The Irish orphan girls
This is a story of over 4000 Irish orphans driven from their homeland by the Great Famine. In just two years, between 1848 and 1850, 4114 orphan girls were shipped at government expense from Ireland to Sydney, Port Phillip, Moreton Bay and Adelaide. Mostly teenagers, the girls were handpicked from grim, overcrowded workhouses and left behind an Ireland in the deadly grip of poverty and disease.
To house the Sydney arrivals, an immigrant depot was set up at Hyde Park Barracks. Dormitory beds replaced the old convict hammocks and downstairs offices were fitted out for immigration business. The orphan scheme was abandoned after 1850, although sponsored immigration continued to lure colonists, reunite families and boost the workforce for decades to come.
This fleeting chapter in Australia's immigration history looms larger than most: weaving together Ireland's harrowing years of famine, its culture and countryside in turmoil and families torn apart, with hopes of a future beyond the seas.
To house the Sydney arrivals, an immigrant depot was set up at Hyde Park Barracks. Dormitory beds replaced the old convict hammocks and downstairs offices were fitted out for immigration business. The orphan scheme was abandoned after 1850, although sponsored immigration continued to lure colonists, reunite families and boost the workforce for decades to come.
This fleeting chapter in Australia's immigration history looms larger than most: weaving together Ireland's harrowing years of famine, its culture and countryside in turmoil and families torn apart, with hopes of a future beyond the seas.
Arrival
Before they left Ireland each orphan girl was given a regulation kit clothing, linen and utensils stored in a lockable box. The girls shared bunks in third-class quarters and mustered in small mess groups. Each shipment was overseen by a surgeon-superintendent and matron, who guarded against contact with sailors and fellow passengers.
After several months at sea, the immigrant ships were towed into Sydney Cove, unloading their passengers on the dock like so many human parcels. The orphan girls, along with unaccompanied women and mothers with children were carted on drays or walked to the Immigration Depot at Hyde park barracks.
The girls were probably unaware of the prejudice they faced. Irish women had long been branded low-class, licentious and unruly in the wionial press, and the notoriety of some recently arrived free Irish women revived locals' suspicion, while politicians and Protestant clergy feared a growing Irish-Catholic majority. Yet despite a perception that the colony was awash with 'workhouse sweepings', most orphan girls found employment within weeks of arrival. Many proved to be suitabl workers. Around half of the girls married older protestant Englishmen.
After several months at sea, the immigrant ships were towed into Sydney Cove, unloading their passengers on the dock like so many human parcels. The orphan girls, along with unaccompanied women and mothers with children were carted on drays or walked to the Immigration Depot at Hyde park barracks.
The girls were probably unaware of the prejudice they faced. Irish women had long been branded low-class, licentious and unruly in the wionial press, and the notoriety of some recently arrived free Irish women revived locals' suspicion, while politicians and Protestant clergy feared a growing Irish-Catholic majority. Yet despite a perception that the colony was awash with 'workhouse sweepings', most orphan girls found employment within weeks of arrival. Many proved to be suitabl workers. Around half of the girls married older protestant Englishmen.