Hello Gwen, A book that I'm sure you shall find interesting is "Barefoot and Pregnant" - a book dealing with the ships that came out here - (a lot to N.S.W.) carrying only female passengers. They were shipped out here from the Workhouses in Ireland (willingly ! ) to help boost the population as there was such a shortage of females; this was a decision of the Australian Government at the time.There is also a monument to the Irish girls who came here in Hyde Park, Sydney. Hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. It is available from your local library. (You may have to go on a waiting list.) >>> gmgwen@hotmail.com 06/17/02 10:05pm >>> Hello listers I have partial passenger list (relevant to my family) of the Castilian that arrived in Botany Bay 1858, from England. One of the passengers was my gggrandmother. She was 23 and it appears, from the page that I have, the passengers are in the majority, single females, between 19-23 yrs and have domestic occupations, eg laundry maid, domestic servant, etc. Was there any reason for (what appears) this mass immigration of young, single females? Does anyone have any ideas or information on this one? Regards Gwen Researching HORWOOD Oxford TINSLEY England and Australia GIBSON Northumberland and Australia MALACARNE Italy New York and Australia LENNON New York and Australia ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237