Edward Francis Fanning was born in 1850 to William Patrick Fanning and Catherine Hayes from Thurles, Co Tipperary, Ireland. He inherited “Sunnyside” and was a farmer. He married Bridget Anna Collins in 1884 and had children by her before she died in childbirth. His second wife was her sister, Sarah Collins, who also died young. She had five children. Edward’s surviving children were William Patrick, Edward Francis, John Hugh, Francis Collins and Thomas Fanning. Edward, called Ned, died in 1927 at Bulla and is buried in Melbourne Cemetery.
Edward ( known as Ned) was the youngest son of William and Catherine Fanning who emigrated to Victoria in 1841. He was born on the 15th of Feb, 1850, at Bulla.
Ned attended the denominational school at Bulla and took over the farm after his father’s death and remained there until his death in 1927 at the age of 79.
He was a member of the Royal Agricultural Society, a founding member of the Victorian National Party, and accompanied the Burke and Wills expedition when they passed through Bulla. He is my great grandfather. My great grandmother was his second wife, Sarah Collins.
He married his first wife Bridget Anna Collins on Jan 2, 1884, at Bridget’s parents’ home in Northcote.
Bridget Anna Collins and Edward Fanning Marriage 1884
Bridget Anna Collins (pictured left) was the eldest daughter of Patrick Collins and Mary Gribben. She was born in Footscray, Melbourne in 1860. Her family home was in Waterloo St Northcote, Melbourne.
Her father, born in Co Limerick Ireland, was a Police Constable. His wife Mary came from Co Down in Northern Ireland. Pat Collins came out to the colonies sometime between 1853 and 1856 and worked on the gold fields before becoming a police constable in Melbourne. His wife, Mary, arrived from Ireland in 1857. Bridget Collins was born at Footscray in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1860. She had four older brothers and seven sisters.
Bridget married Edward Francis Fanning, the youngest child of William Patrick Fanning, “Big Bill” and Catherine Hayes, in 1884, at her parents’ home in Northcote, Melbourne, Victoria. She was twenty four and Edward was thirty four years old when they married.
Bridget had three children: William Patrick born in 1885 at Bulla, Edward Francis born in 1887 at Northcote and Thomas Augustus who died, at Deep Creek, after three days, in 1888. Bridget died in childbirth on July 2 1888, after giving birth to Thomas. She was twenty seven old and had been married less than four years. Edward was left with two young sons, one three years old and the other two years old, to look after. Bridget and her infant son, Thomas, are buried in the Melbourne Cemetery.
Gravestone of Bridget Fanning nee Collins Melbourne Cemetery
Two years later, on the 18th of February, 1890, Edward married Bridget’s younger sister, Sarah Ann Collins, at St John’s Church, Clifton Hill, Melbourne. Sarah was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 1870.
Family stories have it that after Bridget died Edward needed help with his young children and Sarah Collins came to live there and help out. Apparently she fell pregnant to Edward and a huge rift came between the two families over this out of wedlock pregnancy. This explains the Collins family looking after the eldest two boys but not the children of Sarah and Edward. One of the boys complained that Edward kept the half brothers separated from each other.
Ned and Sarah Fanning had five children but only three survived to adulthood: My grandfather, Francis Collins Fanning born 1892, John Hugh Fanning born 1893 and Thomas Augustus Fanning born 1894. John Augustus Fanning died aged 2 mths, and Joseph Leo Fanning also died as a baby.
Sarah was only 27 when she died of tuberculosis (called phthisis in those days), in 1897. She had been sick for two years. Below is the memorial card for Sarah Fanning.
Sarah Fanning nee Collins Memorial Card
Their son, Thomas, also died of the same disease in 1915, at age 20. He died in a sanitarium in Surrey Hills, Melbourne, after being ill for four years with tuberculosis (sometimes referred to as consumption).
Apparently there was talk of Edward marrying another Collins sister, Tottie (Mary Josephine Collins) but this did not eventuate.
Edward was a farmer and lived his whole life at “Sunnyside” in Bulla.Edward was elected to the Board of Advice for the Bulla District in 1878 and re-elected in July 1881.This was reported in the Argus on June 18, 1878:
Edward Fanning Elected School Member, 1878, The Argus
The above photo of Bulla residents was taken in 1921. Edward Fanning is the sixth person from the right standing, directly behind the seated woman in black.
Ned Fanning died in 1927 and is buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton with his parents, William and Catherine and Sarah and Bridget, his two wives and his infant son Thomas Augustus. His death was mentioned in The Argus:
Edward Fanning Obituary Kilmore Free Press 13 Jan 1927Sarah Fanning nee Collins and Edward Francis Fanning Melbourne Cemetery
The following genealogy reports trace the ancestors and descendants of Edward Francis Fanning 1850-1927 Bulla Victoria Australia.
Edward Francis Fanning 1850-1927 Ancestor Report 2015Edward Francis Fanning 1850-1927 Descendant Report 2015
The Dillon Family came out from Co Tipperary Ireland in the 1850’s and 1860’s. Martin Dillon settled at Bulla. Three sisters and one brother had already immigrated to Victoria.
Dillon is a Norman name. The first person called Dillon came to Ireland in 1185 and was Sir Henry de Leon. He was from Brittany in France and came to Ireland to act as secretary to Prince John (later King John) The name in France can be traced back to the town of Lyon. It’s Gaelic form was O’ Duilleain and this was eventually anglicized to Dillon.
Map of irish Counties
Martin Dillon snr came out from Co Tipperary in Ireland on the “Eastern Empire” arriving 11 June 1863, with his wife and four children. He stayed with his sister Margaret Ryan. His sisters Ellen, Margaret and Bridget and brother James had previously immigrated to Victoria. Bridget married Richard Feehan in 1853 in Victoria, James married Mary Duhy in 1855, Margaret was married to Thomas Ryan and Ellen to John Dalton.
