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llenge 2016 tracking down the family my theme was places in victoria and next phase in fitness my theme was health and exercise atoz challenge 2015 tracking down the family my theme was people or places in my family history i love this blogging challenge and will be back for it again in 2026 i have chosen my theme already and have a few ideas link to my four blogs tracking down the family best bookish blog haverfordwest history the retirement phase in case you think this challenge looks like fun and something that you would like to do here is the link to information about the challenge april blogging from a to z challenge 2025 copyright all rights reserved jonesfamilyhistory wordpress com 4 comments may 1 2025 a to z challenge reflections 2025 atozchallenge the blogging from a to z april challenge is an annual challenge put out to bloggers to publish a post from a z every day in april except for sundays april 1 is a april 2 is b and so on throughout the month participants can post on a chosen theme or publish random posts with no theme at all theme my theme for 2025 is the earl grey orphan scheme i became interested in the scheme when i realised that my great great grandmother was an earl grey girl who came to australia as part of the scheme this scheme was a government sponsored program designed to give young impoverished irish girls a chance at a better life in australia over the years as part of my research into my 2x great grandmother ellen boyle i have done quite a bit of reading about the scheme most of the information in my a to z challenge came from that reading and from articles in newspapers that appeared in newspapers across australia at the time why i love this challenge part of the fun and why i come back each year is that i m drawn in by other participating bloggers there are genealogy bloggers who participate and of course i enjoy visiting their blogs every day there are also other bloggers who are blogging on a variety of topics such as books travel fashion daily life fiction writing and any other topic that you can think of this year for the first time i have been able to find time to visit each of the 172 blogs at least once and many of them multiple times i was visited by many bloggers who i really do appreciate and thank for their visit and their thoughtful comments i m not really interested in stats but i did check them out because i knew that my a to z challenge posts in 2025 had created much more interest this year i found there were were twice as many comments and many more visitors and shares my a to z challenge posts for 2025 about the earl grey scheme ellen boyle colonial inquest mary coghlan death of an orphan girl ss earl grey famine girls and orphans hyde part barracks is mise ellen boyle i am ellen boyle the journey kindness shown at last the lady kennaway mary stephens orphan girl newspaper report orphan girl seduced poorhouses and workhouses questions and dissension remembrance and memorials success story of an earl grey orphan girl teacher s on board experience undeniably tragic deaths victoria australia william and mary orphan ship extreme opposition to the scheme young girls z the end of the challenge and the scheme a z challenge genealogy blogs my favourite category to follow during the challenge was of course genealogy blogs following are a few that i was happy to visit regularly now that the challenge is finished i will be doing more catching up with other blogs anne s family history bold and queer cassmob cuckfield compendium earlier years essential genealogy finding eliza jill ball o er the seas we go x factored family stories resources available to research the earl grey scheme irish famine orphan girls database nsw state archives over 4 000 orphan girls searchable by name ship native place age and more barefoot and pregnant by trevor mcclaughlin essential reading for orphan descendants check trove or local libraries for access public record office victoria prov passenger arrivals and immigration records for ships docking in port phillip melbourne state records of south australia passenger lists and employment registers for orphan girls who came to south australia national archives of ireland explore irish side records including poor law union registers and emigration lists ancestry com au findmypast com au immigration poor law and workhouse records from both sides of the world facebook group earl grey irish famine orphans in australia a helpful and active community of descendants and researchers great for networking and tips ask about ireland general reading barefoot and pregnant irish famine orphans in australia by trevor mcclaughlin single and free by elizabeth rushen fair game by elizabeth rushen and perry mcintyre the kerry girls emigration and the earl grey scheme by kay moloney caball the great irish potato famine by james donnelly sutton publishing 2002 farewell my children by richard reid clamhunger rowe by m k jones kinealy christine this great calamity the irish famine 1845 52 gill macmillan 1994 2025 copyright all rights reserved jonesfamilyhistory wordpress com 17 comments april 30 2025 z the end of the scheme atozchallenge the blogging from a to z april challenge is an annual challenge put out to bloggers to publish a post from a z every day in april except for sundays april 1 is a april 2 is b and so on throughout the month participants can post on a chosen theme or publish random posts with no theme at all the theme i have chosen for 2022 is the earl grey orphan scheme i have done this theme before but this time i m choosing to research people who are more distantly related the earl grey scheme scheme faced significant criticism both in ireland and australia concerns arose over the treatment of these young women the adequacy of their preparation and the exploitation they experienced in the colonies opposition from local australians also grew as some saw the orphan girls as a burden on social services and believed they were taking jobs from local women closing down the scheme the earl grey orphan scheme launched in 1848 to address the plight of destitute irish girls during the great famine came to an abrupt end in australia just two years later in 1850 initially hailed as a humanitarian effort and a practical solution to australia s labour shortages and gender imbalance the scheme soon encountered growing resistance rising anti irish sentiment concerns over the young women s backgrounds and fears of social unrest all contributed to the scheme s downfall understanding why this ambitious program ended so quickly sheds light on the challenges faced by the irish orphans themselves reasons for ending the scheme in ireland criticism of the scheme and the girls in australia as the irish orphan girls arrived in the australia many communities quickly began to voice objections public meetings about the scheme were held and anti irish and anti catholic sentiment was common many people had the opinion that these young girls were a drain on local resources or were very disruptive in the communities concerns were growing as negative reports from australia were being reported in ireland questionable treatment and outcomes for the girls the young women were mostly young teenage girls with little work experience on arrival to australia they faced harsh working conditions exploitation and sometimes abuse many had been promised a better life but in reality they were ill prepared for life in a new