Maria Amelia Punch (b 1840)
parents Thomas Punch & Ann Brown


born 2 November 1840, Limehouse, London, England[4]
baptised 6 December 1840, St Anne's Church of England, Limehouse, London, England[4]
died 28 July 1888, Kerang, Victoria, Australia[1,10]
buried 30 July 1888, Kerang Cemetery, Kerang, Victoria, Australia[5]


Maria Amelia Punch

Maria was baptised on 6 December 1840 at St Anne's Church of Egnland, Limehouse, London[4].

 
From St Anne's, Limehouse Parish Register

She grew up and was schooled in the Limehouse area.

Maria married Thomas George Pegg on 26 September 1858 at St Thomas' Church of England in Stepney, London[6].


From the St Thomas, Stepney C of E Parish Register[4]

Maria was 18 years old and Thomas was 22 and he worked as a Labourer.  Thomas was born on 16 December 1836 and baptised on 5 February 1837 at St George The Martyr Church of England, Southwark, London[7].  His parents were Thomas Pegg and Mary Ann.


Life After Marriage

They had two children while living in East London before emigrating to Australia - Thomas Richard and Emily G.

In 1861, they were living in West Ham, Essex and Thomas worked as a Chemical Works Labourer.  They were living in North Woolwich Road Chemical Cottages, accommodation provided by his employer so they must have been pretty hard up[8].


1861 UK Census


West Ham Industries

West Ham was an industrial village long before it became a great manufacturing town.  The marshes by the River Lea provided ample room for industry.  The river was navigable and furnished power for a group of tidal mills which were already important in 1066, and during the next seven centuries served industries as diverse as calicoprinting, paper-making, distilling, and gunpowder manufacture.

The history of West Ham's modern manufacturing industries can conveniently be divided into three periods, 1800–59, 1860–1919, and 1920–69.  In 1800–59 34 permanent firms are known to have been established. Chemicals (8 firms) and engineering and metals (7) were the main groups.

North Woolwich Road, Silverton, Canning Town and Plaistow were manufacturing hubs.

The earliest firm specializing in fertilizers was Odams Chemical Manure Co., North Woolwich Road, Silvertown.  This was established in 1855 by James Odams, originally to make manure from liquid blood.  Odams ensured a supply of raw material by opening a slaughterhouse, adjoining his factory, for cattle imported through the Victoria Docks

Read more at:-
'West Ham: Industries', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 76-89.
URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42755


In 1871, they were still living in West Ham and Thomas is now a Foreman at Manure Works.  They are living in Hudson's Cottages[9].  Maybe he worked for Odams?


1871 UK Census


Emigration to Victoria, Australia

Maria and Thomas arrived in the Colony of Victoria on the Penthesilea in October 1873 with their children Thomas aged 11 years and Emily G aged 8 years[2].  

Penthesilea
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Penthesilea in Brisbane 1892
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

The Penthesilea was an iron-clad clipper ship of 1,008 tons and was under the command of David Venters and berthed at Williamstown[3].


It is likely that they did not stay in the Melbourne area very long but travelled to the Bendigo area where a number of Maria's older siblings had already established themselves.  Their third child Maria Sarah was born in Bendigo in 1878[1].  

They did not stay long in Bendigo either but followed other Punch families a little further north to Kerang in 1879.  Maria's siblings Thomas James, Charles Alexander and Sarah Ann were already in Kerang.

Thomas became a land Lesse and Owner and stayed in the Kerang district farming a number of different parcels of land.


Farming in the Kerang Area

On 24 June 1879, Thomas Pegg applied to take over land at 161a Murrabit which was abandoned by George Punch.

He also applied for land at 159a Dartagook which was land abandoned by A Pay.  This was gazetted on 15 August.  

It is not known what Thomas had in mind, since this was probably very poor quality land.  The area of Dartagook was and still is well known for its production of high quality table salt.




The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 4 July 1879		In February the following year, Thomas and 5 others were convicted of stealing salt from the local salt works.  One of the the five convicted was his nephew, William Punch.



The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 27 Feb 1880
Some time before 1883, Thomas must have successfully applied for land at 97a Murrabit but his licence was revoked in March 1883.



The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 6 Mar 1883



The following year, Thomas purchased Crown Land - Allotment 1, Section 21 for £15 10s.
                                                           --------->>


The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette,  5 Dec 1884

Thomas continued to be very active in land deals in the Kerange area and in January 1886 leased 158 acres at Dartagook.



The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 19 Jan 1886		Only 2 months later, he obtained 64 acres in Murrabit West.



The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 9 Mar 1886


Death and Beyond

Maria Amelia died on Saturday, 28 July 1888 at her home in Scoresby Street, Kerang[1,10].

She died rather young at only 48 years from breast cancer.

