australian Hero', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan, R ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 206-217.
Michael Dwyer has the status of Australia's premier Irish hero
figure. The most dramatic representation of this status within Australia is his tomb, Waverley Cemetery's
Patriot's Monument which commemorates heroes of the 1798 Rebellion. This
biographical article traces his involvement with the United Irishmen and the
events of the Rebellion. Many accounts have been written of Michael Dwyer, and
his literary potential as a figure of romance and adventure attracted much
interest from poets, travel writers and novelists who used the material offered
by his countless escapes and magnanimous acts which had made him a folk hero in
Wicklow. In 1805, he was transported to New South Wales and in
1806, he became one of the leading members of the Irish community and
associated with other successful compatriots. He remained in Australia until his death in 1898.
O'Donnell, R and B Reece, ''A Valuable Man' : James Meehan,
United Irishman', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and H
Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity
and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000), pp.48-63. James Meehan was a United Irishmen rebel who
was convicted of treason in 1798 and rose from Irish Australian convict to
become the deputy surveyor general of colonial New South Wales (NSW). This
essay explores why, in spite of his considerable material achievements, Meehan,
known as Jimmy or Jemmy Mane, is almost forgotten in
Australian historical writing, and argues that the significance of his Irish
and colonial careers has not been fully appreciated. Meehan's role in the
United Irishmen is summarised. In NSW, Meehan avoided any involvement in United
Irish politics, and his education, surveying skills, integrity and energy made
him invaluable to successive governments for almost 20 years.
O'Farrell, P, 'The Irish in Australia: Some Aspects of the
Period 1791-1850', Descent v.7 (2), March 1975.
Pease, ZW, The Catalpa Expedition, (Carlisle, W.A.: Hesperian Press, 2002). [NMA 365.0994
PEA]
Perkins, H, The Convict Priests, (Rosanna, Vic.: H.
Perkins, 1984). [NMA 282.0922 PER]
Petrow,
S, 'Island Prison: John Mitchel in Van
Diemen's Land', Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.3
2003, pp.62-78. John Mitchel
was an Irish rebel who was transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1849. This article analyses Mitchel's experiences as an Irish Exile and his responses
to them, as recorded in his 'Jail Journal'. 'Jail Journal' is considered
important on many levels, having been a source of strength for Mitchel, and now providing a literate and insightful
historical political and social commentary and a symbolic statement of Irish
determination and defiance. Although Mitchel resented
captivity, he adjusted to his new surroundings and developed an environmental
awareness. Holding strong anti-transportation views, Mitchel
distinguished himself from the convicts, whom he considered were too
well-treated. Eventually able to bring his family out and establish a farm, he
enjoyed comparative liberty in the companionship of fellow Irish Exiles.
However, Mitchel longed for true liberty and tired of
the Englishness of Van Diemen's Land, and escaped to the United States (US) in
1853.
'Men of Honour?: The Escape of the Young Irelanders from Van Diemen's Land. [Paper in Special Issue: Escape:
Essays on Convict Australia.]', Journal of Australian Colonial History
v.7 (2005), pp.139-160. http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200607427
Reece, Bob ed. Exiles from Erin: Convict Lives in
Ireland and Australia, (Basingstoke:
Macmillan, 1991). [NMA 365.3409415 EXI]
Irish Convict Lives, (Sydney: Crossing
Press, 1993).
The Origins of Irish Convict Transportation to New South Wales, (Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001). "This study explores the pre-history of
Irish convict transportation to New
South Wales which began with the Queen in April 1791.
It traces earlier attempts to revive the trans-Atlantic convict trade and the
frustrated efforts by Irish authorities to join in the Botany
Bay scheme after 1786. The nine Irish shipments to North America
and the West Indies are described in detail for the first time, including the
dramatic outcomes in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Leeward Islands
which eventually forced the Home Office to find space for Irish convicts on the
Third Fleet. These events are related against the background of Dublin's burgeoning crime rate in the 1780s, the critical
insecurity of its prison system and the troubled political relationship between
Ireland and Britain."--BOOK
JACKET.
Reid, R, 'Convict Records in the State Paper Office,
Dublin', Descent v.13 (4), Dec 1983, pp.187-190.
Reid, Richard and Keith Johnson eds. The Irish
Australians: Selected Articles for Australian and Irish Family Historians, (Sydney: Society of Australian
Genealogists and Ulster Historical Foundation, 1984). A range of twelve articles which indicate the
variety of contemporary interest in the Irish Australians. Titles include: A
signpost to Irish-Australian state papers; The 'Queen' - 1st Irish convict ship
to New South Wales; Convicts from Ireland 1788-1868; Sources for
Irish-Australia genealogy in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; From
Ballyduff to Boorowa -
Irish assisted immigration to New South Wales, 1830-1896; John Flood - Fenian
exile; Irish gravestone inscriptions and the genealogist; and Ireland over here
- nineteenth century Irish immigrants in southern New South Wales.
Rude, G, 'Early Irish Rebels in Australia', Historical
Studies v.16 (62), April 1974, pp.17-35. [NMA S 994 HIS]
Rude, G, Protest and Punishment: The Story of the Social
and Political Protesters Transported to Australia, 1788-1868, (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1978). [NMA 365.34 RUD]
Russo, G, Race for the Catalpa: (the Fenian Escape
Story), ([Perth]:
Lynward Enterprises, 1986). [NMA 365.450994 RUS]
Shaw, AGL, Convicts and the Colonies: A Study of Penal
Transportation from Great Britain
and Ireland to Australia and Other Parts of the British Empire, (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University
Press, 1977). [NMA 365.30994 SHA]
Silver, LR, The Battle of
Vinegar Hill: Australia's
Irish Rebellion 1804, (Sydney: Doubleday, 1989). [NMA 364.13109944 SIL]
Symes,
JG, The Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804, Revised edition, ([Castle Hill]:
Hills District Historical Society, 1990).
Whitaker, A, 'Swords
to Ploughshares?: The 1798 Irish Rebels in New South Wales', Labour History(75),
Nov 1998, pp.9-21. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200004706>.
Whiting, B, Victims of Tyranny: The Story of the
Fitzgerald Convict Brothers, (Strathfield,
N.S.W.: Harbour Publishing, 2004). [NMA 994.020922 WHI]
Williams, J, Ordered to the Island: Irish Convicts and Van Diemen's Land, (Sydney: Crossing Press,
1994). The aim of this book is to
examine the origins of Irish convicts transported to Van
Diemen's Land and to discuss how they reacted to colonial
conditions. Chapter 1 argues that the Catholic Irish background made these
convicts unique in many respects compared with convicts of other nationalities
in Van Diemen's Land. Chapters 2 and 3 analyse and compare the offences of Irish convicts with
those of other prisoners. Chapter 4 uses available records to suggest the
reasons for transportation to Van Diemen's Land as opposed to New South Wales. The last two chapters deal
with the Irish convicts in Van Diemen's Land.
Woore, M,
'Neither Felons nor Free: Political Prisoners and Social Protestors [Series of
Two Parts]: Part 2', Descent v.27 (3), Sept 1997, pp.130-134. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=980808272>.
Return to Contents
General
Abbasi-Shavazi, MJ and P McDonald,
'Fertility and Multiculturalism: Immigrant Fertility in Australia, 1977-1991', International
Migration Review v.34 (129), Spring 2000, pp.215-242. During the period 1977-1991, previous
policies of assimilation or integration of immigrants into mainstream culture
were replaced by a policy of multiculturalism, one of the dimensions of which was
support for cultural maintenance. Immigrants generally adapted to Australian
fertility patterns in the pre-multicultural period. This study examines whether
immigrants and their children in the multicultural era have been more likely to
follow the fertility patterns of their country of origin than previously. Using
1991 Census data, total and age-specific fertility rates for first-generation
immigrants are compared with those of Australian-born women. The fertility of
six selected groups, British-Irish, Dutch, Greeks, Italians, Poles and
Lebanese, is analysed. It is shown that while
adaptation to Australian patterns remains the dominant feature of the fertility
patterns of immigrants, Italian and Greek Australians show evidence of cultural
maintenance in fertility patterns, while the Lebanese exhibited a distinctive
pattern. (Edited author abstract)
Auchmuty,
JJ, 'The Anglo-Irish Influence on the Foundation of Australian Institutions', University
Gazette 1969.
Bourke, H, D McCaughey and C McConville,
'Patrick O'Farrell on the Irish in Australia',
In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian
Conference, Bull, P, C McConville and N McLachlanedsMelbourne
(Melbourne: La Trobe University, 1990), 258-274. Patrick O'Farrell's book 'The Irish in
Australia', which was published by the University of New South Wales Press in
1986, was the subject of a symposium on the final afternoon of the Sixth Irish Australian
Conference, 6 July 1990. Chris McConville comments on
the book chapter by chapter, outlining his response to the chapters. Helen
Bourke offers a few ideas on the problems of measuring or assaying
distinctiveness in the Irish Catholic experience in Australia. She focusses
on two broad propositions which are advanced by O'Farrell namely the nature of
the Irish people and their relationship to the Catholic Church and the dominant
assimilatory of the Irish. Davis McCaughey welcomes the way in which O'Farrell
breaks up the stereotypes into which Irish immigrants and settlers in this
country are often set and he also comments on the influence of European
Enlightenment and revolutionary thought on the Irish as well as their
contribution to the establishment of a range of institutions. O'Farrell
suggests that his book was written to stimulate acute and penetrating
criticisms and to see into what the Irish are about and to feel proud about it.
He concludes with a plug for his new book 'Vanished Kingdoms'.
Brownrigg,
Jeff, Cheryl Mongan and Richard Reid eds. Echoes
of Irish Australia:
Rebellion to Republic, (Galong, N.S.W.: St. Clement's Retreat and Conference Centre, 2007). A collection of twenty-three essays covering
various aspects of Irish Australian history and culture.
Bull, Philip, Frances Devlin-Glass and Helen Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia,
1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000). The United
Irishmen's rebellions of 1798 occasioned the first significant migration of
Irish people to the new antipodean colonies, beginning an association of Irish
and Australian societies that was to resonate in strong and creative ways for
the next 200 years. This volume presents selected papers from the bicentennial
commemoration of the 1798 rebellion, arranged in five broad strands, 1798 and
its remembrance, the Irish diaspora, literature and culture, the languages of
reconciliation in Northern Ireland,
and conflict and reconciliation in modern Ireland.
Bull, Philip, Chris McConville
and Noel McLachlan eds. Irish-Australian Studies:
Papers Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Melbourne: La Trobe
University, 1991. The
Irish contribution to the life and history of Melbourne and Victoria feature
prominently in this volume of papers from the Sixth Irish Australian
Conference. The tradition of these conferences has been an eclectic one, and
this collection follows that pattern. The papers include discussions on Irish
women in nineteenth century Australia, the Anglo-Irish in Australia, the Irish
townscape of nineteenth century Melbourne, the Irish in Gippsland,
and Geelong, Irish musical and social institutions in Melbourne, selling
emigration from Ireland to Australia in 1836-1845, the Irish base of the
Australian religious order the Sisters of St Joseph. The final day of the
conference included a symposium on Patrick O'Farrell's book 'The Irish in Australia'.
Burnley,
IH, The Impact of Immigration on Australia:
A Demographic Approach, ([South Melbourne, Vic]: Oxford University
Press, 2001). The significant influence that waves of immigrant settlers
have had on Australia's
places and spaces are examined in this book. Although the focus is on
immigration to the metropolitan and industrial cities in the second half of the
twentieth century, the social geographies and histories of immigrant
communities in Australia
in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are also explored in order to
understand these recent experiences. The key question addressed is whether
immigrants of various cultural backgrounds have formed segregated communities
or whether, over time, they have merged with the wider society. This question
raises further subsidiary questions such as whether segregation or
concentration matter, and how local communities have responded to the immigrant
presence. The theme of increasing cultural diversity is traced by first
considering the Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English, and Cornish immigrant groups,
followed by the plethora of communities from Continental Europe, the Middle
East, Asia and South America.
Campbell, M, 'Exploring Comparative History: The Irish in Australia and the United
States', In
Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian
Conference, July 1993, Anonymous Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
342-354. This paper briefly surveys some
recent historiography on the Irish in the United
States, before turning to examine a comparison between
the Irish in Australia and
the United States.
In Australia,
most recent scholarship has tended to emphasise the relatively smooth
adjustment of Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century. Yet in the United States,
many historians continue to portray the Irish in a manner widely at variance
with that of Australian studies. The author explores these differences and the
reasons for them in this article.
Cantwell, B, 'Irish Australia: Constituency Or
Contradiction', Irish Echo v.13 (6), 15 March 2000, pp.13, 15. Australia
is the most Irish of countries outside Ireland. One third of Australians
are of Irish heritage. This fact is repeated each St. Patrick's Day to remind
the Irish in Australia
of the privileged position they hold in the community. The place of the Irish
in Australian society in the year 2000 is discussed in this article. A large
number of prominent Australians are of Irish descent, including John Fahey,
Paul Keating and Sir William Deane. Unlike the Irish community in the United States, Australian Irish are not seen as
totally distinct from mainstream Australia,
but there are some issues which could earn the support of the vast majority of
Irish in Australia.
Examples would be official support for the Gaelic games and St. Patrick's Day
celebrations, and a more active role by the Australian Government in the search
for peace in Northern
Ireland. There is some resistance by the
Irish to be seen as an ethnic group, but they may well find that they share
more with their fellow migrants than they do with mainstream Australia.
Caterson,
S, 'Irish-Australian Attitudes: [an Earlier Version of a Section of this Essay
was Presented as a Paper to the Monday Forum at the Melbourne Savage Club, Held
on 26 July 2004.]', Quadrant (Sydney)
v.48 (11), Nov 2004, pp.11-18. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200411807;
http://www.quadrant.org.au/php/archive_details_list.php?article_id=1006> [NMA S 052 QUA]
Chetkovich, J, 'Not for Economic Gain: Elsie Butler in Western Australia
[Individual Experiences of Elsie and George Butler, Irish Emigrants to Western
Australia (WA)]', Studies in Western Australia History(20), 2000,
pp.151-167.[NMA S 994.1 STU] Documentary
sources and historical analysis provide a picture of migration, but studies of
ordinary individuals' experiences uncover more of the story of Irish emigration
and the experience of the receiving country. Oral history reveals insights not
accessible through any other source. In the story of Elsie Butler's emigration,
cultural rather than economic issues are represented as the dominant factors.
Religious tension, or the potential for it, was the major reason why Elsie
Butler and her husband George left Ireland for Western Australia (WA)
in 1958. As Irish Protestants, they were unaware that the majority of Irish
migrants to Australia
had always been Catholic, so they stayed outside Irish networks. The central
liberating theme of their immigration experience was that they chose their
friends due to mutual interest, not class, religion or family. Physical
mobility accompanied their social mobility and the Butlers worked and lived in many remote areas
of WA.
''There would seem to be a Wonderful Freedom Out here': The
Irish in Western Australia',
In Wilding, R and F Tilbury eds. A Changing
People: Diverse Contributions to the State of Western
Australia, (Perth:
Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Office of Multicultural Interests,
2004): 222-235. The Irish have been part
of Western Australia (WA) since the colony was founded and continue to be a
vibrant presence. Prompted by social and economic devastation and political
unrest in Ireland,
and attracted by the Australian gold rushes, Irish migrants formed the second largest
ethnic group in WA after the English. They were culturally and religiously
distinct from the dominant English in the colonial period and experienced
discrimination arising from historic English-Irish and Anglican-Catholic
animosity. However, the Irish proved in the main to be successful and
respectable citizens. Certain Irish stereotypical characteristics such as
rebelliousness have become essential aspects of Australian identity. After
World War II (WWII) the Irish became less distinctive amongst the diversity of
new ethnicites in Australia
as they were granted British subject status and were subsumed in an
'Anglo-Celtic' ethnicity. However, they have recently begun to re-assert their
Irish cultural heritage through various clubs and associations.
Cleary, PS, Australia's Debt to Irish Nation Builders, (Sydney:
Angus & Robertson, 1933).
Coffey, HW and MJ Morgan, Irish Families in Australia
and New Zealand 1788-1979, (South Melbourne: H.W. Coffey, 1978-1980).
Cronin, M & Adair, D, The wearing of the green: a history of St. Patrick's Day (New York: Routledge, 2002)
Doyle, H, 'Allegations of Disloyalty at Koroit during World
War I [Victoria]', In Bull, P, et al eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1998),
pp.165-176. Irish traditions are perpetuated in the district around
Koroit, near Warrnambool, Victoria, and during World War I Irish
sentiment characterised the politics of the area. Koroit, as elsewhere in
Australia, was polarised over conscription between political beliefs, on the
one hand, and religious and racial identity, on the other. This essay
investigates stories, both told and untold, of incidents surrounding the
recruitment drives and conscription debate in Koroit that highlight the
sectarian fears and the antagonism between labour and conservative, between
Catholic and Protestant, of country Victoria at the time. Oral accounts,
newspaper reports and historical records of events at Koroit differ, reflecting
different perspectives of the social and political background. The uncertainty
of knowledge about Koroit's wartime experience contributes
to its significance, suggesting that what the locals want to remember is not
the divisions but rather the strength that Irish nationalism once had in the
town.
Erickson, R, 'Friends and Neighbours: The Irish of Toodyay [Irish Migrant Families in Western Australia
(WA)]', Studies in Western Australia History(20), Studies in Western
Australia History, n20, 2000: The Irish in Western Australia, p49-58 2000,
pp.49-58. [NMA S 994.1 STU] The 1837
Western Australian (WA) census recorded fewer than 30 Irish women and not all
were Catholic. The British Government decided to send equal numbers of free
immigrants and convicts. Protestants in Perth, WA were reluctant to hire Irish servants even when 115
women, from poorer parts of Ireland,
arrived. More Irish families and single women arrived, but colonists still
needed servants. In 1853, the Resident Magistrate of Toodyay
appealed for more young women for his district and by 1854, 50 had arrived.
This article describes the Toodyay settlement, the
employees' cottages clustered around the 'big house', and the persistence of
British social class distinctions. The stories of three Irish farm families,
the Pritchards, Beards and Lahiffs,
and their gradual move to independence are told. They lived within walking distance
of each other at Toodyay and, though illiterate, the
Irish migrants sent their children to school and the class distinctions
gradually faded.
Fahey, C, 'A Fine Country for the Irish [Successful
Agricultural Settlement in Northeastern Victoria]', Australian Journal of
Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.190-201. This article examines the role played
by Irish settlers in the agricultural settlement of Victoria. Contrary to popular notions that
Irish settlement in 19th century northeastern Victoria was marked by rural
poverty and social distress, Census data and statistical records relating to
land selection in rural Victoria show that law-abiding selectors followed
pastoral settlement, carving European-style farms out of the bush, recreating
the institutions of the old world and laying the foundations of stable and
prosperous rural communities. It is argued that the Irish played a prominent
role in land selection, bringing extensive farming experience to a process of
continual learning and adaptation to the Australian environment. Rather than
rejecting the state, the Irish settlers capitalised
on the opportunities provided by the state through the land acts, marshalling
their resources and their families to exploit the law to its limit.
Fisher, Rod and Barry Shaw eds. Brisbane: The Ethnic Presence since
the 1850s, (Kelvin Grove,
Qld: Brisbane History Group, 1993). This volume comprises eleven
papers on the history of ethnicity and multiculturalism in the Brisbane region since the
1850s. It concentrates on the colonial period from separation to federation and
the twentieth century through the two world wars until modern day. The papers
provide overviews of several ethnic groups during these periods, especially the
Welsh, Irish, Italians and Germans and highlights various themes including:
motivation, attraction, migration and distribution; government policy and the
demographic profile over time; economic and occupational impact, including
mining, farming and building; social and cultural features, including associations,
churches, cuisine; preservation and adaptation of traditional culture;
reciprocal attitudes and relations within the Anglo-Celtic society;
integration, assimilation, division and discrimination; impact of war on ethnic
communities; and life histories, personal experiences and individual
achievements.
Hamilton, P, The Irish, (Melbourne: Thomas Nelson, 1978).
Henderson, G, 'How the Irish made Australia Egalitarian', The
Age, 9 Jan 2001 2001, p13. The early Irish immigrants are given credit
by the author for Australia's
present relatively egalitarian society. The Irish determination not to be put
down is considered to be the foundation for a liberal and more open Australian
society. Sectarianism was rife in Australia a century ago, for
example, an 1872 speech by Henry Parkes objected to
the pace of Irish immigration. He alleged that the Irish in Australia were a disruptive
influence, who were ignorant and undemocratic and undesirable. In another
speech Parkes is quoted as wishing for the community
to be thoroughly British and for the Protestant religion to be dominant.
However despite Australia's
egalitarianism, research has shown that there has been no increase in overall
income inequality in Australia.
The rich and the poor are better off, with the middle income group losing out.
Herraman,
A, 'Irish Settlers Beyond the Tiers: Mount
Barker, South Australia,
1836-1886', The Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.1 2001 2001, pp.36-48. Irish immigrants made
little impact on the development of the Province of South Australia (SA) in its
early years. However, by 1891 Roman Catholicism had become the dominant faith
in four regions of the Colony, the Clare
Valley, Gawler,
northeastern Adelaide, and the Mount Barker
region. This article traces the progress of Irish settlement in the Mount Barker
region beyond the Mount
Lofty Ranges,
which were known as 'The Tiers'. Irish settlement was boosted by the Special
Survey system established in 1839 and by the 'Irish South Australian Emigration
Society'. Settler families established livelihoods in mining and agriculture,
while large numbers of Irish immigrant women were employed in domestic and farm
service. Supported by the clergy, Irish culture was institutionalized in the
religious, educational and social life of Macclesfield.
The impact of Irish settlement on SA is a tribute to the social investment of
poor but generous spirited Irish settlers.
Hogan, C, 'Our Irish Brew', Sydney Morning Herald. Good
Weekend2 Nov 1996, pp. [16]-21, [23]. This article
assesses the impact of the largest ethnic group in Australia, the Irish, and discovers
that many of Irish descent are keen to re-assert their cultural heritage.
Outside Ireland, Australia
is the most Irish country in the world. The article lists Australians with
Irish connections, who are well known in business, politics and the arts. There
is also a brief look at the earliest Irish immigrants to Australia. The article describes
how Australians of Irish descent, today are rediscovering their roots by
tracing ancestors and participating in Irish occasions. Some of those well
known Australians discuss their visits back to their ancestral roots. The
article concludes that there may well be some glamour attached to retracing
one's Irish ethnicity.
Hogan, JF, The Irish in Australia, (London: Ward
& Downey, 1887) [NMA RARE 305.89162 HOG] http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/abl/etext/irish/australia/australianirishmain.html
'Howard Recalls Australia's Discrimination Against Irish', Australian
National Review Apr 1999, pp.41. In an address to a St
Patrick's Day function in Melbourne, the Prime
Minister, John Howard, said that although the Irish had helped shape modern Australia
they were also discriminated against. For more that 100 years, the Irish in Australia,
who were overwhelmingly Catholic, suffered the discrimination of paying for the
education of their children in their faith. He maintained that at present, Australia
has a system of openness and tolerance, and freedom of choice in relation to
the education of its children that is second to none anywhere in the world. The
Irish, according to Mr Howard, had contributed
perhaps more than other immigrant groups to modern Australian life in fields
such as football and politics.
Inglis, KS, The
Australian Colonists: An Exploration of Social History, 1788-1870, (Carlton,
Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1974). [NMA 309.194 ING EDWARDS 994.02 ING]
Irish History Online - an authoritative guide (in progress) to what has been written about Irish history from earliest times to the present.
