Mid North Coast Pioneers - Newcastle to Lismore and beyond

Elizabeth and her sister Mary Ann, where passengers on the "Fame" captained by Joseph Bradley.

CharlesBradley105 has written on Ancestry:

"The voyage of Fame across the Pacific in 1849-1850 News of the discovery of gold in California reached around the world. In addition to all other nations descending on the mines, several thousand Australian and New Zealander men, women and children responded to the lure. In 1849-1850, more than 200 hundred sailing vessels made the treacherous journey to California's Pacific Coast. Like all voyagers to the gold fields, they sailed in anything afloat: large ocean-going ships, barques, brigs, coastal cutters and schooners.

The first announcement of gold was published in Australia on December 23, 1848 in the Sydney Morning Herald. Coastal sailing vessels brought the news to Hobart, where it was published on January 9, 1849 and in Adelaide on January 27, 1849. It reached Auckland by December 2, Wellington on December 10, 1849, and Dunedin in the South on March 7, 1849.

By the end of January 1849, seven vessels — six from Sydney and one from Hobart — had sailed from Australia for San Francisco with 93 passengers, including six women and four children.

The sailing route and time from Australia to San Francisco depending on the wind and needs for replenishment of food and water. Ports usually included New Zealand, Tahiti, and/or the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).

Among the early ships sailing for San Francisco from Australia and New Zealand w(as):

Fame, 203 ton barque built 1815 in Quebec. Sailed from Sydney October 23, 1849, Master Joseph Bradley. Arrived San Francisco March 19 (147 days at sea), 15 passengers.