The local poaper carried a touching obituary to her             ------------>>

Maria was buried at the Kerang Cemetery on 30 July in NEW, Section C/E, Grave 186[5].

The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 31 July 1888

Thomas George Pegg died on 22 June 1894 at Kerang[1,11].  He was buried at the Kerang Cemetery on 25 June 1894 in R/O, Section C/E, Grave 186 (presumably the same grave as Maria Amelia).

He made out his Last Will dated 14 June and specified that all his estate should be divided between his children Maria Sarah Pegg (not yet married) and Robert Pegg.  The net value of his estate was £304 12s consisting primarily of the house in Scoresby Street (£360 including improvements), the value of pre-paid leases (both to the government and private paries, £108)  less liabilities consisting primarily of a mortgage over two parces of land (£164).





The list of assets and liabilities is quite extensive and makes interesting reading.
Click on the following image to read it ----> 



Children

1.  Thomas Richard Pegg was born ca 1860 probably in West Ham, Essex, England.  He was found on the 1861 and 1871 England Censes and he was also listed with his parents on the Penthesilea passenger list[8,9,2].  Nothing more is known about him.  Presumably he died young.

2.  Emily G Pegg was born ca 1865.  The only mention of her has been found in the passenger list of the Penthesilea[2].  She may have also died young.

3.  Maria Sarah Pegg was born in Bendigo in 1878.  She married Andrew Pat(t)erson Condie in 1899.  She died in Footscray, Victoria in 1956[1].  Andrew Condie was born in Steiglitz, Victoria in 1873.  His parents were David  Condie and Ann Pat(t)erson.  He died in Royal Park, Victoria in  1947[1].

The Electoral Rolls show Andrew Paterson (one "t") living in Beech Forest in 1909 working as a Manager (of what ?).  In 1919, Andrew's stated address was 17 Arbinger Street, Richmond and still worked as a Manager.  At the same time, Maria lived at 159 Raleigh Street, Northcote through to 1931.  Perhaps 17 Arbinger Street was Andrew's employment address?  In 1936-37, Andrew worked as a Labourer at Ventnor (Philip Island).  Later, from 1937 to 1954, Maria lived at 14 Errol Street, Footscray[12].  Were they still married or divorced?

Maria Sarah and Andrew had three children:-

3.1  May Condie was born 1900 in Kerang.

3.2  Annie Pat(t)erson Condie was born 1901 in Kerang and married Robert Henry Snell in 1936.  She died in Geelong in 1975[1].  Robert was born in Maryborough, Victoria in 1903 and died in Geelong in 1979[1].  In 1924, Annie worked as a Machinist and lived with her mother at 159 Raleign Street, Northcote[12].

3.3  David Condie was born 1908 in Beech Forest, Victoria.  He died in Heidelberg, Victoria in 1953[1].  In 1940, he married Valerie Marcelene Da Silva[1].  From 1937 through to 1952, David worked as a Cabinetmaker and lived with his mother at 14 Errol Street, Footscray.  From 1977 to 1980, he worked as a Carpenter and lived at 1/20 Angliss Street, Yarraville.  His wife, Valarie Marcelene was with him during this period[12].


4.  Robert Pegg was born in 1882 in Kerang.  Robert married Florence May Simmonds, his first cousin once removed, in 1927.  Her parents were William Simmonds and Mary Ann Punch (Robert and Mary Ann were first cousins).  Florence May died in 1966 in Kerang and was buried at Kerang Cemetery on 26 July 1971 in R/O, Section C/E 13, Row 2, Grave 31.  Robert died in 1971 and  was buried in the same grave[1,5].

Robert and Florence can be found in the Electoral Rolls from 1909 when he worked as a Factory Employee.  From 1914, Robert worked as an Engine Driver (railway ?).  Oddly, Robert's address from 1909 through to 1942 is Wellington Street, Kerang while Florence's address is Wyndham Street, Kerang.  Only from 1949 through to 1963 are they both shown living at 22 Wyndham Street.  In 1968, Robert is shown living at 22 Park Road, Kerang[12].





London Docklands ca 1904


References
  1. Victorian BMD Registers
  2. Victorian Public Records Office - Immigration records, Fiche 322, Page 001
  3. The Argus, 5 November 1873
  4. Baptism records for St Anne's Church of England, www.ancestry.com
  5. Kerang Cemetery records, courtesy Miriam Adams, email 21 Jan 2012
  6. St Thomas' Stepney Parish Records - www.ancestry.com
  7. St George The Martyr Southwark, Parish Records - www.ancestry.com
  8. 1861 UK Census RG / 9 / 1059 page 38
  9. 1871 UK Census RG / 10 / 1630 page 64
  10. The Kerang & Swan Hill Times Gazette, 31 July 1888
  11. Thomas George Pegg Last Will and Probate
  12. Australian Electoral Rolls 1903-1980