Johnson, Keith and others eds. The Irish Australians:
Selected Articles for Australian and Irish Family Historians, (Sydney:
Society of Australian Genealogists, 1984). [NMA F 929.1 IRI]
Kiernan, C ed. Ireland and Australia, (North Ryde,
N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson, 1984). [NMA 305.89162 IRE]
Australia and Ireland
1788-1988: Bicentenary Essays, (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, c1986) . [NMA 305.89162 AUS]
Lehane,
R, Irish Gold: A Tale of Two Pioneer Families, (Charnwood,
ACT: Ginninderra Press, 2002).
MacDonagh,
O, 'Why Irish History for Australians?', Canberra Historical Journal(34),
Sep 1994, pp.2-8. The author contends that there is great value in
understanding Irish history in Australia.
Firstly, the scale of the Irish immigration to Australia makes it an area worthy
of study. Relative to the size of the host society, the Irish, to quote the
author, represented a prodigious Australian incursion. Secondly, the author
believes that the timing of Irish immigration is another reason for the study
of Irish history. Irish immigration was a constant throughout all the most
formative stages of Australian development. Thirdly, Irish emigration to Australia reflected more or less the
denominational proportions in Ireland,
and it is vital to understand their derivations and peculiar cultural predisposition.
Finally, the change in Ireland
over the years 1780-1925 also effected change in Australia. The author looks at some
of the different phases of Irish history from the 1780s to 1900 and illustrates
what this meant for emigration to Australia.
The Sharing of the Green: A Modern Irish History for
Australians, (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen and Unwin,
1996). This book is designed for those Australians of Irish descent
who would like to learn more of the history of their homeland. This modern
history focuses on the period of Irish history when emigration was at its peak
- 1790 to 1945. There is a special emphasis on religion, land protest,
attitudes to authority, respectability, the imperial connection, and
especially, politics. Over eight million Irish emigrated between 1788 and 1914.
Only 500,000 of these settled in Australia. However, their influence
extended far beyond their actual numbers. They were a founding people for Australia.
The background to this group will help Australians to understand how their
country developed historically.
Malcolm, E, '10,000 Miles Away: Irish Studies Down Under',
In Harte,L and Y Whelan eds. Ireland Beyond
Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the Twenty-First Century, (London: Pluto Press,
2007), pp.32-45.
McClaughlin, T and L Connors, 'Irish Women, Aboriginal People, and the Law in
Colonial Australia: Race, Power, and the Struggle for Inclusion', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.135-143. Irish
women and Aboriginal people were among many groups considered 'problems' by
both the state and society in 19th century colonial Australia. Colonialism in Australia
and elsewhere fostered the development of a British, white, male cultural
superiority complex that, both 'de facto' and 'de jure',
excluded Indigenous people, Irish women and many minority ethnic groups.
Selected cases from a research study that takes a postcolonial, subaltern
approach to the experiences and interaction of Indigenous Australians and Irish
women with the law in colonial Australia show how the law worked both to
repress and protect the powerless, how minorities and individuals used the law
to protect themselves, and how those in authority regularly reinvented racial
and ethnic stereotypes. Over time, Irish-Australian women had a greater chance
of being included in mainstream society than Aborigines, their interaction with
the law possibly contributing to that process.
McConville, C, Croppies, Celts & Catholics: The Irish in Australia,
(Caulfield East, Vic.: Edward Arnold, 1987). [NMA 994.0049162 MCC]
McIntyre, P, ''Reduced to Great and Deep Distress':
Families Abandoned because of Transportation to New South Wales', Australian Journal of
Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.152-161.
Many Irish women and children were left with no
means of support when their husbands and fathers were transported to New South
Wales (NSW). This article examines the plight of these families and their
options for government or non-government assistance. Some wives, such as Julia Whitehill, were able to join their husbands in NSW under a
policy of family reunion based on good behaviour by the convict husband and
respectability and moral behaviour on the part of the abandoned wife. This
policy continued for some years after the official end of transportation in
1840. However, as Ireland lacked a parish relief system and the Poor Law and
workhouse system were introduced too late to help most convict families, those
remaining behind were vulnerable to poverty, depending with variable success on
the limited and selective charity of voluntary organisations or the support of
relatives, landlords, neighbours and friends.
McKiernan, J ed. Speech by Senator McKiernan (WA)
regarding the Irish Australian of the Year and Other Irish Issues: 9 Apr 1991, 1991)
, 2114-2116 pp. The Senator thanks the Irish community for his
award as Irish Australian of the Year and he trusts that he will be able, as a
member of Parliament, to serve the Irish community in Australia well and work towards
their settlement and assimilation. The first Irish convict ship came to Australia
200 years ago and the Irish community is now thought to be more than one third
of the Australian population. A benefit for Irish Australians now is the recent
bilateral agreement between Australia
and Ireland
on social security. This agreement will operate to protect the rights of
persons who have worked in Ireland
and lived in Australia.
Social security contributions paid in Australia can be counted towards
benefits in either or both countries. (Comment is made regarding the Birmingham
Six and the Guildford Four and capital punishment.)
Migration Museum [South Australia], From Many Places: The
History and Cultural Traditions of South Australian People, (Kent Town, S.
A.: Migration Museum (History Trust of South Australia) in association with
Wakefield Press, 1995). [NMA 325.94 FRO]
Moloney,
LW, 'Irish in Queensland', In Brandle, M and S Karas eds. Multicultural Queensland: The People and
Communities of Queensland: A Bicentennial Publication, (Brisbane: Ethnic
Communities Council of Queensland and the Queensland Migrant Welcome
Association, 1988),
John Finnegan was the first Irishman to come to
Queensland. His arrival, on a ticket of leave, predates that of John Oxley
(1823), whom he guided to Moreton
Bay. Irish born Bishop
Quinn became the first Catholic Bishop of Brisbane
in 1861. He set up the Queensland Immigration Society which brought 3900 Irish
immigrants to Queensland
in the next two years. By 1901, 30 per cent of the population was Irish. By
1933, the proportion had been reduced to 2 per cent. The Irish have been
prominent in Queensland
politics, commerce, development and transport.
National Library of Australia. Friends Seminar and others, Ireland Over here Seminar: Friends of
the National Library of Australia
Seminar Proceedings, 5/6 October 1991, Ireland
Over here 5/6 October 1991, (Canberra:
National Library of Australia, 1991. Discusses the impact of
the Irish on the Australian way of life.
O'Farrell, P, 'Irish and Australia', Australian
Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition edn, (Terrey Hills : N.S.W.: Australian Geographic, 1996),
pp.1759-1761. [NMA REF 994.003 AUS 1996]
O'Farrell, P and R O'Farrell, Through Irish Eyes:
Australian & New Zealand Images of the Irish 1788-1948, (Melbourne: Aurora
Books, 1994). [NMA 305.89162094 OFA]
O'Farrell, P, 'A Pictorial Look at Irish Australia', The University of New South Wales
Quarterly (26), March 1982, pp. 4-6. The Irish have been one of Australia's
most distinctive and influential immigrant minorities. Their contribution to
Australian society has been so integral to national character as to be largely
taken for granted. A collection of 400 photographs related to the history of
the Australian Irish has been gathered together. The occasions which generated
photography of active interest in revealing the Irish Australian community
tended to be St Patrick's Day, welcomes to visiting Irish parliamentarians, and
funerals such as that of the famous boxer Les Darcy in 1917.
'Wearing Out the Green [St. Patrick's Day Celebrations]', Irish
Echo v.13 (6), 15 March 2000, pp.6, 9.
Historically, in Australia,
St. Patrick's Day has long been a point at which the strength and nature of
local Irishness, and the general community's reaction to it, might be assessed.
This article traces the history of St. Patrick's Day celebrations around the
world, with particular reference to Australia. It is argued that the
annual festivities owe as much to Australian culture as to the Irish. In Ireland,
St. Patrick's Day celebrations when held are modest; it has always been a
diaspora day. The day tended, in countries where the Irish immigrated, to be a
day on which the Irish drew attention to themselves and their role in host
countries. The first celebration was held in Sydney in 1841 to demonstrate the
respectability, loyalty and community spirit of affluent Irish who had been
successful in Australian society. After a decline in the celebrations by 1914,
there was a revival in 1979 by the Sydney Irish National Association surrounded
by issues of the nature of the celebration and its control. These and questions
as to the purpose of the day, what is being celebrated, by whom and for whom,
perhaps do not matter.
O'Mahony,
B and G Box, 'From Behind the Scenes to Behind the Bar: The Cultural
Contribution of Migrant and Transitory Employees to Irish Theme Pubs', In Bertone,S and H Casey eds. Migrants in the New Economy:
Problems, Perspectives and Policy, (Melbourne:
Victoria University. Workplaces Studies Centre,
2000), pp.131-151. The popularity of Irish theme pubs in Melbourne, Victoria
has resulted in a major growth within this sector with a subsequent benefit to
the Victorian economy. This study sought to identify the reasons why people are
attracted to Irish pubs. The study found that the majority of respondents
believed that a visit to an Irish theme pub provided an insight into Irish
culture. In addition, most of the respondents identified Irish pub staff as an
important component of the service experience. This is in contrast to the
traditional role of migrants as 'back of house' staff in many hospitality
establishments such as hotels. Irish pub operators indicated that current equal
opportunity legislation was a barrier to the recruitment of Irish born
employees. An examination of the legal issues involved suggests that Irish pub
owners may be in a position to argue for an exemption from the legislation.
(Edited author abstract)
Partington, G, The Australian Nation: Its British and Irish Roots, (Melbourne:
Australian Scholarly Pub., 1994) . [NMA 306.0994 PAR]
Reid, R, 'Ireland Over here', National Library of
Australia News v.1 (11), Aug 1991, pp.7-10.
'Keeping Faith with Ballyrush and
Gortin: Rediscovering the Irish/ Australian
Historical Landscape', Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society
v.18 (1997), pp.11-24. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=980201673>.
Reid, R and P Nolan, 'Tracing Your Ancestors: Irish Ancestry',
Annals Australia v.99 (3), Apr 1988, pp.28-30.
Ronayne ,
J, J Ronayne and J Ronayne
, The Irish in Australia
: Rogues and Reformers, First Fleet to Federation, (Camberwell,
Vic.: Viking, 2003). [NMA 305.891620994 RON]
Presents a different and controversial perspective on the influence of a group
of Irish graduates in Australia's colonial history and on the Australian story
in general.
Ronayne,
J, First Fleet to Federation: Irish Supremacy in Colonial Australia, (Dublin:
Trinity College
Dublin Press,
2002).
Ronayne,
J and R Pascoe, The Irish Imprint in Australia, (Melbourne: Victoria
University of Technology, 1994). This book is a collection of essays on the
Irish contribution to Australian life. The chapters are as follows: Peace at
last!, the current peace process in Northern Ireland; the Irish imprint in
Australia; the Irish townscape of Colonial Melbourne; Sir Redmond Barry; Who
was who among Irish-Australians; the Irish folksong in Australia; and a
Bibliography of the Irish in Australia.
Rule, P, 'From Labourer to Gentleman: Social Mobility among
Nineteenth Century Irish Immigrants to Geelong', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Sixth
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P,
C McConville and N McLachlan
eds (Melbourne:
La Trobe University, 1990), 201-215 pp. Present from the beginning of
white colonisation, in sizeable numbers, wherever settlement occurred, the
Irish were able to play a significant role in the formation of white Australian
society, its politics and culture. In general, the Irish in Australia in Australia managed to straddle the
boundaries between insiders and outsiders and to win for themselves social
mobility and relative affluence. This paper explores the strategies a small
group of Irish Australians who settled in Geelong,
Victoria, employed to make this transition,
and emphasises the rapidly changing Ireland they had grown up in.
Generally, the picture is one of success. Whether or not Irish emigrants were
originally of petit-bourgeois status, they became so in Australia. This paper analyses the
success and failure of some Irish immigrants who settled around the Geelong area against this
larger background.
Rutherford, J, 'The Irish Conceit: Ireland and the New Australian Nationalism', In
Bull, P, F Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland
and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.196-207. For over two decades the Australian nationalist
tradition with its images of an honest, white, innocent Australia has been called into
disrepute by the voices of multiculturalism, Indigenous Australia, cultural
history, and feminism. This essay identifies the emergence of a new nationalism
that seeks to reforge the nationalist tradition, to
redeem Australian nationalism from its colonial taint. A mythical history of
Ireland is deployed in new narratives of nation such as those expressed in One
Nation Party discourse, which revives the 'fighting Irish' stereotype, and in
novels such as Tim Winton's 1994 'The Riders'. These narratives seek to portray
Irish Australians as victims of colonisation by drawing analogies between
Aboriginal dispossession and Irish dispossession by the British. The article
aims to close the comfortable but imaginary gap between One Nation and the rest
of Australians, to probe the pervasiveness of Australian nationalism and its
enjoyment by a far larger community.
Sheedy,
K, 'From Convict Ship to Legislative Assembly [Progression of Irish Convict
John Hurley to Member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales]', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.29-37. In 1824,
John Hurley of County Limerick,
Ireland was
transported to New South Wales (NSW) for seven years for his part in a protest
against high rents. After working for four years in the Male Orphan Institute
in Liverpool, NSW and for two years for Irish
settlers Captain Terence Murray and his son, Hurley gained his freedom and
settled in the strongly Irish enclave of Campbelltown, NSW. Hurley became a
prominent public figure and contributed significantly to Campbelltown's
economic, social and political development. Successful in business as a
publican, land-holder and racehorse breeder, Hurley was instrumental in
establishing a Catholic church and school, mail and banking services, and roads
and utilities. With the arrival of representative government, Hurley began a
long and remarkable political career, first as a member of a district council,
and subsequently as a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly, in which he was
active into his eighties.
Twycross,
J, 'History, Heritage and Identity: How Big-Picture History and Heritage
Impacts on Identity for the Descendants of Ah Shin of Victoria', In Discoveries, Deadends and Databases. Proceedings of the 10th Australasian
Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry (Melbourne
Congress), Roy,Jed. Melbourne Convention centre (Melbourne: The
Genealogical Society of Victoria, 2003).
Family history and cultural heritage help define national identity. Many
Chinese immigrants were not sojourners as widely believed, but became
permanent, naturalised settlers who raised families,
operated businesses and owned property. The Ah Shin family history illustrates
the challenges of Chinese family history research and the complexity of notions
of identity among the more than two thousand descendants of a Chinese-Irish
union. Pan Ah Shin married Irish born Catherine Martin in Melbourne, Victoria
in 1857 and the couple raised eight children on the Victorian goldfields before
Catherine's early death in 1872. Most of the children and grandchildren married
Chinese or Chinese-European partners. Although the preservation of Chinese
tradition varies among descendants, generosity, gentleness, strength and a
desire to be inconspicuous emerge as consistent family traits. From family
history and reinforced family bonds emerges a clearer sense of heritage and
identity, which in turn helps define the national image.
Whitton,
E, 'Irish Revenge for Castle Hill (on the NSW-Ireland Rugby
Match)', National Times (10-16 June 1979), 10-16 June 1979, pp. 32.
Return to Contents
Immigration
Abbasi-Shavazi, MJ and P McDonald, 'A
Comparison of Fertility Patterns of European Immigrants in Australia with those
in the Countries of Origin', Genus v.58 (1), 2002, pp.53-76.
Using 1991 Census data, this study compares first generation fertility patterns
and levels among selected European immigrant groups in Australia from 1977-1991
with those in the countries of origin, with those of second generation
immigrants, and with those of the Australian-born population. Five groups were
studied intensively, the British-Irish, Dutch, Greeks, Italians and Poles. The
findings are considered against five competing theories of the relationship
between migration and fertility, the selectivity, disruption, adaptation,
minority-status and 'cultural maintenance' hypotheses. The study found
variations between groups but strong evidence of overall adaptation of
immigrants to the fertility patterns of the total Australian population,
although there was evidence of cultural maintenance in fertility patterns among
Greeks and Italians. Complicating factors include selection of immigrants with
lower fertility levels than those prevailing in their home countries, and the
disrupting influence of the migration process itself, particularly for refugees
groups such as the Poles.
Besnard, TP, A Voice from the Bush
in Australia: Shewing its Present State,
Advantages, and Capabilities in a Series of Letters from an Irish Settler and
Others in New South Wales
: With Appendices Containing Statistical Evidences, Information for Emigrants,
the Course of Husbandry Suited to the Country, and Other Observations on that
Important and Prosperous Colony, (Dublin: William Curry, 1839).
Campbell, M, 'Exploring
Comparative History: The Irish in Australia
and the United States',
In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
342-354 pp. This paper briefly surveys some recent historiography on the
Irish in the United States,
before turning to examine a comparison between the Irish in Australia and the United States. In Australia, most recent scholarship
has tended to emphasise the relatively smooth adjustment of Irish immigrants in
the nineteenth century. Yet in the United States, many historians
continue to portray the Irish in a manner widely at variance with that of
Australian studies. The author explores these differences and the reasons for
them in this article.
'The Other
Immigrants: Comparing the Irish in Australia
and the United States',
Journal of American Ethnic History v.14 (3), Spring 1995,
pp.[3]-22. This article draws upon recent scholarship on the
Irish in Australia in order
to highlight some of the stark differences between interpretations of Irish
experience these and in the United
States. It assesses the implications of the
Australian example for the existing scholarship on the Irish in the United States
and argues the need for the greater receptivity among United Staes scholars to the findings of studies of the Irish
abroad than has hitherto been evident in the field.
Connolly, T,
'Emigration from Post-Independence Ireland to Australia, 1922-1970', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.4: 2002, pp.202-206. Numerous economic and
social challenges in the Irish Free State
following its independence in 1922 prompted high and increasing emigration for
several decades until the Irish economy began to improve in the 1960s. The
emigrants were predominantly young, unskilled or semi-skilled, and from rural
areas. Although economic motives dominated reasons for emigration, social
factors including chain migration were also important in decisions to emigrate.
Britain and the United
States (US) were the most popular destinations over the 50-year period, while
emigration to Australia
fell, breaking the trend of high Irish emigration to Australia that had obtained in the
19th century. Irish emigration to Australia
increased slightly in response to the post-war assisted passage offer and the
Irish economic depression of the late 1950s, but the existence of Irish
networks in Britain
outweighed the incentives to come to Australia.
Connors, L, 'The
Politics of Ethnicity: Irish Orphan Girls at Moreton Bay',
In Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 167-181
pp. The Irish Migration Scheme resulted in over 4000 young women arriving
in the Australian colonies between October 1848 and August 1850, the latter
years of the Great Famine. This paper focuses on those Irish young women who
were forwarded by the Sydney migration officials
to what was then, the most northerly districts of New South Wales. The reception of these
young women at Moreton
Bay reveals some
important insights into the nature of ethnic politics and the significance of
those politics at the personal level. This paper draws together two approaches,
that of the influence of sectarian politics and of social history, to show the
way in which these young women successfully contested and negotiated the
hostile environment in which they found themselves. Drawing on the operation of
the law, and the appearance of some of these young women in the courtrooms in Brisbane,
Connors provides some insights into the politics and experiences of these women
in defending their rights and status. (Author abstract)
Curr, E and TE Wells, An Account
of the Colony of Van Diemen's Land ... for the
use of Emigrants, (London: George Cowie, 1824).
Fitzpatrick, D,
'Irish Immigrants in Australia:
Patterns of Settlement and Paths of Mobility', Australia 1988(2),
August 1979, pp.55-55-64.
Irish
Emigration 1801-1921, (The Economic and Social History
Society of Ireland: Dublin, 1984). At least eight million
Irish emigrated between 1801 and 1921. This booklet provides a profile of those
who left Ireland, analyses
the factors facilitating or impeding emigration and looks at the consequences
for Ireland,
and in more general terms, for the receiving countries. Findings include the
facts that emigrants to Australia
were more likely than average to be semi- skilled farm workers from counties
Clare, Limerick and Tipperary; and government
assistance from Australia,
supplemented by personal remittance, was crucial in shaping Irish movement to Australia.
Fitzpatrick, D,
''Over the Foaming Billows’: The Organisation of Irish Emigration to
Australia', In Richards,E, ed. Poor Australian
Immigrants in the Nineteenth Century, (Canberra: Division of Historical
Studies and Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies, Research School
of Social Sciences, Australian National University, 1991), pp.133-152.
Fitzpatrick, D and
D Fitzpatrick, Oceans of Consolation: Personal Accounts of Irish Migration
to Australia,
(Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1995). [NMA 994.0049162 OCE]
Groom, J, 'How the
Family of Pan Thomas Ah Shin Became Settlers rather than Sojourners', In Chinese in Australia and the Pacific:
Old and New Migrations and Cultural Change: Conference for the Study of
Overseas Chinese: New Zealand Conference of ASCDAPI: Association for the Study
of Chinese and their Descendants in Australasia and ……., 1998) <http://www.stevenyoung.co.nz/chinesevoice/ChinConf/S5.html> Most of the Chinese who came to Victoria in
the mid 19th century were not altruistic. They saw no vision of Australia
as their new home; they were sojourners, not settlers. This story, however, is
of a young Chinese man named Pan Ah Shin who arrived in Victoria
in 1848 and his wife Catherine Martin from Dublin, Ireland,
and of their life during the gold rush. It describes many of the events that took
place at that time, including some of the unrest among the gold prospectors.
The paper goes on to outline the lives of the second and subsequent generations
of the Ah Shin family and their contributions to the community. There are now
about 1,800 descendants of Pan Ah Shin and Catherine Martin scattered about Victoria, and further afield, and they keep alive their long history of family
solidarity.
Haines, RF, Emigration
and the Labouring Poor: Australian Recruitment in Britain and Ireland, 1831-60, (MacMillan: London, 1997). This book evaluates the
origins, occupations, literacy and pre-departure experience of assisted
immigrants from Britain and Ireland.
It challenges the view that the British Government used government-assisted
emigration to Australia
as a means of shovelling out the criminal elements of its destitute poor. The
book is arranged as follows: Chapter 1 places the story of government
emigration to Australian in context. Chapter 2 focuses on the socio-economic
characteristics and origins of the assisted immigrants. Chapter 3 canvasses the
relationship between official agencies and private individuals. Chapters 4 and
5 survey the involvement of the English and Irish poor law authorities in
recruitment and selection. Chapters 6 and 7 appraise ways in which colonisation
societies, in line with charitable and religious organisations, not only saw
assisted emigration as an important ingredient in imperial expansion, but were
actively involved in the mobilisation of the poorer classes. Chapter 8 investigates
the recruitment of destitute Scottish Highland and Islanders. Chapter 9 draws
together the connecting threads, and gives some emigrants the opportunity to
speak for themselves.
Jaunay, G, 'Bound for South Australia: A Study of the various Nineteenth
Century Emigration Schemes and the Resultant Records', In Discoveries, Deadends and Databases:
Proceedings of the 10th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry (Melbourne Congress), Roy,J ed. Melbourne
Convention Centre (Melbourne:
Genealogical Society of Victoria, 2003). A range of
government and non-government fare assistance schemes operated in the 19th
century to encourage British and European migrants from a wide range of
backgrounds to settle in South Australia (SA). This article reviews the schemes
and their associated records, highlights deficiencies in shipping and passenger
records, and identifies alternative and complementary sources to fill
information gaps. Government schemes including the Wakefield scheme and the South Australian
Colonisation Commission scheme were based on landowners subsidising the passage
of labourers. These schemes failed in practice but the principle of recruiting
workers for wealthy landowners persisted throughout the period of colonial
emigration into the 20th century. Non-government schemes helped German
Lutherans, German miners, impoverished Scots and Irish famine orphans to settle
in SA. Other information sources on assisted immigration include hospital
records, newspapers and the Mary Hodge Index to arrivals. Current work to
document every arrival in SA is also described.
Keneally, T, The Great Shame : A
Story of the Irish in the Old World and the
New, (London: Chatto & Windus,
1998).