Martin’s sister Ellen who married John Dalton is buried in the Dalton family grave in the Melbourne Cemetery. Roman Catholic compartment E Grave 94. In this grave are buried her daughters Margaret and Catherine, her niece Ellen and her nephew, Patrick Dillon.Also in the grave are James Crowe who died age 72 and was buried on July 5 1866. Ellen’s mother’s maiden name was Crowe so he could be her uncle.
The Dillons came from Clonpett in South Tipperary and this is what Martin Snr called his property at Bulla, “Clonpett Farm”. The mother of Martin and James was Margaret Dillon nee Crowe. Their father was Martin Dillon a farmer. In the Tithe Applotment books for 1832, for Clonpett Civil Parish, Co Tipperary, there is a Martin Dillon listed living in Clonpett Townland. On the Griffith’s Valuation for Clonpet 1851 there is a Margaret Dillon at Clonpet. She has a house, offices and land. In the house next to her was Patrick Quirk, who had 64 acres of land. In the 1901 Census there are no Dillons living at Clonpet but there are Quirkes in 1901,1911 and 1940.
Townlands around Tipperary Town
Martin Dillon snr would have been about 35 years of age when he immigrated with his wife Hanora Quirk. They had married in Co Tipperary in c1857. By 1879 they had twelve children.
The Dillons bought the property Craig Bank from the Patullo family. They renamed it Willow Bank. It is at 400 Wildwood Road, Wildwood, Bulla and was constructed in the mid 1850s. The buildings are set among river gums on a knoll beside an alluvial flat overlooking Deep Creek.
Willowbank Wildwood Bulla Victoria1888 Post Office Directory of Victoria
“The Dillon family-Martin Sr., Martin Jr., Michael and William- worked about 850 acres until the turn of the century, which coincides with the death of Martin Dillon Sr. in June 1900. Before then, however, Martin Dillon Sr had taken up residence with his wife Honora, on a farm called Clonpett, which encompassed the 217 acres of Allotment 2 of Section 27 in the Parish of Bulla Bulla and fronted the Bulla -Sunbury Road. The present weatherboard house is thought by the Dillon family to have been built in the late 1890s or early 1900s. Prior to that one of the Dillon daughters, a small girl at the time remembers living in the whitewashed stone dwelling (the current building) which had a timber attachment housing washtubs. It may have been only temporary accommodation, during rebuilding the main weatherboard house. When the family moved into the “new house” they acquired a piano, which became a great fixture. The area around the river at the bridge attracted excursionists at least from the time of the late nineteenth century. The Dillons came to know a few families from Melbourne suburbs who camped and fished there every year. The girls would bake for the visitors, and on the Sunday evenings the campers would be invited into the Dillon home for a sing around the piano. The site near the bridge is known as the Martin Dillon Reserve. William Dillon was Shire President in 1897-98″.
From 1900 on the former Craig Bank property, which the Dillons had renamed Willow Bank, was some 415 acres in size (the rest appears to have been sold) and was worked by Martin Dillon Jr. He lived at the property until his death at the age of 59 in December 1917.”
(These notes taken from the Hume Council website on Willowbank. If you search for Hume Council Willow Bank there is a pdf on the Hume Council site which goes into more detail about the Patullos and Craigbank/Willowbank.)
The Dillon family were well known in the district and active in local government.
Martin Dillon Snr died a tragic death by accidental drowning in Jackson’s Creek Bulla in 1900. He was 73 years old. There were many articles in papers about this accident and the recovery of his body. He is buried in Sunbury Cemetery. These clippings are from The Argus June -August 1900.
Martin Dillon jnr was married to Elizabeth “Lizzie” Flanagan in 1892 at St Francis Church, Melbourne. He was a farmer and in 1900 resided at Craig Bank (The Dillons later renamed it Willowbank). They had four children: Mary Josephine, Margaret, John and Ellen.
Signature of Martin Dillon jnr 1914
Martin Dillon, who was born in Co Tipperary c1858, died on the 22nd of Dec 1917. Below is an obituary published in The Sunbury News:
Sunbury News Jan 1918 Obituary for Martin Dillon
Martin Dillon jnr’s eldest daughter, Mary Josephine, married William Patrick Fanning in 1920 and lived at “Sunnyside” in Bulla. They farmed and had three children.
William Patrick Fanning 1915
I remember Mary Josephine as “Aunty Daisy”. In her later years she lived in Essendon with her daughter, Elizabeth “Betty” Fitzgerald. She loved walking and I would often see her taking long walks around Essendon. She used to call in and have a cup of tea with my mother who was very fond of her. I remember Aunty Daisy with affection. She died in 1970 and is buried with her husband, William Patrick Fanning, in Bulla Cemetery.
The following genealogy report traces the ancestry of the Dillon family from Co Tipperary Ireland to Victoria Australia.
Descendants of Martin Dillon 1781-1843 Co Tipperary Ireland
Catherine Fanning daughter of William Fanning and Catherine Hayes was born in 1846 at Bulla in Victoria Australia. She married John Ryan and settled in Kilmore Victoria. She died there in 1899 and she and her family are buried in Kilmore Cemetery.
Catherine was the second daughter of William and Catherine Fanning and was born at Bulla, Victoria in 1846. Below is the record of her baptism in 1847 at Mount Macedon.
Baptism of Catherine Fanning 1847 at Mount Macedon Victoria
She married John Ryan, a farmer, on 21 May 1867 at Bulla. They lived in Kilmore at Moranding in Victoria.
Her husband, John Ryan, was born about 1838 in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. His father was Patrick Ryan and his mother was Margaret Hogan. He came out about 1856 aged about 18.
Signature of John Ryan
He died a tragic death on Dec 11 1876, drowning himself in the river at Moranding. He was 38 years old and left six children under the age of nine at the time of his death. They had been married eight years.
14 Dec 1876 Death of John Ryan Kilmore Free Press23 Dec The Herald report of the death of John RyanReport of John Ryan’s Death in The Argus 1876Death Nptice for John Ryan The Argus 18 Dec 1876
Their children were all born at Kilmore and were Patrick Ambrose, William John, John William, Edward Francis, Catherine, Michael and Thomas.
