New arrivals, new stories and old mysteries – 1862

10 years passed between the burial of Johanna Goodwin and her infant on St Helena Island and the next woman to die and be buried there also. My last blog post in this series ‘New arrivals, new stories and old mysteries in 1852’ detailed the arrival of the immigrant ship ‘Maria Soames’ and the first immigrant burials recorded on St Helena Island, Moreton Bay. Fast … Continue reading New arrivals, new stories and old mysteries – 1862

New arrivals, new stories and old mysteries in 1852

While our focus is often on the prison era of the St Helena Penal Establishment from 1867, the previous 15 years saw St Helena Island used as a quarantine site. Moreton Bay settlement was opened up to free immigrants in 1842 and in doing so it became exposed to outbreaks of disease the immigrants brought with them on the ships. The story of these immigrant … Continue reading New arrivals, new stories and old mysteries in 1852