Kiernan, Colm ed. Australia
and Ireland 1788-1988:
Bicentenary Essays, Dublin:
Gill and Macmillan, c1986 , xviii, 309p.[NMA 305.89162 AUS]
McClaughlin, T, 'From 'Barefoot and
Pregnant? Irish Famine Orphans in Australia',
Melbourne 1991
[Extract from 'Barefoot and Pregnant? Irish Famine Orphans in Australia: Documents and Register'
by Trevor McClaughlin]', In Hayes, A and D Urquhart eds. The Irish Women's History Reader, (London: Routledge, 2001), pp.168-173. Although solid,
detailed research on Irish female immigration to Australia has not yet been
conducted, this extract from 'Barefoot and Pregnant? Irish Famine Orphans in
Australia: Documents and Register' by Trevor McClaughlin
(published in 1991) records some of the formal and anecdotal evidence on single
young female Irish orphans who arrived in Victoria and South Australia (SA)
during the 1850s. More than 600 young single women who arrived in Melbourne, Victoria
and Adelaide (SA) were victims of the Great Famine and had been selected from
among the inmates of Irish workhouses by government officials. Their reception
in Australia
was not as warm as they might have wished, and critics of the orphan emigration
program were quick to voice their disapproval of the young women. The brief
history offers some insights into the hardships the young women endured but
also highlights the remarkable contributions they made to the Australian
population and character.
Molloy, F,
''Affection's Broken Chain’: The Irish and Colonial Poetry', The Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.2 2002, pp.122-134. This article explores
attitudes of nineteenth century Irish immigrants towards their homeland and
towards their adopted land of Australia,
as expressed in poetry of the time. An Irish presence in Australian poetry can
be dated to the early 1800s. The early poetry reflected two alternative
responses to migration, restless rebellion that cannot shake off the homeland,
and enthusiastic assimilation. Indeed, these themes recur in poetry throughout
the colonial period. From the 1820s, Irish bushranger ballads celebrated rebellion
of the convict Irish, and adaptations of Gaelic poetry glorified a distant land
that contrasted with antipodean isolation and joylessness. By the late
nineteenth century, nostalgia was accompanied by awareness of a new identity, a
dual loyalty that proclaimed Ireland
as their home but Australia
as their country. The transfer of identity from Ireland
to Australia
was not yet contemplated, but by the 1880s the Irish Australian psyche had
moved firmly towards integration.
Mongan, C, 'What Happened to the
Orphan Girls? [Plight of the Irish Orphan Girls Brought to Australia in the Mid 1800s]', Tain: The Australian Irish Network (28), Dec
2003-Jan 2004, pp.14-17. Between October 1848 and August
1850, more than 4,000 young Irish orphan girls were sent to Australia as part of a scheme to
alleviate overcrowding in Irish workhouses. This article focuses on the plight
of 108 of the young women who arrived on the 'Thomas Arbuthnot' and were sent
to live in southern New South Wales (NSW). Although there was considerable
controversy about the arrival of the orphans, they were unconditionally
accepted by settlers in the Yass, NSW district. All were placed in suitable
employment and many went on to make valuable contributions to the district.
Indeed, the 'Thomas Arbuthnot' orphans helped to change perceptions of the
orphans as 'useless trollops'. Although life in the colonies was hard by
today's standards the girls enjoyed a better life than they would have had in
the workhouses of post famine Ireland.
Moore, P, 'Half-Burnt
Turf: Selling Emigration from Ireland to South Australia, 1836-1845', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville and N McLachlanedsMelbourne (Melbourne: La Trobe University,
1990), 103-119. Political economy was behind the unusually high
profile of corporate sponsors of Irish investment capital into South Australian
land, with associated emigration by labourers. Four distinct irons stoked the
fire of Irish expatriation to South
Australia between 1836 and the temporary end to
assisted emigration in 1843. They were the South Australian Colonisation
Commission, 1835-1842, the South Australian Protestant Emigration Community of
1837, the Irish South Australian Emigration Society of 1839 and its successors
, and Colonel George Wyndham (1838-1840) and Sir Montague Lowther
Chapman (1840-1853). Irish emigrants to South
Australia comprised large numbers of skilled workers
who were town dwellers with some capital. The injection of so many Irish
imperial factors into South Australia's
settlement rendered it for a time a 'New
Anglo-Irish Province'.
Murphy, E, From
the Blackwater
Valley to the Old Mallee: An
Irish/Australian Family and Community History, (East
Melbourne, Vic: Elizabeth Murphy, 2006). [NMA 929.20994 MUR]
O'Brien, J and P
Travers, The Irish Emigrant Experience in Australia, (Swords, Ireland: Poolbeg, 1991). [NMA 994.0049162 IRI]
O'Farrell, P, B Trainor and Ulster
Historical Foundation, Letters from Irish Australia, 1825-1929, (Sydney:
New South Wales University Press;Ulster Historical
Foundation, 1984).
O'Mahony, C and V Thompson, Poverty
to Promise: The Monteagle Emigrants, 1838-58, (Darlinghurst, N.S.W.: Crossing Press, 1994). [NMA
305.8916094 OMA]
Patrick, R and H Patrick,
Exiles Undaunted: The Irish Rebels Kevin and Eva O'Doherty, (St Lucia,
Qld: University of Queensland, 1989).
[NMA 994.0049162 PAT] Kevin (a brilliant doctor) and Eva (a
popular poetess) O'Doherty left a stormy past of political dissent in Ireland in 1860 to immigrate to Australia.
As a parliamentarian in 1867, Kevin introduced Queensland's first Health Act. Eva was the
acclaimed Irish nationalist poet, 'Eva of the Nation'. He later became famous
as a surgeon, parliamentarian and leader of the Catholic laity. A campaigner
for Home Rule, he returned to Ireland
in 1885 and witnessed the movement's defeat before returning to Australia.
Reid, R, ''that
Famine is Pressing each Day More Heavily upon them’: The Emigration of Irish Convict
Families to New South Wales, 1848-1852', In Richards,E,
ed. Poor Australian Immigrants in the Nineteenth Century, (Canberra:
Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration and Multicultural
Studies, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University,
1991), pp.69-96.
Reid, R, 'Some
Basic 19th Century Irish Immigrant Records', Timespan
(18), Mar 1985, pp.19-22.
'Green Threads of
Kinship!: Aspects of Irish Chain/ Migration to New South Wales, 1820/ 1886', Familia v.2 (3), 1987, pp.47-56.
'The Coming of the
Irish Orphan Girls to the Southern Tablelands March 1850', Canberra
Historical Journal (29), Mar 1992, pp.22-27.
Reid, Richard and
Keith Johnson eds. The Irish Australians: Selected Articles for Australian
and Irish Family Historians, (Sydney:
Society of Australian Genealogists and Ulster Historical Foundation,
1984). A range of twelve articles which indicate the variety of
contemporary interest in the Irish Australians. Titles include: A signpost to
Irish-Australian state papers; The 'Queen' - 1st Irish convict ship to New
South Wales; Convicts from Ireland 1788-1868; Sources for Irish-Australia
genealogy in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; From Ballyduff to Boorowa - Irish
assisted immigration to New South Wales, 1830-1896; John Flood - Fenian exile;
Irish gravestone inscriptions and the genealogist; and Ireland over here -
nineteenth century Irish immigrants in southern New South Wales.
Richards, Eric ed.
Visible Women: Female Immigrants in Colonial Australia,( Canberra:
Australian National University.
Research School
of Social Sciences. Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration
and Multicultural Studies, 1995). This collection includes the following
papers: Convict women and assisted female immigrants compared 1841 a turning
point; glimpses of unassisted English women arriving in Victoria, 1860-1900;
immigrant women in narratives of divorce; independent women - South Australia's
assisted immigrants 1872-1939; and the unimportance of gender in explaining
post-famine Irish emigration. Female immigration is seen as a crucial variable
in the history of immigration to Australia and was a prominent
factor in the design of the European population.
Richards, Eric
'Workers for Australia: A Profile of British and Irish Immigrants Assisted to
New South Wales in 1841', Journal of the Australian Population Association
v.15 (1), May 1998 1998,
pp.1-33. Convict transportation to New South Wales was terminated in 1841. It
was swiftly replaced by a new population stock in the form of the greatest
Australian immigration before the gold rushes. This profile of 20,000 British
and Irish assisted migrants, based on individual-level data, establishes their
age, sex, religious, educational and occupational characteristics. Their
composition differed markedly from the existing colonial population and other
migrant flows at the time. They reflected the recruiting methods of the time as
well as the changing migration propensities in the British
Isles. They constituted a new start in Australian demographic
development. This article provides a reconstruction of the socio-economic
characteristics of the 1841 migrants and as such a new mid-century benchmark
for systematic comparisons with other migrant populations, within and beyond Australia,
and in other periods. The article notes it is a contribution to the
quantitative study of colonial society. (Author abstract)
Richards, Eric 'An
Australian Map of British and Irish Literacy in 1841', Population Studies
v.53 (3), Nov 1999, pp.345-359. This contribution to the study of
literacy transition in Britain,
Ireland and Australia
also touches on the relationship between literacy and international migration.
Some 20,000 emigrants arrived in Australia
in 1841 and their literacy is here established at the individual level, and
then related to regional origins, occupations, religion, sex and family status
in the British Isles. The new Australian data
offer unusual evidence to juxtapose with the prevailing account of British and
Irish literacy. The paper makes systematic comparisons of the immigrant
evidence with existing literacy findings for the populations of England and Wales,
of Ireland, and the colonial
population of Australia
in the year 1841. The results also show extraordinary similarity of rank
orderings between the Australian data and the conventional sources. The results
show that the immigrants were consistently more literate than the home and the
receiving populations and indicate a substantial link between migration and
literacy. (Author abstract)
Richards, Eric
'The First Mass Emigration from Ireland to Australia', The Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.2 2002, pp.166-184. The greatest
emigration to Australia
before the gold rushes arrived under the Bounty Scheme in 1841. Although the
scheme did not target Irish, 13,000 of the 20,000 immigrants were from Ireland.
This article profiles the intake using statistical records of the immigrants'
social, economic and family details, and seeks to explain the characteristics
and substantial Irish proportion of the intake. The Irish intake of 1841 was
remarkably literate, young, unencumbered, and had a high proportion of women.
Financial assistance, gender and source region are shown to be significant
factors in inducing emigration. As a pre industrial economy with excess
agricultural labour, Ireland
best met Australia's
colonial labour requirements. The higher literacy levels of the immigrants,
compared to the home population, suggests that impediments to pre Famine emigration
were poverty and lack of knowledge and facilities. The 1841 emigration set the
pattern for future free emigration from Ireland
to Australia.
Richards, Eric Britannia's
Children : Emigration from England,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland
since 1600, (London: Hambledon
and London,
2004). "Britannia's Children is the first account of emigration from the
British Isles as a whole, including England,
Scotland and Ireland (Ireland
being part of the Britain
during the Great Famine and its classic age of emigration). Eric Richards
traces the stages of this extraordinary movement from the days of Raleigh and
the Mayflower to modern times, and shows the variety of motives that drove men
and women to make the most momentous decisions of their lives. He also draws on
a mass of examples of individual cases, voyages, destinations and
fates."--BOOK JACKET.
Richards, E and
others, Visible Immigrants: Neglected Sources for the History of Australian
Immigration, (Canberra: Australian National
University. Research School
of Social Sciences.Deptartment of History and Centre
for Immigration and Multicultural Studies, 1989. [NMA 304.894 RIC]
Rushen, E, Single and Free: Female
Migration to Australia,
1833-1837, (Melbourne:
Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2003).
[NMA 352.2410994 RUS] Over four years in the
1830s, 2,700 single women emigrated from Britain
and Ireland to Australia
under a scheme to redress the gender imbalance in the fledgeling colonies and
alleviate poverty in the United Kingdom (UK). The government sponsored scheme
was administered by the London Emigration Committee (LEC), formerly the Refuge
for the Destitute, which successfully despatched fourteen ships from London, Dublin and Cork to Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), and Hobart
and Launceston, Tasmania. Details of the scheme's
administration, the voyages, and the women's diverse expectations and
experiences show that the émigrés included many educated, skilled women and
retrained destitute women, and counter criticisms that unaccompanied female
emigration was not respectable and that the women were unsuitable for
employment or marriage. However, the scheme was flawed by poor reception
arrangements and lack of ongoing support for the women after arrival, and
eventually discontinued in favour of family emigration.
Return to Contents
Military
Connection
Campion, E, ‘Irish and Catholic and Australian’, The Sydney Papers v. 7 (2) Autumn 1995,
76-83. This article looks at what it
meant to be Australian, for the Irish, from the time of federation through to
the Second World War. It discusses the difficulty for Irish Catholics in
feeling a belonging to the British Empire rather than to their new homeland Australia.
Historically, the Australian national identity was not a separate entity but
subsumed by a British identity. The author discusses the difficulty for the
Australian Irish Catholics, particularly in relation to the conscription
campaigns of 1916 and 1917, where there was division in Australia along Irish Catholic and
British Protestant lines. The article concludes that over time, the Irish
Catholics softened and became more comfortable about being part of the Empire.
Connor, J, 'Irish
Soldiers in the 1st Australian Imperial Force', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 319-324.
Using information mainly collected from the Australian War Memorial, the
author provides a picture of what Irishmen in the AIF were like and where they
came from, and then gives brief outlines of four different Irishmen, Michael O'
Callaghan, John O'Connor, Jack O'Donnell and Reverend Everard
Digges La Touche, who
joined the army in 1914. Ideas are offered as to why these men volunteered for
the AIF since they were not conscripts, but chose to enlist. Motivational
factors were: these were paid jobs, they offered trips to Europe,
and they could fulfil the patriotic emotions of the
volunteers.
Doyle, H,
'Allegations of Disloyalty at Koroit during World War I [Victoria]', In Bull,P, et al eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1998),
pp.165-176. Irish traditions are
perpetuated in the district around Koroit, near Warrnambool, Victoria,
and during World War I Irish sentiment characterised the politics of the area.
Koroit, as elsewhere in Australia, was polarised over conscription between
political beliefs, on the one hand, and religious and racial identity, on the
other. This essay investigates stories, both told and untold, of incidents
surrounding the recruitment drives and conscription debate in Koroit that
highlight the sectarian fears and the antagonism between labour and
conservative, between Catholic and Protestant, of country Victoria at the time.
Oral accounts, newspaper reports and historical records of events at Koroit
differ, reflecting different perspectives of the social and political
background. The uncertainty of knowledge about Koroit's
wartime experience contributes to its significance, suggesting that what the
locals want to remember is not the divisions but rather the strength that Irish
nationalism once had in the town.
Harrison, J,
'Governors, Gaolers and Guards: Irish Soldiers at Moreton
Bay, 1824-42', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 300-310.
This paper looks at the Irish members of the six British foot regiments
which administered the Moreton
Bay penal settlement
between 1824 and 1842. These regiments were the 4th, the 17th, the 28th, the
40th, the 57th and the 80th. By analysing the backgrounds of the Irish members
of the foot regiments, Harrison provides case
studies which reveal several similarities between the soldiers who had the
responsibility of guarding convicts and the convicts themselves. Examples are:
the Irish soldiers came from precisely the same townlands and parishes in Ireland as the convicts; both groups were serving
in institutions, strictly bound by rules and regulations administered by the
British government; and both had come to Australia under orders. Harrison cites many other similarities, and considers the
implications of such similarities when assessing the relationship between the
two groups. It would not have been unusual for some of them to have known each
other in Ireland, and to
continue their friendship at Moreton
Bay. Because there were
only two classes of people at Moreton Bay, Harrison suggests that some of the
goodwill which existed there, could be attributed to the similarities between
some of the governors, gaolers and guards and their prisoners due to shared
Irish origins.
Moloney, L, 'The Queensland Irish
Volunteers 1887-1898', Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland
v.16 (1), Feb 1996, pp.14-20. At the
beginning of the 1890s, the Queensland Irish Volunteers had seven companies, a
battalion staff, and a band. By the beginning of 1898, they had all voluntarily
resigned. This article gives some insights into why they disbanded. There were
three main reasons for the end of the Volunteers. The first was economic. The
recessionary climate led to severe funding cuts in Australia's volunteer forces. The
second reason was the use of volunteers to put down civil disturbances like the
shearers' strike in 1891. The third and most important reason was the
antagonism of Imperial officers in the force to volunteers at all levels.
Wilcox, C, 'Irish
Volunteer and Militia Corps in Australia',
In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 311-318.
Before 1912, Australia's
citizen army was divided into volunteer corps and militia corps. Militia were
organised and paid for by governments, and volunteer corps were raised and,
largely, paid for by citizen soldiers themselves and by the community with
which they identified. Irish-Australians supported at least three corps in Australia's
citizen army before World War 1. They did so for military and social reasons
which are discussed in this paper, with varying degrees of loyalty to the Crown
and to their new country, and in spite of growing doubts by
non-Irish-Australians about the wisdom of public display of ethnic differences.
Wilcox looks particularly at corps in Sydney, South Australia and Queensland.
Return to Contents
New
South Wales
Ayres, P, Prince
of the Church: Patrick Francis Moran, 1830-1911, (Carlton,
Vic.: Meigunyah Press (Imprint of Melbourne University
Press), 2007)
Besnard, TP, A Voice from the Bush
in Australia: Shewing its Present State,
Advantages, and Capabilities in a Series of Letters from an Irish Settler and
Others in New South Wales
: With Appendices Containing Statistical Evidences, Information for Emigrants,
the Course of Husbandry Suited to the Country, and Other Observations on that
Important and Prosperous Colony, (Dublin: William Curry, 1839).
Calderwood, G, 'A Question of
Loyalty: Archbishop Daniel Mannix, the Australian Government and the Papacy,
1914-18.', Australian Studies (London,
England)
v.17 (2), Winter 2002, pp.55-94.
Cowburn, P, 'The Attempted
Assassination of the Duke of Edinburgh, 1868', Royal Australian Historical
Society Journal v.55 (1), 1969, pp.19-42. [NMA S 994 JOU*]
Donohoe, J H, The
Catholics of New South Wales,
1788-1820 and their Families, (Sydney: Archives Authority of New South
Wales, 1988).
Ford, PP, Cardinal
Moran and the A.L.P : A Study in the Encounter between Moran and Socialism,
1890-1907, its Effects upon the Australian Labor Party, the Foundation of
Catholic Social Thought and Action in Modern Australia, ([Melbourne]:
Melbourne University Press, 1966). [NMA 261.80994 FOR]
Gapps, S, 'Performing the Unknown:
The Re-Enactment of the 1804 Battle
of Vinegar Hill. [the Combination of Live Performance and History can Work
Wonders.]', History Australia v.1 (2), July 2004: 308-313. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200406788>.
Grassby, A, Six Australian
Battlefields: The Black Resistance to Invasion and the White Struggle Against
Colonial Oppression, (North Ryde, N.S.W.:
Angus and Robertson, 1988 .[NMA 994 GRA] A
history of events surrounding each battle is presented. Conflict between
Aborigines and whites at the Hawkesbury
River near Richmond
Hill, Parramatta,
Bathurst, Pinjarra and
Battle Mountain are described. Two rebellions
by whites at Vinegar Hill and Ballarat at the Eureka
Stockade are also included. (LT)
Hall, B, A
Nimble Fingered Tribe: The Convicts of the Sugar Cane, Ireland to Botany Bay,
1793, (Coogee, N.S.W.: B. Hall, 2002). [NMA
929.3944 HAL]
Hall, B, Death
Or Liberty: The Convicts of the Britannia: Ireland to Botany Bay
1797, (Coogee, N.S.W.: B. Hall, 2006). [NMA
929.3944 HAL]
Harty, R, 'From Cork to Kempsey: An
Irish Contribution to the Timing of Australian Federation', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.117-126. Thomas and Ellen Clarke arrived in Australia
in 1836 while Thomas was serving in the British army. After Thomas' army
discharge in 1840, the Clarkes settled into a farming
life, becoming with their children considerable landowners in the Macleay River
area near Kempsey, New South Wales (NSW). Although Irish Roman
Catholic and devoutly religious, the Clarkes were not
assertively Irish and appear to have been significantly Anglicised through
British army enculturation. Their youngest son, Francis, entered politics as a
supporter of Federation, resigning his Hastings-Macleay seat in the Legislative
Assembly to open the way for Edmund Barton to take the seat and lead the
Federation movement in parliament. It is suggested that the work of people like
Francis Clarke demonstrates that it was not the English who transformed Irish
Australia after the 1840s, but waves of Irish immigrants equipped with English
language, education and views of the primacy of politics.
Heaney, S, 'How
the Vinegar Hill Rebels Set the New Country on a Voyage of Self-Discovery: [the
1804 Rebellion at Vinegar Hill Helped Set a Political Agenda for the New
Colony]', Irish Echo (Balmain, NSW) v.17 (6),
11-24 Mar 2004, pp.9.
Keely, V, Dixon
of Botany Bay: The Convict Priest from
Wexford, (Strathfield, N.S.W.: St Pauls Publications, 2003). [NMA 282.415092 KEE] The remarkable story of James Dixon an Irish
priest wrongly accused and convicted of taking part in the Irish Rebellion of
1798 and transported to Australia
MacDonald, DI,
'Henry James O'Farrell : Fenian Or Moonstruck Miscreant?', Canberra and
District Historical Society Journal(3), Sep 1970, pp.1-13. [NMA S 994.7
JOU] The assassination attempt on the
Duke of Edinburgh in 1868 may be of little importance in the history of the
colony of New South Wales.
Yet it is indicative of the sectarian bitterness which marred relations between
Catholic and Protestant in those years. It illustrates, too, how the accused
was found guilty by the press, by responsible citizens and the public before
charges had been laid.
McIntyre, P, ''Reduced
to Great and Deep Distress': Families Abandoned because of Transportation to New South Wales', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.152-161. Many Irish women and children were left with
no means of support when their husbands and fathers were transported to New
South Wales (NSW). This article examines the plight of these families and their
options for government or non-government assistance. Some wives, such as Julia Whitehill, were able to join their husbands in NSW under a
policy of family reunion based on good behaviour by the convict husband and
respectability and moral behaviour on the part of the abandoned wife. This
policy continued for some years after the official end of transportation in
1840. However, as Ireland lacked a parish relief system and the Poor Law and
workhouse system were introduced too late to help most convict families, those
remaining behind were vulnerable to poverty, depending with variable success on
the limited and selective charity of voluntary organisations or the support of
relatives, landlords, neighbours and friends.
Moore, A, The United Irishmen
and South-West Sydney: A Reconsideration of the Waldersee
Thesis, (Sydney:
Crossing Press, 2000). In 1974 James Waldersee published his pivotal account of Catholic society
in colonial New South Wales (NSW). Waldersee argued
that the relatively high concentration of Irish Catholics in south west Sydney,
particularly Campbelltown, was largely attributable to the role of the colony's
deputy surveyor general and United Irishmen rebel, James Meehan, in securing
land grants for Irish settlers. This essay questions the influence of James
Meehan, known as Jimmy Mane, on Irish settlement, and discusses other factors
in settlement patterns that have been identified by other scholars of Irish
Australian history. These include the role of the magistracy and the
encouragement of farming in south west Sydney
as an alternative to the Hawkesbury region at a time when many United Irishmen
were granted tickets of leave or pardons. It is claimed that Meehan's role was
primarily to show how material prosperity and land ownership could mute the
antagonisms of 1798.
Moore, A, 'Another Wild Colonial
Boy?: Francis De Groot and the Harbour Bridge',
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.2, 2002, pp.135-148.[NMA Available
online through Informit http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200306731]
Moore, A, 'Phil
Cunningham: A Forgotten Irish-Australian Rebel [this is the Text of a
Presentation Delivered at 'Remembering Vinegar Hill' Seminar, Blacktown City
Council, 7 March 2004.]', Hummer (Sydney) v.4 (2), Winter 2004, pp.7-12.
