29/10/1881 - 04/12/1881

As a very young man my great grandfather set sail from the North Wall in Dublin, Ireland on a steamer bound for England, where he boarded the SS Orient in Plymouth in October 1881. He arrived in Australia in Dec 1881 and lived in St Kilda, before getting married in 1890. My grandfather was born in Western Albany in 1897. My great grandfather wrote a diary of his voyage which I have in my possession. It’s written in pencil - with pictures he drew of the ship and its passengers. He left his parents and siblings behind in Ireland - and never saw his father or mother again. It’s fascinating to see this website - and connect the history of the ship it to my own family.