Family:William Whalley and Emma Whiteley (1)

William and Emma Whalley and four children traveled to Victoria Australia on the ship Durham. They arrived in Victoria in September 1875 so they likely went by way of the Suez canal, which had been opened in 1869. Here is a description of travel to Australia during that era. William's older brother, John Cuthbert Whalley and his bride would have had a more difficult trip as the immigrated to Victoria in 1857.

William and Emma lived in the area around Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia for about 10 years. William worked as a fellmonger and tanner and probably had gold mining investments. Ultimately he went bankrupt and shortly thereafter the family, now enlarged by three children, moved to San Francisco where his brother, Pickering Cuthbert Whalley had a tailoring business. William worked as a grader of imported sheepskins.

Two more children were born in San Francisco, then tragedy struck the family. Emma and two of her daughters died in an epidemic died in an epidemic in 1889, one year after the youngest child was born. Oldest daughter, Gertrude, took over as "mother" of the younger children.