Catherine died at Kilmore on 15 March 1899.
John Ryan’s Will and Probate and that of Catherine Ryan are online at PROV (Public Records Office Victoria).
Grave of Catherine Ryan nee Fanning, her husband John Ryan and son Patrick Ambrose Ryan in Kilmore Cemetery Victoria.
Below are obituaries for some of Catherine and John Ryan’s children:
Obituary for Edward Francis Ryan Kilmore Free Press 6 Feb 1936William John Ryan Obit Kilmore Free Press 3 Mar, 1928Obituary for John William Ryan Kilmore Free Press 1 May, 1941Thomas James Ryan Obituary Kilmore Free Press 1 April, 1943Obituary for Catherine Ryan Kilmore Free Press 2 Sept, 1948Obit for Michael Joseph Ryan Kilmore Free Press 20 April, 1950
Only one of the children of Catherine Fanning and John Ryan married.
Edward Francis Ryan married Catherine Anastasia Nicholls and they had two children, Mary Anastasia and Frances Eileen. Mary married Ralph Edward Beveridge in Victoria in 1934. I have not found any children for this couple or any marriage or death records for Francis Eileen Ryan.
Johannah Fanning the daughter of William Fanning and Catherine Hayes was born in Bulla, Victoria Australia in 1848. She married William Frederick Dell in 1884 and had two children who died as infants. She and her husband worked in hotels all their lives. She died in 1923 and is buried with her husband in the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton Victoria Australia.
Johanna Fanning outside her family home “Sunnyside” at Bulla Victoria Australia
This picture was taken outside “Sunnyside” c 1868. She would have been about twenty years old.
Johanna Louisa Fanning was born in 1848 at Bulla in Victoria.
She married William Frederick Dell on the 17th Nov, 1884. She was 36, although the marriage certificate says 27, and he was also 27.
They were married in St Francis’ Catholic Church, Melbourne.
On her marriage record Johanna signed her name using the more English “Joanna”.
Joanna Fanning and William Dell Marriage 1884
William Dell was born in Berkshire, England about 1857. His being English did not please Johanna’s Irish father and it is said that Johanna was cut out of the will because she chose to marry an Englishman. She was the only child not to receive property from her parents.
On her marriage certificate her occupation is given as “Hotel Keeper” and address as Bulla. I wonder what hotel she was working at or managing.
Family stories have them owning a pub in Richmond. In 1888 on her daughter’s death certificate she is again listed as a hotel keeper.
From the years 1909 to her death in 1923, she lived at 145 Surrey Rd, South Yarra, Melbourne and her occupation was described as “Home Duties”.
Her sister, Mary Skehan of Monegetta, left Johanna 50 pounds in her will in 1900.
Joanna was 74 when she died.
She had a very sad life, in that her only two children died as infants.
William Frederick Dell died after only two weeks on 28 Dec, 1887. His parents’ address at this time was the Norfolk Hotel in Flinders Lane, Melbourne.
Joanna Louise Dell was born at South Yarra, but died after five months, at Bulla, on 3 Dec 1888.
William Dell died in Richmond in 1939 aged 81.
On the census forms he is listed as a Gentleman in 1884, a Hotel Keeper in 1888 and from 1909 to 1924 as a Cook.
In 1936 he was living at 7 Claremont St, Sth Yarra, Melbourne.
Joanna and William Frederick Dell are buried with their two children, in the Melbourne General Cemetery, in the Catholic section, but not in the Fanning plot.
Joanna Dell Death Notice Oct 1923 The ArgusMemorial Notice for Joanna Dell The Argus 1925
Mary Elizabeth Fanning was the eldest daughter of William Fanning and Catherine Hayes of Bulla Victoria Australia. She was born in 1845 and married Jeremiah Skehan and lived at Romsey in Victoria all her life. He worked as a farmer and they also owned and ran The Junction Hotel in Monegeetta where they lived. She died in 1900 and is buried in Lancefield Cemetery.
Mary Elizabeth Fanning was born at Werribee in Victoria in 1845. Her parents, William and Catherine Fanning, had come out from Thurles, Co. Tipperary Ireland in 1841. They lived and worked at Werribee for the first few years before moving to Bulla.
In 1862 Mary Fanning aged 18 was a witness at an inquest into the death of an infant girl in Emu Creek. Johanna Doyle who lived and worked on the Fanning property was suspected of the child’s death.
Mary Fanning’s Signature at the 1862 inquest.
Mary Fanning married Jeremiah Skehan in 1865, at her family’s home at Deep Creek, Bulla, Victoria.
Mary Elizabeth Fanning Marriage to Jeremiah Skehan 1865
Recently I contacted a DNA match who has Skehan ancestors from Dualla in Co Tipperary. How we are a match is a still a mystery.
I started looking for the birth of Jeremiah and discovered he was baptised on 18 Nov 1833 in Boherlahan Parish in South Tipperary. His parents’ address given as Kill Hill or Killhill. I also came across the Baptism record of his brother William Skehan, 10 Mar 1835, in the same location. So far I have not been able to find any more children of John and Mary Skehan nee O’Keeffe.
Boherlahan Catholic Parish Co Tipperary
Skehan is sometimes spelled as Skeahan, Skehane and Skehin and no doubt there are other variations.
I decided to look for the marriage of John Skehan and Mary O’Keeffe. They were married in the Catholic Church on 18 Nov 1833 after a three month scandal!
Marriage of John Skehan and Mary O’Keeffe, Boherlahan Parish South Tipperary. 22 June 1833.
“John Skeahan of Dualla and Mary Keeffe of Featherd having eloped, from great? scandal for three months and their first married in Church by the Rev W Bagnall Church of Magorban, then again married by the Rev William Kirwain in presence of John Keeffe, Thomas? Ryan and Alicia? Commons?”
They had been originally married in the Protestant Church of Magorban. I am assuming that Mary O’Keefe was a Protestant.
