Richard Higgins
Contents
Background
Richard Sydney Higgins was born 1832 in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, the son of John Higgins and Ellen Downey. Richard migrated to Melbourne, Australia aboard the Lucia Maria arriving in March 1853, being recorded as “artisan” on the shipping lists.[1]
Richard Higgins died in 1893 and Mary was left with a young family of nine children to raise. She moved to Westport where she ran a boarding house for some years until her death in 1929. [2]
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
According to family oral history, when the Eureka Stockade was overrun, Richard had a pistol, but being out of ammunition, he ran off and was subsequently chased by one of the mounted police who was running him down with sabre drawn. Richard, in mortal danger of being cut down, turned and aimed the empty pistol at the trooper who reined in. Both looked at each other for some time, and eventually the trooper turned his horse and galloped off. [3]
Post 1854 Experiences
After Eureka Higgins possibly worked on the Victorian goldfields until around 1861. He then migrated to New Zealand and was known to be in Charleston around 1868/69. He met his future wife, Mary Egan around 1870 and they married in Charleston. They had eleven children between 1871 and 1887. Tragedy unfortunately struck and William their son, was killed accidentally by a fall of earth in 1885 and Margaret, their daughter, was drowned in a creek in 1888, aged 13 months. [4]
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
- ↑ Wickham, D., Gervasoni, C. & Phillipson, W., Eureka Research Directory, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
External links
