At 04:21 AM 15/02/2009, you wrote: Matt >A brief search of the 1851 England census reveals that there are 270 people >who gave their palce of birth as Australia, and while there is some overlap, >220 or so stated Sydney as their place of birth. I found VDL and NSW >difficult so search as place names given the variations. For the whole of England that's not as many as I would have expected. By 1851 there would have been a few thousand adults with children who returned to England - pardoned emancipist families, free settlers, children sent back for education, military families. Lesley's "Leaving the Colony" list has over 2,000 unique names between 1803 & 1811, some with multiple departures, and not all heading back to England. Some number would have been 'boomerangs' on a visit & return for trade or other reasons. But that's only an eight year time-frame, and 1851 covers another two generations. Where did you search for this? Gary _________________________________ Gary Luke ~ gary@feraltek.com.au Sydney, Australia