Compiled by Gina Pederick, Harriett's Great Great Great Granddaughter and direct female descendant.
Early Years
Harriett Clark (aka Clarke) was born in 1809 in Hartford,
Huntingdonshire, which was a rural county in south east
England, now subsumed into Cambridgeshire. Her par-
ents were Sophia Danger and James Clarke.
James Clarke’s first marriage was to Jane Spencer on the
12 Oct 1784. Jane and James had six children between
1785 and 1797 but when Jane died in February 1798, only
three children were surviving.
James’ second marriage was to Sophia Danger, in All
Saints church in Hartford on 5 November 1789. Sophia
was about 22 years old and James was around 39. Sophia
could not write and simply made her mark on the marriage registry; James signed his name.
Sophia and James had eleven children between 1799 and
1824; Harriett who was their sixth child, was baptised in
All Saints church in Hartford on 3 December 1809 along
with her two older sisters Sarah and Maria, who had pre-
viously been baptised - Maria in 1807 and Sarah in 1805.
From the baptism records of their younger siblings, when
such information started to be recorded, James’ occupation was listed alternately as Labourer and Maltster.
First Marriage
On 22 Sept 1831, at age 22, Harriett was married to
William Favell (aka Favill, Fabel) in All Saints church,
Hartford, Huntingdonshire. Neither of them could write
and so both signed the register with an X as their mark.
They had three sons who were all baptised in
Upton-cum-Coppingford:
- Burrows, baptised 2 Dec 1832 and named after
William’s father
- Benjamin, baptised 15 Mar 1835 and possibly named
after both Harriett’s and William’s brothers
- James, baptised in 1840 and named after Harriett’s
father
The 1841 UK census shows them living in the parish of
Coppingford, Huntingdonshire and William employed
as an agricultural labourer.
In 1843, William Favell died. It is not clear how Harriett
managed to support herself and her three sons after the
death of her husband. It is possible they went into
Huntingdon Workhouse, but more research is required
here.
Second Marriage
Harriett’s second marriage was to William Bullen on 4
Feb 1849 at the church of St Peter & St Paul in
Alconbury. Neither of them could write and so both
signed the register with an X as their mark.
William Bullen was a widower. He was married to his
first wife, Hannah Powell in Woodwalton Huntingdon.
Before Hannah died in late 1846, they had two
children,
- George, baptised 28 Aug 1842 at the Church of St
Andrew, Woodwalton
- Mary Ann, baptised 4 May 1845 at the church of St
Peter & St Paul, Alconbury
Together, Harriett and William Bullen had one child, a
daughter.
- Sarah, baptised 6 May 1850 at the church of St Peter
& St Paul, Alconbury
The 1851 UK census, taken on the 30 March, shows the
family living in the Parish of Alconbury Weston and 29
April 1840 in Woodwalton Huntingdon.
William, Benjamin and James employed as farm laborers.
Harriett’s eldest son, Burrows, was also in Alconbury
Weston working for, and living with, a farmer called
Richard Nicholls, who was also an overseer of the Parish.
Huntingdon Workhouse
On the 21 May 1851, William and Harriett, along with
their four youngest children James, George, Mary Ann
and Sarah, were admitted to Huntingdon Workhouse1.
The cause for them seeking relief was stated as “sickness
of husband”. It is not known how long the family stayed
in the workhouse, more research needs to be done here,
but given what happens next, it is likely the family con-
tinued to require Parish relief.
In early 1852, the rate payers of Alconbury Weston
Parish make a decision that would dramatically change
the lives of Harriet and her family. They decided to pay
for the cost of emigration for any people dependent on
the Parish for poor relief, who were willing to emigrate.
We might assume that, as dependents of the Parish,
Harriett and William were encouraged to emigrate.