<http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200409924>
Moore, A, Francis De Groot: Irish Fascist,
Australian Legend, (Annandale,
N.S.W.: Federation Press, 2005). [NMA 320.53309441 MOO] The first biography on Francis de Groot who
became part of Australian folklore for his part in the opening of Sydney
Harbour Bridge 1932. This story of the Bridge opening in all its colourful
detail sheds new light on the bizarre circumstances that had brought New South Wales to the
brink of civil war, and on de Groot himself.
Murray, R,
'Sydney's Brush with Bonaparte', Quadrant (Sydney) v.48, no.1-2, Jan-Feb
2004: 34-41. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200400670;
http://www.quadrant.org.au/php/archive_details_list.php?article_id=584>
[NMA S 052 QUA]
O'Farrell, P,
'Dreaming of Distant Revolution: A. T. Dryer and the Irish National
Association, Sydney, 1915-1916', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical
Society v.69 (3), December 1983, pp.145-160.
Orchiston, W, 'John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales; a Pioneer Southern Hemisphere
Variable Star Observer.', Irish Astronomical Journal v.27 2000,
pp.47-54.
Reece, B, The
Origins of Irish Convict Transportation to New South Wales,
(Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001). "This
study explores the pre-history of Irish convict transportation to New South Wales which
began with the Queen in April 1791. It traces earlier attempts to revive the
trans-Atlantic convict trade and the frustrated efforts by Irish authorities to
join in the Botany Bay scheme after 1786. The
nine Irish shipments to North America and the West Indies are described in
detail for the first time, including the dramatic outcomes in Nova
Scotia, Newfoundland and the Leeward Islands which eventually forced the Home Office
to find space for Irish convicts on the Third Fleet. These events are related
against the background of Dublin's burgeoning
crime rate in the 1780s, the critical insecurity of its prison system and the
troubled political relationship between Ireland
and Britain."--BOOK
JACKET.
Reid, R, ''That
Famine is Pressing each Day More Heavily upon them' : The Emigration of Irish
Convict Families to New South Wales, 1848-1852', In Richards,E,
ed. Poor Australian Immigrants in the Nineteenth Century, (Canberra:
Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration and Multicultural
Studies, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University,
1991), pp.69-96.
Reid, R, 'Green
Threads of Kinship!: Aspects of Irish Chain Migration to New South Wales, 1820/
1886', Familia v.2 (3), 1987, pp.47-56.
'The Coming of the
Irish Orphan Girls to the Southern Tablelands March 1850', Canberra
Historical Journal (29), Mar 1992, pp.22-27.
Reid, Richard and
Keith Johnson eds. The Irish Australians: Selected Articles for Australian
and Irish Family Historians, Sydney: Society of Australian Genealogists and
Ulster
Historical Foundation, 1984. A range of twelve articles which
indicate the variety of contemporary interest in the Irish Australians. Titles
include: A signpost to Irish-Australian state papers; The 'Queen' - 1st Irish
convict ship to New South Wales; Convicts from Ireland 1788-1868; Sources for
Irish-Australia genealogy in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; From
Ballyduff to Boorowa -
Irish assisted immigration to New South Wales, 1830-1896; John Flood - Fenian
exile; Irish gravestone inscriptions and the genealogist; and Ireland over here
- nineteenth century Irish immigrants in southern New South Wales.
Sheedy, K, 'From Convict Ship to
Legislative Assembly [Progression of Irish Convict John Hurley to Member of the
Legislative Assembly of New South Wales]', Australian Journal of Irish
Studies v.4 2002, pp.29-37. In 1824, John Hurley of
County Limerick, Ireland was transported to New
South Wales (NSW) for seven years for his part in a protest against high rents.
After working for four years in the Male Orphan Institute in Liverpool,
NSW and for two years for Irish settlers Captain Terence Murray and his son,
Hurley gained his freedom and settled in the strongly Irish enclave of
Campbelltown, NSW. Hurley became a prominent public figure and contributed
significantly to Campbelltown's economic, social and political development.
Successful in business as a publican, land-holder and racehorse breeder, Hurley
was instrumental in establishing a Catholic Church and school, mail and banking
services, and roads and utilities. With the arrival of representative
government, Hurley began a long and remarkable political career, first as a
member of a district council, and subsequently as a member of the NSW
Legislative Assembly, in which he was active into his eighties.
Silver, LR, The
Battle of Vinegar Hill: Australia's Irish Rebellion 1804, (Sydney:
Doubleday, 1989). [NMA 364.13109944 SIL]
Symes, JG, The Castle Hill
Rebellion of 1804, Revised ed, ([Castle Hill]: Hills District Historical
Society, 1990).
Tobin, GM, 'The
sea-divided gael: A study of the Irish home rule
movement in Victoria and New
South Wales, 1880-1916', (Master of Arts, Australian National
University, 1969).
Waldersee, J, Catholic Society in New South Wales,
1788-1860, (Sydney: University of Sydney Press, 1974). [NMA 282.944 WAL]
Whitaker, A,
'Swords to Ploughshares?: The 1798 Irish Rebels in New South Wales', Labour
History(75), Nov 1998, pp.9-21.
<http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200004706>
Whitaker, A, 'Irish Republican Support Activities in Sydney, 1969-1994', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.3 2003, pp.79-90. Irish
Republican activism in Australia
dates from the transportation of Irish rebels after the 1798 rebellion, and
includes the activities of the Young Irelanders of 1848 and the Fenians of the
1860s. The most recent phase of the struggle for a united Ireland commenced with the arrival of British
troops in the north of Ireland
in 1969. From 1969 to 1994, Irish Australian organisations including the Irish
National Association (INA), Sean South-Fearbal
O'Hanlon Society, Irish Civilian Relief Association (ICRA) and Australian Irish
Congress (AIC) organised protests and rallies, held fund-raising events,
brought Irish Republican speakers to Australia, and supported a hunger strike
campaign. Although Australian Irish Republican support was not as important
financially as that of the United States (US), Irish Republican activism in Australia
from 1969 to 1994 was more widespread and prolonged than has been credited, and
important in promoting international solidarity among the Irish diaspora.
Whiting, B, Victims
of Tyranny: The Story of the Fitzgerald Convict Brothers, (Strathfield, N.S.W.: Harbour Publishing, 2004). [NMA
994.020922 WHI]
Wright, B and
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, In the Name of Decent Citizens: The
Trials of Frank De Groot, (Sydney:
ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006). [NMA
320.533099441 WRI]
Return to Contents
Notables
and Notorious
There are
obviously many other ‘notable or notorious’ people of Irish descent, and not
all could be named here. This is a
representative sample. Not included is the most notorious of them all, Ned
Kelly. The literature is huge, and
recording any here would be redundant.
Ayres, P, Prince
of the Church: Patrick Francis Moran, 1830-1911, (Carlton,
Vic.: Meigunyah Press (Imprint of Melbourne University
Press), 2007). [NMA 282.092 AYR]
Bonyhady, T, Burke & Wills:
From Melbourne
to Myth, (Balmain, N.S.W.: David Ell Press,
1991). [NMA 919.40431 BON]
Byrne, NJ,
'Writing Robert Dunne: Brisbane's First Catholic
Archbishop', In Irish-Australian
Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July
1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
197-205 pp. The author has written a biography entitled
Robert Dunne, 1830-1917: Archbishop of Brisbane. Dunne had been viewed by his
peers as a man who was something of a disappointment, but when local studies of
various aspects of the Queensland Catholic experience began to appear in the late
1960s and 70s, a different picture of Robert Dunne emerged. Dunne was a
prolific writer and his personal papers comprised informed social commentary
and personal and spiritual reflection. Byrne, in this article, describes the
Robert Dunne that he discovered in the research for his book. Underlying all
Dunne's official attitudes and actions was his own unhappy experience of family
life as a boy and as a young priest in Ireland. This made him sensitive to
the challenges facing all families. In Australia, he searched for a new
sense of belonging. When he became Archbishop of Brisbane, he promoted social
policies which would improve Catholic social progress, teaching his people the
values of sobriety, thrift, and tolerance. Prison chaplaincy was also a high priority,
as was the development of Catholic education.
Calderwood, G, 'A Question of
Loyalty: Archbishop Daniel Mannix, the Australian Government and the Papacy,
1914-18.', Australian Studies (London,
England)
v.17 (2), Winter 2002, pp.55-94.
Cameron, J,
'George Fletcher Moore [Influential Member of 19th Century Western Australian
(WA) Elite]', Studies in Western Australia History (20), 2000, pp.21-34.
[NMA S 994.1 STU] The roles of George Fletcher
Moore, a key figure in early Western
Australia's (WA) ruling elite, included author,
landowner, merchant, explorer, lawyer, legislator, poet, musician, and pioneer
interpreter of Aboriginal language and customs. Confident, outgoing and
determined to succeed, he was intolerant of weakness. Born in Ireland in 1798, Moore emigrated to WA in 1830 and claimed his
land entitlements. This article traces Moore's
life from developing Upper Swan agriculture and exploring the hinterland, with
Aboriginal assistance, through his judicial career from 1832, to his political
activity as Legislative Council member. While recognising Aboriginal prior
occupation of the land, Moore
unsuccessfully tried to teach them Christian principles. Despite the deepening
1840s depression, Moore
maintained that colonists would prosper by simple living, hard work and
financial prudence. He returned to Ireland
for his wife's mental health and, after her death in 1863, he moved to London where he died in
1886.
.
Chetkovich, J, 'Not for Economic
Gain: Elsie Butler in Western Australia [Individual Experiences of Elsie and
George Butler, Irish Emigrants to Western Australia (WA)]', Studies in
Western Australia
History (20), 2000, pp.151-167. [NMA S 994.1 STU]
Documentary sources and historical analysis provide a picture of migration, but
studies of ordinary individuals' experiences uncover more of the story of Irish
emigration and the experience of the receiving country. Oral history reveals
insights not accessible through any other source. In the story of Elsie
Butler's emigration, cultural rather than economic issues are represented as
the dominant factors. Religious tension, or the potential for it, was the major
reason why Elsie Butler and her husband George left Ireland for Western Australia (WA)
in 1958. As Irish Protestants, they were unaware that the majority of Irish
migrants to Australia
had always been Catholic, so they stayed outside Irish networks. The central
liberating theme of their immigration experience was that they chose their
friends due to mutual interest, not class, religion or family. Physical
mobility accompanied their social mobility and the Butlers worked and lived in many remote areas
of WA.
Collins, P, Hell's
Gates: The Terrible Journey of Alexander Pearce, Van Dieman's
Land Cannibal, (South Yarra, Vic.: Hardie Grant Books, 2002. [NMA 365.6092 COL]
Colwell, M, The
Journey of Burke and Wills, (Sydney: Paul Hamlyn,
1971). [NMA 919.40431 COL]
Davis, RP, Revolutionary
Imperialist: William Smith O'Brien 1803-1864, (Darlinghurst,
N.S.W: Crossing Press, 1998) [NMA 941.5081 DAV]
Fenton, P, Les
Darcy: The Legend of the Fighting Man, (Chippendale, N.S.W.: Ironbark,
1994). [NMA 796.83092 FEN]
Fitzsimons, P, The
Ballad of Les Darcy, (Pymble, NSW: HarperCollins,
2007).
From Tent to
Parliament: The Life of Peter Lalor and His Coadjutors: History of the Eureka Stockade, (Ballarat [Vic.]: Berry, Anderson &
Co., 1934). [NMA RARE 994.50924 FRO]
Galbaly, A, Redmond Barry: An Anglo-Irish
Australian, (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1995) [NMA
347.9450350924 GAL and EDWARDS 347.9450350924 GAL]
Glover, M, A MacLochlainn and Tasmanian Historical Association, Letters
of an Irish Patriot: William Paul Dowling in Tasmania,
(Sandy Bay, Tas.:
Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 2005). [NMA 994.6031 LET]
Hardwick, G, 'The
Irish R.M.: Capt. John Molloy of the Vasse', Studies
in Western Australia History(20), 2000, pp.1-20. [NMA S 994.1
STU] This article explores the life of the
enigmatic Captain John Molloy, a senior administrative official in the Vasse, Western Australia (WA). Accounts of his parentage
and upbringing in England
vary. His military career began at the age of 13 and continued from his first
naval commission in 1804 until emigration to WA in 1829. Appointed Government
Resident for the Sussex District, and Magistrate and Collector of Customs at Augusta, he dealt with
stealing, murder and drunkenness among whaling and sealing ships' crews
visiting the WA coast. Relations with Indigenous Bibbulmen
and Wardandi peoples were characterised by the
violence and retribution which accompanied white settlers taking possession of
traditional lands. During the 1840s and 1850s, Molloy ruled his small world as
a benign autocrat. After his wife's death in 1843, he remained at Augusta and survived her
by 24 years. Molloy owned large tracts of land and died a wealthy man.
Kiernan, Colm ed. Australia
and Ireland 1788-1988:
Bicentenary Essays, (Dublin: Gill and
Macmillan, c1986). [NMA 305.89162 AUS]
Luscombe, T, Builders and
Crusaders, ([Melbourne]:
Landsdowne Press, 1967). [NMA 282.94 LUS]
MacDonald, DI,
'Henry James O'Farrell: Fenian Or Moonstruck Miscreant?', Canberra and
District Historical Society Journal(3), Sep 1970, pp.1-13. [NMA S 994.7
JOU] The assassination attempt on the Duke of Edinburgh
in 1868 may be of little importance in the history of the colony of New South Wales. Yet it
is indicative of the sectarian bitterness which marred relations between
Catholic and Protestant in those years. It illustrates, too, how the accused was
found guilty by the press, by responsible citizens and the public before
charges had been laid.
McEwan, M, Great Australian
Explorers, Revised edition, (Sydney: Bay Books, 1987). [NMA 919.404 MCE]
Mitchel, J and P O'Shaughnessy, The
Gardens of Hell: John Mitchel in Van
Diemen's Land 1850-1853, (Kenthurst,
N.S.W.: Kangaroo Press, 1988). [NMA 941.50810924 MIT]
Moore, A, 'Another Wild Colonial
Boy?: Francis De Groot and the Harbour
Bridge', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.2, 2002, pp.135-148. [NMA Available online
through Informit http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200306731]
Moore, A, Francis De Groot: Irish Fascist,
Australian Legend, (Annandale,
N.S.W.: Federation Press, 2005). [NMA 320.53309441 MOO]
The first biography on Francis de Groot who became part of Australian folklore
for his part in the opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge 1932. This story of the
Bridge opening in all its colourful detail sheds new light on the bizarre
circumstances that had brought New
South Wales to the brink of civil war, and on de
Groot himself.
Mulcahy, CM, 'Mulcahy
Bros. [Reknowned Irish Family Firm in 19th Century Western Australia
(WA)]', Studies in Western Australia History(20), 2000, pp.81-93. [NMA S
994.1 STU] Around 1900, the 'Mulcahy
Bros.' firm was well known in Western Australia (WA) and this Catholic Irish
family provided leadership and solidarity within the church and community. The
first female Mulcahy emigrated to Australia in 1865 and settled in Queensland. Other family
members followed as remittance or nominated passengers and some went to WA to
prospect for gold. The role of the matriarch, not exclusively Irish, emerged as
social and economic conditions left the female to rear the family in the male's
absence. With competition for licences reduced by the
temperance movement, the Mulcahys, like other Irish
immigrants, moved into the hotel and catering trade. Their successful business
ventures enabled the Mulcahys to be benefactors and
founders of clubs in Fremantle,
WA and the goldfields. They
became involved in livestock, agriculture and later, racehorses. The extended Mulcahy family represented migrants seeking a better life
and adapting effectively to Australian life.
Murgatroyd, S, The Dig Tree: The
Story of Burke and Wills, (Melbourne:
Text Publishing, 2003). [NMA 919.40431 MUR]
Burke and Wills are as legendary as Ned Kelly or Gallipoli in the Australian
consciousness - in 1860, they set out from Melbourne to cross the continent for the
first time. With extraordinary endurance and courage, they succeeded, only to
perish at Cooper Creek. A gripping account of their
travails, with new historical evidence.
O'Donnell, R, 'Michael
Dwyer : Wicklow Chief and Irish-Australian Hero', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 206-217. Michael
Dwyer has the status of Australia's
premier Irish hero figure. The most dramatic representation of this status
within Australia is his
tomb, Waverley Cemetery's Patriot's Monument which
commemorates heroes of the 1798 Rebellion. This biographical article traces his
involvement with the United Irishmen and the events of the Rebellion. Many
accounts have been written of Michael Dwyer, and his literary potential as a
figure of romance and adventure attracted much interest from poets, travel
writers and novelists who used the material offered by his countless escapes
and magnanimous acts which had made him a folk hero in Wicklow.
In 1805, he was transported to New
South Wales and in 1806, he became one of the leading
members of the Irish community and associated with other successful
compatriots. He remained in Australia
until his death in 1898.
O'Donnell, R and B
Reece, ''A Valuable Man' : James Meehan, United Irishman', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland and
Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney:
Crossing Press, 2000), pp.48-63. James Meehan was a
United Irishmen rebel who was convicted of treason in 1798 and rose from Irish
Australian convict to become the deputy surveyor general of colonial New South
Wales (NSW). This essay explores why, in spite of his considerable material
achievements, Meehan, known as Jimmy or Jemmy Mane,
is almost forgotten in Australian historical writing, and argues that the
significance of his Irish and colonial careers has not been fully appreciated.
Meehan's role in the United Irishmen is summarised. In NSW, Meehan avoided any
involvement in United Irish politics, and his education, surveying skills,
integrity and energy made him invaluable to successive governments for almost
20 years.
Orchiston, W, 'Illuminating Incidents
in Antipodean Astronomy: John Tebbutt and the Great
Comet of 1861', Irish Astronomical Journal v.25 1998, pp.167-178.
Orchiston, W, 'John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales; a Pioneer Southern
Hemisphere Variable Star Observer.', Irish Astronomical Journal v.27
2000, pp.47-54.
Park, R and R
Champion, Home before Dark, (Ringwood, Vic.: Viking, 1995). [NMA
796.83092 PAR]
Partlon, A, 'Champion of the
Goldfields: John Waters Kirwan [Influential Newspaper
Editor and the First Federal Member for Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia (WA)]', Studies
in Western Australia History(20), 2000, pp.94-116. [NMA S 994.1
STU] Born into a prosperous and political Irish
family in Liverpool, England
in 1869, John Waters Kirwan emigrated to Australia
in 1889. In 1895 he became editor of the newly established 'Kalgoorlie Miner'.
The newspaper prospered and exercised powerful political influence. Kirwan campaigned for miners and became involved in the
alluvial rights dispute of 1898. Subsequently, Kirwan
lost his bid for a Legislative Council seat and the paper successfully defended
a libel suit. As 1900 approached, constitutional debate preoccupied the nation.
'Separation for Federation' was the cry of the 'Miner' for the goldfields to
join the Federation as an independent State if 'Westralia'
would not. After the overwhelming vote for Federation, Kirwan
became the first Federal member for Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia (WA) then an
Independent in the Legislative Council for 38 years. Since his death in 1949,
historians have unsuccessfully attempted to diminish his pivotal role in the WA
Federal movement.
Patrick, R and H
Patrick, Exiles Undaunted: The Irish Rebels Kevin and Eva O'Doherty, (St
Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland, 1989). [NMA 994.0049162
PAT] Kevin (a brilliant doctor) and Eva (a
popular poetess) O'Doherty left a stormy past of political dissent in Ireland in 1860 to immigrate to Australia.
As a parliamentarian in 1867, Kevin introduced Queensland's first Health Act. Eva was the
acclaimed Irish nationalist poet, 'Eva of the Nation'. Van
Diemen's Land. He later became famous as a surgeon,
parliamentarian and leader of the Catholic laity. A campaigner for Home Rule,
he returned to Ireland in
1885 and witnessed the movement's defeat before returning to Australia.
Petrow, S, 'Island Prison: John Mitchel in Van Diemen's Land',
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.3 2003,
pp.62-78. John Mitchel
was an Irish rebel who was transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1849. This article analyses Mitchel's experiences as an Irish Exile and his responses
to them, as recorded in his 'Jail Journal'. 'Jail Journal' is considered
important on many levels, having been a source of strength for Mitchel, and now providing a literate and insightful
historical political and social commentary and a symbolic statement of Irish
determination and defiance. Although Mitchel resented
captivity, he adjusted to his new surroundings and developed an environmental
awareness. Holding strong anti-transportation views, Mitchel
distinguished himself from the convicts, whom he considered were too
well-treated. Eventually able to bring his family out and establish a farm, he
enjoyed comparative liberty in the companionship of fellow Irish Exiles.
However, Mitchel longed for true liberty and tired of
the Englishness of Van Diemen's Land, and escaped to the United States (US) in
1853.
Reid, R and A
Fitzgerald, 'Ireland and Australia
-Series of 2 Parts-: Part 1: Irish/ Australians since 1788 have been Famous and
Infamous. Part 2: Irish Links with the Canberra District', Canberra Times, 4 June 1985: 10
4 June 1985: 11 1985.
Reid, Richard and
Keith Johnson eds. The Irish Australians: Selected Articles for Australian
and Irish Family Historians, (Sydney:
Society of Australian Genealogists and Ulster Historical Foundation,
1984). A range of twelve articles which indicate
the variety of contemporary interest in the Irish Australians. Titles include:
A signpost to Irish-Australian state papers; The 'Queen' - 1st Irish convict
ship to New South Wales; Convicts from Ireland 1788-1868; Sources for
Irish-Australia genealogy in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland; From
Ballyduff to Boorowa -
Irish assisted immigration to New South Wales, 1830-1896; John Flood - Fenian
exile; Irish gravestone inscriptions and the genealogist; and Ireland over here
- nineteenth century Irish immigrants in southern New South Wales.
Rule, P, 'Honora and Her Sisters: Success and Sorrow among Irish
Immigrant Women in Colonial Victoria', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 151-160 pp. By
focusing on thirteen Irish women who arrived in Victoria
in the late 1840s and 1850s and settled in Geelong, Pauline Rule aims to explore the
diversity of the Irish female migrant experience, reconstituting its little
stories rather than constructing a meta-narrative which symbolises women as
bearers of tradition. The non-traditional nature of the activites
of these Irish women settlers is described by considering their individual life
histories. The most easily recovered story was that of Honora
Hourigan, who, according to Rule, was a strong and
capable woman, a widow who raised a large family and had a public persona as a
business-woman and landlord. Other Irish women in Rule's study are: Ellen
Cummins, Mary Davoren, Mary Dunn, Margaret Shanahan,
Catherine Broderick, Penelope Dunn, Mary Gleeson, Bridget Dunn, Margaret Dunn,
Anne Keegan, Ellen Hayes and Margaret Burke.
Sheedy, K, 'From Convict Ship to
Legislative Assembly [Progression of Irish Convict John Hurley to Member of the
Legislative Assembly of New South Wales]', Australian Journal of Irish
Studies v.4 2002, pp.29-37. In 1824, John
Hurley of County Limerick, Ireland was transported to New
South Wales (NSW) for seven years for his part in a protest against high rents.
After working for four years in the Male Orphan Institute in Liverpool,
NSW and for two years for Irish settlers Captain Terence Murray and his son,
Hurley gained his freedom and settled in the strongly Irish enclave of
Campbelltown, NSW. Hurley became a prominent public figure and contributed
significantly to Campbelltown's economic, social and political development.
Successful in business as a publican, land-holder and racehorse breeder, Hurley
was instrumental in establishing a Catholic church and school, mail and banking
services, and roads and utilities. With the arrival of representative
government, Hurley began a long and remarkable political career, first as a
member of a district council, and subsequently as a member of the NSW
Legislative Assembly, in which he was active into his eighties.