Jeremiah’s family came from Co Tipperary, as did the Fanning family. He came out to Australia when he was about 21 years old, around 1859. His father John, was also a farmer from Dualla Co Tipperary. His mother was Mary O’Keefe from Fethard in the same county. The Skehan family lived at Kill Hill Kilballyherberry in Co Tipperary. There is now a wind farm at Kill Hill.
In Australia Jeremiah and Mary lived at Monegeeta, in Romsey, Victoria, where they were the licensees of The Junction Hotel. The hotel was at Lancefield Junction, on the corner of Gisbourne and Lancefield Rds, at the Railway Station. It was next to Mintaro Homestead, the smaller replica of Melbourne’s Government House built in 1882. Mary and Jeremiah also farmed as well as ran the pub.The hotel was on their land. Below is a map of the area from 1880-1890:
Map of Skehan’s land at Monegeeta
Victoria. Dept. of Crown Lands and Survey. Parish of Kerrie 1880 – 1890.
This land was originally owned by Mary’s father William Patrick Fanning (listed as W.Fannan) and gazetted in 1858:
Land at Monegeetta owned by Mary’s father William Fanning of Bulla
Jeremiah and Mary had thirteen children between 1866 and 1883: John, William, Mary, Thomas, Jeremiah, Catherine, Jeremiah, Jeremiah Patrick, Margaret, Edward, James, Sally and Michael.
Jeremiah died at Monegeeta in Sept of 1896, age 58, of a heart condition, and is buried in the Lancefield Cemetery. Mary died at Romsey in 1923 at the age of seventy eight.
The Junction Hotel was in the Skehan family for over 50 years. It burned down in April 1975. It had passed out of the Skehan family when it was put up for sale in 1909.
Skehan Family Grave Lancefield Cemetery Victoria Australia
Jeremiah’s son, also named Jeremiah, was a blacksmith. I think the photo below of Jerry Skehan is him although it could also be of his son Gerald Skehan who was also a blacksmith. The young boy is Bruce Laing. If anyone knows which Skehan this is please let me know. I don’t know when it was taken.
Jeremiah Skehan Blacksmith Romsey Victoria AustraliaGrave of Doreen, Jeremiah P and Marie Monica Skehan, Lancefield Cemetery Victoria Australia
The following pages about the Skehan family are taken from:
“Celebration of the Catholic parish of Lancefield and Romsey centenary 1906-2006 [John Lynch]”
Francis Collins Fanning was the son of Edward Fanning and Sarah Collins. He was born in Bulla Victoria in1892 and became a builder. he lived in Essendon Melbourne. He married Ida Mackey in 1915 and they had four children. In 1932 he died aged 40.
Frank Fanning on the left and Pat Kelleher in the middle at Kilmore
Frank Fanning and a priest at Camperdown Presbytery 1930Francis Collins Fanning center Victoria Australia
My grandfather Frank Fanning is in the center. I don’t know when this was taken but he is obviously in his work clothes.
He was a talented builder. He is said to have built the original St Theresa’s Primary School and quite a few of the local picture theaters around Essendon.
His son Jack, also a builder, built the Presbytery at St Theresa’s. One thing I remember my father telling me about him was that he played the violin I also have been told he liked to bet on the horses.
One story I heard was that one time he won a thousand pounds on the horses and wanted to buy his daughter Eileen a piano with it, but Ida my grandmother was opposed to spending the money in this way and wanted to buy property. Frank prevailed and Eileen got a piano.Given how strong willed my grandmother was, this was no mean feat!
Advertisement for Frank Fanning Essendon Builder
Francis Collins Fanning, “Frank” Fanning, my grandfather was a builder in the Essendon area. This advertisement was in the local Church paper and may have been around 1923.
House built by Frank Fanning 1924
I
Ida Theresa Mackey married Francis Collins Fanning on the 25th September 1915, in St Monica’s Church, Essendon, MelbourneWedding of Ida Mackey & Francis Collins Fanning 1915
Eileen Glass nee Mackey, Edward Francis Fanning, Francis Collins Fanning, Ida Mackey, Mary Breen nee Mackey, 1915
The wedding was at St Monica’s Catholic Church in Essendon, Melbourne, on Sept 25, 1915.
Hanging Rock John Edward Fanning, the boy in the middle, Nance Fanning nee Kelleher on the right, Jack Fanningher husband on the left, Frank Fanning on Nance’s right about 1928
Ida Fanning was an avid card player and president of the card committee at St Columba’s College in Essendon, where she organized the card afternoons until the early 1960’s. She also held card afternoons at her flat “Collida” in Stanley St Essendon. The name being a combination of her first name Ida and Collins, my grandfather’s second name. On her flat at Stanley St Essendon there was a brass plate with Collida on it. She taught me to play euchre in her front room. She loved the British monarchy and had numerous royal memorabilia.
Frank died at the age of forty after a three year illness.
Francis Collins Fanning Death Certificate 1932Obituary for Francis Collins Fanning in the Kilmore Free Press 3 March 1932
Ida Fanning died age 84 and they are both buried in Fawkner Cemetery Melbourne.
Grave of Ida and Frank Fanning Fawkner Cemetery Victoria
William Patrick Fanning was born in Thurles Co Tipperary Ireland in 1812 and died in Bulla Victoria Australia in 1876. He married Catherine Hayes in Cork before they emigrated on the “Enmore” in 1841. He lived at Bulla and was a farmer. He had five children. His descendants still live at “Sunnyside” in Bulla.
I am not sure when this photo was taken, outside “Sunnyside” Bulla, but I suspect it may have been when “Big Bill” was sick, as he is sitting down. He died of cancer of the jaw in 1876. In 1863 a tender was advertised by the architect Mr J F Mathews in The Argus for construction of the verandah so it is after this time.
William Patrick Fanning, known as “Big Bill” because he was a very tall man, was born in Thurles, Co Tipperary, Ireland in 1812. His parents were Edmond Fanning and Johanna (Judith) Darmody.