Excerpt from St Peter & St Paul Alconbury Weston
Vestry minute book - February 1852 Henry Kiddiford
Chairman:
It was resolved that the churchwardens and overseers shall
and they are hereby directed to raise the sum of thirty pounds
as a fund for defraying the expenses of the Emigration of
poor persons having settlements in this Parish and being will-
ing to emigrate to be paid out of the rates raised or to be paid
out of the rates raised for the relief of the poor in this Parish
and to be applied under such rules as regulations as the
Commissioners for administering the Laws for the Relief of
the Poor in England shall in that behalf direct.
The above is a true extract from the vestry book of the Parish
referred to in the annexe certificate.
Jenkins Hughes – Minister, John Warsop – Churchwarden, James Clark, Robert Nicholls – Overseers, Present Parishioners Witness – Anthony Clark, William
Wright, Thomas Chapman, Thomas Bullen, Henry
Kiddiford
Colonial Land Emigration Commissioners were travel-
ling through rural parts of England, Ireland and Scotland
to encourage agricultural labourers to emigrate to
Australia. The Victorian gold rush meant that many
farm labourers had gone to the diggings and there was
concern in the Colony that the crops would not be harvested. We can surmise that such Commissioners went
to Huntingdonshire to attract farm laborers and were
happy to take suitable poor families off the hands of the
Parish.
Things moved quickly and in June 1852 the Bullen fam-
ily took assisted passage to Melbourne on the “Wanata”.
Harriett and William travelled with the four younger
children, James (11), George (10), Mary Anne (6), and
Sarah (2), leaving behind Harriett’s eldest sons Burrows
(19) and Benjamin (17).
Burrows remained working as an agricultural labourer but
on 17 October 1853, he was charged with stealing two
half sovereigns and one canvas purse and sentenced to
three months hard labour in Huntingdon Gaol. To date,
no further records of Burrows Favell have been found.
The UK census of 1861 shows Benjamin Favel living in
Coppingford, Huntingdonshire, married to Mary-Anne
Turner and working as an agricultural labourer. They
had two children Matilda (7) and Charles (3), and
records on Ancestry show living descendants.
Wanata & the Ireland Family
The Bullen family departed Liverpool on the 19 June
1852, it’s worth noting that Harriett’s son, James Favell,
was on the passenger list as James Bullen. On board was
another family from Alconbury Weston, Hannah and
John Ireland and their three children John (9), Mary
Eliza (4) and Elijah (2). It is very likely the Ireland family
was also supported by the Parish to emigrate, but more
research is needed to verify this.
Fifteen weeks later, on the 4 October 1852, they finally
disembarked in Melbourne, but by all accounts, it would
have been a difficult passage, and in fact conditions on
the “Wanata” and other similar ships resulted in a par-
liamentary enquiry. Many immigrants were already ill
when they embarked, most were crowded into two levels
below the main deck, and 33 children died during the
voyage. “The suet provided on board proved to be so bad,
as to cause its condemnation; and a still more serious evil
was discovered in the badness of the water, a very large
proportion of which was quite unfit for use, being full of
a slimy gelatinous substance, resembling frog-spawn.”
On top of that, the Commissioners, at the request of
persons who were acquainted with the Australian
Colonies, relaxed the regulation with respect to the
number of children conveyed by their vessels; they
agreed to take families, including a large number of chil-
dren, under the belief that such persons would be least
likely to resort to the gold diggings.
State Library Victoria’s research department has made a
search of the contemporary newspaper reports of the
arrival of the “Wantana”. Its findings are as follows:
On September 1852, the ship “Wanata” arrived in the Bay
and anchored off Gelibrand Point (near Williamstown), with
796 government emigrants aboard. She had left Liverpool on
June 19th with 820 emigrants. Thirty-nine of these died during the voyage. Of these thirty-nine, thirty-three were chil-dren. The discrepancy in the total is most probably explained
by births during the voyage. The six adults died as follows –
one from apoplexy, one from consumption and four from
fever (probably typhoid fever). Dr Thompson was the super-
intending surgeon on the ship, and Dr Dobbin was his assistant. Dr Hunt, the Health Officer of the port, visited the
ship and ordered her to quarantine offshore between Brighton
and St Kilda. The schooner, “Apollo”, was stationed nearby
as a guard ship to prevent passengers from escaping from the
“Wanata” until the quarantine restrictions were lifted by the
authorities.