Swanwick, R, Les Darcy : The
Legend , Champion of Champions, ([Sydney
?]: R. Swanwick, 1994). [NMA 796.83092 SWA]
Williams, P, Matthew
Brady and Ned Kelly: Kindred Spirits,
Kindred Lives, (North Melbourne, VIic.: Arcadia, 2007). [NMA
364.1552 WIL]
Wright, B and
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, In the Name of Decent Citizens: The
Trials of Frank De Groot, (Sydney:
ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2006). [NMA
320.533099441 WRI]
Return to Contents
Politics
and Law
Ainsworth, J,
'Thomas Fitzgerald, the Irish National Association of Queensland and Australian
National Security, 1916-21', Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.5
2005, pp.66-80. http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200606808>.
Brennan, G, 'The
Irish and the Law in Australian', Irish Jurist v.21 1986.
Calderwood, G, 'A Question of
Loyalty: Archbishop Daniel Mannix, the Australian Government and the Papacy,
1914-18', Australian Studies (London,
England)
v.17 (2), Winter 2002, pp.55-94.
Campbell, R,
'Irish Lawyers in the Port Phillip District
and Victoria 1838-1860', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville and N McLachlaneds (Melbourne: La
Trobe University, 1990), 39-50. The
early lawyers who came from Ireland
to the Port Phillip
District and Victoria added life and colour to the place.
William Foster Stawell won a steeplechase, and
Redmond Barry engaged in illegal duelling. The appointment of another Irish
barrister to the Supreme Court bench in 1856 raised the Irish composition of
the bench to half. Another appointment in February 1857 raised the Irish
composition to three quarters of the Bench. The Irish judges and others helped
create the sort of peaceful society and security so necessary for development.
As far as the court system goes one Irish influence was the St Patrick's Day
holiday observed by the Supreme Court for many years. Irish lawyers in general,
helped considerably in the establishment and extension of the traditional
British Legal system, both in Melbourne and
throughout Victoria.
Doyle, H,
'Allegations of Disloyalty at Koroit during World War I [Victoria]', In Bull,P, et al eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1998),
pp.165-176. Irish traditions are
perpetuated in the district around Koroit, near Warrnambool, Victoria,
and during World War I Irish sentiment characterised the politics of the area.
Koroit, as elsewhere in Australia, was polarised over conscription between
political beliefs, on the one hand, and religious and racial identity, on the
other. This essay investigates stories, both told and untold, of incidents
surrounding the recruitment drives and conscription debate in Koroit that
highlight the sectarian fears and the antagonism between labour and
conservative, between Catholic and Protestant, of country Victoria at the time.
Oral accounts, newspaper reports and historical records of events at Koroit
differ, reflecting different perspectives of the social and political
background. The uncertainty of knowledge about Koroit's
wartime experience contributes to its significance, suggesting that what the
locals want to remember is not the divisions but rather the strength that Irish
nationalism once had in the town.
Ford, PP, Cardinal
Moran and the A.L.P.: A Study in the Encounter between Moran and Socialism,
1890-1907, its Effects upon the Australian Labor Party, the Foundation of
Catholic Social Thought and Action in Modern Australia, ([Melbourne]:
Melbourne University Press, 1966). [NMA 261.80994 FOR]
Forth, G, 'The
Anglo-Irish in Early Australia: Old World Origins and Colonial Experiences', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville and N McLachlaneds (Melbourne: La Trobe University, 1990), 51-62
. This paper, which focuses mainly on the pre-gold rush
period, is based on research into the old world background, motivation and
colonial experiences of the Anglo-Irish in early Australia. Until recently
individual Anglo-Irish have been regarded as English who just happen to be born
in Ireland.
Yet though the two nationalities had a great deal in common and actual
differences are difficult to define, the Anglo-Irish bought with them to
Australia their own distinctive attitudes and values. The Anglo-Irish were
prominent in virtually every reform movement in pregold
rush Australia.
These included measures to protect Aborigines, abolish transportation and to
introduce more representative, local forms of government. Most Anglo-Irish
emigrants came to Australia
as temporary exiles and eventually planned to return and resettle in Ireland.
From Tent to
Parliament: The Life of Peter Lalor and His Coadjutors: History of the Eureka Stockade, (Ballarat [Vic.]: Berry, Anderson &
Co., 1934) , 48 p. [NMA RARE 994.50924 FRO]
Galbaly, A, Redmond Barry: An Anglo-Irish
Australian, (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1995). [NMA
347.9450350924 GAL and EDWARDS 347.9450350924 GAL]
Harty, R, 'From Cork to Kempsey: An
Irish Contribution to the Timing of Australian Federation', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.4 2002,
pp.117-126. Thomas and Ellen Clarke arrived in Australia
in 1836 while Thomas was serving in the British army. After Thomas' army
discharge in 1840, the Clarkes settled into a farming
life, becoming with their children considerable landowners in the Macleay River
area near Kempsey, New South Wales (NSW). Although Irish Roman
Catholic and devoutly religious, the Clarkes were not
assertively Irish and appear to have been significantly anglicised through
British army enculturation. Their youngest son, Francis, entered politics as a
supporter of Federation, resigning his Hastings-Macleay seat in the Legislative
Assembly to open the way for Edmund Barton to take the seat and lead the
Federation movement in parliament. It is suggested that the work of people like
Francis Clarke demonstrates that it was not the English who transformed Irish
Australia after the 1840s, but waves of Irish immigrants equipped with English
language, education and views of the primacy of politics.
Jupp, J, 'Ethnicity, Race and
Sectarianism', In Simms,M ed. 1901 : The Forgotten
Election, (St Lucia
[Brisbane], Qld: University
of Queensland Press in
association with the API Network and Curtin University of Technology, 2001),
pp.135-148, 270. This paper examines the social and
political context of the 1901 Australian election, particularly in relation to
ethnicity, race, and sectarianism. It is argued that the first Australian
Federal election was not the start of a new era, but the continuation of the
old. Imperial loyalty remained a powerful sentiment in all political parties,
and remained so until the end of World War I. White Australia was also firmly
entrenched by the election. The 1901 Parliament pledged to create a 'nation for
a continent and a continent for a nation' bound together by a 'crimson thread
of kinship'. It proceeded to do so for those of British Protestant descent and,
grudgingly, for Irish Catholics and Nordic Protestants. However, it took no
heed of the Indigenous people and was dedicated to excluding other
non-Europeans altogether. These preferences lingered for over sixty years, and
are still evident in some quarters today.
MacDonagh, O, The Sharing of the
Green: A Modern Irish History for Australians, (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen
and Unwin, 1996) . This book is designed for
those Australians of Irish descent who would like to learn more of the history
of their homeland. This modern history focuses on the period of Irish history
when emigration was at its peak - 1790 to 1945. There is a special emphasis on
religion, land protest, attitudes to authority, respectability, the imperial
connection, and especially, politics. Over eight million Irish emigrated
between 1788 and 1914. Only 500,000 of these settled in Australia. However, their influence
extended far beyond their actual numbers. They were a founding people for Australia.
The background to this group will help Australians to understand how their
country developed historically.
Macintyre, C, 'The
Adelaide Irish and the Politics of St Patrick's
Day 1900-1918', In Irish-Australian
Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July
1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
182-196. St Patrick's Day in Adelaide,
prior to World War 1, provided celebrations that were little more than a
regular march and a programme of sports and speeches. There was little that was
obviously Irish about the festivities. The South Australian Irish took care not
to alienate their host community by the promotion of overt ethnic division.
Yet, by 1918, a more pronounced political identification with the Irish
Nationalists had emerged and participants were invited to show their 'Sinn Fein
spirit' and to make the day an 'Irish festival'. This article traces the
history of this change, making a connection between the burgeoning political
demands of the Home Rulers and the growing influence and importance of the
emergent nationalist cultural expressions of the Irish. The nature of the
conflict between the Irish and the British changed during the First World War,
so the cultural and political dimensions of St Patrick's Day marches and the
political concerns of the Irish in South
Australia changed. It was the Easter Week uprising
and its aftermath that acted to change the way Irish-Australians saw themselves
and their relationship with the rest of the broader Australian community. The
fear of alienating the broader community had disappeared. (Author abstract)
McCorkell, DE, 'Brother Ronald Fogarty's
Catholic Education in Australia,
1806-1950, Volumes I and II: A Reappraisal', (unpublished Master of Education
thesis, University
of Melbourne, 1990), 96
leaves.
O'Farrell, P, 'The
Irish Republican Brotherhood in Australia: The 1918 Internments', In MacDonagh,O, WF Mandle and P
Travers eds. Irish Culture and Nationalism, 1750-1950, (London:
Macmillan/Humanities Research Centre, ANU, 1950),
pp.182-193. On 17 June 1918, seven members of the
Irish National Association (INA) were arrested and detained on the grounds that
they sought Irish independence of Britain. This book examines why
this was a matter of concern to the Australian government. The apparent link
was Irish neutrality; support of Irish independence was equated with British
disloyalty and even pro- Germanism. Rather than
increase patriotic fervour, detentions led to support for the detainees among
the Catholic community. The judicial report of Mr
Justice Harvey sought to reduce social tensions. In this, the case was assisted
by the defence by Albert Dryer, one of the detainees and Secretary of the INA,
in which he minimised the conspiracy allegations.
O'Farrell, P,
'Irish Australia at an End: The Australian League for an Undivided Ireland
1948-54', Tasmanian Historical Research Association Papers and Proceedings
v.21 (4), December 1974, pp.142-160. This article
traces the campaign in Australia
against the partition of Ireland.
It began with a 6 week speaking tour by Edmon de Valera, which received a hostile reception from the
Australian press as well as from some people of Irish descent who did not want
Irish problems imported into Australia.
The Irish National Association sought to develop a program for opposition to
partition, but was hampered by disagreement between the Sydney and Melbourne
branches; and by the fact that moral support was more difficult to organise
than fund raising. Support rapidly dwindled in 1954 when the IRA began a
campaign of violence.
O'Farrell, P,
'Dreaming of Distant Revolution: A. T. Dryer and the Irish National
Association, Sydney, 1915-1916', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical
Society v.69 (3), December 1983 1983, pp.145-160.
Partlon, A, 'Champion of the
Goldfields: John Waters Kirwan [Influential Newspaper
Editor and the First Federal Member for Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia (WA)]', Studies
in Western Australia History(20), 2000, pp.94-116. [NMA S 994.1
STU] Born into a prosperous and political Irish
family in Liverpool, England
in 1869, John Waters Kirwan emigrated to Australia
in 1889. In 1895 he became editor of the newly established 'Kalgoorlie Miner'.
The newspaper prospered and exercised powerful political influence. Kirwan campaigned for miners and became involved in the
alluvial rights dispute of 1898. Subsequently, Kirwan
lost his bid for a Legislative Council seat and the paper successfully defended
a libel suit. As 1900 approached, constitutional debate preoccupied the nation.
'Separation for Federation' was the cry of the 'Miner' for the goldfields to
join the Federation as an independent State if 'Westralia'
would not. After the overwhelming vote for Federation, Kirwan
became the first Federal member for Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia (WA) then an
Independent in the Legislative Council for 38 years. Since his death in 1949,
historians have unsuccessfully attempted to diminish his pivotal role in the WA
Federal movement.
Ronayne, J, First Fleet to
Federation: Irish Supremacy in Colonial Australia,
(Dublin: Trinity
College Dublin Press, 2002).
Rushton, PJ, 'Community Anxiety: An
Aspect of the Conscription Campaigns', Tasmanian Historical Research Association Papers and
Proceedings v.19 (2), June 1972, pp.49-60.
Rutherford, J,
'The Irish Conceit: Ireland
and the New Australian Nationalism', In Bull,P, F
Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland
and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.196-207. For over two decades the Australian
nationalist tradition with its images of an honest, white, innocent Australia
has been called into disrepute by the voices of multiculturalism, Indigenous
Australia, cultural history, and feminism. This essay identifies the emergence
of a new nationalism that seeks to reforge the
nationalist tradition, to redeem Australian nationalism from its colonial
taint. A mythical history of Ireland is deployed in new narratives of nation
such as those expressed in One Nation Party discourse, which revives the
'fighting Irish' stereotype, and in novels such as Tim Winton's 1994 'The
Riders'. These narratives seek to portray Irish Australians as victims of
colonisation by drawing analogies between Aboriginal dispossession and Irish
dispossession by the British. The article aims to close the comfortable but
imaginary gap between One Nation and the rest of Australians, to probe the pervasiveness
of Australian nationalism and its enjoyment by a far larger community.
Whitaker, A,
'Irish Republican Support Activities in Sydney, 1969-1994', Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.3 2003, pp.79-90.
Irish Republican activism in Australia
dates from the transportation of Irish rebels after the 1798 rebellion, and
includes the activities of the Young Irelanders of 1848 and the Fenians of the
1860s. The most recent phase of the struggle for a united Ireland commenced with the arrival of British
troops in the north of Ireland
in 1969. From 1969 to 1994, Irish Australian organisations including the Irish
National Association (INA), Sean South-Fearbal
O'Hanlon Society, Irish Civilian Relief Association (ICRA) and Australian Irish
Congress (AIC) organised protests and rallies, held fund-raising events,
brought Irish Republican speakers to Australia, and supported a hunger strike
campaign. Although Australian Irish Republican support was not as important
financially as that of the United States (US), Irish Republican activism in Australia from
1969 to 1994 was more widespread and prolonged than has been credited, and
important in promoting international solidarity among the Irish diaspora.
Return to Contents
Queensland
Byrne, NJ,
'Writing Robert Dunne: Brisbane's
First Catholic Archbishop', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at
the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,Red.
Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 197-205 pp. The
author has written a biography entitled Robert Dunne, 1830-1917: Archbishop of
Brisbane. Dunne had been viewed by his peers as a man who was something of a
disappointment, but when local studies of various aspects of the Queensland
Catholic experience began to appear in the late 1960s and 70s, a different
picture of Robert Dunne emerged. Dunne was a prolific writer and his personal
papers comprised informed social commentary and personal and spiritual
reflection. Byrne, in this article, describes the Robert Dunne that he
discovered in the research for his book. Underlying all Dunne's official
attitudes and actions was his own unhappy experience of family life as a boy
and as a young priest in Ireland.
This made him sensitive to the challenges facing all families. In Australia,
he searched for a new sense of belonging. When he became Archbishop of
Brisbane, he promoted social policies which would improve Catholic social
progress, teaching his people the values of sobriety, thrift, and tolerance.
Prison chaplaincy was also a high priority, as was the development of Catholic
education.
Connors, L, 'The
Politics of Ethnicity: Irish Orphan Girls at Moreton
Bay', In Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 167-181. The
Irish Migration Scheme resulted in over 4000 young women arriving in the
Australian colonies between October 1848 and August 1850, the latter years of
the Great Famine. This paper focuses on those Irish young women who were
forwarded by the Sydney migration officials to
what was then, the most northerly districts of New South Wales. The reception of these
young women at Moreton
Bay reveals some
important insights into the nature of ethnic politics and the significance of
those politics at the personal level. This paper draws together two approaches,
that of the influence of sectarian politics and of social history, to show the
way in which these young women successfully contested and negotiated the
hostile environment in which they found themselves. Drawing on the operation of
the law, and the appearance of some of these young women in the courtrooms in
Brisbane, Connors provides some insights into the politics and experiences of
these women in defending their rights and status. (Author abstract)
Fisher, Rod and
Barry Shaw eds. Brisbane:
The Ethnic Presence since the 1850s, (Kelvin
Grove, Qld: Brisbane History Group, 1993). This
volume comprises eleven papers on the history of ethnicity and multiculturalism
in the Brisbane
region since the 1850s. It concentrates on the colonial period from separation
to federation and the twentieth century through the two world wars until modern
day. The papers provide overviews of several ethnic groups during these
periods, especially the Welsh, Irish, Italians and Germans and highlights
various themes including: motivation, attraction, migration and distribution;
government policy and the demographic profile over time; economic and
occupational impact, including mining, farming and building; social and
cultural features, including associations, churches, cuisine; preservation and
adaptation of traditional culture; reciprocal attitudes and relations within
the Anglo-Celtic society; integration, assimilation, division and
discrimination; impact of war on ethnic communities; and life histories,
personal experiences and individual achievements.
Harrison, J,
'Governors, Gaolers and Guards: Irish Soldiers at Moreton
Bay, 1824-42', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 300-310. This
paper looks at the Irish members of the six British foot regiments which
administered the Moreton
Bay penal settlement
between 1824 and 1842. These regiments were the 4th, the 17th, the 28th, the
40th, the 57th and the 80th. By analysing the backgrounds of the Irish members
of the foot regiments, Harrison provides case
studies which reveal several similarities between the soldiers who had the
responsibility of guarding convicts and the convicts themselves. Examples are:
the Irish soldiers came from precisely the same townlands and parishes in Ireland as the convicts; both groups were
serving in institutions, strictly bound by rules and regulations administered
by the British government; and both had come to Australia under orders. Harrison cites many other similarities, and considers the
implications of such similarities when assessing the relationship between the
two groups. It would not have been unusual for some of them to have known each
other in Ireland, and to
continue their friendship at Moreton
Bay. Because there were
only two classes of people at Moreton Bay, Harrison suggests that some of the
goodwill which existed there, could be attributed to the similarities between
some of the governors, gaolers and guards and their prisoners due to shared
Irish origins.
Harrison, J, 'The
Fourth R: Reading,
Writing, 'Rithmetic and Religion. Irish Teachers in
Queensland Schools in the 1860s', The Australian Journal of Irish Studies
v.2 2002, pp.95-108. The colony of Queensland inherited
much of the 1830s New South Wales (NSW) educational system when it separated
from NSW in 1859. The NSW system was an adaptation of the Irish National System
that catered for both Protestants and Catholics on the basis of a 'common
Christianity'. Although there was general agreement in Queensland that education should include
religious teaching, no group permitted any one rite to dominate. The role of
schools in the promotion of religion divided the community in the years leading
up to the Education Act in 1875, and indeed until support for denominational
schools was withdrawn in 1880. The numerous Irish teachers in Queensland in the
1860s generally abided by the educational guidelines under the close scrutiny
of head teachers, inspectors, the Board of General Education and the public,
and provided an unbiased basic education in the four Rs.
Moloney, LW, 'Irish in Queensland', In Brandle,M and S
Karas eds. Multicultural Queensland:
The People and Communities of Queensland:
A Bicentennial Publication, (Brisbane: Ethnic Communities Council of
Queensland and the Queensland Migrant Welcome Association,
1988). John Finnegan was the first Irishman to
come to Queensland.
His arrival, on a ticket of leave, predates that of John Oxley (1823), whom he
guided to Moreton
Bay. Irish born Bishop
Quinn became the first Catholic Bishop of Brisbane
in 1861. He set up the Queensland Immigration Society which brought 3900 Irish
immigrants to Queensland
in the next two years. By 1901, 30 per cent of the population was Irish. By
1933, the proportion had been reduced to 2 per cent. The Irish have been
prominent in Queensland
politics, commerce, development and transport.
.
Moloney, L, 'The Queensland Irish
Volunteers 1887-1898', Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland
v.16 (1), Feb 1996 1996,
pp.14-20. At the beginning of the 1890s, the
Queensland Irish Volunteers had seven companies, a battalion staff, and a band.
By the beginning of 1898, they had all voluntarily resigned. This article gives
some insights into why they disbanded. There were three main reasons for the
end of the Volunteers. The first was economic. The recessionary climate led to
severe funding cuts in Australia's
volunteer forces. The second reason was the use of volunteers to put down civil
disturbances like the shearers' strike in 1891. The third and most important
reason was the antagonism of Imperial officers in the force to volunteers at
all levels.
Return to Contents
Religion and Education
Ayres, P, Prince
of the Church: Patrick Francis Moran, 1830-1911, (Carlton,
Vic.: Meigunyah Press (Imprint of Melbourne University
Press), 2007). [NMA 282.092 AYR]
Bourke, DF, The
History of the Vincentian Fathers in Australasia, ([Melbourne]: Congregation of the Mission, 1981). [NMA 271.770994 BOU]
Braniff, J, And Gladly Teach: The
Marist Experience in Australia
1872-2000, (Melbourne:
David Lovell Publishing, 2006) . [NMA 271.790994 BRA]
Byrne, NJ,
'Writing Robert Dunne: Brisbane's First Catholic
Archbishop', In Irish-Australian
Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July
1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
197-205. The author has written a biography entitled Robert Dunne,
1830-1917: Archbishop of Brisbane. Dunne had been viewed by his peers as a man
who was something of a disappointment, but when local studies of various
aspects of the Queensland Catholic experience began to appear in the late 1960s
and 70s, a different picture of Robert Dunne emerged. Dunne was a prolific
writer and his personal papers comprised informed social commentary and
personal and spiritual reflection. Byrne, in this article, describes the Robert
Dunne that he discovered in the research for his book. Underlying all Dunne's
official attitudes and actions was his own unhappy experience of family life as
a boy and as a young priest in Ireland.
This made him sensitive to the challenges facing all families. In Australia,
he searched for a new sense of belonging. When he became Archbishop of
Brisbane, he promoted social policies which would improve Catholic social
progress, teaching his people the values of sobriety, thrift, and tolerance.
Prison chaplaincy was also a high priority, as was the development of Catholic
education.
Calderwood, G, 'A Question of
Loyalty: Archbishop Daniel Mannix, the Australian Government and the Papacy,
1914-18', Australian Studies (London,
England)
v.17 (2), Winter 2002, pp.55-94.
Campion, E, 'Irish and Catholic and
Australian', The Sydney Papers v.7 (2), Autumn 1995,
pp.76-83. This article looks at what it meant to
be Australian, for the Irish, from the time of federation through to the Second
World War. It discusses the difficulty for Irish Catholics in feeling a
belonging to the British Empire rather than to their new homeland Australia.
Historically, the Australian national identity was not a separate entity but
subsumed by a British identity. The author discusses the difficulty for the
Australian Irish Catholics, particularly in relation to the conscription
campaigns of 1916 and 1917, where there was division in Australia along Irish Catholic and
British Protestant lines. The article concludes that over time, the Irish
Catholics softened and became more comfortable about being part of the Empire.
Coldrey, B, 'A most Unenviable
Reputation: The Christian Brothers and School Discipline Over Two Centuries', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
252-268 Novels, memoirs, autobiographies or oral
reflections which make reference to the Christian Brothers, mention the issue
of the Brothers' discipline in the classroom. Coldrey
recognises that most Christian Brothers used corporal
punishment in their classrooms over the last 200 years, but he queries whether
they were unique in this regard. This paper examines the issue to see where the
truth lies in the images that surround the Brothers. It looks at the changes in
rules and regulations governing discipline in Christian Brothers' schools over
the last 200 years, the broader context of educating working-class children,
and the pressures faced by Christian Brothers in classroom management and in
encouraging, often by the use of severe discipline, academic achievement and
upward social mobility of their students.
Davis, RP,
'Patrick O'Farrell and Irish Secular Nationalism', Tasmanian Historical
Research Association Papers and Proceedings v.20 (4), December 1973.
Donohoe, JH, The Catholics of New South Wales,
1788-1820 and their Families, (Sydney: Archives Authority of New South
Wales, 1988).
