Person:Patrick O'Sullivan (10)

Patrick and Ann went from Ireland to England where they were married in St John's Chapel in Wigan, Lancashire, England on the 7th of August or September 1851. In 1855 they emigrated to Australia, arriving in Queensland for 2 years prior to moving to Victoria. After arriving in Victoria they settled in Axe Creek, near Bendigo, Victoria where they had a farm. This was at the time of the gold rush in the area.

Comments about the large Irish, Scottish and Welsh population in the region include;

"With a mix of Welsh, Irish and Scottish settlers, an educational achievement would be to obtain a result of intelligible spoken English.”

"Probably no social influence was so pervasive in early Bendigo as that of the Irish and Cornish communities. Their deeply held religious convictions tended to colour local community affairs for decades."

Patrick and Ann had nine children and they worked within their local community to get an education for their children. Patrick was on the committee for a school that was opened in March 1860 by a Frenchman, Phillippe Giard, instructing an average 24 day and 9 night scholars for a fee of 1 shilling per week. By 1865 St Joseph's Catholic School which shared it's building with the church of the same name was in Axe Creek. The teacher was James McLaughlin and in 1865 there were 86 children within a two mile radius of the school. Again Patrick was on the local committee and the O'Sullivan children are listed as living 1/2 mile from the school.

In her book on the early settlement of the area, Barbara Mitchell writes that;

“It appears that the local residents were concerned with doing their work, having a good life, attending church, local picnics and ensuring that their children had a good education.”

Patrick died on 14th May 1885 from what is recorded as extensive injury to the abdominal viscera over the previous 18 hours. The abdominal viscera are the organs contained within the abdominal cavity; they include the stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, pancreas, and parts of the urinary and reproductive tracts.

Identity

It has been speculated that he is identical with Patrick Sullivan (baptized 1816) - it is unknown if there is any evidence for this.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Death of Patrick O'Sullivan, in Victoria, Australia. Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates. (Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages)
   6670, 1885.

   Age 63
   Extensive injury to abdominal viscera.
   Place is listed as Warragamba, another name for Diggora West at the time.

   
2.   Mitchell, Barbara. On the creeks: early life at Strathfieldsaye in the valley of the three creeks, Axe, Emu and Sheepwash. (Bendigo, Victoria, Australia)
   2005.

   http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/23953562