Joseph Mcinnerney

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Gail Robyn Newman on 26th December 2023

Joseph McInerney was buried at Chewton cemetery. Joseph and Ellen’s marriage lasted less than 12 years. In that time, they had 6 children, but only two of these children lived to adulthood. By the age of 28, Ellen had presumably lost both of her parents, four of her babies, and then her husband

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Gail Robyn Newman on 26th December 2023

Joseph didn’t see the fruits of his labour. The railway line to Castlemaine was opened on 15 October 1862. However Joseph was killed at work at The Junction on 21 February 1862 by falling earth. He had been standing between a fifteen feet high cutting and some wagons. Without warning, earth and stones fell from above, and he was crushed beneath the rubble. Despite his fellow workers digging him out quickly, the post-mortem showed that he would have died instantly. The bones of his chest were completely crushed and it was concluded that no action could have saved his life. Ellen’s testimony at the Coroner’s Inquest was as follows: “I am the wife of deceased and live at The Junction. He is my husband and was a labourer on the Railway. He is an Irishman and born at Tipperary. I have two children alive and four dead. I know nothing about the accident. Deceased was brought home dead.”

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Gail Robyn Newman on 26th December 2023

More children were born to Joseph and Ellen in the Chewton district, however the only birth registered was for Bridget ‘McInerny’. She was born in 1858 at Forest Creek, which is near Chewton. We can presume that Catherine McInerney was born in October 1859, although her birth registration has not been located. Catherine’s death registration states that she died on 22 February 1860 at Chewton, aged five months. Another child’s death was registered in 1861. Recorded as Johanna ‘McInnerney’, it was stated that she was three years old, so presumably born in 1858. Possibly this is the same child as Bridget (who was born in 1858) or perhaps Bridget and Johanna were twins. There is no death registered for a Bridget McInerney prior to Joseph’s death in 1862.

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Gail Robyn Newman on 26th December 2023

Joseph was assigned to work for George Wyndham at Wallis Plains in Maitland in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales. As recorded on the Australian Dictionary of Biography, “George Wyndham (1801-1870), farmer, wine-grower and pastoralist, was born at Dinton, Wiltshire, England, arriving in Australia in 1827. He settled near Branxton in the Hunter River valley, naming his property Dalwood, and began experimental farming. Among crops mentioned in his diary for 1830 were maize, wheat, hemp, mustard, castor oil, tobacco, millet and cape barley. He also planted a vineyard and began wine-making, in which he had long been interested.” His vineyard was to become the respected Wyndham Estate. George Wyndham was also a magistrate in Maitland. He was assigned many convicts. Notably, “he was respected for his leniency to assigned servants in his earlier days, and was himself a hard worker in the field.” Joseph was granted a ticket of leave on 7 February 1843, but had to remain in the district of Maitland. Joseph received a second ticket of leave passport on 16 December 1845 so that he could travel to the New England district for 12 months, to continue with his sheep shearing work. Joseph received a conditional pardon on 31 December 1847, meaning that he was free to travel around the colony but was unable to return to Great Britain or Ireland. By 1850 Joseph had relocated to Victoria. On 6 May 1850 Joseph McInerney married Ellen Connors, an Irish Famine Orphan at St Francis Church, Melbourne. Joseph and Ellen began their married life living in Brunswick, where their two eldest children were born. Johanna McInerney was born in 1853; the birth of Joseph Henry McInerney was in 1855. On 5 September 1855 Joseph reported to police the theft of his brown mare. At the time, he stated his address to be Philipstown, Brunswick. Joseph and Ellen moved to the Castlemaine district where Joseph was employed by Cornish and Bruce, building the Sandhurst railway line. On 4 May 1858 William Cornish and John Bruce won the tender of £3,356,937 to build a double-track railway from Footscray to Bendigo. Cornish and Bruce employed more than 6000 men, and became unscrupulous in their profit making endeavours. They exploited the unemployment in the colony with their irregular payments, attempts to reduce wages, and methods of subcontracting. Even before any work started, they attempted to subcontract thousands of non-union English workmen. Strikes and demonstrations were frequent throughout the build. In November 1860, Bruce forced the powerful Stonemason’s Society to agree to his terms, when he brought 400 German masons to the colony to compete with them. In 1861 the protesting lead to violence after Bruce reduced all wages by 2s. per day. Rioting workmen smashed machinery, assaulted overseers and made three attempts to derail trains.

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Gail Robyn Newman on 26th December 2023

Joseph Mcinerney was born circa 1808 in Tipperary, Ireland to Stephen McInerney and Bridget Foley. At the age of 20 Joseph was convicted with his brother Patrick on a charge of manslaughter. The McInerney brothers were found guilty and transported for the term of their natural lives to New South Wales. They sailed per Eliza II, arriving on 20 June 1829. Joseph McInerney was noted as a labourer before transportation. He was 5’ 3 ¾” tall, had light brown hair and dark grey eyes. His right little finger was crooked at the last joint and he had a scar over the corner of his left eye. Joseph was allocated convict number 1189

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Iris Dunne on 9th October 2022

Conditional Pardon No. 48/354 dated 31 December 1847 Aged 38 Conviction 14 August 1828 for Manslaughter Remarks: Last joint of right little finger crooked - Scar over corner of left eye

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Ian McInerney on 13th August 2022

Convicted of the Manslaughter of Michael Barrage at Tipperary Assize August 1828.also convicted of the same crime was Patrick McInerney, Mary Ryan & Honoroa Butler