Fogarty, R, Catholic
Education in Australia
1806-1950, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1959). [NMA 371.070994
FOG]
Ford, PP, Cardinal
Moran and the A.L.P.: A Study in the Encounter between Moran and Socialism,
1890-1907, its Effects upon the Australian Labor Party, the Foundation of
Catholic Social Thought and Action in Modern Australia, ([Melbourne]:
Melbourne University Press, 1966). [NMA 261.80994 FOR]
Harrison, J, 'The
Fourth R: Reading,
Writing, 'Rithmetic and Religion. Irish Teachers in
Queensland Schools in the 1860s', The Australian Journal of Irish Studies
v.2 2002, pp.95-108. The colony of Queensland inherited
much of the 1830s New South Wales (NSW) educational system when it separated
from NSW in 1859. The NSW system was an adaptation of the Irish National System
that catered for both Protestants and Catholics on the basis of a 'common
Christianity'. Although there was general agreement in Queensland that education should include
religious teaching, no group permitted any one rite to dominate. The role of
schools in the promotion of religion divided the community in the years leading
up to the Education Act in 1875, and indeed until support for denominational
schools was withdrawn in 1880. The numerous Irish teachers in Queensland in the
1860s generally abided by the educational guidelines under the close scrutiny
of head teachers, inspectors, the Board of General Education and the public,
and provided an unbiased basic education in the four Rs.
Hogan, M, The
Sectarian Strand: Religion in Australian
History, (Ringwood, Vic.: Penguin Books, 1987). [NMA 279.408 HOG]
Jacobs, P, 'Free
Women on a Savage Frontier: St John of God Sisters on the Kimberley Pearling
Coast of Western Australia', Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.4
2002, pp.259-267. Nine Irish nuns of the order of
Sisters of St John of God arrived in the Beagle
Bay mission in the Kimberley region of Western Australia (WA) in
1907. The Aboriginal mission was the sole European outpost on the Dampier Peninsula. As conditions on the mission
became unviable, two of the group left to establish a separate foundation in
Broome, WA, where they could secure an income and independence by providing
nursing and schooling services, and minister to ill-treated women and children
in the town. This article examines how the nuns overcame harsh conditions,
illness and exile to stay in the Kimberley and work for the benefit of
Aboriginal, Asian and mixed-race people in the heyday of the pearling industry,
establishing close relationships with the Japanese, Filipino and Chinese
communities in Broome and ignoring widespread prejudicial attitudes to form an
enduring solidarity with the Indigenous Dampierland
people.
Keely, V, Dixon
of Botany Bay: The Convict Priest from
Wexford, (Strathfield, N.S.W.: St Pauls Publications, 2003. [NMA 282.415092 KEE]
The remarkable story of James Dixon an Irish priest wrongly accused and
convicted of taking part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and transported to Australia
Kildea, J, Tearing the Fabric:
Sectarianism in Australia,
1910 to 1925, (Sydney:
Citadel Books, 2002). [NMA 282.94 KIL]
Loyal Orange
Institution of Queensland, Laws and Ordinances of the Loyal Orange
Institution of Queensland, Incorporated by Letters Patent, Passed as Revised by
the Grand Lodge of Queensland, 1927 to 1932, (Brisbane: Printed for the
Grand Lodge of Queensland by K.A. Baltzer, 1927).
[NMA RARE 369.2943 LOY]
Lucas, B,
'Reflections on Multi-Faith: A Catholic Perspective', Australian Mosaic (2),
Autumn 2003, pp.16. Australia is a tolerant society,
but from time to time there have been instances of unjust discrimination based
on religion. Often, this was confused by links with ethnicity, for example
discrimination against the Irish in the early 20th century. Attitudes have
changed significantly and are enshrined in racial discrimination legislation.
Religious prejudice still exists, and some religions are more vulnerable to
attack than others. The solution is to be found in education and dialogue. In a
recent initiative a Catholic school and a public school in a predominantly Muslim
area of Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), brought their
students together to share experiences. More activities of this nature, at all
levels, will help establish interfaith dialogue and understanding.
MacDonagh, O, The Sharing of the
Green: A Modern Irish History for Australians, (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen
and Unwin, 1996). This book is designed for
those Australians of Irish descent who would like to learn more of the history
of their homeland. This modern history focuses on the period of Irish history
when emigration was at its peak - 1790 to 1945. There is a special emphasis on
religion, land protest, attitudes to authority, respectability, the imperial
connection, and especially, politics. Over eight million Irish emigrated
between 1788 and 1914. Only 500,000 of these settled in Australia. However, their influence
extended far beyond their actual numbers. They were a founding people for Australia.
The background to this group will help Australians to understand how their
country developed historically.
McCorkell, DE, 'Brother Ronald Fogarty's
Catholic Education in Australia,
1806-1950, Volumes I and II: A Reappraisal', (unpublished Master of Education
thesis, University
of Melbourne, 1990).
Murray, R, 'Proddies and Micks [Sectarian
Divide between Protestants and Catholics in Australia]', Quadrant v.49
(415), n4, Apr 2005, pp.30-37. [NMA S 052 QUA]
The proportion of Australians identifying as Catholic has fluctuated around 25
per cent since 1788, down to 20 per cent in the 1930s and back to 27 per cent
at present, with most of the rest identifying as Protestant. The 16th century
Reformation and Counter-Reformation and subsequent political dramas seeped into
the semi-consciousness of the English-speaking world. An understanding of the
underlying issues descended into mutual stereotyping by Catholics and
Protestants in Australia
until the 1960s ecumenical movement, when churches began to emphasise their
commonalities rather than their differences. This article analyses the
'sectarian problem', drawing on personal memory, others' memories or research
and relevant documentation. A deep communal divide was evident in issues such
as education and marriage, discrimination in employment and promotion, and the
influence of Freemasonry. Irish questions, immigration, politics and social
class exacerbated the divide, but Australianisation
and assimilation proceeded and largely overwhelmed sectarianism.
Murtagh, JG, Australia, the Catholic
Chapter, (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1959).
Nicholls, P,
'Turn-of-the-Century Protestant Militancy and Anglicanism : The Case of Christ
Church, Brunswick', In Warne,E
and R Zika eds. God, the Devil and a Millennium of
Christian Culture, (Melbourne: History
Department, University
of Melbourne, 2005),
pp.135-167.
O'Brien, JB, 'The Australianisation of the Australian Catholic Church: Panico - Culprit Or Victim? [Archbishop Panico]',
In Ireland
and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, Bull,P,
F Devlin-Glass and H Doyleeds (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
177-185. Italian Archbishop Panico,
Apostolic Delegate to Australia
from 1935, was a controversial and contentious personality. Panico
incurred the criticism of the Irish Government and clergy as well as that of
the Minister of Immigration, Arthur Calwell, over his
promotion of Australian trained priests over Irish ones as part of Vatican policy to Australianise
the Catholic Church. This essay aims to determine whether Panico
created or merely catalysed division in the
Australian Catholic Church between Irish and Australian born clergy. It is
concluded that it was Panico's abrasive attitude and
bias in his methods more than his agenda of Australian appointments that
aroused hostility. This allowed critics of the Australianisation
policy to focus on personality defects in their opposition to him.
O'Farrell, P, Documents
in Australian Catholic History, 1788-1883, (London: Chapman, 1969).
O'Farrell, P, The
Catholic Church and Community in Australia : A History, New, revised and expanded
edition, (Kensington, N.S.W.: University of New South Wales Press, 1977). [NMA
282.94 OFA]
O'Farrell, P,
'Catholic Church', Australian Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, (Terrey Hills : N.S.W.: Australian Geographic, 1996),
pp.688-691.
Paganoni, A, 'Taking the Pulse of the
Australian Catholic Church in the 1940s and 1950s', Studi
Emigrazione (Migration Studies) [Essays on Italian
Migration After World War II] v.41 (155), Sep 2004,
pp.619-632. This article attempts to delineate
the contours of the Catholic Church in Australia in the 1940s and 1950s.
During that period 300,000 Italian migrants found their way to Australia, although some eventually returned to Italy.
They were all Catholics, but their particular brand of Catholic traditions and
customs came face to face with an Irish-dominated and fairly well-entrenched
Catholicism. The article dwells only on the pulse of the Catholic Church at the
time and does not take into consideration the various stages of mutual
adjustment between the Italian migrants and the existing organisational and
administrative aspects of the Catholic Church. It analyses the level of
national cohesion and homogeneity of the Catholic Church in the vast Australian
continent as well as some of its national attributes and essential features.
Both Irish and Italian Catholics professed the same adherence to the Catholic
Church, but their cultural expressions differed considerably. (Edited author
abstract)
Patrick, R and H
Patrick, Exiles Undaunted: The Irish Rebels Kevin and Eva O'Doherty, (St
Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland, 1989). [NMA 994.0049162
PAT] Kevin (a brilliant doctor) and Eva (a
popular poetess) O'Doherty left a stormy past of political dissent in Ireland in 1860 to immigrate to Australia.
As a parliamentarian in 1867, Kevin introduced Queensland's first Health Act. Eva was the
acclaimed Irish nationalist poet, 'Eva of the Nation'. Van
Diemen's Land. He later became famous as a surgeon,
parliamentarian and leader of the Catholic laity. A campaigner for Home Rule,
he returned to Ireland in
1885 and witnessed the movement's defeat before returning to Australia.
Pawsey, MM and St. Patrick's College
(Manly, N.S.W.). Catholic Theological Faculty, The Popish Plot: Culture
Clashes in Victoria
1860-1863, (Manly, N.S.W.: Catholic Theological Faculty, St. Patrick's
College, 1983).
Perkins, H, The
Convict Priests, (Rosanna, Vic.: H. Perkins, 1984). [NMA 282.0922 PER]
Santamaria, BA, Daniel Manni , the Quality of Leadership, (Carlton, Vic.:
Melbourne University Press, 1984). [NMA 228.092 SAN]
Simons, PF, Tenants
no More, (Richmond, Vic.: Prowling Tiger Press,
1996). Based on letters and diaries which were found in
a backyard shed in suburban Melbourne over one
hundred years after they were written, this book looks at community life in Ireland
and the attempt to maintain that life in lands to which the Irish emigrated.
The letter revealed that a Samuel Clay had written the diaries. Clay had come
from Gurteen, a small community in southern Ireland,
where many of the letters originated, and he built a Methodist meeting house in
Gurteen. The most overriding impression is that of
the durability, vigour and revolutionary power of the
Methodist movement when it was transported to other lands by way of Irish
immigration.
Southerwood, WT, Lonely Shepherd
in Van Diemen's Isle: Father Philip Conolly, Australia's
First Vicar-General, (George Town, Tas.: Stella Maris Books, 1988). [NMA 282.0924 SOU]
Suttor, TL, Hierarchy
and Democracy in Australia,
1788-1870: The Formation of Australian Catholicism, (Carlton, Vic.:
Melbourne University Press, 1965). [NMA 282.94 SUT]
Tolcvay, M, 'Community and Church:
The Catholic Church and 'the Problem' of Italian Immigrants in the United
States and in Australia, with Special Reference to South Australia', Spunti e Ricerche
[Supplement: Italian Figures in Australian Landscapes] v.17 2002,
pp.50-70. Mass migration of Italians to both the
United States (US) and Australia
gave rise to what became known as 'the Italian problem'. When Italian migrants
arrived in the new country they carried with them their own set of religious
beliefs and customs that differed noticeably from those of the Irish dominated
Catholic Church. This article compares how 'the Italian problem' was handled in
the US, Australia in general, and South
Australia (SA) in particular. The article first investigates 'the problem' in
the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s when mass migration was at its peak,
and examines how the American Catholic Church tried to overcome 'the problem'
The article then examines the corresponding circumstances in Australia, which
began in the early 1920s. Finally, the article examines 'the problem' at a
local level, through the eyes of Father Paul Zolin,
the first permanent Italian priest in SA. (Edited author abstract)
Waldersee, J, Catholic Society in New South Wales, 1788-1860, (Sydney:
University of Sydney Press, 1974. [NMA 282.944 WAL]
Waugh, M, 'The
National System of Education in Victoria, 1849-1862 : Sir Richard Bourke and
the Irish Connection', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and
H Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity
and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.102-112. A system of state aided National
Schools for the poor was established in Ireland in 1831 with the aim of
promoting religious harmony through 'mixed' education. Although most of the
Irish National Schools became church schools by 1860, the original ideal
survived in the Irish model of education that evolved in New
South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. This article
recounts the crucial role played in the push for National Education by Sir
Richard Bourke, Governor of the colony of New South Wales from 1831. As a result of
Bourke's work, the concept of National Education was carried through the
education system of the new colony of Victoria
which was created in 1851. The early introduction of Victoria's 'Free,
Compulsory and Secular' Act of 1872 and its flow on to other States owes much
to the experience of the National System, the forerunner of State education in
Australia.
Williams, C,
'Moran, Mannix and St Patrick's Day [Cardinal Patrick Moran and Cardinal Daniel
Mannix]', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland
and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney:
Crossing Press, 2000), pp.143-151. From the end
of the nineteenth century the Catholic Church sought to transform the 'Irish
National Celebration' on St Patrick's Day into a demonstration of the strength
and unity of the Catholic body in Australia. Cardinal Moran of Sydney and Cardinal Mannix of Melbourne recognised the significance of the
celebrations in fostering a collective identity and memory among Irish
Catholics. This essay explores the relationship between the church and St
Patrick's Day in Melbourne and Sydney in the early decades of the twentieth
century, the impact that the onset of clerical control had, and how this
differed between the two cities. Although some scholars have argued that
clerical control of St Patrick's Day eroded authentic Irishness from the
celebrations, the church's role in sustaining ties between Ireland and Irish
Australians should be acknowledged, and Irishness and Catholicism seen not as
opposing but interdependent, complementary elements of Irish Catholic identity
in Australia.
Woolmington, Jean ed. Religion in
Early Australia:
The Problem of Church and State,(
Stanmore, N.S.W.: Cassell Australia, 1976). [NMA 279.4 REL]
Return to Contents
Resistance to Authorityy
Adam-Smith, P, Heart
of Exile: Ireland,
1848, and the Seven Patriots Banished ... (Melbourne: Nelson, 1986). [NMA
941.5081 ADA]
Amos, K, The
Fenians in Australia
1865-1880, (Kensington, N.S.W.: New South Wales University Press, 1988). [NMA
994.0049162 AMO]
Blee, J, Eureka, (Wollombi,
N.S.W.: Exisle Publishing, 2007). [NMA 994.57031 BLE]
Bolton, G, 'The Fenians are
Coming, the Fenians are Coming', Studies in Western Australian History (4),
Dec 1981, pp.62-67.
Christie, EM, The
Fenian Prisoners in Western Australia:
Extracts Relating to their Escape by the American Barque 'Catalpa', 1876, (1955).
Cowburn, P, 'The Attempted
Assassination of the Duke of Edinburgh, 1868', Royal Australian Historical
Society Journal v.55 (1), 1969, pp.19-42. [NMA S 994 JOU*]
Currey, CH, The Irish at Eureka, (Sydney: Angus
and Robertson, 1954). [NMA RARE 994.57031 CUR* and EDWARDS 994.57031 CUR]
Davis, R, 'Unpublicised Young Ireland Prisoners in Van Diemen's Land',
Papers and Proceedings (Tasmanian Historical Research Association) v.38
(3-4), Dec 1991, pp.131-137.
Davis, RP, Revolutionary
Imperialist: William Smith O'Brien 1803-1864, (Darlinghurst,
N.S.W: Crossing Press, 1998) [NMA 941.5081 DAV]
Devoy, J, P Fennell and M King, John
Devoy's Catalpa Expedition, (New
York: New York
University Press, 2006).
"The story of John Devoy's
1876 Catalpa rescue is a tale of heroism, creativity, and the triumph of
independent spirit in pursuit of freedom. The daily log on board the whaling
ship Catalpa begins with the typical recount of a crew intact and a spirit
unfettered, but such quiet words deceive the truth of the audacious enterprise
that came to be known as one of the most important rescues in Irish American
history. John Devoy's men aided in the break-in and
subsequent rescue of Irish political prisoners from the Australian coast,
allowing millions of fellow Irishmen and American-Fenians, many of whom
secretly financed the dangerous plot, to draw courage from the newly exiled
prisoners."; "Philip Fennell and Marie King, both descendants of a
pardoned Fenian prisoner, tell the story from John Devoy's
own records and from the ship's logbooks. John Devoy's
Catalpa Expedition includes an introduction by Terry Golway
and the personal diaries, letters, and reports from John Devoy
and his men."--BOOK JACKET.
Evans, Neil and
others eds. Eureka Stockade: As Reported in the Pages of the Argus
Newspaper, Second edition, (Melbourne,
Vic.: Education Centre State Library of Victoria, 1998).[NMA 994.5031 EUR]
From Tent to
Parliament: The Life of Peter Lalor and His Coadjutors: History of the Eureka Stockade, (Ballarat [Vic.]: Berry, Anderson &
Co., 1934). [NMA RARE 994.50924 FRO]
Gapps, S, 'Performing the Unknown:
The Re-Enactment of the 1804 Battle
of Vinegar Hill. [the Combination of Live Performance and History can Work
Wonders.]', History Australia v.1 (2), July 2004: 308-313. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200406788>.
Glover, M, A MacLochlainn and Tasmanian Historical Association, Letters
of an Irish Patriot: William Paul Dowling in Tasmania,
(Sandy Bay, Tas.:
Tasmanian Historical Research Association, 2005) . [NMA 994.6031 LET]
Graham, M and D Bamford, 'Chartists and Young Irelanders: Towards a
Reassessment of Political Prisoners in Van Diemen's Land',
Papers and Proceedings (Tasmanian Historical Research Association) v.32
(2), June 1985:.68-74.
Grassby, A, Six Australian
Battlefields: The Black Resistance to Invasion and the White Struggle Against
Colonial Oppression, (North Ryde, N.S.W.: Angus and Robertson, 1988). A
history of events surrounding each battle is presented. Conflict between
Aborigines and whites at the Hawkesbury
River near Richmond
Hill, Parramatta,
Bathurst, Pinjarra and
Battle Mountain are described. Two rebellions
by whites at Vinegar Hill and Ballarat at the Eureka
Stockade are also included. (LT). [NMA
994 GRA]
Halls, C, 'The
Great Escape: Fenians at Fremantle 1868-1876', Port of Fremantle
v.7 (4), 1982, pp.14-18.
Heaney, S, 'How
the Vinegar Hill Rebels Set the New Country on a Voyage of Self-Discovery: [the
1804 Rebellion at Vinegar Hill Helped Set a Political Agenda for the New
Colony]', Irish Echo (Balmain, NSW) v.17 (6),
11-24 Mar 2004.
'Irish Exiles', Australian
Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, (Terrey Hills :
N.S.W.: Australian Geographic, 1996), pp.1761-1862.
Keely, V, Dixon
of Botany Bay: The Convict Priest from
Wexford, (Strathfield, N.S.W.: St Pauls Publications, 2003).
The remarkable story of James Dixon an Irish priest wrongly
accused and convicted of taking part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and
transported to Australia
[NMA 282.415092 KEE]
Kiely, B, The Waterford
Rebels of 184 : The Last Young Irelanders and their Lives in America, Bermuda and Van
Diemen's Land, (Dublin: Geography Publications, 1999). [NMA
EDWARDS 941.91 KIE]
Kiernan, TJ, The
Irish Exiles in Australia,
(Melbourne: Burns & Oates, 1954).
MacDonagh, O, The Sharing of the
Green: A Modern Irish History for Australians, (St. Leonards, NSW: Allen
and Unwin, 1996). This book is designed for those
Australians of Irish descent who would like to learn more of the history of
their homeland. This modern history focuses on the period of Irish history when
emigration was at its peak - 1790 to 1945. There is a special emphasis on
religion, land protest, attitudes to authority, respectability, the imperial
connection, and especially, politics. Over eight million Irish emigrated
between 1788 and 1914. Only 500,000 of these settled in Australia. However, their influence
extended far beyond their actual numbers. They were a founding people for Australia.
The background to this group will help Australians to understand how their
country developed historically.
MacDonald, DI,
'Henry James O’Farrell: Fenian Or Moonstruck Miscreant?', Canberra and
District Historical Society Journal(3), Sep 1970, pp.1-13.
The assassination attempt on the Duke of
Edinburgh in 1868 may be of little importance in the history of the colony of New South Wales. Yet it
is indicative of the sectarian bitterness which marred relations between
Catholic and Protestant in those years. It illustrates, too, how the accused
was found guilty by the press, by responsible citizens and the public before
charges had been laid. [NMA S 994.7 JOU]
MacFarlane, Ian
and Victoria.Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.
Public Record Office eds. Eureka:
From the Official Records, (Melbourne:
Public Record Office, Arts Victoria, 1995). [NMA 994.5031 EUR]
Molloy, F,
''Affection's Broken Chain’: The Irish and Colonial Poetry', The Australian
Journal of Irish Studies v.2 2002,
pp.122-134. This article explores attitudes of
nineteenth century Irish immigrants towards their homeland and towards their
adopted land of Australia,
as expressed in poetry of the time. An Irish presence in Australian poetry can
be dated to the early 1800s. The early poetry reflected two alternative
responses to migration, restless rebellion that cannot shake off the homeland,
and enthusiastic assimilation. Indeed, these themes recur in poetry throughout
the colonial period. From the 1820s, Irish bushranger ballads celebrated
rebellion of the convict Irish, and adaptations of Gaelic poetry glorified a
distant land that contrasted with antipodean isolation and joylessness. By the
late nineteenth century, nostalgia was accompanied by awareness of a new
identity, a dual loyalty that proclaimed Ireland
as their home but Australia
as their country. The transfer of identity from Ireland
to Australia
was not yet contemplated, but by the 1880s the Irish Australian psyche had
moved firmly towards integration.
Molony, JN, Eureka, 2nd edition, (Carlton
South, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 2001).
Before dawn on 3 December 1854, colonial
troopers at Ballarat attacked a group of gold miners
who had thrown up a stockade in defiance and defence. Some diggers had guns,
but many were unarmed; some twenty of them were killed, along with four
troopers. In the decades that followed, the truth of what happened that morning
became obscured by partisans on both sides. For many years the Eureka Stockade
was regarded as a shameful event and almost forgotten; more recently, it has
been celebrated as a righteous stand against injustice. John Molony's Eureka vividly
recreates the story of Eureka
and unravels the myths that have come to surround it. The story of Australia's
first and only armed rebellion for democratic rights continues to provoke
passionate controversy and debate. This new edition of Molony's
classic work, now beautifully illustrated with historic Eureka images, will be welcomed by everyone
with an interest in the history of Australian democracy. [NMA 994.57031 MOL]
Moore, A, 'Phil
Cunningham: A Forgotten Irish-Australian Rebel [this is the Text of a
Presentation Delivered at 'Remembering Vinegar Hill' Seminar, Blacktown City
Council, 7 March 2004.]', Hummer (Sydney) v.4 (2), Winter 2004, pp.7-12.
<http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200409924>.
Murray, R,
'Sydney's Brush with Bonaparte', Quadrant
(Sydney), v.48, no.1-2, Jan-Feb 2004: 34-41. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200400670; http://www.quadrant.org.au/php/archive_details_list.php?article_id=584> [NMA S
052 QUA].
O Luing, S, Fremantle Mission, (Tralee,
Ireland: Anvil Books, 1965).
O'Brien, B and
others, Massacre at Eureka: The Untold Story, (Kew, Vic.: Australian
Scholarly Publishing in association with Sovereign Hill and the Museum of
Victoria, 1992). [NMA 994.57031 OBR]
O'Connor, L, ''the
Hooligans' of Australia and Cathleen Ni Houlihan : '98 Insurgency, Song, and
Clan Remembrance', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and H
Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity
and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.71-79. The Irish race, though scattered, is
held together by song. This essay explores the role of song in shaping an
oppositional political will and common memory among the diasporate
Irish, focusing on the tension between spontaneity and political consciousness
in political balladry. Around the close of the nineteenth century, the play
'Cathleen Ni Houlihan', by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, was released
coincidentally with the circulation of the neologism 'hooligan', apparently
derived from an Irish Australian song 'The Hooligans'. Both names are from the
Gaelic clan name O'hUallachain. The author explores
three themes, the relationship between the anglicisation
of Ireland
and the stereotyping of the Irish as violent atavists, the ambiguously amnesiac
and mobilising impact of political balladry, and
selective remembrance in commemorative discourse, through a comparison between
the rallying force of the song and the play and the O'hUallachain
clan war cry.
