My ancestors: a project by Ben Winterhayes, Applewood School, Sydney, New South
Wales.
I am very proud of one of my ancestors, John Winterhayes. He arrived on a ship from
England in 1820. He was a criminal! Well, not exactly a criminal. This is his story:
John was born in London. His father died when he was 13 years old. His family were
very poor and often hungry. One cold winter’s day, he stole some food in the market
because he was very hungry.
John was caught and brought before a magistrate. In those days the British used to send
their prisoners to Australia. New South Wales was a prison colony and John was sent
there for seven years.
At that time the journey to Australia was very difficult. The journey took at least three
months.
There were often bad storms and there wasn’t much food for the prisoners. Sometimes
the weather was very hot and sometimes very cold. The prisoners were often sick and
sometimes died before they arrived in Australia.
My ancestor John never returned to England again. He never saw his mother, or his
little brothers and sisters, again. But he met a girl called Heather MacMaster and they
got married in Sydney in 1830.
That’s the story of one of my ancestors!
Read the story of Ben’s ancestor.
John Winterhayes wrote a letter to his mother when he arrived in New South Wales.
Imagine the letter he wrote to her. You must mention:
a)
his feelings when he left England
b)
how long the journey took
c)
the weather, the food, other problems
d)
his feelings during the journey
e)
arriving in Australia.
Don’t forget to start and end the letter correctly