THE CORYS OF

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Area Co-ordinator: Pam Cory: E-mail: glasford@powerup.com.au

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AUSTRALIA:

The Eureka Centre at Ballarat is situated close to where the Victorian Goldfield uprising took place. On the list of names on the Petition, are those of John Cory and William Corry. The first major discovery of gold was in 1851 in the state of Victoria at Buninyong  followed by discoveries at Ballerat and Bendigo. Thus by 1853, 60,000 diggers and their families had arrived in the state of Victoria with 23,000 of these at Bendigo. Conditions were tough and they were expected to buy a  monthly licence fee costing 30 shillings.  To enforce this licence the Government employed armed men, many of bad character so although the penalty for working a claim without a licence was a £5 fine, some of the law enforcers handed out their own form of rough justice.

In June 1853 an Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed and a petition was presented to Lieutenant Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe on 1^st August 1853. As most of their demands were rejected, the diggers continued their protest with many also evading payment and finally at Ballarat in December 1854 came the violent Eureka Uprising. The Eureka Stockade was attacked by police and military forces and during the short battle, 22 diggers and 7 military were killed. Many diggers died later from their wounds and dozens of the rest were arrested. We do not know if either John or William played a part in this for their signatures on the petition could have been collected at any of the diggings. During the following year licences were abolished and the Miner’s Right was introduced. Two of the diggers’ leaders were elected as their representatives to the Victorian Parliament and this is now seen as the start of Australian Democracy.

In 1997 further information came through our Newsletter (No.12) about a Cory family living in Ballarat. This was Thomas James Cory and his wife Lucy Ann Mellett née Lake, whose children, Maud Amelia, Frederick James and Lilian Mabel were born in Ballarat between 1878-88. The family obviously moved often for Theodore Horatio was born at Sandhurst, William Henry and Herbert were born at Numurkah, Ruby Christiana at Carlton and Evangeline Christiana was born at Clumberdown.

The Roman Poet Virgil asked

"To what dost thou not compel the minds of mortals, accursed greed for gold?"

Sources: Virtual Exhibition State Library www.slv.vic.gov.au/slv/exhibitions/goldfields/petition/p_hist.htm and  www.sovereignhill.austrasia.net/education

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Pam Cory   Kate Pearce

Past Newsletter articles have included articles on two well respected Australians:

Issue No.15 centred on the obituary from "The Pastoral Review September 16 1924", on Gilbert Gostwyck Cory of Toowoomba born in 1839. After completing his education at The King's School, Parramatta, NSW he overlanded at the age of only 19 to Brisbane and thence to Toowoomba on horseback.   Later in life he devoted his attention to the betterment of the District with many interests from Trustee of Toowoomba Racecourse to Mayor of Toowoomba in 1891.  His former home which is featured in the right hand column was restored in the last century and became a superior B & B in which Gilbert's bedroom became a bridal suite!

Issue No.12 featured Stan Cory, Barrister and former Supreme Court Judge of Papua New Guinea who was descended from the Holsworthy line in Devon.  Even though qualified, Stan had many jobs to make ends meet, from building labourer to setting up an academic coaching college before he worked his passage as a seaman to the USA to obtain a masters degree.  Future years saw him working in Papua New Guinea, Sydney and Hong Kong. In 1973 Stan worked on the legislation needed before the Papua New Guinea independence and remained holding several important post until his return to Cairns.

On the first two pages of Newsletter No 16 is an article about Richard Cory who had risen sufficiently through society until he was entertaining the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Alfred) at his house in Langdon Court in 1891.  Richard had three other brothers, William, Henry and James.  Henry emigrated to Adelaide in South Australia where two generations later his grandson, William Southgate Cory had 6 sons and 5 daughters.  If any of the sons are still living, they will be the only Cory descendants of William Cory, the lad from Week St Mary, who went up to London to seek his fortune.

Vacy Toowoomba
Former home of Gilbert Gostwick Cory

If you wish to order back issues of any Newsletter contact our Archivist (e-mail via the address at the top of the page)

The Cory Society Newsletter No 31 featured diary notes by Rev. W H. Keast. This account of a voyage which departed from Plymouth in 1877 was written for a Bible Christian magazine. It was researched in August 2003 at Shebbear College by Kate Pearce and is a fascinating daily account of the voyage that her husband Ted’s relative, the Rev Thomas J Cory, went on to Australia. The vessel was a steam-ship of 3,000 horse-power, and 3,845 tons gross register, 425 feet long and of carried 400 passengers on this crossing. Here are two extracts:

"September 27^th - Accompanied by Mr and Mrs Rounsefell and Mr Maynard I left the Barbican Quay about one p.m. and soon came in sight of the noble ship which is to be my home for the next six weeks, glad to meet with Mr and Mrs Cory and Mr. Haggar and to find them in good spirits. We weighed anchor at three p.m. sharp and were very soon out of sight of the Hoe and soon beyond even the most distant view of all land. It was unspeakably sad to take the last look at my native country. It is now late in the evening, and I am sat down to reflect upon what I have felt and seen during the last few days. I am now face to face with the poignant fact that I have left my friends. Surrounded by hundreds of people, yet I feel alone. I hear voices, but they are the voices of strangers. I almost feel that it is a sad thing to have a heart. Oh! how human I am. The recollections, however, of that beautiful farewell service on Tuesday evening when such kind words were spoken by Messrs. Rounsefell, Robins, Woolcock, Yeo and Maynard, and the promises of my dear friends to pray for me afford me some comfort."

