Reilly Family History

The Pyrenees

Our ancestor Joseph Reilly arrived on the ship 'Pyrenees' in Western Australia in 1853, with his wife Catherine Regan and children Joseph Thomas and Phillip.

The 'Pyrenees' was a wooden ship (832 ton or 721 ton, depending on source) built at Sunderland in 1851. The owners was D. Dunbar, and it was registered in the port of London. The ship was employed twice as a convict transport for Western Australia. It is the second voyage which is of interest to this family, which left Torbay, England on February 2, 1853 bound for the Swan River Colony.

On this voyage she carried the ninth of 37 shipments of male convicts destined for Western Australia. The voyage took 87 days and the Pyrenees arrived in Fremantle on April 30, 1853 with 94 passengers and 293 convicts. The Master (captain) was B. Freeman and John Bower was the surgeon. One of the convicts on board the Pyrenee for this journey was Moondyne Jo, who became a famous bushranger in Western Australia.

The following are two extracts from J. T. Reilly's book: "Reminiscences of fifty years residence in Western Australia, Perth" which was published in 1903, which recounts his memories of starting the journey on this ship and the early days after arrival in Perth.

I well remember the turmoil and confusion that resulted in getting comfortably on board the good ship "Pyrenees." From Gravesend, the "Pyrenees," in January, 1851, sailed to the Isle of Wight, where a number of Parkhurst boys were taken on board. In a week after our arrival in the last named port, with 294 convicts and 56 pensioners, as a guard (with their wives and families), we were ready for sea.

As to the convicts, the great majority of them were soon scattered over Perth, Guildford, Newcastle, Northam, and York, and began the pioneer work which gave the colony the first impetus on it's onward career of prosperity. A number of the convicts were men of education and business capacity, and, consequently, they succeeded, in many instances, in making more of a livelihood here, while others, after making their "pile" by honest industry, returned again to England to spend their declining years among friends from whom they had been so long separated. The convict system as carried out in Western Australia, was, on the whole, an unqualified success, and many unfortunates had to bless a "system" which gave them such a splendid opportunity for redeeming their characters, and becoming once more respectable and honoured members of society.

Notable Passengers