Dear fellow Immigrants, I have just joined this list, so I am not altogether sure of the sort of queries that are posted, but here goes. I have an interest in a ship named "John Knox", which made three voyages from England to Australia, 1851, 1853 and 1854. It was on the 1851 voyage that my family immigrated from Cornwall. The ship landed at Point Henry, near Geelong, Victoria, on 14 July, being the first immigrant ship to make landfall in the newly declared colony of Victoria. It actually lay at anchor overnight due to rough weather, and it wasn't until the following day that passengers were disembarked by boat. My family came from "The Lizard" in Cornwall, joining the ship at Plymouth, from where it sailed on 24 March 1851, unfortunately just missing the 1851 census. (I assume no census was taken aboard ship, as the passengers had ceased to be part of the population). Does anyone else have an interest in the "John Knox", or know where I could learn more about her? What little I know I have read in Biddles Book in Latrobe Library, and "The Somerset Years", where there is a good account of her arrival. I have also obtained copies of passenger manifests from the Victorian PRO. I am assuming my family migrated under a "Bounty" scheme. How do I find out more about this? I have seen other family histories where details are recorded of how much was paid per passenger and the sum total paid by the government to a person or persons in Sydney or London etc. I thought that perhaps correspondence may exist concerning this, which may also include further details of the passengers. Finally, does anyone know if records exist in England, perhaps at Greenwich, relating to the outgoing passengers on immigrant ships, or perhaps, if Parish Relief was involved, whether anyone has researched these records? Fingers crossed, Gary Matthews Gippsland, Victoria

Gary Mathews wrote > Does anyone else have an interest in the "John Knox", or know > where I could learn more about her? What little I know I have > read in Biddles Book in Latrobe Library, and "The Somerset Years", where there is a good account of her arrival. Can anyone please give me details of "Biddles Book"? Who wrote it and what does it contain? Thanks, John Ross johnross@dunelm.org.uk --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.314 / Virus Database: 175 - Release Date: 11/01/2002