young country and found themselves very quickly marginalized as accounts of their mistreatment and vulnerability reached officials in ireland they began to reconsider the value of the scheme changing policies in ireland as the irish famine continued political attitudes toward managing poverty began to change the british government began to take alternative measures to deal with overpopulated workhouses such as local relief programs and work schemes the difficulties that the orphan girls were facing in australia caused a gradual shift away from workhouse girls to other emigrant groups economic and social shifts in the colonies the australian gold rush began in the early 1850s creating a demand for different types of labor and an influx of voluntary immigrants looking for opportunity as a result the colonial governments prioritized workers who could meet the demands of the growing economy additionally the popularity of assisted passage schemes which allowed families and skilled laborers to emigrate to australia reduced the need for orphaned or impoverished young girls the scheme s financial strain the earl grey orphan scheme was expensive to maintain the costs associated with transporting housing and managing the girls were high and critics in both ireland and australia argued these funds could be better spent on other relief efforts the financial problems contributed to the decision to close the scheme the closure process the british government halted the selection of girls from workhouses in ireland in 1850 marking the official end of the scheme this decision meant that one of the very few escape routes from workhouses for young impoverished irish women during the famine was no longer an option following the end of the scheme workhouse populations in ireland once again began to grow leading to worsening conditions as resources continued to dwindle aftermath and legacy the earl grey orphan scheme is remembered for its humanitarian intentions and its flaws for the thousands of young women who made the journey the experience was a mix of opportunity and hardship there were many women who strugged with life in the country however many of these women contributed significantly to australian society helping to shape its cultural and social landscape newspaper reports of town meetings and editorials in regard to the earl grey orphan scheme didn t help very quickly bias against the girls was building community meetings were descending into chaos with the differing opinions held most meetings were mainly a tirade against the girls instead of a discussion about how they could be helped young girls who had endured the famine and workhouses in ireland now had public opinion against them the orphans were reported as being uneducated untrained and burdensome it s easy from our 21st century perspective to recognise the unfairness in these assumptions the orphans many of whom weren t technically orphans at all were pawns in a wider debate about immigration class religion and the needs of a new country the earl grey orphan scheme was a controversial social experiment for many of the young women it represented both an opportunity and hardship despite the closure of the scheme these young irish women contributed significantly to the development of australian society and culture leaving a lasting legacy within the australian community this legacy has continued through the subsequent generations with many descendants still living across australia today the scheme is commemorated in both ireland and australia as part of the shared history of irish immigration and it remains an important chapter in the story of the irish diaspora 2025 copyright all rights reserved jonesfamilyhistory wordpress com 7 comments april 29 2025 y young orphan girls atozchallenge the blogging from a to z april challenge is an annual challenge put out to bloggers to publish a post from a z every day in april except for sundays april 1 is a april 2 is b and so on throughout the month participants can post on a chosen theme or publish random posts with no theme at all theme my theme for 2025 is the earl grey orphan scheme i became interested in the scheme when i realised that my great great grandmother was an earl grey girl who came to australia as part of the scheme this scheme was a government sponsored program designed to give young impoverished irish girls a chance at a better life in australia a controversial chapter in australia s past in 1848 the first of many ships arrived in australia carrying what would become some of the most hotly debated immigrants of the colonial era young irish orphan girls from the workhouses of famine stricken ireland these girls some barely in their teens were part of the earl grey orphan scheme designed to relieve overcrowded institutions in ireland while also helping to balance the gender ratio in australia s young colonies and provide much needed domestic servants in the colony however they were not welcomed by everyone an article published in the argus in april 1850 captures the storm of criticism about the scheme it s a stark reminder of how politicised immigration can become and how harshly vulnerable people can be judged the orphans were described by their critics as stunted ignorant and unfit for service not because they were irish the writer claimed but because they were raised in workhouses without the guiding hand of a mother or the benefit of a proper upbringing they were in the eyes of this colonial newspaper the worst possible representatives of irish womanhood the article mocks the irish community s defence of the girls painting their support as naïve misguided patriotism according to the writer melbourne s roman catholic leaders were ridiculed for insisting that the girls were capable decent and simply in need of kindness and opportunity i found this article source below uncomfortable reading today with its heavy sarcasm and thinly veiled bigotry yet it offers us as family historians vital insight these weren t just anonymous passengers on ships like the lady kennaway eliza caroline or maria they were real girls often in their early teens who had lost everything in the wake of famine and poverty for many this migration was their only hope of survival yes of course some struggled however many others persevered married raised families and helped shape the fabric of australian society i know this because my 2x great grandmother was one of these destitute girls who were given the opportunity of a new life in a new country her story is a story of success we cannot ignore how harshly these girls were judged nor should we forget how courageously they faced a new life in an alien land they were written off by many as dumpy darlings and incorrigibly depraved but they were also young innocent irish girls survivors of famine and in their new country the provided many descendants they may have been harshly treated by newspapers all over australia but history owes them far more than derision they are owed recognition and i hope my atoz challenge posts goes towards providing a little recognition so their story isn t forgotten in time could one of these brave girls be part of your story take a moment to check your family tree for irish ancestors who arrived in australia between 1848 and 1850 especially on ships associated with the earl grey scheme their names stories and strength deserve to be known and remembered i d love to hear if you have an earl grey orphan girl in your family source 1850 iri...