Passengers stories
by their descendants.
George Hackney
The story of: George Hackney, age 19. Ticket 233.
From contribution to the Netherby discussion forum by Peter Meyer, April 2013.
George Hackney, a passenger on the Netherby, married my great great grandmother Sarah Jane Lane in 1869, three years after my great grandmother Clara Lane was born illegitimately in 1866, and six years after the Lanes immigrated on the Landsborough in November 1863. George and Sarah Jane both came from Manchester, and I wonder if they knew each other there and George was following her out to Australia? (Clara was born 3 months after the Netherby wreck.) This does seem unlikely however as the Netherby was Moreton Bay bound. George was one of the passengers who signed the Captain Owens petition, and stayed on in Melbourne. He ended up in Western Australia and died in 1927. He was born in about 1847 in Congleton, Cheshire, was christened on 4 Nov 1849 in Manchester, Lancashire, died on 26 Sep 1927 in Beaconsfield , WA and was buried in the Church of Christ section of Fremantle Cemetery on 27 Sep 1927.
My great grandmother Clara was his stepdaughter, and after marrying my great grandfather George Jacob Meyer (first generation born here of Swiss Reformed Protestant immigrants from Itingen in Switzerland), named their first son, my grandfather, after George as George Hackney Meyer.
George and Sarah Jane went on to have seven more children, five daughters of whom survived. I am hoping some of their descendants eventually read this and can provide a photograph of George Hackney. I have a couple of Sarah Jane and daughters (except Maria and Elizabeth), and several of Clara.
Their surviving daughters were:
1. Maria Hackney (1869-1931) Spinster
2. Elizabeth Hackney (1874-1916) m. Charles George Hillebrand (1870-1925) in 1895
3. Mary Louisa Hackney (1877-1958) m. William Rudolph Meyer (1877-1952) in 1900. Went to WA
4. Sarah Ann Hackney (1880-1960) m. Frederick Arthur Caulfield (1881-?) in 1899
5. Beatrice Hackney (1882-1964) m Frederick Cosway Agg (1878-1943) in 1902
Two or three of these families were at the Fosterville Gold Field in the late C19 and early C20 as were my great grandparents, George Jacob and Clara Meyer, he being a fruiterer there. He is buried in White Hills Cemetery, Bendigo, and Clara in Melbourne General.
I think that's enough for now. If any descendants of the Hackney ladies read this I would love to hear from them. (My grandparents were quite close to the Caulfields especially.) I would also like to hear from anyone who has more information on George Hackney, and in particular a photograph of him. With one exception all the WA family photos have unfortunately been lost.
