Family History Mysteries

There is some debate over the inspiration for Banjo Paterson's classic poem Clancy of the Overflow. Many believe that Thomas Michael McNamara was 'Clancy' in the poem. This episode covers Thomas' story and the story of his family.

Clancy of the Overflow was a poem written by Banjo Paterson. There are two men who are said to have been possible inspirations for the poem. Part 1 covers the story of Thomas Gerald Clancy and his family.

The Wilson Brothers owned and ran paddle steamers at Koondrook and Echuca on the Murray River. The family also owned the Bridge Hotel at Echuca.

The Nelson Robbery was one of the major crimes of the Victorian gold rush. It involved the robbery at gunpoint of 8,183 ounces of gold valued at about £30,000. A party of thieves robbed from the barque Nelson as she lay in anchor at Hobsons Bay off Melbourne in April 1852. The heist was as simple as it was audacious and ranks among the greatest robberies in Australian history.

The Nelson Robbery was one of the major crimes of the Victorian gold rush. It involved the robbery at gunpoint of 8,183 ounces of gold valued at about £30,000. A party of thieves robbed from the barque  Nelson  as she lay in anchor at Hobsons Bay off Melbourne in April 1852. The heist was as simple as it was audacious and ranks among the greatest robberies in Australian history.  

John Tennant, dubbed the Terror of Argyle, was an Australian bushranger who had gang that was active around the Canberra district in the mid-1820s. 

George Bain Johnston captained riverboats on the Murray River and its tributaries in the 1870s and 1880s.

**Warning graphic information is contained in this episode** Frederick Bailey Deeming used as many as 14 aliases throughout his life. He was known in the press as "Mad Fred" and "The Demon". There is evidence that links him to be Jack The Ripper, the Whitechapel Murderer, in September 1888 and being the culprit of the 5000 sovereigns stolen from the 'Iberia' in Williamstown Victoria in May 1889.

Theresa Charlotte Barrington, nineteen years old and single, arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (VDL) as a convict aboard  Emma Eugenia  in March 1851. This is her story and the story of her descendants.

**Warning graphic information is contained in this episode** Frederick Bailey Deeming used as many as 14 aliases throughout his life. He was known in the press as "Mad Fred" and "The Demon". There is evidence that links him to be Jack The Ripper, the Whitechapel Murderer, in September 1888 and being the culprit of the 5000 sovereigns stolen from the 'Iberia' in Williamstown Victoria in May 1889.

**Warning graphic information is contained in this episode** Frederick Bailey Deeming used as many as 14 aliases throughout his life. He was known in the press as "Mad Fred" and "The Demon". There is evidence that links him to be Jack The Ripper, the Whitechapel Murderer, in September 1888 and being the culprit of the 5000 sovereigns stolen from the 'Iberia' in Williamstown Victoria in May 1889.

**Warning graphic information is contained in this episode** Frederick Bailey Deeming used as many as 14 aliases throughout his life. He was known in the press as "Mad Fred" and "The Demon". There is evidence that links him to be Jack The Ripper, the Whitechapel Murderer, in September 1888 and being the culprit of the 5000 sovereigns stolen from the 'Iberia' in Williamstown Victoria in May 1889.

Captain George White, nicknamed ‘Nobby’, was born in 1842 in South Leith, Midlothian, Scotland, and was a riverboat captain along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers in the 1890s and early 1900s.

In 1945, Dorothy Gilchrist hit the headlines when she went through her second divorce which had been her fourth marriage.

Eliza Callaghan was an Irish born young woman who was convicted and sent to Van Dieman's Land in 1822. She went onto marry the founder of Melbourne, John Batman.

Martin was a ship's carpenter aboard the SS Avoca which was a vessel under the P & O Company. In 1877, he managed to steal 5,000 gold sovereigns that would be worth millions of dollars today. Are Martin Weiberg's stolen gold sovereigns buried somewhere in Gippsland?

The first triplets to be born in colonised Australia were featured on the front page of the Sydney Gazette on Saturday January 19, 1806. The triplets were the children of convicts James Rixon, who arrived in New South Wales in 1798 and Amelia Goodwin, who arrived in 1800.

Leonard Strom, a Swedish sailor, captained steamers along the Murray River in the late 1800's. This is his story and the story of his descendants.

Granny Dunn delivered over 1000 babies in her small country town of Balranald in southern NSW without losing one mother! I was instantly intrigued - here is her story.

James Mace was a riverboat captain who worked on the Murray River and it’s tributaries from the 1860s.

The Henty family were the first Europeans to settle within the Port Phillip district in Victoria. The settlement of the Henty families in Portland and its surrounding region is a significant chapter in Victoria’s European history. The Henty family consisted of seven brothers and one sister, children of Thomas Henty and Frances Elizabeth Hopkins.

*Warning there is graphic information in this episode*On New Year’s Night 1902, Bertha Schippan, born Johanna Elizabeth Schippan, was brutally murdered on an isolated farm in the north-east of Adelaide. She was fourteen years old. Her older sister, Maria Augusta (Mary), was charged with this horrendous crime.

*Warning there is graphic information in thisepisode* On New Year’s Night 1902, Bertha Schippan, born Johanna Elizabeth Schippan,  was brutally murdered on an isolated farm in the north-east of Adelaide. She was fourteen years old. Her older sister, Maria Augusta (Mary), was charged with this horrendous crime.  

Captain James Hill operated a snagging boat on the Murray River from the 1860s. This is his story.

Aratong was a stately home built in 1859 and situated in River St in north Deniliquin. It was originally built as a hospital and was later used as a town residence of wealthy station owners. This episode covers the interesting stories of families linked to Aratong.