| Notes |
- You can find John Connollys grave at the All Saints church at the end of Gnangara Road at the T junction, its near Ellen Brook and overlooking the Swan.
John was a Private in the 63rd Regiment and arrived in WA in June 1829 on HMS Sulphur.
John CONNOLLY was born on 15th September, 1800 in Armatris Parish, in or near the town of Codehile, County Monaghan Ireland. Up to the present time, nothing is known of his parents, but he did have a sister Susanna, also of' Armatris Parish, who he named as his next of Kin when he enlisted in the 63rd Regiment of Foot, Light Infantry, on the 13th of September, 1819. He was Attested into the Corps at Dublin, Ireland, on his 19th Birthday for Unlimited Service, and received a Bounty of £3 after his final approval at Plymouth, England. For almost 10 years he served with the Regiment in various areas, including 15 months in Portugal. When the decision was made in England during 1828 to form a settlement at the Swan River on the Western coast of Australia, a Detachment of men of the 63rd Regiment, under Captain Irwin, were selected to accompany the first settlers for their protection, and among the rank and file was Private John Connolly.
H.M.S.Sulphur, a Royal Navy 'bomb', was fitted out to carry passengers, many of the soldiers were married and were accompanied by their wives and children, likewise were many of the ship's officers and seamen. So overcrowded was the accommodation on the small sloop, that after sailing from Chatham to Plymouth during extremely bad weather, some 15 persons were dis-embarked to follow in ships sailing at a later date. Another ship, the Parmelia, was to sail with the Sulphur, and they left early in the month of February, 1829, the first and only port of call being Capetown, in South Africa. The Sulphur arrived off the Swan River on 8th June, 1829, the Parmelia, with her passengers, all settlers to found the new Colony, having arrived a few days previously.
Records of Pay Rolls indicate that John Connolly was attached to Headquarters in Perth during the almost 5 years he served with the 63rd Regiment in Western Australia. John Connolly, Bachelor, married Mary SPICE, on the 20th September, 1831 at Perth. The couple were married by the Colonial Chaplain, Rev. B.W. Wittenoom, by Banns, according to the Rites of the Church of England. John was just 31 years of age, Mary barely 17 years old. She was the eldest daughter of Saul and Betsy Spice, who arrived in W.A. in February, 1830 on the Hooghly, with their 6 children. Saul Spice was an Agricultural laborer, engaged by Thomas Peel, together with other settlers, to come out from England and settle in the new Colony under Peel's land settlement scheme near Rockingham. The ill-planned scheme was a total failure, most of the families moving to more fertile areas, where they became established. Saul Spice and his family were granted land at "the Head of the River", the area known later as Upper Swan, where they held large grants.
John and Mary Connolly stayed in Perth, and when at the end of 1833, the 63rd Regiment was recalled to India, John was one of the many soldiers who obtained their Discharge from the Regiment and settled in W.A.. John's Discharge Certificate and Pay Book, carefully preserved by his descendants, have thrown much light on his personal history as well as his Army life. We learn that he was a man of medium height, 5 feet 7 inches, with brown hair and
eyes, a round face, no body marks. He was also illiterate, his Pay Book shows his (x) mark, but his character reference states clearly that "John Connolly has been a Well Conducted Soldier'.
He was discharged at his own request, on 30th April,1834, after serving "Fourteen Years, Two Hundred and Thirty Days".
The Births of John and Mary's first 3 children, in Anglican Church Records, give further details of John's life. He records his occupation as a Laborer, Late 63rd. Regt. An old Family Bible states that the first 3 children were born in Perth, the following 7 at Upper Swan. The first W.A. Census taken June 30th 1837 gives John's status as 'Agricultural Laborer', most probably his father-in-law Saul Spice at Upper Swan employed him.
The Government Gazette of 18.2.1842 reports that land of 184 1/2 acres at the Lakes, applied for by J. Connolly was under course of Survey. Colonial Secretary's Office Records reveal that John Connolly requested the Title deed to land he had purchased from the original grantee near Great Lakes (the exact locality is not known), this was in 1845. Further records show that he employed a Parkhurst lad on his farm at Upper Swan in 1848.
Life in the Swan River Valley of' Western Australia would have been vastly different for John Connolly, far from the scenes of his youth among the soft green fields of Ireland, his years of stern discipline in the Army, and the voyage by sailing ship to the other side of the world to take part in the actual establishment of a new settlement in a strange land, far removed from any form of civilization. Hardship and privation was the lot of everyone, from Government official to free settler, soldier or servant alike. Families had to become almost self sufficient for their daily food, tilling the soil and planting crops was of greatest importance to all. As land was cleared, roads and bridges made, and small towns sprang up, life would have become more pleasant for John and his wife Mary. The birth of twin sons - who both survived - repaid in full measure for the loss of their first born son in infancy.
One thundery night in March, 1852, John set off on his horse to call a doctor to attend his son John who was ill. He did not return and in the morning his family set out to look for him. They found him dead, beside the track, under an overhanging tree. It was assumed that the horse, which was skittish, had thrown him, and his head had hit a root. The Perth Gazette of the 26th March reports briefly, 'An old Colonist, named Connolly, met with his death in an accidental manner by falling from his horse, on his road from Perth to the head of' the Swan. The deceased we regret to hear, has left a large family behind him'. John Connolly was buried in the small churchyard of All Saints Church, West Swan, among the graves of other pioneers of our State, a spot overlooking the Swan River, and close by Ellen's Brook, where almost 8 months later his widow Mary gave birth to the couple's 10th child.
Very little is known of the next 10 years, except for official records. The son John, ailing for some time, died, and was buried with his father. Eldest daughter Jane was married so also was the son Charles. In 1858 Mary Connolly bought 2 small blocks of land at Bindoon. By 1862 the family had journeyed by bullock wagon to the Greenough Flats, where they became pioneer settlers. When Mary died at Greenough on 30th January, 1892, at the age of 78 years, the Victoria Express, in reporting her death, referred to her as a 'Pioneer resident of the Greenough, coming to the flats with her family in the earliest years of settlement'.
This brief outline and many family names dates etc:
Of the life of John Connolly and his wife.
Was compiled by Joan DOWNES, Geraldton June 1979. (Many thanks)
Who researched records held in the Battye State Library, Perth. Also from records from the Register Generals Office, newspaper reports, and from the original Army Discharge Certificate and Account Book of John Connolly, with additional information from "Military Establishment in Western Australia", and some family memories of a granddaughter of John and Mary Connolly as told in 1960, and recorded by a Great great granddaughter.
Many thank again to "Joan DOWNES, Geraldton"
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jocylin&id=I01281
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1800 - 1852 (51 years)
Has one ancestor and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
1815 - 1892 (77 years)
Unknown CONNOLLY, b. UNKNOWN d. DECEASED (Father)
Mary SPICE, b. 1815, Burwash, Sussex, England 
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