| A Ridgway Dynasty - Part 1 (by a Ridgway Family Historian) |
| Anthony and Sophia Ridgway, my paternal great-grandparents, were born in Buckinghamshire, England. Anthony, the third child (second son) of Thomas RIDGWAY and Charlotte SHELTON, was baptised at Thornborough on the 2nd September 1821. He married Sophia at St. Mary’s Church of England, Thomborough, on the 7th May, 1843. She was baptised at Preston Bissett on the 8th August, 1826, second child (second daughter) of William CADD and Sarah JEFFS. Travel to Australia by Sailing Ship To emigrate to Australia in 1849, Anthony and Sophia, accompanied by their three children - William (born 21st June, 1843), Elizabeth (baptised 12th April, 1846) and John (baptised 7 May 1848) - embarked on the Mary Shepherd, a barque of 625 tons under John Alexander McDonald master, which sailed from Gravesend on the 17th December 1848, with 253 emigrants on board ‘principally English and Scotch, with a few Irish’. The Mary Shepherd was completed in the Sunderland Dockyards in 1848 for the shipping firm of Shepherd of the Port of London. She was a brand-new vessel and quite broad, so the emigrants enjoyed the ample living space between rows of bunks and plenty of headroom between decks. Part of the ‘tween decks' was set aside as a hospital to be used for the isolation of patients with infectious illnesses and for privacy. On the 4th April, 1849, the vessel duly arrived in Port Phillip, and the following report was published in the Argus of Friday, April 6, 1849: “There has been very little sickness on board, and all appear in good health. The utmost order has prevailed amongst them, and the Captain and Surgeon are of the opinion that, with few exceptions, they will be found to be a very superior class of immigrant. The Immigrants per the Mary Shepherd have presented a testimonial, expressive of their sincere thanks to the Captain and Surgeon, “whose kindness and attention have been unremitting throughout the passage”. The Immigrants by this vessel will be inspected to-day, and open for engagement tomorrow, Not before." Employment in Melbourne Anthony was employed by William Leaney Brodie to work on his farm, Parkfield Cottage, at Moonee Ponds, for twelve months at wages of £18.0.0. per annum, with rations. It was here that baby John died on the 5th January 1850, and when one week later another son was born, he was given the name John! |
Goldfields
The term of Anthony’s employment with Brodie was for twelve months, although it is possible that he remained employed at Moonee Ponds until the death of William Brodie on the 2nd December 1850. Nevertheless, at some time during this next twelve months he departed for the goldfields, reportedly Ballarat, but possibly Buninyong, a village approximately five miles south of Ballarat, where gold was discovered on the 8th August 1851. Or perhaps to Golden Point, as when the Ballarat district was rushed, the presence of so many miners resulted in the discovery of this immensely rich field on the 25th of that month. 
Anthony Ridgway’s Elder Brother William Anthony Ridgway’s Elder Brother William, with his wife Ann (nee Inns) and family had emigrated to South Australia in 1847, coming on to Victoria early in 1852. It is possible that William joined Anthony on the goldfields leaving the two women with their ten children in Richmond, rather than have them endure the hardships of the ‘fields'. It was here that another son, Thomas, was born to Anthony and Sophia in 1852, and it was at Church Street, Richmond, that he died on the 2nd February, 1854 after succumbing to dysentery. He was buried the following day at the Melbourne General Cemetery. |
Ridgway Dynasty
| Pastoral Pioneers- Anthony Ridgway | 3 Ridgway Sons and Daughters |
| 1 Anthony Ridgway's journey to Clyde | 4 Ridgways and the Clyde General Store |
| 2 Anthony Ridgway settles in Clyde | 5. Ridgway Family Photos |