There were 4 children of John Hedges and Mary Waring of Health & Reach, Bedfordshire, UK (that I know of..)
John Hedges (1795 – 1887) à James
Sarah Hedges (1801 – 1861..71) à ….. àPeter ...
Thomas Hedges (1802 – 1881)
James Hedges (1813 – 1875) à Thomas, William
All four lived in or around Heath and Reach.
James Hedges (1825 – 1906) [son of John] immigrated to Australia aboard the Beejapore in 1857. He had married Mary Jane MAHER in London in 1854 and they had one son (also James) when they arrived in Sydney, NSW as assisted immigrants. James had been a navvie in England.
[Assisted passages were granted by the Government to particular categories of immigrants, and their families, which were from time to time, particularly required in the Colony. The categories include farmers, farm labourers, vine dressers, labourers, mechanics and domestic servants. To be eligible they had to be unable to pay the full passage, they could not have resided previously in any Australian colony.]
They settled in Maitland (just outside Newcastle) for about 10 years before moving to Braidwood in 1866 probably working in the coal mines, on the roads or as a general labourer. Gold had been discovered in Araluen about 20miles from Braidwood and James worked a small gold claim. He was unsuccessful in making his fortune and moved up to Collector near Goulburn as a farmer’s labourer until he died. All his sons worked with the Goulburn railways.
There was a serious typhoid epidemic around 1856/57 in the Leighton Buzzard area. There are higher than normal deaths of not only children but also adults. This may have been the reason why James immigrated. He was also married in London in 1854 and may have been living there just before he immigrated. There were many ships sailing to America, Canada and Australia – mainly wanting skilled labour and offering huge incentives (land, employment, money, free passage). James and Mary may have been seduced by promises of money and a better life. But I can only guess.
Later Hedges to immigrate to Australia were:
William Hedges (1845 – 1913) [son of James] when he was twenty years old, he immigrated to Australia in 1866. He spent 11 months in Tasmania, 9 months in NSW and then came to Queensland where he lived in Sherwood, a Brisbane suburb. William was a miner and at times a carpenter. William also chased gold and he died at Pentland, a gold mining town between Charters Towers and Hughenden, Queensland.
Thomas Hedges (1834 – 1906) [son of James, brother to William] arrived in Morton Bay, Queensland (Brisbane) aboard the “City of Agra’ in 1877 with his wife Mary, and three children Thomas (19) Sarah (13) and William (4). Thomas was a journeyman wheelwright in England and moved his family from place to place to continue in work. He may have chosen to immigrate so that he could settle down in one place. I have very little information on Thomas.
Peter … (1941 - ) is the great-great grandson of Sarah Hedges. He was born in Hendon, England and came to Australia in 1966. Peter is an academic who came to Australia to study.
