Combs &c. Families of New South Wales, AU

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New South Wales, the first European settlement in Australia, began on 26th January 1788 with the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet from England. His flagship was the Sirius. He decided on Farm Cove in Sydney Harbour as the place to raise the Union Jack because Botany Bay that he knew about from Captain Cook's earlier (1770) discovery of the East Coast of Australia proved to have no fresh water supply. There were about 850 convicts and guards on board the 9 transport ships and 2 small warships. In these more enlightened times we place a lot more emphasis than in former histories of the penal settlement on the fact that we Europeans invaded an already occupied land and stole it from the indigenous inhabitants. But maybe, our memory of the fact that many of our ancestors were transported far from home often for petty crimes has contributed to our traditional championing of the underdog and led to most Australians now acknowleding the Aborigines' original claim to the land.

See also this site: Early European Settlement

Thanks to Linda Combe

Extracted by Linda Combe from NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages - Historical Index Search

• Births
• Deaths
• John Sand’s & Co. New South Wales Directory extraction of all COMB/COOMBE &c. entries, submitted by Combs Researcher Maureen Reynolds in Sydney

29 Mar 1853 Sydney, NSW, Australia. Married: Joseph COOMBE & Ellen BUCHANAN (Combs Researcher Maureen Reynolds)

MR Notes: Joseph & Ellen left immediately after for Auckland, New Zealand, had 12 children, Joseph became first Chief Executive of the Auckland Savings Bank; died in Auckland 01 Dec 1872. Ellen came back to Australia with the younger children. The 3rd daughter Fanny, who had married William HUMPHREYS, also came to AUS. Joseph's ancestry remains a mystery, but descendants in NZ believe he was the same who was b 26/29 Jan 1831, Kings Square, St. Lukes, London, ENG; that he was baptised at St. James, Clerkenwell, London and that his parents were Joseph and Mary Ann.