THE PATRICK LINE
Patrick and Bridget Carrucan had six children, Michael (1828), Patrick (1831), Bridget (1833), Peter (1837), Martha and Mary.
Their son Patrick ( born circa 1831 in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland) and Mary O’Brien (born circa 1838 at Ennis, County Clare, Ireland ) were married in 1856 at Ennistimon, County Clare, Ireland. Mary was 19 and Patrick was 27.
Later in that same year of 1856, Patrick and Mary left Ireland, along with Patrick's younger brother Peter, bound for Australia.
The shipping records list the travellers as follows" ...Patrick and Mary Carrocan, ages 30 and 23, married, farmer, Irish, and Peter Carrocan, 24, single, farmer, Irish, on the Guy Mannering in 1857 from Liverpool to Melbourne.
Their ship, the 3000 ton American clipper, Guy Mannering, departed Liverpool on the 22nd August 1857 and arrived in Melbourne on 24th November 1857 - a journey of just over 90 days. There were 402 passengers in the Intermediate and Steerage. The ships master was S. H. Dollard. The Argus of Saturday 24th October 1857 carries an advertisement for the ship, under WHITE STAR LINE where it is described as a mammoth three-decker clipper ship, constructed at New York and one of the strongest and fastest ships afloat. The cabins and saloons would have been beautifully fitted out and decorated, but no doubt Patrick, Mary and Peter were in Steerage which would have been fairly sparse. The Guy Mannering plied the Liverpool - New York and Liverpool - Australia routes from 1849 to 1865. Read about this ship in Guy Mannering.pdf.
Apparently a seaman on the voyage, Charles Reynolds, a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, fell from the ‘mizen topgallant-yard’ and was drowned (The Argus, Wednesday 25 November, 1857, page 4). The fast American clipper ships usually took the GREAT CIRCLE ROUTE, which meant sailing down toward South America, then down into the roaring 40s and the dangers of Antarctic conditions, then straight up to Bass Strait. Often the rigging would be frozen. This Great Circle was the shortest way, particularly if the clipper was capable of making the most of the fierce winds. The slower and less robust ships came down the African coast and called at Cape Town before heading toward Australia.
Patrick, Mary and Peter were not Assisted Migrants.
Once there, they joined Patrick’s sister Bridget and her husband John Coleman in Eltham.
The Dalton Street farm was not originally a Carrucan farm. It was bought by the Carrucans in the 1850s from a farming family called Ball. Initially Patrick and Mary lived in a hut on the farm but Mary’s father Sylvester O’Brien came out from Ireland and built them a house at the corner of Dalton St and Bible St.
They also owned an orchard but its wherabouts is uncertain. One school of thought is that it was out of town. But we were told as children that Patrick’s orchard was opposite the Dalton St farmhouse and was where the dairy was subsequently built. In our childhood years, you could still see the furrows where the rows of fruit trees had preumably been years before. This was in what we used to call ‘the bottom paddock’.
When Patrick went to market, he left at 4:00pm and arrived at the market by midnight. Mary (who was said to be illiterate) would accost the first farmer returning from market and ask the price of cherries, etc., and would know how much Patrick should be handing over.
We think that this photo, taken in the late 1880s, shows Patrick and Mary Carrucan. If so, it is the only photo that we have of Patrick.
Mary and Patrick had 10 children: Bridget (1858) , Michael (1860) , Susan (1862 ), Patrick (1864 ), Thomas (1866 died as an infant) , Mary Anne (1868 ), Catherine (1869) , Margaret Theresa (1871), Frances (1872 ) and Annie (1874 ).
Bridget married Patrick Lane in 1875, Susan married Edward Kent in 1881, Mary Anne married Jeremiah Lodge in 1895, Catherine married Laurence Foley in 1900, Margaret Theresa married Edward Bourke, Frances married Thomas Keane in 1896 and Annie married James Calnin in 1897.
Thus direct descendant lines now included Carrucans, Kents, Lodges, Foleys, Bourkes, Keanes and Calnins.
Patrick and Mary lived at Eltham for the rest of their lives. Patrick died on 6 October 1894 at the age of 63. Mary lived on for a further 33 years and died in 1927 at the age of 90.
When Patrick died in 1894, the Application for Probate listed his holdings as follows
1.
Land being lot 460 and part of lot 19 of Portion 12 section 4 at
Eltham Parish of Nillumbik containing 5 acres 1 rood 24 perches. Shire
Valuation £200.
2. Land being lot 53 Portion 12 Section 4 Nillumbik containing 2 perches upon which is erected an old WB and slat house containing 6 rooms. Shire valuation £140.
3. Land being Lot 2 Section 18 Nillumbik containing 61 acres upon part of which there is an orchard and part of grass land. Shire valuation £800.
4. Land being part of Crown Portion 12 Section 4 at Eltham containing 3 acres 1 rood and 28 perches. Shire valuation £200.
