The Brinsmeads in Australia
Probable the largest contingent of Brinsmeads now live in Australia. There is even a town named Brinsmead, in Queensland, named after Horace George Brinsmead (and not, as some think, his nephew Horace Clowes). The Australian lines arose from several migrations. The first left England left before the Australian gold rush, but others may have been attracted by the reports home about gold north of Melbourne. An article from the time, published in the North Devon News, tells something about life for the early emigrants.
Where they Settled
| a: Geelong and Leopold (formerly known as Kensington) located by Port Phillip, Victoria. |
| b: Ballarrat, Victoria |
| c: Bendigo, (until 1891 known as Sandhurst), Victoria. The centre of the gold rush in Victorian times. |
| d: Melbourne, Victoria including St. Kilda and Ripponlea, the site of Brinsmead's Pharmacy, a heritage site. |
| e: Hobart, Tasmania |
| f: Morwell and the Latrobe Valley, Victoria |
| g: Cairns and Brinsmead, Queensland |
| h: Tweed Heads, New South Wales, home of Brinsmead owned Tropical Fruit World |
| i: Sydney, New South Wales |
Many thanks to all the Australian Brinsmeads who have provided information. We would welcome any details on the history of these early settlers, including pictures as well as details of their descendants. During a visit to Australia in 2004 we found out much more about the various Brinsmead migrations. Thanks, particularly to Max and Pam Brinsmead for their help and hospitality and to Susie Zada of The Geelong Historical Society for her enthusiastic support. We can now give the definitive answer to why there is a Brinsmead, Australia and answer the question - Are we all related? - with a definite - Yes.
The Brinsmead Migrations to Australasia
1. Henry and his wife Betsy Brinsmead, accompanied by Elizabeth and Mary Brinsmead and Thomas and William Hackwill
· Henry is the son of William Brinsmead and Mary Ireland
· Betsy is the widow of John Hackwill and the daughter of Thomas Brinsmead and Margery Squire.
2. William Brinsmead and his wife Ann Brinsmead, cousins who married in Great Torrington in 1839. They appear to have arrived in Australia with children Thomas Ireland, Mary Ann and William.
William is the son of William Brinsmead and Mary Ireland
Ann is the daughter of Thomas Brinsmead and Margery Squire
3. Susannah Brinsmead, who married Raymond Seldon in Great Torrington in 1842. we are not sure if they migrated as a family. We do know that their son Raymond died in St. Kilda in 1919. Susannah is the daughter of William Brinsmead and Mary Ireland
4. Elizabeth Brinsmead, who married Lewis Strivins in 1858.
· Elizabeth is the daughter of Thomas Brinsmead and Margery Squire
5. William Brinsmead of Weare Giffard, Northam and Appledore, Devon, who married Agnes Ross in Victoria in 1862
William is the son of William Brinsmead of Weare Giffard and Mary Fowler
6. John Brinsmead of Exeter who married Catherine Lochead in Victoria in 1853. He had a son, Hugh Brinsmead, who married Mary Lynch.
John is the son of Hugh Brinsmead and Mary Ann Rowe
7. William Brinsmead of Exeter
William is the son of Hugh Brinsmead and Mary Ann Rowe
8. Horace George Brinsmead, a son of John Brinsmead the piano maker moved to Australia for a time but returned to England at the turn of the century. He developed land in what is now Brinsmead, near Cairns, in Queensland.
9. Horace Clowes Brinsmead a son of Edgar William Brinsmead who became the first Controller of Civil Aviation in Australia
10. Howard Brinsmead
Howard is another son of Edgar William Brinsmead
11. James (Thomas James) and Harriet Brinsmead (nee Pyrke) who ran a well known chemist's shop in St Kilda in Melbourne.
James (born Thomas James) is the son of Thomas Brinsmead and Emily Cock
12. Victor Brinsmead, who emigrated to Tasmania
Victor is a son of Thomas Edward Brinsmead and Mary Anne Stanley
13. Frank Hearn Brinsmead, older brother of Victor, who emigrated to New Zealand
Victor is a son of Thomas Edward Brinsmead and Mary Anne Stanley
14. Lillian Florence Brinsmead, married a Mr. Roberts and moved to Australia after her first husband, William Tull passed away.
Lillian is the daughter of Alfred Ernest Brinsmead.