O'Donnell, R,
'Michael Dwyer: Wicklow Chief and Irish-Australian
Hero', In Irish-Australian Studies:
Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 206-217 pp.
Michael Dwyer has the status of Australia's
premier Irish hero figure. The most dramatic representation of this status
within Australia is his
tomb, Waverley Cemetery's Patriot's Monument which
commemorates heroes of the 1798 Rebellion. This biographical article traces his
involvement with the United Irishmen and the events of the Rebellion. Many
accounts have been written of Michael Dwyer, and his literary potential as a
figure of romance and adventure attracted much interest from poets, travel
writers and novelists who used the material offered by his countless escapes
and magnanimous acts which had made him a folk hero in Wicklow.
In 1805, he was transported to New
South Wales and in 1806, he became one of the leading
members of the Irish community and associated with other successful
compatriots. He remained in Australia
until his death in 1898.
Pease, ZW, The
Catalpa Expedition, (Carlisle, W.A.:
Hesperian Press, 2002). [NMA 365.0994 PEA]
Petrow, S, 'Men of Honour?: The
Escape of the Young Irelanders from Van Diemen's Land.
[Paper in Special Issue: Escape: Essays on Convict Australia.]', Journal of
Australian Colonial History v.7 (2005), 2005, pp.139-160. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200607427>.
Rude, G, Protest
and Punishment: The Story of the Social and Political Protesters Transported to
Australia,
1788-1868, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978). [NMA 365.34 RUD]
Russo, G, Race
for the Catalpa: (the Fenian Escape Story), ([Perth]: Lynward
Enterprises, 1986). [NMA 365.450994 RUS]
Silver, LR, The
Battle of Vinegar Hill: Australia's Irish Rebellion 1804, (Sydney:
Doubleday, 1989). [NMA 364.13109944 SIL]
Symes, JG, The Castle Hill
Rebellion of 1804, Revised edition, ([Castle Hill]: Hills District
Historical Society, 1990).
Tobin, GM, 'The
sea-divided gael: A study of the Irish home rule
movement in Victoria and New South Wales,
1880-1916', (Master of Arts, Australian
National University,
1969).
Whitaker, A,
'Swords to Ploughshares? : The 1798 Irish Rebels in New South Wales', Labour History(75),
Nov 1998, pp.9-21. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200004706>.
Williams, P, Matthew
Brady and Ned Kelly Kindred Spirits, Kindred Lives, (North Melbourne, Vic.:
Arcadia, 2007).
[NMA 364.1552 WIL]
Wooding, JM, 'The
'Language in which they Spoke in '98' : The Irish Language and the Centenary of
1798 in Ireland and Australia', In Bull,P, F
Devlin-Glass and H Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in
Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.64-70. One of the more compelling debates of
the bicentenary of 1798 has been over the role of the Irish language in the
1798 rising. In Ireland
in 1798 the Irish language was a basic means of communication for people of all
faiths and classes, but was neither synonymous with separatism nor had achieved
sufficient minority status to be useful as a vehicle for covert discourse. This
essay explores the complexities of the role of Gaelic revival discourses in '98
centenary histories and monuments, with particular reference to the Australian
'98 centenary celebration, and the degree to which the language was used as
covert discourse or promoted as a symbol of nationalism. It is concluded that
the Irish language should be made a part of the historiography of the 1898
centenary.
Woore, M, 'Neither Felons nor Free :
Political Prisoners and Social Protestors [Series of Two Parts]: Part 2', Descent
v.27 (3), Sept 1997 1997, pp.130-134. http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=980808272>.
Return to Contents
South Australia
Fitzpatrick, D,
'Exporting Brotherhood: Orangeism in South
Australia', Immigration and Minorities v.23
(2-3), Jul-Nov 2005, pp.277-310. The idea of
fraternity and how to organise it was an invisible export from 19th century
Europe to the 'New World'. This paper explores
the international diffusion from Ireland of the Loyal Orange
Institution, with comparative reference to its model of Freemasonry.
Explanations proposed for its appeal outside Ireland are facilitating the
assimilation of emigrants, transmitting 'tribal' Irish animosities to fresh
contexts, or adapting itself to pre-existing sectarian rivalries and factional
conflicts. These hypotheses are investigated and tested using evidence from
South Australia (SA) where Orangeism was modestly successful, in the absence of
Ulster
immigration. A collective profile of the Loyal Orange Institution of South
Australia (established in 1874) is derived from Lodge records showing age,
religious denomination and occupation. The appeal of Orangeism is related to
local religious and political contexts in SA, and it was primarily an export of
organisational techniques rather than of Irish personnel or bigotry. (Edited
author abstract)
Herraman, A, 'Irish Settlers Beyond
the Tiers: Mount Barker, South Australia, 1836-1886', The
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.1 2001,
pp.36-48. Irish immigrants made little impact on the
development of the Province of South Australia (SA) in its early years.
However, by 1891 Roman Catholicism had become the dominant faith in four
regions of the Colony, the Clare Valley, Gawler,
northeastern Adelaide, and the Mount Barker
region. This article traces the progress of Irish settlement in the Mount Barker
region beyond the Mount
Lofty Ranges,
which were known as 'The Tiers'. Irish settlement was boosted by the Special
Survey system established in 1839 and by the 'Irish South Australian Emigration
Society'. Settler families established livelihoods in mining and agriculture,
while large numbers of Irish immigrant women were employed in domestic and farm
service. Supported by the clergy, Irish culture was institutionalised
in the religious, educational and social life of Macclesfield.
The impact of Irish settlement on SA is a tribute to the social investment of
poor but generous spirited Irish settlers.
Jaunay, G, 'Bound for South
Australia: A Study of the various Nineteenth Century Emigration Schemes and the
Resultant Records', In Discoveries,
Deadends and Databases: Proceedings of the 10th
Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry (Melbourne Congress), Roy,J ed. Melbourne Convention Centre (Melbourne:
Genealogical Society of Victoria, 2003) A range
of government and non-government fare assistance schemes operated in the 19th
century to encourage British and European migrants from a wide range of
backgrounds to settle in South Australia (SA). This article reviews the schemes
and their associated records, highlights deficiencies in shipping and passenger
records, and identifies alternative and complementary sources to fill
information gaps. Government schemes including the Wakefield scheme and the South Australian
Colonisation Commission scheme were based on landowners subsidising the passage
of labourers. These schemes failed in practice but the principle of recruiting
workers for wealthy landowners persisted throughout the period of colonial
emigration into the 20th century. Non-government schemes helped German
Lutherans, German miners, impoverished Scots and Irish famine orphans to settle
in SA. Other information sources on assisted immigration include hospital
records, newspapers and the Mary Hodge Index to arrivals. Current work to document
every arrival in SA is also described.
Macintyre, C, 'The
Adelaide Irish
and the Politics of St Patrick's Day 1900-1918', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 182-196 pp.
St Patrick's Day in Adelaide,
prior to World War 1, provided celebrations that were little more than a
regular march and a programme of sports and speeches. There was little that was
obviously Irish about the festivities. The South Australian Irish took care not
to alienate their host community by the promotion of overt ethnic division.
Yet, by 1918, a more pronounced political identification with the Irish
Nationalists had emerged and participants were invited to show their 'Sinn Fein
spirit' and to make the day an 'Irish festival'. This article traces the
history of this change, making a connection between the burgeoning political
demands of the Home Rulers and the growing influence and importance of the
emergent nationalist cultural expressions of the Irish. The nature of the
conflict between the Irish and the British changed during the First World War,
so the cultural and political dimensions of St Patrick's Day marches and the
political concerns of the Irish in South
Australia changed. It was the Easter Week uprising
and its aftermath that acted to change the way Irish-Australians saw themselves
and their relationship with the rest of the broader Australian community. The
fear of alienating the broader community had disappeared. (Author abstract)
Migration Museum [South
Australia], From Many Place : The History and
Cultural Traditions of South Australian People, (Kent Town, S.A.: Migration
Museum (History Trust of South Australia) in association with Wakefield Press,
1995). [NMA 325.94 FRO]
Moore, P,
'Half-Burnt Turf: Selling Emigration from Ireland to South Australia,
1836-1845', In Irish-Australian
Studies: Papers Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville and N McLachlaneds (Melbourne: La Trobe University, 1990),
103-119. Political economy was behind the
unusually high profile of corporate sponsors of Irish investment capital into
South Australian land, with associated emigration by labourers. Four distinct
irons stoked the fire of Irish expatriation to South Australia between 1836 and the
temporary end to assisted emigration in 1843. They were the South Australian
Colonisation Commission, 1835-1842, the South Australian Protestant Emigration
Community of 1837, the Irish South Australian Emigration Society of 1839 and
its successors, and Colonel George Wyndham (1838-1840) and Sir Montague Lowther Chapman (1840-1853). Irish emigrants to South Australia
comprised large numbers of skilled workers who were town dwellers with some
capital. The injection of so many Irish imperial factors into South
Australia's settlement rendered it for a time a 'New Anglo-Irish
Province'.
O'Brien, J and P
Travers, The Irish Emigrant Experience in Australia, (Swords, Ireland: Poolbeg, 1991). [NMA 994.0049162 IRI]
Tolcvay,
M, 'Community and Church: The Catholic Church and 'the Problem' of Italian
Immigrants in the United States and in Australia, with Special Reference to
South Australia', Spunti e Ricerche [Supplement: Italian Figures in Australian Landscapes]
v.17 2002, pp.50-70. Mass migration of Italians
to both the United States (US) and Australia gave rise to what became
known as 'the Italian problem'. When Italian migrants arrived in the new
country they carried with them their own set of religious beliefs and customs
that differed noticeably from those of the Irish dominated Catholic Church.
This article compares how 'the Italian problem' was handled in the US, Australia in general, and South
Australia (SA) in particular. The article first investigates 'the problem' in
the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s when mass migration was at its peak,
and examines how the American Catholic Church tried to overcome 'the problem'
The article then examines the corresponding circumstances in Australia, which
began in the early 1920s. Finally, the article examines 'the problem' at a
local level, through the eyes of Father Paul Zolin,
the first permanent Italian priest in SA. (Edited author abstract)
Return to Contents
Tasmania
Collins, P, Hell's
Gates: The Terrible Journey of Alexander Pearce, Van Dieman's
Land Cannibal, (South Yarra, Vic.: Hardie Grant Books, 2002). [NMA 365.6092 COL]
Curr, E and TE Wells, An Account
of the Colony of Van Diemen's Land ... for the
use of Emigrants, (London: George Cowie, 1824).
Davis, R, 'Unpublicised Young Ireland Prisoners in Van Diemen's Land',
Papers and Proceedings (Tasmanian Historical Research Association) v.38
(3-4), Dec 1991, pp.131-137.
Davis, RP, Revolutionary
Imperialist: William Smith O'Brien 1803-1864, (Darlinghurst,
N.S.W: Crossing Press, 1998). [NMA 941.5081 DAV]
Glover, M, A MacLochlainn and Tasmanian Historical Association, Letters
of an Irish Patriot: William Paul Dowling in Tasmania,
(Sandy Bay, Tas.: Tasmanian
Historical Research Association, 2005). [NMA 994.6031 LET]
Graham, M and D Bamford, 'Chartists and Young Irelanders: Towards a
Reassessment of Political Prisoners in Van Diemen's Land',
Papers and Proceedings (Tasmanian Historical Research Association) v.32
(2), June 1985: 68-74.
Howard, P, To
Hell Or to Hobart,
(Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press, 1993). [NMA
941.5081 HOW]
Kiely, B, The Waterford
Rebels of 1849: The Last Young Irelanders and their Lives in America, Bermuda and Van
Diemen's Land, (Dublin: Geography Publications, 1999). [NMA
EDWARDS 941.91 KIE]
Mitchel, J and P O'Shaughnessy, The
Gardens of Hell: John Mitchel in Van
Diemen's Land 1850-1853, (Kenthurst,
N.S.W.: Kangaroo Press, 1988). [NMA 941.50810924 MIT]
Petrow, S, 'Island Prison: John Mitchel in Van Diemen's Land',
Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.3 2003,
pp.62-78. John Mitchel
was an Irish rebel who was transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1849. This article analyses Mitchel's experiences as an Irish Exile and his responses
to them, as recorded in his 'Jail Journal'. 'Jail Journal' is considered
important on many levels, having been a source of strength for Mitchel, and now providing a literate and insightful
historical political and social commentary and a symbolic statement of Irish
determination and defiance. Although Mitchel resented
captivity, he adjusted to his new surroundings and developed an environmental
awareness. Holding strong anti-transportation views, Mitchel
distinguished himself from the convicts, whom he considered were too
well-treated. Eventually able to bring his family out and establish a farm, he
enjoyed comparative liberty in the companionship of fellow Irish Exiles.
However, Mitchel longed for true liberty and tired of
the Englishness of Van Diemen's Land, and escaped to the United States (US) in
1853.
'Men of Honour?:
The Escape of the Young Irelanders from Van Diemen's Land.
[Paper in Special Issue: Escape: Essays on Convict Australia.]', Journal of
Australian Colonial History v.7 (2005), , pp.139-160. <http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=APAFT;dn=200607427>
Southerwood, WT, Lonely Shepherd
in Van Diemen's Isle: Father Philip Conolly, Australia's
First Vicar-General, (George Town, Tas.: Stella Maris Books, 1988). [NMA 282.0924 SOU]
Williams, J, Ordered
to the Island: Irish Convicts and Van Diemen's Land,
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994). The aim of
this book is to examine the origins of Irish convicts transported to Van Diemen's Land and to discuss how they reacted to
colonial conditions. Chapter 1 argues that the Catholic Irish background made
these convicts unique in many respects compared with convicts of other
nationalities in Van Diemen's Land. Chapters 2
and 3 analyse and compare the offences of Irish
convicts with those of other prisoners. Chapter 4 uses available records to
suggest the reasons for transportation to Van Diemen's Land as opposed to New South Wales. The
last two chapters deal with the Irish convicts in Van
Diemen's Land.
Return to Contents
Victoria
Campbell, R,
'Irish Lawyers in the Port Phillip District
and Victoria 1838-1860', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville
and N McLachlaneds (Melbourne: La Trobe University, 1990), 39-50
pp. The early lawyers who came from Ireland to the Port
Phillip District
and Victoria
added life and colour to the place. William Foster Stawell
won a steeplechase, and Redmond Barry engaged in illegal duelling. The
appointment of another Irish barrister to the Supreme Court bench in 1856
raised the Irish composition of the bench to half. Another appointment in
February 1857 raised the Irish composition to three quarters of the Bench. The
Irish judges and others helped create the sort of peaceful society and security
so necessary for development. As far as the court system goes one Irish
influence was the St Patrick's Day holiday observed by the Supreme Court for
many years. Irish lawyers in general, helped considerably in the establishment
and extension of the traditional British Legal system, both in Melbourne
and throughout Victoria.
Coughlan, N, 'The Coming of the Irish to Victoria',
Historical Studies, Australia
and New Zealand
v.12 (45), 1965, pp.64-86.
Doyle, H,
'Allegations of Disloyalty at Koroit during World War I [Victoria]', In Bull,P, et al eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998:
Studies in Culture, Identity and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1998),
pp.165-176. Irish traditions are perpetuated in
the district around Koroit, near Warrnambool,
Victoria, and during World War I
Irish sentiment characterised the politics of the area. Koroit,
as elsewhere in Australia,
was polarised over conscription between political beliefs, on the one hand, and
religious and racial identity, on the other. This essay investigates
stories, both told and untold, of incidents surrounding the recruitment drives
and conscription debate in Koroit that highlight the sectarian fears and the
antagonism between labour and conservative, between Catholic and Protestant, of
country Victoria at the time. Oral accounts, newspaper reports and historical
records of events at Koroit differ, reflecting different perspectives of the
social and political background. The uncertainty of knowledge about Koroit's wartime experience contributes to its
significance, suggesting that what the locals want to remember is not the
divisions but rather the strength that Irish nationalism once had in the town.
Fahey,
C, 'A Fine Country for the Irish [Successful Agricultural Settlement in Northeastern Victoria]', Australian Journal of Irish
Studies v.4 2002, pp.190-201.
This article examines the role played by Irish settlers in the agricultural
settlement of Victoria.
Contrary to popular notions that Irish settlement in 19th century northeastern
Victoria was marked by rural poverty and social distress, Census data and
statistical records relating to land selection in rural Victoria show that
law-abiding selectors followed pastoral settlement, carving European-style farms
out of the bush, recreating the institutions of the old world and laying the
foundations of stable and prosperous rural communities. It is argued that the
Irish played a prominent role in land selection, bringing extensive farming
experience to a process of continual learning and adaptation to the Australian
environment. Rather than rejecting the state, the Irish settlers capitalised on
the opportunities provided by the state through the land acts, marshalling
their resources and their families to exploit the law to its limit.
MacDonagh, O, 'The Irish in Victoria 1851–91: A
Demographic Essay', ANU Historical Journal(10-11), 1973-1974, pp.26-39.
McConville, C, 'The Victorian Irish:
Emigrants and Families, 1851-91', In Grimshaw,P, C McConville and E McEwen eds. Families in Colonial
Australia, (Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1985), pp.1-8. [NMA 306.850994 FAM]
Morgan, P, 'The
Irish in Gippsland', In
Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian
Conference, July 1990, Bull,P,
C McConville and N McLachlaneds (Melbourne: La Trobe University,
1990), 120-135 pp. Gippsland had the reputation
of being the part of Victoria
that the Irish settled in, the poorer land on which farmers struggled. Special
concentrations grew up around Omeo, the Wood's Point
goldfields, Dargo, Fish Creek, Cowwarr,
Pakenham and Nar-nar-goon, KooWeeRup and Traralgon. Irish
families came out from Ireland
settled around Parramatta
and the Hawkesbury and then moved south to arrive in the Monaro
by the 1830s. Some Irish settled on the land, while others became involved in
mining. As the gold ran out the miners began to select land for settlement in
the area. The general history of the Irish in Gippsland is one of assimilation.
One reason why the Irish assimilated was the absence in Gippsland of an old
Anglican Anglo-Australian establishment, against which Irish Australians often
defines themselves.
Murphy, E, From
the Blackwater
Valley to the Old Mallee: An
Irish/Australian Family and Community History, (East Melbourne,
Vic: Elizabeth Murphy, 2006). [NMA 929.20994 MUR]
O'Connor, PM,
'Recent Irish Immigration to Australia:
A Melbourne Case Study [Melbourne,
Victoria]', Australian Journal
of Irish Studies v.4 2002, pp.220-230. Ireland
has historically been a country of net emigration. Although fewer Irish emigrated to Australia
than to England or the
United States (US) during the 19th and 20th centuries, they comprised a far
greater proportion of the population of Australia. By the end of the 20th
century, however, Ireland
was experiencing net immigration, Irish immigration to Australia had diminished, and the Irish in Australia
had become largely 'invisible' in Australian society. This article aims to
enhance understandings of Irish immigration and challenge the assumption of
seamless integration into Australian society by studying the motives for
migration and the migration experiences of Irish immigrants in Melbourne, Victoria.
The findings show that decision-making was multifactorial,
including economic, social and political reasons as well as adventure-seeking
motives, and supported by the existence of social networks. The study also
shows inherent differences between the Irish from Northern
Ireland and from the Republic of Ireland.
Pawsey, MM and St. Patrick's College (Manly, N.S.W.). Catholic Theological Faculty, The
Popish Plot: Culture Clashes in Victoria
1860-1863, (Manly, N.S.W.: Catholic Theological Faculty, St. Patrick's
College, 1983).
Rule, P, 'From
Labourer to Gentleman : Social Mobility among Nineteenth Century Irish
Immigrants to Geelong', In
Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian
Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville and N McLachlanedsMelbourne
(Melbourne: La Trobe University, 1990), 201-215.
Present from the beginning of white colonisation, in sizeable numbers, wherever
settlement occurred, the Irish were able to play a significant role in the
formation of white Australian society, its politics and culture. In general,
the Irish in Australia in Australia
managed to straddle the boundaries between insiders and outsiders and to win
for themselves social mobility and relative affluence. This paper explores the
strategies a small group of Irish Australians who settled in Geelong,
Victoria, employed to make this transition,
and emphasises the rapidly changing Ireland they had grown up in.
Generally, the picture is one of success. Whether or not Irish emigrants were
originally of petit-bourgeois status, they became so in Australia. This paper analyses the
success and failure of some Irish immigrants who settled around the Geelong area against this
larger background.
Rule, P, 'Honora and Her Sisters: Success and Sorrow among Irish
Immigrant Women in Colonial Victoria', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered
at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994),
151-160. By focusing on thirteen Irish women who
arrived in Victoria in the late 1840s and
1850s and settled in Geelong,
Pauline Rule aims to explore the diversity of the Irish female migrant
experience, reconstituting its little stories rather than constructing a
meta-narrative which symbolises women as bearers of tradition. The
non-traditional nature of the activites of these
Irish women settlers is described by considering their individual life
histories. The most easily recovered story was that of Honora
Hourigan, who, according to Rule, was a strong and
capable woman, a widow who raised a large family and had a public persona as a
business-woman and landlord. Other Irish women in Rule's study are: Ellen
Cummins, Mary Davoren, Mary Dunn, Margaret Shanahan,
Catherine Broderick, Penelope Dunn, Mary Gleeson, Bridget Dunn, Margaret Dunn,
Anne Keegan, Ellen Hayes and Margaret Burke.
Santamaria, BA, Daniel Mannix, the
Quality of Leadership, (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1984). [NMA
228.092 SAN]
Tobin, GM, 'The sea-divided gael: A study of
the Irish home rule movement in Victoria and New South Wales, 1880-1916', (Master of Arts, Australian National University,
1969).
Twycross, J, 'History, Heritage and
Identity: How Big-Picture History and Heritage Impacts on Identity for the
Descendants of Ah Shin of Victoria',
In Discoveries, Deadends
and Databases. Proceedings of the 10th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and
Heraldry (Melbourne Congress), Roy,J ed. Melbourne Convention centre (Melbourne: The Genealogical Society of
Victoria, 2003) Family history and cultural
heritage help define national identity. Many Chinese immigrants were not
sojourners as widely believed, but became permanent, naturalised settlers who
raised families, operated businesses and owned property. The Ah Shin family
history illustrates the challenges of Chinese family history research and the
complexity of notions of identity among the more than two thousand descendants
of a Chinese-Irish union. Pan Ah Shin married Irish born Catherine Martin in Melbourne, Victoria
in 1857 and the couple raised eight children on the Victorian goldfields before
Catherine's early death in 1872. Most of the children and grandchildren married
Chinese or Chinese-European partners. Although the preservation of Chinese
tradition varies among descendants, generosity, gentleness, strength and a
desire to be inconspicuous emerge as consistent family traits. From family
history and reinforced family bonds emerges a clearer sense of heritage and
identity, which in turn helps define the national image.
Waugh, M, 'The
National System of Education in Victoria, 1849-1862: Sir Richard Bourke and the
Irish Connection', In Bull,P, F Devlin-Glass and H
Doyle eds. Ireland and Australia, 1798-1998: Studies in Culture, Identity
and Migration, (Sydney: Crossing Press, 2000),
pp.102-112. A system of state aided National
Schools for the poor was established in Ireland in 1831 with the aim of
promoting religious harmony through 'mixed' education. Although most of the
Irish National Schools became church schools by 1860, the original ideal
survived in the Irish model of education that evolved in New
South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. This article
recounts the crucial role played in the push for National Education by Sir
Richard Bourke, Governor of the colony of New South Wales from 1831. As a result of
Bourke's work, the concept of National Education was carried through the
education system of the new colony of Victoria
which was created in 1851. The early introduction of Victoria's 'Free,
Compulsory and Secular' Act of 1872 and its flow on to other States owes much
to the experience of the National System, the forerunner of State education in
Australia.
