Honora Carty, ex Panama
Honora Carty, age 17, was from Castlebar. Her parents, Patrick and Catherine, were both dead.
On arrival in Sydney on the Panama Honora was employed by Cornelius Prout, of Cook’s River, at £8 for one year (see Irish Famine Memorial Database). Cornelius Prout was the Under Sheriff of the colony, who had purchased land in what is now the area of Canterbury in Sydney, on the Cook’s River. Prout built a bridge over the Cook’s River, for which he controversially charged a toll. To this day the bridge is still called ‘Prout’s Bridge’, and is part of one of the major arteries of Sydney, Canterbury Road. The details of Honora Carty’s employment with Prout are not known, but it is known that he employed more than one Irish orphan girl. The Empire newspaper (24 January 1853) reported of an incident of theft “from the kitchen of Mr Sheriff Prout, at Cook’s River”. The defendant in the case had previously been in Prout’s service, and after discharge: “he occasionally visited the place, as he expressed a wish to get married to an Irish orphan girl, who was a servant to Mr Prout. On the 13th of September the marriage of another orphan girl was kept up at Mr Prout’s kitchen, and during the festivities the watch was stolen” |
Whilst it is not known whether one of these two girls was Honora Carty, it certainly gives an indication as to the conditions at her workplace, and a view of the lives of the Irish orphan girls in Prout’s employ.
Paintings also exist that give a glimpse of the landscape in which Honora Carty lived; a far cry from the bustling part of the city of Sydney that it is today.
Paintings also exist that give a glimpse of the landscape in which Honora Carty lived; a far cry from the bustling part of the city of Sydney that it is today.
© Barbara Barclay (2015)