5. Land at corner of Dalton and Bible Streets Eltham containing 2 acres 2 roods 10 perches. Shire valuation £100.
6. Land being lots 1 and 2 Section 12 at Eltham containing 2 acres. Shire valuation £100.
7. Land being Allotment 5 Section 12 at Eltham Parish of Nillumbik containing one acre 2 roods 21 perches, upon which there is an orchard. Shire valuation £60.
2. Land being lot 53 Portion 12 Section 4 Nillumbik containing 2 perches upon which is erected an old WB and slat house containing 6 rooms. Shire valuation £140.
3. Land being Lot 2 Section 18 Nillumbik containing 61 acres upon part of which there is an orchard and part of grass land. Shire valuation £800.
4. Land being part of Crown Portion 12 Section 4 at Eltham containing 3 acres 1 rood and 28 perches. Shire valuation £200.
5. Land at corner of Dalton and Bible Streets Eltham containing 2 acres 2 roods 10 perches. Shire valuation £100.
6. Land being lots 1 and 2 Section 12 at Eltham containing 2 acres. Shire valuation £100.
7. Land being Allotment 5 Section 12 at Eltham Parish of Nillumbik containing one acre 2 roods 21 perches, upon which there is an orchard. Shire valuation £60.
The total land holdings were valued £1600 and his total assets at £1887. Thus he died with significant assets to pass onto his surviving wife and children. You can check out the Probate Application here - but be warned it takes a while to load -> Probate-Patrick Carrucan.pdf
With the passing of Mary Carrucan nee O'Brien,the widow of Patrick Carrucan, in 1927, the following comprehensive obituary was was published in the Hurstridge Advertiser, Friday 18 November 1927, page 5
DEATH OF ELTHAM PIONEER. MRS. MARY CARRUCAN.
On November 2 at Dalton St., Eltham, the death of Mrs. Mary Carrucan, relict of the late Patrick Carrucan, removed from our midst another of the fine old pioneers of this district. The deceased lady, who had reached the ripe age of ninety years, had been in failing health for the last two years, so that her demise was really a happy release. She and her late husband arrived in the colony from County Clare, Ireland, over 70 years ago, and settled in Eltham soon after their arrival. The latter pre-deceased her by 34 years. They reared a large family (two sons and seven daughters) who, with the exception of the elder son Michael, have all settled down elsewhere. Both the parents were very highly re-spected for their thrift and industry and soon acquired several blocks of land in and about Holloway's town ship, of which Dalton St. formed the southern boundary line. Like many of the early pioneers, the deceased lady was a fine type of helpmate, and was fond of outdoor life. When the Eltham tannery was in full swing, her husband was engaged as a first-class hand, but left this occupation to carry on fruit growing and mixed farming. Mrs. Carrucan's remains were laid to rest in the family portion of the Eltham cemetery, after a requiem service had been conducted in the local Catholic Church by the parish priest, the Rev. Fr. Lande. The funeral was attended by a large number of the family, relatives and friends, many of whom travelled long distances to pay the last tribute. The Rev. Fr. Lande also officiated at the grave. The funeral arrangements were very well carried out by Mr. Frank Usher, of Apps and Son, Fitzroy.
On November 2 at Dalton St., Eltham, the death of Mrs. Mary Carrucan, relict of the late Patrick Carrucan, removed from our midst another of the fine old pioneers of this district. The deceased lady, who had reached the ripe age of ninety years, had been in failing health for the last two years, so that her demise was really a happy release. She and her late husband arrived in the colony from County Clare, Ireland, over 70 years ago, and settled in Eltham soon after their arrival. The latter pre-deceased her by 34 years. They reared a large family (two sons and seven daughters) who, with the exception of the elder son Michael, have all settled down elsewhere. Both the parents were very highly re-spected for their thrift and industry and soon acquired several blocks of land in and about Holloway's town ship, of which Dalton St. formed the southern boundary line. Like many of the early pioneers, the deceased lady was a fine type of helpmate, and was fond of outdoor life. When the Eltham tannery was in full swing, her husband was engaged as a first-class hand, but left this occupation to carry on fruit growing and mixed farming. Mrs. Carrucan's remains were laid to rest in the family portion of the Eltham cemetery, after a requiem service had been conducted in the local Catholic Church by the parish priest, the Rev. Fr. Lande. The funeral was attended by a large number of the family, relatives and friends, many of whom travelled long distances to pay the last tribute. The Rev. Fr. Lande also officiated at the grave. The funeral arrangements were very well carried out by Mr. Frank Usher, of Apps and Son, Fitzroy.
The farm at Dalton St stayed in family hands until eventually John Carrucan, their grandson, dies in 1976. As he was the last of the Carrucans in Eltham, what remained of the farm was subdivided and sold and the old orginal farmhouse was demolished.
Life was basic to say the least. The following photo shows children at Eltham Elementary School tending the garden allotment. The Carrucan children all went to this school and were afforded a basic education before embarking on their own adult lives.