He was the third son of a family of 10 children. The Fannings were quite numerous and well known in Northern Tipperary and many were farmers while some went into business, quite a few were publicans, spirit sellers and shopkeepers. This pattern continued in Victoria with two of his daughters, Mary and Johanna, being hotelkeepers. By Irish standards they were well off and this is reflected in Big Bill’s business initiative and land acquisitions here in Victoria.
His surname is inconsistent being spelt as Fannin in 1841, Fanning in 1862, Fannan in 1869 (in an advertisement in the Argus, for a neighbour’s property, he is referred to as Mr Fannan). In 1862 he signed as Fannan but his two children, Mary and John, signed their surname as Fanning. This may be to do with the fact that he could not write and would have been using phonetic spelling. In those days people may not have been as particular about how they spelt their names.
Unfortunately, not much is known about Catherine Hayes. From her death certificate we can establish that she was born c1818 in Co Tipperary Ireland and that her father was a farmer. I remember being told that she smoked a pipe when she lived in Victoria.
She married William Patrick Fanning in 1841 in Cork presumably just before they sailed on the “Enmore” on the 22nd of June. They left from Cobh, in Co Cork on june 22 1841 and arrived three months later at Port Phillip Victoria on Oct 4 1841. Catherine is listed as Mary Fannin, age 24, farm servant, who can neither read or write. Both were Roman Catholics and came as assisted passengers, their fares being 19 pounds each.
Below is the “Enmore” passenger list page where Catherine and William Fanning are listed as William and Mary Fannin. The full passenger list for the Enmore and more on immigration at this time are in the post Australia The “Enmore” Cork Ireland to Port Phillip Victoria 1841. Descriptions of Melbourne as William and Catherine would have found it in 1841 are in the post Life in Melbourne Victoria 1841-1852.
Passengers on the “Enmore” arriving 1841 Melbourne Victoria Australia
The post “Ireland in 1841” gives the political and social background in Ireland and the preceding years and makes it easier to understand why they decided to leave their home and families and come to Australia.
I have wondered why they chose to come all the way to Australia and not go to America or Canada. I have read that immigration to Australia became more attractive as it was aid provided through the bounty system. Fares were paid.
The colonial bounty system came into being in 1837 but was revised in 1840. It granted money to people bringing into NSW from the UK (including Ireland) agricultural laborers, shepherds, tradesman, female domestics and farm servants. There was plenty of work as there was a shortages in these areas.
Kikenny, Tipperary, East Limerick, East Clare and North Cork accounted for over half of all Irish assisted emigrants to Australia. It also seems that life was better for immigrants in NSW and that they did not end up in urban ghettoes like so many did in America.
One of Big Bills relations, Martin Eviston had been transported to NSW in 1830 for manslaughter. He came back to Ireland sometime after 1839 and married Johanna Fanning Big Bill’s cousin. While he came back all his children ended up emigrating as well as quite a few of their cousins (children of Thomas Eviston and Mary Fanning) and settling in Australia. The Evistons lived at Clonomocogue close to the Fanning families and Big Bill would no doubt have talked to Martin Eviston. While Martin Evaston came back to Ireland he must have painted a very positive picture of life and opportunities in the colonies for most of his children and their cousins to have emigrated.
When Catherine and William first arrived they spent some time working at the wharves before they moved to Wyndham in Werribee.
They had five children: John Henry, Mary Elizabeth, Catherine, Johanna Louisa and Edward Francis. The two eldest John and Mary were born in Werribee in 1842 and 1844 while the others were born at Bulla.
In 1844 William Fanning purchased 150 acres of land in what was called “Tullarmarine Island” the area south of the Sunbury Road enclosed by Jackson’s Creek and Deep Creek on Loemans Road near Bulla Bulla where he raised his family. It would have been purchased from the Colony of NSW as Victoria did not exist as a separate colony until 1853.
“The current project study area is located on land that was theTullamarine pastoral run (Spreadborough and Anderson, Settled District map). Some of the early landholders of pastoral runs located between Jacksons Creek and Deep Creek included W.J.T. Clark, W. Fanning and M. Loeman (Symonds 1985, 213). In 1844 William Fanning purchased 150 acres of land on what was known as “Tullamarine Island”, which is the area south of Sunbury Road, enclosed by Jacksons Creek and Deep Creek on Loemans Road (Symonds 1985, 41). Here he set up his farm, which his wife looked after while Fanning undertook contract carting to the goldfields during the 1850s. The Fanning’s built their Sunnyside homestead during the 1850s at the village of Bulla Bulla (Symonds 1985, 41-42). Bulla Bulla was surveyed in 1847, and by 1853, Bulla Bulla consisted of 12 wooden houses, the Deep Creek Inn and Tulip Wright’s hotel, with the first post office opening within this hotel in 1850, then moving to another building (Symonds 1985, 49). During the 1850s, traffic to and from the goldfields passed through the Bulla region, causing some problems with the steep sloping roads. During this time several businesses commenced at Bulla Bulla, including a kaolin clay works used to manufacture porcelain, as well as a large flour mill and brickworks (Symonds 1985, 50). In 1854, Bulla Bulla became known as Bulla. By 1870, the population of Bulla was approximately 200 people, with 2630 in the Bulla district, and 263 dwellings in an area of 73,500 acres (Symonds 1985, 51). By the 1880s, Bulla contained four hotels, a hunt club, several churches and a grocery store and wine saloon. In the 1860s, the State Government introduced the New Industry Act that gave special assistance to enterprising people to develop virgin land (Symonds 1985, 117). Early settlers to the Bulla area, such as W. J.T Clark took advantage of this assistance and started to grow grapes.” From theOuter Metropolitan Link to Melbourne Airport and Bulla BypassAssessment Report 8/8/2011
According to “Victoria and Riverina 1931-32” Aboriginal people were numerous at this time but “owing to his tactful handling the family never had the slightest trouble with them.”
On the discovery of gold at Sandhurst (Bendigo) in 1851 Bill started contract carting to the goldfields. It is thought they would have used bullock teams as the tracks were extremely rough. Broken axles were common. The first day took them to Monegeeta. While William “Big Bill” took supplies across to the gold fields in the 1850’s, Catherine looked after the 100 acre dairy farm. It took three months to do the round trip by waggon. Bill did five trips a year at 100 pounds a ton. The first day got them to Monegeeta.