"6^th November - A magnificent morning. The horizon is almost worth coming from England to see. The intending Colonists are already exuberant in praise of their adopted country. I am delighted with the prospect of almost immediately sighting Adelaide."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Kate Pearce

NEW ZEALAND:

Morris Clayson Cory was a boatman from Deal in Kent, England.  He had a wife and four children and times were hard for the boatmen on the beach. At a meeting in Deal Town Hall it was decided to divide the boatmen into two classes- the young and the old, and where possible to get the young men away to somewhere that they could gain more profitable employment. Some ship owners agreed to give passages to young men wishing to emigrate, so 12 families from Deal were on the "Mystery", amongst 250 emigrants, when it set sail for New Zealand on 21st December 1858. Another party left the following year, and other groups left for South Africa and Australia. Morris and his family sailed for a new life in Canterbury, New Zealand. However soon after sailing from London smallpox and scarlet fever broke out. By the time that the ship arrived in Lyttelton harbour on the 20th March 1859  15 of the 300 immigrants on board had died and flying the yellow flag, she was placed into quarantine.

Sadly Morris was not to enjoy his new world for long. In October 1860, there were severe storms off the coast of Timaru.   The schooner "Wellington" was caught up in a furious gale from the south east accompanied by snow. Such was the storm that although both anchors were let go, one anchor broke its chains in two places and the sea broke over the deck, forcing the crew into the rigging.

People on shore watched anxiously and when the weather improved the ship attempted to come up into anchorage.  The sea was too high and the ship hauled downwind and out to sea again.  Fearing that the vessel was in distress the Deal boatmen watching on the shore, manned their surfboat and went bravely to the rescue.  The rough sea, swamped their boat and 3 of the crew of 6 were tossed out. Bowles made it to shore close to death but 2 others were drowned. Morris Cory was one and the other was Boubins; both were married men and Morris left 5 children.

A fund was started in the town for the relief of the widows and orphans and the "Wellington" went back into service, sailing fortnightly for Timaru. We are glad to report that Morris Cory's family has survived and his descendants are still strong in the South Island.

Click onto the Kent page to read about the Deal Corys and their hero Thomas William Cory.

A Deal Lugger

Gravestone Inscriptions:-

Morris Clayson Cory
- drowned off Timaru -
October 6, 1860 aged 30 years -
"In the midst of life we are in death." Also Elizabeth Thomspon
- wife of above -
died March 20, 1913 aged 85 years - "Revisited after many years." - buried at Timaru, New Zealand.

Resources:
"Last of our Luggers" by E C Pain, "South Canterbury a record of a Settlement" by O.A. Gillespie and "Jubilee History of South Canterbury 1916" by J.C. Anderson
Cory Society Newsletters Nos. 24, 25, 26 and 30

Acknowledgements
Bill Cory

Information Sites:

Pam Cory, our area co-ordinator, will be pleased to assist with Queensland research but is unable to help with other states unless the information is available in Queensland.  The Society has a wide selection of records available for research of which just some are shown on our archive page. You can contact the Society at any of the e mail addresses at the top of the page. We list the following links to aid your research and if you discover some more Corys please let Pam know!

Australian Capital Territory   http://www.act.gov.au/sevices/law/births.html
Civil Registration Commenced 1st January 1930
New South Wales   http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au
Civil Registration from 1st March 1856. Records available from 1788 on.
Northern Territory  http://www.ke.com.au/bdmaus/bdmnt/index.html
Civil Registration Commenced 24th August 1870
(1856-1863 + NSW, 1863-1870 South Australia)
Queensland   http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/
Civil Registration Commenced 1st March 1856, Registrations Prior to 1st January 1890
Queensland  http://www.ke.com.au/bdmaus/bdmqld/index.html
Registrations after 1st January 1890
South Australia   http://www.ocba/sa/gov.au/
Civil Registration Commenced 1st June 1842
Tasmania   http://www.tased.edu.au/archives/
Civil Registrations from 1st December 1838. Registrations prior to 31December 1899.
Tasmania   http://www.justice.tas.gov.au/bdm  
Registrations after 1st January 1900
Victoria   http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/
Civil Registration Commenced 1st July 1853
Western Australia   http://www.moj.wa.gov.au
Civil Registration Commenced 1st September 1841
New Zealand  http://www.bdm.govt.nz/
Births 1848-1930, 1872-1997. Deaths 1848-1930, 1872-1997. Marriages 1854-1997