.
Return to Contents
Western Australia
Amos, K, The
Fenians in Australia
1865-1880, (Kensington, N.S.W.: New
South Wales University
Press, 1988. [NMA 994.0049162 AMO]
Bolton, G, 'The Fenians are
Coming, the Fenians are Coming', Studies in Western Australian History(4),
Dec 1981, pp.62-67.
Cameron, J,
'George Fletcher Moore [Influential Member of 19th Century Western Australian
(WA) Elite]', Studies in Western Australia History(20), 2000, pp.21-34.
The roles of George Fletcher Moore, a key figure
in early Western Australia's
(WA) ruling elite, included author, landowner, merchant, explorer, lawyer,
legislator, poet, musician, and pioneer interpreter of Aboriginal language and
customs. Confident, outgoing and determined to succeed, he was intolerant of
weakness. Born in Ireland in
1798, Moore
emigrated to WA in 1830 and claimed his land entitlements. This article traces Moore's life from
developing Upper Swan agriculture and exploring the hinterland, with Aboriginal
assistance, through his judicial career from 1832, to his political activity as
Legislative Council member. While recognising Aboriginal prior occupation of
the land, Moore
unsuccessfully tried to teach them Christian principles. Despite the deepening
1840s depression, Moore
maintained that colonists would prosper by simple living, hard work and
financial prudence. He returned to Ireland
for his wife's mental health and, after her death in 1863, he moved to London where he died in
1886. [NMA S 994.1 STU]
Chetkovich, J, 'Not for Economic
Gain: Elsie Butler in Western Australia [Individual Experiences of Elsie and
George Butler, Irish Emigrants to Western Australia (WA)]', Studies in
Western Australia History (20), 2000, pp.151-167.
Documentary sources and historical analysis
provide a picture of migration, but studies of ordinary individuals'
experiences uncover more of the story of Irish emigration and the experience of
the receiving country. Oral history reveals insights not accessible through any
other source. In the story of Elsie Butler's emigration, cultural rather than
economic issues are represented as the dominant factors. Religious tension, or
the potential for it, was the major reason why Elsie Butler and her husband
George left Ireland
for Western Australia (WA) in 1958. As Irish Protestants, they were unaware
that the majority of Irish migrants to Australia had always been Catholic,
so they stayed outside Irish networks. The central liberating theme of their
immigration experience was that they chose their friends due to mutual
interest, not class, religion or family. Physical mobility accompanied their
social mobility and the Butlers
worked and lived in many remote areas of WA. [NMA S 994.1 STU]
Chetkovich, J, 'The Scattered
Re-Gather : Irish Clubs in Perth,
Western Australia in the Late
Twentieth Century', The Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.1 2001,
pp.70-80. Since 1947, Western Australia (WA) has
had the highest proportion of Irish born in its population of any Australian State. This article shows how the
development of Irish clubs in Perth,
WA reflected the changing
profile, needs and attitudes of WA's Irish immigrant population in the 1980s and
1990s. The conservative, Nationalist Celtic Club, established in 1902, was the
only Irish club until 1950, when the Irish Club was formed to preserve Irish
culture and provide a link to the homeland for immigrants who saw themselves
largely as exiles. The scene changed in the 1980s as those who were arriving
were generally better educated and had a higher propensity to make return
visits to Ireland
than earlier arrivals. Irish theme pubs and cultural, business and sports
groups grew, encompassing a wider breadth of Irish pursuits with a strong
social component and an orientation to the present rather than the past.
Chetkovich, J, ''there would seem to
be a Wonderful Freedom Out here': The Irish in Western Australia', In Wilding,R
and F Tilbury eds. A Changing People: Diverse
Contributions to the State of Western Australia,
(Perth:
Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Office of Multicultural Interests,
2004), pp.222-235. The Irish have been part of
Western Australia (WA) since the colony was founded and continue to be a
vibrant presence. Prompted by social and economic devastation and political
unrest in Ireland,
and attracted by the Australian gold rushes, Irish migrants formed the second
largest ethnic group in WA after the English. They were culturally and
religiously distinct from the dominant English in the colonial period and
experienced discrimination arising from historic English-Irish and
Anglican-Catholic animosity. However, the Irish proved in the main to be
successful and respectable citizens. Certain Irish stereotypical
characteristics such as rebelliousness have become essential aspects of
Australian identity. After World War II (WWII) the Irish became less
distinctive amongst the diversity of new ethnicites in Australia as they were granted
British subject status and were subsumed in an 'Anglo-Celtic' ethnicity.
However, they have recently begun to re-assert their Irish cultural heritage
through various clubs and associations.
Christie, EM, The
Fenian Prisoners in Western Australia : Extracts Relating to their Escape by
the American Barque 'Catalpa', 1876, (1955)
New light on the Fenians escape Catalpa incident / by John K. Ewers -- First
mate told him 'no' / by John K. Ewers -- Fenians' escape / Theo. Archdeacon --
Conversations with the Catalpa / by H. Drake-Brookman.
Devoy, J, P Fennell and M King, John
Devoy's Catalpa Expedition, (New
York: New York
University Press,
2006). "The story of John Devoy's 1876 Catalpa rescue is a tale of heroism,
creativity, and the triumph of independent spirit in pursuit of freedom. The
daily log on board the whaling ship Catalpa begins with the typical recount of
a crew intact and a spirit unfettered, but such quiet words deceive the truth
of the audacious enterprise that came to be known as one of the most important
rescues in Irish American history. John Devoy's men
aided in the break-in and subsequent rescue of Irish political prisoners from
the Australian coast, allowing millions of fellow Irishmen and
American-Fenians, many of whom secretly financed the dangerous plot, to draw
courage from the newly exiled prisoners."; "Philip Fennell and Marie
King, both descendants of a pardoned Fenian prisoner, tell the story from John Devoy's own records and from the ship's logbooks. John Devoy's Catalpa Expedition includes an introduction by
Terry Golway and the personal diaries, letters, and
reports from John Devoy and his men."--BOOK
JACKET.
.
Erickson, R,
'Friends and Neighbours: The Irish of Toodyay [Irish
Migrant Families in Western Australia (WA)]', Studies in Western Australia
History (20), 2000: The Irish in Western
Australia, pp.49-58.
The 1837 Western Australian (WA) census recorded fewer than 30 Irish women and
not all were Catholic. The British Government decided to send equal numbers of
free immigrants and convicts. Protestants in Perth,
WA were reluctant to hire Irish servants even
when 115 women, from poorer parts of Ireland, arrived. More Irish
families and single women arrived, but colonists still needed servants. In
1853, the Resident Magistrate of Toodyay appealed for
more young women for his district and by 1854, 50 had arrived. This article
describes the Toodyay settlement, the employees'
cottages clustered around the 'big house', and the persistence of British
social class distinctions. The stories of three Irish farm families, the Pritchards, Beards and Lahiffs,
and their gradual move to independence are told. They lived within walking
distance of each other at Toodyay and, though
illiterate, the Irish migrants sent their children to school and the class
distinctions gradually faded. [NMA S 994.1 STU]
Halls, C, 'The
Great Escape: Fenians at Fremantle 1868-1876', Port of Fremantle
v.7 (4), 1982, pp.14-18.
Hardwick, G, 'The Irish
R.M.: Capt. John Molloy of the Vasse [Western
Australia (WA)]', Studies in Western Australia History(20), 2000,
pp.1-20. This article explores the life of the
enigmatic Captain John Molloy, a senior administrative official in the Vasse, Western Australia (WA). Accounts of his parentage
and upbringing in England
vary. His military career began at the age of 13 and continued from his first
naval commission in 1804 until emigration to WA in 1829. Appointed Government
Resident for the Sussex District, and Magistrate and Collector of Customs at Augusta, he dealt with
stealing, murder and drunkenness among whaling and sealing ships' crews
visiting the WA coast. Relations with Indigenous Bibbulmen
and Wardandi peoples were characterised by the
violence and retribution which accompanied white settlers taking possession of
traditional lands. During the 1840s and 1850s, Molloy ruled his small world as
a benign autocrat. After his wife's death in 1843, he remained at Augusta and survived her
by 24 years. Molloy owned large tracts of land and died a wealthy man. [NMA S
994.1 STU]
Jacobs, P, 'Free
Women on a Savage Frontier: St John of God Sisters on the Kimberley Pearling
Coast of Western Australia', Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.4
2002, pp.259-267. Nine Irish nuns of the order of
Sisters of St John of God arrived in the Beagle
Bay mission in the Kimberley region of Western Australia (WA) in
1907. The Aboriginal mission was the sole European outpost on the Dampier Peninsula. As conditions on the mission
became unviable, two of the group left to establish a separate foundation in
Broome, WA, where they could secure an income and independence by providing
nursing and schooling services, and minister to ill-treated women and children
in the town. This article examines how the nuns overcame harsh conditions,
illness and exile to stay in the Kimberley and work for the benefit of
Aboriginal, Asian and mixed-race people in the heyday of the pearling industry,
establishing close relationships with the Japanese, Filipino and Chinese
communities in Broome and ignoring widespread prejudicial attitudes to form an
enduring solidarity with the Indigenous Dampierland
people.
McCarthy, N,
'Irish Rules: Gaelic Football, Family, Work and Culture in Western Australia', Australian Journal of
Irish Studies v.3 2003, pp.33-48. St Finbarr's Gaelic Football Club was formed in Perth, Western
Australia (WA) in 1972 with the aim of providing a
sporting outlet for Irish immigrants and a tangible link to Irish heritage
through sport. Modelled on the Gaelic Athletic Association for the Preservation
and Cultivation of National Pastimes (GAA), St Finbarr's
promoted itself as a family club by constructing an identity that encompassed
ethnicity, religion, work and sport. This article examines the cultural role of
GAA, the second largest organisation in Ireland
after the Catholic Church and arguably Ireland's most important cultural
institution, and the intersection of sport and society within St Finbarr's. It is argued that in providing a focus for
social interaction and support, St Finbarr's played a
prominent role in the construction and reinforcement of popular Irish culture,
identity and community in WA.
Mulcahy, CM, 'Mulcahy
Bros. [Renowned Irish Family Firm in 19th Century Western Australia (WA)]', Studies
in Western Australia History(20), 2000, pp.81-93.
Around 1900, the 'Mulcahy
Bros.' firm was well known in Western Australia (WA) and this Catholic Irish
family provided leadership and solidarity within the church and community. The
first female Mulcahy emigrated to Australia in 1865 and settled in Queensland. Other family
members followed as remittance or nominated passengers and some went to WA to
prospect for gold. The role of the matriarch, not exclusively Irish, emerged as
social and economic conditions left the female to rear the family in the male's
absence. With competition for licences reduced by the
temperance movement, the Mulcahys, like other Irish
immigrants, moved into the hotel and catering trade. Their successful business
ventures enabled the Mulcahys to be benefactors and
founders of clubs in Fremantle,
WA and the goldfields. They
became involved in livestock, agriculture and later, racehorses. The extended Mulcahy family represented migrants seeking a better life
and adapting effectively to Australian life. [NMA S 994.1 STU]
O Luing, S, Fremantle Mission, (Tralee,
Ireland: Anvil Books, 1965).
Partlon, A, 'Champion of the
Goldfields: John Waters Kirwan [Influential Newspaper
Editor and the First Federal Member for Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia (WA)]', Studies
in Western Australia History (20), 2000,
pp.94-116. Born into a prosperous and political
Irish family in Liverpool, England in 1869, John Waters Kirwan
emigrated to Australia
in 1889. In 1895 he became editor of the newly established 'Kalgoorlie Miner'.
The newspaper prospered and exercised powerful political influence. Kirwan campaigned for miners and became involved in the
alluvial rights dispute of 1898. Subsequently, Kirwan
lost his bid for a Legislative Council seat and the paper successfully defended
a libel suit. As 1900 approached, constitutional debate preoccupied the nation.
'Separation for Federation' was the cry of the 'Miner' for the goldfields to
join the Federation as an independent State if 'Westralia'
would not. After the overwhelming vote for Federation, Kirwan
became the first Federal member for Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia (WA) then an
Independent in the Legislative Council for 38 years. Since his death in 1949,
historians have unsuccessfully attempted to diminish his pivotal role in the WA
Federal movement. [NMA S 994.1 STU]
Partlon, A, ''Singers Standing on the
Outer Rim': Writing about the Irish in WA [Loss of Cultural Identity by Irish
in Western Australia (WA)]', Studies in Western Australia History (20),
2000, pp.188-194. According to 19th and early
20th century estimates, the proportion of Australians of Irish birth or descent
was never less than 25 per cent, and may have exceeded 33 per cent, of the
population. The Irish are now the second largest ethnic immigrant group, after
the English, in Australia
and globally this represents an Irish presence greater than that of any other
country outside Ireland.
Nevertheless, the Irish have failed to establish the same cultural presence as
their counterparts in the United States (US). This article examines the factors
militating against the emergence of an Irish separate force and identifies
significant settlement differences between the Irish in Western Australia (WA)
and the eastern States. The Irish in WA lost their cultural identity and began
their long retreat into the twilight and became 'singers standing on the outer
rim', exiles twice over, separated from home and the rest of the country. [NMA
S 994.1 STU]
Pease, ZW, The
Catalpa Expedition, (Carlisle, W.A.:
Hesperian Press, 2002). [NMA 365.0994 PEA]
Reece, Bob ed. The
Irish in Western Australia, (Nedlands, W.A.: University of Western
Australia. Department of History. Centre for
Western Australian History, 2000).
Russo, G, Race
for the Catalpa : ( the Fenian Escape Story), ([Perth]: Lynward
Enterprises, 1986). [NMA 365.450994 RUS]
Return to Contents
Women and their Influence
Campbell, M,
'Irish Women in Nineteenth Century Australia : A More Hidden Ireland ?', In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Sixth Irish-Australian Conference, July 1990, Bull,P, C McConville and N McLachlanedsMelbourne (Melbourne: La Trobe University,
1990), 25-38 pp. The very broad question is posed
in this paper of whether and to what extent, Irish women in nineteenth century Australia may
have been affected by ideas and models of Irish origin. It is an attempt to
explore the need for a link between the study of Irish women in colonial Australia and the thesis that there existed
within early Australian society a 'hidden Ireland'. It commences with an
examination of the fragmentary evidence of the female presence within the
renowned Ryan family of Galong in south west New South Wales, before moving to a more general assessment
of the possible significance of that concept. Despite the limitations of the
evidence it appears that in differing situations and with varying degrees of
intensity, old world dispositions and aspirations continued to be relevant
forces in determining the structures within which Irish women in colonial Australia
lived.
Connors, L, 'The
Politics of Ethnicity: Irish Orphan Girls at Moreton
Bay', In Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh
Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R
ed. Brisbane
(Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 167-181 pp. The
Irish Migration Scheme resulted in over 4000 young women arriving in the
Australian colonies between October 1848 and August 1850, the latter years of
the Great Famine. This paper focuses on those Irish young women who were
forwarded by the Sydney migration officials to
what was then, the most northerly districts of New South Wales. The reception of these
young women at Moreton
Bay reveals some
important insights into the nature of ethnic politics and the significance of
those politics at the personal level. This paper draws together two approaches,
that of the influence of sectarian politics and of social history, to show the
way in which these young women successfully contested and negotiated the
hostile environment in which they found themselves. Drawing on the operation of
the law, and the appearance of some of these young women in the courtrooms in
Brisbane, Connors provides some insights into the politics and experiences of
these women in defending their rights and status. (Author abstract)
Dixson, M, The Real Matilda: Women
and Identity in Australia -
1788 to the Present, 4th ed., (Sydney:
UNSW Press, 1999. "The book pays special
attention to the Irish." Author's introduction [NMA 305.420994 DIX]
Kiernan, Colm ed. Australia
and Ireland 1788-1988:
Bicentenary Essays, (Dublin: Gill and
Macmillan, c1986). [NMA 305.89162 AUS]
McClaughlin, T, 'Exploited and
Abused: Irish Orphan Girls', In
Irish-Australian Studies: Papers Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian
Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. Brisbane (Sydney: Crossing
Press, 1994), 161-166 pp. The subject of this
article is the approximately 4000 Irish orphan girls who came to Australia
from Irish workhouses as government emigrants at the time of the Great Famine. McClaughlin believes they were exploited and abused because
they were marginalised - destitute, famine victims who, dependent on the state,
became victims of the system. Historical sources have provided evidence of
abuse, ranging from physical abuse to emotional abuse such as vilification by
the colonial press. McClaughlin's point is that
exploitation and abuse are an essential part of these girls' stories. They were
scorned by a patriarchal society for their Irishness, for their Catholicism and
for being destitute, untutored, workhouse women. Feminist theory has encouraged
historians to look to the orphans themselves for their own history.
McClaughlin, T, Irish Women in
Colonial Australia,
(St Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen
& Unwin, 1998).
McClaughlin, T, 'From 'Barefoot and
Pregnant? Irish Famine Orphans in Australia',
Melbourne 1991
[Extract from 'Barefoot and Pregnant? Irish Famine Orphans in Australia: Documents and Register'
by Trevor McClaughlin]', In Hayes,A
and D Urquhart eds. The Irish Women's History
Reader, (London:
Routledge, 2001),
pp.168-173. Although solid, detailed research on
Irish female immigration to Australia
has not yet been conducted, this extract from 'Barefoot and Pregnant? Irish
Famine Orphans in Australia: Documents and Register' by Trevor McClaughlin (published in 1991) records some of the formal
and anecdotal evidence on single young female Irish orphans who arrived in
Victoria and South Australia (SA) during the 1850s. More than 600 young single
women who arrived in Melbourne,
Victoria and Adelaide (SA) were
victims of the Great Famine and had been selected from among the inmates of
Irish workhouses by government officials. Their reception in Australia was not as warm as they
might have wished, and critics of the orphan emigration program were quick to
voice their disapproval of the young women. The brief history offers some
insights into the hardships the young women endured but also highlights the
remarkable contributions they made to the Australian population and character.
McClaughlin, T and L Connors, 'Irish
Women, Aboriginal People, and the Law in Colonial Australia: Race, Power, and
the Struggle for Inclusion', Australian Journal of Irish Studies v.4
2002, pp.135-143. Irish women and Aboriginal
people were among many groups considered 'problems' by both the state and
society in 19th century colonial Australia. Colonialism in Australia
and elsewhere fostered the development of a British, white, male cultural
superiority complex that, both 'de facto' and 'de jure',
excluded Indigenous people, Irish women and many minority ethnic groups.
Selected cases from a research study that takes a postcolonial, subaltern
approach to the experiences and interaction of Indigenous Australians and Irish
women with the law in colonial Australia show how the law worked both to
repress and protect the powerless, how minorities and individuals used the law
to protect themselves, and how those in authority regularly reinvented racial
and ethnic stereotypes. Over time, Irish-Australian women had a greater chance
of being included in mainstream society than Aborigines, their interaction with
the law possibly contributing to that process.
Mongan, C, 'What Happened to the
Orphan Girls? [Plight of the Irish Orphan Girls Brought to Australia in the Mid 1800s]', Tain: The Australian Irish Network (28), Dec
2003-Jan 2004: 14-17.
Between October 1848 and August 1850, more than
4,000 young Irish orphan girls were sent to Australia as part of a scheme to
alleviate overcrowding in Irish workhouses. This article focuses on the plight
of 108 of the young women who arrived on the 'Thomas Arbuthnot' and were sent
to live in southern New South Wales (NSW). Although there was considerable
controversy about the arrival of the orphans, they were unconditionally
accepted by settlers in the Yass, NSW district. All were placed in suitable
employment and many went on to make valuable contributions to the district.
Indeed, the 'Thomas Arbuthnot' orphans helped to change perceptions of the
orphans as 'useless trollops'. Although life in the colonies was hard by
today's standards the girls enjoyed a better life than they would have had in
the workhouses of post famine Ireland.
Reid, R, 'The
Coming of the Irish Orphan Girls to the Southern Tablelands March 1850', Canberra
Historical Journal (29), Mar 1992, pp.22-27.
Reid, R and C Mongan, 'A Decent Set of Girls... ‘: The Irish Famine
Orphans of the Thomas Arbuthnot 1849-1850, (Yass, N.S.W.: Yass Heritage
Project, 1996). This is the story of the
settlement of young Irish orphan girls in southern New South Wales, particularly Yass and Gundagai. They were sent out in 1850 during the Irish
famine. Their supervisor was Charles Edward Strutt,
the Surgeon-Superintendent on their ship of passage, the Thomas Arbuthnot. He
kept a journal of the voyage out, and the journey to southern New South Wales where he found employment
for the girls. The journal, which contains insights into the lives of Australia's
early immigrants, is reproduced in this book.
Richards, Eric ed.
Visible Women: Female Immigrants in Colonial Australia,
(Canberra:
Australian National University.
Research School
of Social Sciences. Division of Historical Studies and Centre for Immigration
and Multicultural Studies, 1995). This collection
includes the following papers: Convict women and assisted female immigrants
compared 1841 a turning point; glimpses of unassisted English women arriving in
Victoria, 1860-1900; immigrant women in narratives of divorce; independent
women - South Australia's assisted immigrants 1872-1939; and the unimportance
of gender in explaining post-famine Irish emigration. Female immigration is
seen as a crucial variable in the history of immigration to Australia and was a prominent
factor in the design of the European population.
Rule, P, 'Honora and Her Sisters : Success and Sorrow among Irish
Immigrant Women in Colonial Victoria',
In Irish-Australian Studies: Papers
Delivered at the Seventh Irish-Australian Conference, July 1993, Pelan,R ed. (Sydney: Crossing Press, 1994), 151-160.
By focusing on thirteen Irish women who arrived
in Victoria in the late 1840s and 1850s and
settled in Geelong,
Pauline Rule aims to explore the diversity of the Irish female migrant
experience, reconstituting its little stories rather than constructing a
meta-narrative which symbolises women as bearers of tradition. The
non-traditional nature of the activities of these Irish women settlers is
described by considering their individual life histories. The most easily
recovered story was that of Honora Hourigan, who, according to Rule, was a strong and capable
woman, a widow who raised a large family and had a public persona as a
business-woman and landlord. Other Irish women in Rule's study are: Ellen
Cummins, Mary Davoren, Mary Dunn, Margaret Shanahan,
Catherine Broderick, Penelope Dunn, Mary Gleeson, Bridget Dunn, Margaret Dunn,
Anne Keegan, Ellen Hayes and Margaret Burke.
Rushen,
E, Single and Free: Female Migration to Australia,
1833-1837, (Melbourne:
Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2003. Over four
years in the 1830s, 2,700 single women emigrated from Britain and Ireland
to Australia
under a scheme to redress the gender imbalance in the fledgeling colonies and alleviate
poverty in the United Kingdom (UK). The government sponsored scheme was
administered by the London Emigration Committee (LEC), formerly the Refuge for
the Destitute, which successfully despatched fourteen ships from London, Dublin and Cork to Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), and Hobart
and Launceston, Tasmania. Details of the scheme's
administration, the voyages, and the women's diverse expectations and
experiences show that the emigres included many
educated, skilled women and retrained destitute women, and counter criticisms
that unaccompanied female emigration was not respectable and that the women
were unsuitable for employment or marriage. However, the scheme was flawed by
poor reception arrangements and lack of ongoing support for the women after
arrival, and eventually discontinued in favour of family emigration. [NMA
352.2410994 RUS]
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