After the village of Bulla Bulla was surveyed in 1847, he was the first to purchase land in Quartz Street just behind Tulip Wright’s Deep Creek Inn.
On 16 August, 1852, lot 119a at Bulla Bulla was gazetted to William Fannan.
This is where he had “Sunnyside” built. The original homestead on Loemans Rd was a slab hut built under the shade of a large gum tree some 60 meters from the present home, and this was followed by a separate kitchen, later used as a storeroom. “Sunnyside” a single storey bluestone slate roofed farmhouse with outbuildings was built in 1859 using only local stone and gum trees, with the chimney built of hand made bricks. The outbuildings include a simple bluestone kitchen, bluestone woolshed (originally used as stable and coach house), a piggery and a shed with roughly split timber side walls and weatherboard gables. The piggery dates from 1853, the cow shed from 1855 and the shearing shed from 1860. Originally Loemans Rd used to run directly in front of the “Sunnyside” picket fence but this was later resurveyed to the present line. ” The house was registered as a historic building in 1992. It has stayed in the Fanning family.
On the 7th of July 1855 William purchased 342 acres along Wildwood Rd, called “Emu Flat”. This was left to his son John Henry. He also owned land at Kilmore and in Melbourne where the present day Windsor Hotel is situated in Spring St.
Some time after he and Catherine emigrated a group of 17 relatives came out to Victoria. We are not sure of their names or the dates or their exact relationship to Big Bill. I have been told it was about ten years after Bill came out. He apparently wasn’t all that happy to have them staying at Bulla and let them stay in the cattle sheds before letting them stay on his land at Spring St for three months. Some are then said to have gone up to Queensland and some to NSW. All attempts to discover who they were and what happened to them have been unsuccessful.
The Argus of August 2, 1856 published a list of names of those petitioning W.J.T.Clarke esq., to nominate to run to become a member of the Legislative Council. W. Fanning is listed on this as are other Bulla residents including Martin Batey, David Patullo and Richard Brodie. Clarke also called “Big Bill” owned huge amounts of land in the Sunbury area and was elected to the Legislative Council in 1856. His son built the mansion “Rupertswood” in Sunbury.
In 1858 William Fannan had land in the Parish of Kerrie gazetted. It was 107 acres 2 rods and 38 perches in size. This land was at Monegeetta and was either given to his daughter Mary or sold to her and her husband Jeremiah Skehan.
Land owned by William Fanning at Monegeetta 1858William Patrick Fanning 1856 Census Victoria
William Patrick Fanning is listed as William Fannin, farmer, in this 1856 Census for West Bourke in the colony of Victoria. He has a farm on 100 acres freehold at Bulla.
In 1862 the body of an infant girl was found in a sack in Emu Creek. William found the sack which was close to the living quarters of a Johanna Doyle. She was arrested but later acquited. At the inquest William, his wife Catherine and son John and daughter Catherine were all questioned. William signed his name as Fannan.
When William arrivd in 1841 he could read but not write according to the passenger log. His signature may well have been the only thing he could write. Being a farmer he would have had little time to learn to write. His son and daughter both signed as Fanning in 1862 at the same inquest. Fannan is the phonetic way of spelling Fanning.
William Fanning’s signature 1862
In 1871 the following farmers, mainly from the area across Jacksons Creek towards Bulla and Sunbury, successfully objected to a proposed land sale: Martin Batey, Dugald Stewart, John Skuse, John Dickens, William Fanning, Martin Dillon, Patrick Leyden, Alexander Guthrie, William Prendergast, Isaac Batey, ? Batey, John Daly, Peter Murphy, John Murphy, Michael Bourke, Thomas Condon, John Scully, Charles Bradley(?), Anne Gregor (“Dairy Woman”), Thomas Emerson, (“Dairy Man”), George Randall, Thomas Faithful, Harriet Sharpe, John Heaghney, and Michael O’Brien. (Hume City Council site)
William Patrick Fanning died in 1876, age 65, after a long and painful illness, cancer of the jaw.
Death certificate of William Patrick Fanning 1876 Bulla Victoria Australia
William Patrick Fanning, “Big Bill”, is buried in the Catholic section of the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton, with his wife, Catherine, daughter-in-law, Bridget Fanning nee Collins, and his grandson, Thomas. In the Argus he was described as a much respected old colonist of 35 years whose passing was much regretted.
Grave of William and Catherine Fanning nee Hayes Melbourne Cemetery Victoria AustraliaFanning Graves in the Melbourne Cemetery Victoria Australia
Catherine died on the 20th May 1895 aged 77 and is buried in the Melbourne Cemetery.
Death Notice Catherine Fanning 1895 Bulla Victoria Australia
Below are detailed genealogy reports on the ancestors and descendants of William Patrick Fanning 1812-1876.
Ancestors of William Patrick Fanning 1812 Thurles Co Tipperary Ireland – 1876 Bulla Victoria AustraliaWilliam Patrick Fanning Descendant Report 2015
John Hugh Fanning was the son of Edward Fanning and Sarah Collins and was born in 1893 and died in 1975. He was a farmer and married Hannah Kelleher. They are both buried in Kilmore Cemetery Victoria Australia.
A young John Hugh FanningHannah “Nance” Fanning nee Kelleher
John Hugh Fanning, called Jack, was the son of Edward Fanning of Bulla and Sarah Collins of Northcote. Sarah died young of consumption at the age 27 in 1897. Jack would have been four years old when his mother died.
Jack worked as a farmer and lived just outside of Kilmore at Willomavin in country Victoria. I can remember my father telling me that Uncle Jack, his uncle, never wanted to be a farmer and work on the land but that his father Edward made him.
He married Hannah “Nance” Kelleher on Oct 21 1925. His brother Frank was best man and Nance’s brother Pat was groomsman. Her cousin Alma Kelleher and her friend Aileen Hesford were bridesmaids. Aileen was later to marry Pat, Nance’s brother. Nance and Jack Fanning did not have any children.
Wedding of Nance Kelleher and John Fanning in Table Talk, 17 Dec 1925John Hugh Fanning and Nancy Fanning nee Kelleher 1945. His niece and my aunty Eileen Fanning is in the background.
Nance was an keen golfer and also very involved in the CWA and other community groups and activities.
Jack Fanning KilmoreJohn Hugh Fanning at KilmoreFrank Fanning, my grandfather on the left and in the middle is Pat Kelleher, Nance’s brother at KilmoreHanging Rock John Edward Fanning, the boy in the middle,Nance Kelleher on the right, Jack Fanning on the left, Frank Fanning on the right next to Nance about 1928Nance Fanning nee Kelleher at Sunnyside BullaDaisy Fanning nee Dillon, Ida Fanning nee Mackey, my grandmother and Nance Fanning nee Kelleher.
Nance and Jack Fanning are buried in the Kilmore Cemetery Victoria.
Nance Kelleher was the daughter of Denis Kelleher and Catherine Connors and was born in 1902 at Avondale, Kilmore. Her ancestors came out to Australia from Co Kerry in Ireland. Her grandmother Bridget Mannix came out in 1866 with five of her children. Her husband Patrick had arrived before her in 1864. In Co Kerry their name was written as Kelliher.
Obituary in the Kilmore Free Press for Patrick Kelleher, Nance Fanning’s uncle 9 Feb 1939.Obit Kilmore Free Press 4 Dec 1947 for Catherine Kelleher wife of Denis and mother of Nance Fanning nee KelleherAileen Kelleher Obit Kilmore Free Press 20 April 1950 Nance’s sister-in-lawDenis Joseph Kelleher, Nance Fanning nee Kelleher’s father. Kilmore Free press 13 June 1940
William Patrick Fanning was the eldest son of Edward Fanning and Bridget Collins. He was educated at Xavier College in Melbourne and took over “Sunnyside” and farmed there. He was born in 1885 and died in 1935. He married Mary Josephine “Daisy” Dillon and they had three children. William and Daisy Fanning are buried in Bulla Cemetery.
William Patrick Fanning 1915 at brother Frank’s wedding to Ida mackeyDaisy Fanning nee Dillon, Ida Fanning nee Mackey and Nance Fanning nee Kelleher at my parents’ wedding. 1943
William Patrick Fanning was the oldest son of Edward Fanning and Bridget Fanning nee Collins. He was born 16 July 1885 at Bulla and died on 12 April 1935 in Fitzroy Melbourne. He was educated at Xavier College in Melbourne and matriculated in . He inherited “Sunnyside” and was a farmer.
Sunnyside June 2011
He married Mary Josephine Dillon from Willow Bank Bulla.
Willow Bank Bulla Victoria Dillon Home
This is what was written about William Patrick “Bill” Fanning in “Victoria and Riverina 1931-32” :
William Patrick Fanning Biography 1931William and Mary Fanning nee Dillon Bulla Cemetery VictoriaMary Josephine Dillon Ancestor Report 2015
Patrick Collins c1819-1905 was from Co Limerick in Ireland and the son of Patrick Collins and Bridget McNamara. He married Mary Gribben in Co Down Ireland c1845 and emigrated to Australia c 1855. He worked as a Police Constable in Victoria for 17 years. He had 12 children and lived in Northcote Melbourne. Patrick Collins died in 1905 and is buried in the Melbourne Cemetery Victoria with other members of his family. Two of his daughters were married to Edward Fanning of “Sunnyside” Bulla.
Signature of Patrick Collins
Map of Irish Counties
Patrick Collins was born in Co Limerick Ireland about 1819 and died 20 Feb 1905 in Melbourne Victoria Australia. His father was Patrick Collins and his mother Bridget McNamara. She also came to live in Melbourne with her son and his family in Northcote. He married Mary Gribben in Co Down about 1845 when he was 33. Patrick Collins came out to Australia from Ireland about 1853. He worked as a Police Constable in Melbourne.
I have not been able to find any birth records for Patrick in Co Limerick or Tipperary and Co Clare records are not online yet. In the RIC records there is a Patrick Collins listed born Co Clare and all the dates fit. This Patrick enlisted in 1845 and was 24. The enlistment and birth dates are right for our Patrick.
Possible Irish Police RIC record for Patrick Collins
I also found records for one of Patrick’s brothers and he was born in Co Tipperary and records for this Thomas Collins’ children and they were born in either St John’s or St Michael’s Parishes in Co Limerick. Birth records for some of Patrick’s siblings have them being born in St Michael’s or St John’s also. So it seems the Collins family came from near the borders of counties Limerick, Tipperary and Clare in the north east of Co Limerick.
Map showing Limerick City, Castleconnell and Killoscully places where Collins family were born.
His mother Bridget was born c1788 in Co Limerick Ireland. When she came out to Australia it is quite possible that she was accompanied by her granddaughter Annie Josephine Collins. Annie Josephine was Patrick Collin’s niece and married James Henry Meehan.
Mary Collins and Patrick Collins, their son Thomas and Mary’s parents (John and Mary Gribbin) and brother (John Gribbin) all came out to Australia on the “Miles Barton” which left Liverpool, with 400 passengers, bound for Melbourne on June 26, 1857 and arrived 30 Sept 1857. They came as unassisted passengers. Patrick came out earlier. On Patrick Collin’s death certificate it says he came out c1855, although this is not necessarily accurate.
On Patrick Collin’s police record it says he joined the Victorian Police Force on the 19th of September 1856 and that before that he had been on the “diggings”.
In Ireland he had been employed in the “Constabulary” for seven years. This would have been the Irish Constabulary which was formed in 1822 . It was renamed the Royal Irish Constabulary or R.I.C. in 1867. It was however only after the First World War, when large numbers of ex English, Scottish and Welsh soldiers were employed that the R.I.C. become know as the “Black and Tans”, hated for their brutality towards the Irish people.
When Patrick joined the Irish Constabulary they only accepted single men but after 7 years, with permission from their superiors, they were allowed to marry.
A police constable would not have been allowed to work in his home county and this may explain how Patrick, born in Co Limerick, came to marry Mary Gribben from far off Co Down. Once married he would not be allowed to work in Co Down or Co Limerick. He emigrated to Australia soon after marrying.
Patrick was five feet ten inches tall, with a pale complexion and dark brown hair and blue eyes and a “not smart” general appearance! He was 32 when he joined the Victorian Police Force and married. I suspect he was actually 37 as the dates on other documents agree with this. He may have taken a few years off his age to get accepted into the Police Force.
Patrick Collins spent more than 17 years as a policeman in Victoria. His Police Record gives some idea of his life out on the beat.
His police record has him being “drunk on the morning of the 2nd inst” in 1860 and again “being under the influence of Drinke” in April of the same year and being fined 5 shillings. His superior did however remark that “this constable has always conducted himself in a steady sober manner”.
On Sept 7 he was “sitting in a shop reading a newspaper when on duty” he pleaded guilty and was duly fined 8 shillings and transferred to the City. In 1863 he is stationed in Fitzroy and on the 7th of Jan “drunk returning off duty at 9PM” fined 10 shillings. Patrick was fined the same amount again for being absent from his beat and under the influence in June 1863.
The following year he was caught talking and walking with a female when on duty and “improperly working his beat” Again he is fined but this time it is the smaller amount of 5 shillings and sixpence.
The more serious charge of “Misconduct as a Const” was made against him in 1865 and he was fined 30 shillings. No elaboration on what this misconduct involved was recorded. This is the only charge on his record sheet that he pleaded not guilty to.
The Police must have been very strict or on his case, as Patrick Collins was in 1865 cautioned for being 7 minutes late for duty at 8.45 p.m.
In 1866 and 1871 there are entries which may relate to him being ill it is hrd to decipher the abbreviations and writing. It does look like he was off work on half pay for several years. In 1873 it is noted that he has been on half pay due to ill health and this continues up to 25 June 1876 when he is given a back dated discharge.
He was superannuated from the Police Force on the 31st of December 1873 with the rank of Constable.
He lived with his family in Northcote Melbourne. Patrick and Mary Collins had 12 children 9 of whom lived to adulthood. Thomas was born in 1854 in Co Down Ireland, Francis Patrick born c 1856, John Thomas 1858, Patrick Francis 1859, Bridget Anna (who married Edward Fanning) born 1869, Mary Josephine (nicknamed Tottie) born 1861, John Hugh born c1864, Annie born 1864, Theresa born 1865, Ellen Mary born 1867, Sarah Anne (who became Edward Fanning’s second wife) born 1870 and Theresa Anna born 1972.
Bridget Fanning nee Collins first wife of Edward Fanning
Bridget Collins signature 1884
Thomas James, their eldest son, died tragically in 1881. His death was reported in The Argus, April 1881.
Death of Thomas James Collins The Argus April 1881
When Patrick Collins died in Feb 1905, age 86, he was quite wealthy. Below is a copy of his death certificate:
Death certificate Patrick Collins Feb 5 1905
On the 1903 Electoral Roll for Victoria he is listed as a man of Independant Means. His Will and Probate papers are online at the Public Records Office Victoria PROV.
In his will he leaves everything to his wife Mary for herself and the support of his three unmarried children: Mary, John and Theresa, until they marry. If they marry they are to be given the use of one of his houses in Greeve St Fitzroy for 21 years. After this time the house is to be sold and the proceeds equally divided amongst the remaining children. A sum amounting to one half of a share went to each of his two grandchildren, William Patrick “Bill” Fanning and Edward “Ned” Fanning. Nothing was left to his other two grandchildren by his daughter Sarah.
His total estate was worth 2,000 pounds at the time of his death in 1905. He owned a six roomed weatherboard house in Waterloo Rd Northcote as well as four, old, three- roomed brick cottages in Young St Fitzroy ( Nos 270,272,274 and 276 Young St). He also owned four, brick cottages in Greeves St Fitzroy, nos 27, 29 and 131 Greeves St.
One story I have heard repeated in the family is that Patrick Collins was a High Court Judge back in Ireland. I haven’t found anything to back this up and in Victoria he was a Police Constable.
Patrick Collins paid for the education of his two grandchildren,William and Edward Fanning, at Xavier College, a prestigious school in Melbourne.
The Collins family graves are in the Melbourne General Cemetery in Carlton.
Gravestone of Mary, John and Bridget Collins Melbourne Cemetery Victoria AustraliaGrave of Thomas James Collins, Mary Gribben, Patrick and Ellen Collins, Melbourne Cemetery, Victoria, Australia
The first grave is that of Mary Collins nee Gribben, wife of Patrick Collins of Northcote. She died 28th July 1921. Their son John Collins, born 1858 died 1859, and daughter Mary Collins, born 1861 died 1917, are buried here also. Also Patrick Collin’s mother, Bridget Collins nee McNamara, born c1788 in Co Limerick and died at Northcote, 27 August 1881.
The second grave is that of Thomas James Collins, who died Mar 25 1881, aged 27 years. He was born in Co Down, Ireland about 1854. Also buried here is Mary Gribben nee Carlon. She who was born about 1804 in Co Down, Ireland and married to John Gribben. She died 28 Oct 1879, aged 74 and was Patrick Collin’s mother-in-law.
Patrick Collins, the patriach of the Collins family, died age 86, on 20 Feb 1905. He was born c 1819 in Co Limerick, Ireland. Also buried here is Ellen Collins born c 1867 and died, age 21, on June 14 1888. She was one of Patrick and Mary Collin’s daughters. They had 12 children.
The genealogy report which follows details the descendants of the earliest Collins ancestor from Co Limerick Ireland.
Descendants of Patrick Collins from Co Limerick Ireland 2015
The above photo of Bulla residents was taken in 1921. Edward Fanning is the sixth person from the right standing, directly behind the seated woman in black.