It was proposed to release the ship from quarantine after a
week had passed but, on September 23rd, a new case of fever
was reported. All the sick passengers were then transferred
to the schooner “Fanny”, which lay nearby, and this ship
(the “Fanny”) was then also placed in quarantine.
On October 4th, the “Wanata” was allowed to leave the
quanartine (sic “quarantine”) area and join the other ships
in the Bay, and arrangements were made for the migrants to
disembark.
An investigation into the deaths on board the “Wanata”,
and three other large vessels that travelled to Australia
around the same time, recommended that such large
vessels no longer be used to transport immigrants
because of the high mortality rates.
With 33 children dying on the voyage, we can imagine
Harriett and William would have been very concerned
for the lives of their children.
Bulleen and Beyond
The “Wanata” passenger list shows that on arrival
William Bullen was to be engaged by Richard Adams in
Bulleen for 6 months. The pay was £80 with rations.
John Ireland was also to be engaged in Bulleen to Mr W
Cook for £65 with rations for 12 months. The thick bush
and hilly terrain of Bulleen must have been a shock for
the families, who had only lived in the flat open, marshy
countryside of Huntingdonshire. As the years went by,
most of the family remained in the Bulleen / East
Doncaster area. On the whole, they prospered and were
able to purchase land and develop farms and orchards.
Harriett died on 11 December 1868, sixteen years after
her arrival in Australia. Her death certificate states she
suffered “neuralgic affliction of the left side of the head”
and had been unwell for 10 weeks before she died. She
was buried in Waldau Cemetery on the 15 December.
She was 62 years old. Like many in the area at this time,
her death was registered by Max Schramm, whose cottage is now located next to Waldau Cemetery.
Death Certificate Schedule B in the District of Doncaster in the Colony of Victoria Registered by Max Schramm No.56. Died: Eleventh December 1868 Doncaster. Name: Harriet Cullen, Female 62. Cause: Neuralgic affliction of the left side of the head. Duration: 10 weeks. Medical Attendant: William Buchanan, Surgeon. Last Seen: Ninth December 1868. Father: John Clarke, Laborer. Mother: Sophia Clarke. 8588. Informant: William Mullen (his mark), Farmer, Husband, Doncaster. Deputy Registrar: Max Scramm. Date: Twelfth December 1868. Where Registered: Doncaster Buried: Fourteenth December 1868. Waldau Cemetery. Undertaker: Valentin Gunther. Minister: G J? Armstrong. Witnesses: C? G? Laybridge?, Valentin Gunther, Joseph Pickering. Born: Harford, Huntingdonshire, England. In Australia for: 16 years in Victoria. Married: Hawkenburg, Huntingdonshire, England. Age. Married: 42 years. Spouse: William Bullen. Issue: Sarah, nineteen years
Thirty-nine years after his arrival in Australia, William
Bullen died on 21 September 1891 at Victoria Barracks
in South Melbourne, where he was living with his daughter, Mary Ann and her husband John. He is buried in
Box Hill cemetery, sharing a grave with his son George
and daughter-in-law, Mary.
James Favell married Mary Ryan, and they had one son.
James died in 1891 in Beechworth, and records on
Ancestry show living descendants.
The Bullen and Ireland families remained connected
and on the 22 May 1867 George Bullen and Mary Eliza
Ireland married. They remained in East Doncaster and
over the next 26 years had fourteen children.
George died in 1907 and is buried in Box Hill cemetery
sharing a grave with his wife and father. Records on
Ancestry show living descendants.
In 1872, Mary Ann Bullen married John Kirkpatrick,
who was a Police Officer. They had seven children and
records on Ancestry show living descendants. Mary Ann
died in 1913 and is buried in Box Hill cemetery sharing
a grave with her husband, John.
Sarah Bullen married John Mathews on 1 January 1867,
they remained in East Doncaster where they had a small
farm. They had 13 children and many living descend-
ants. Sarah died in 1907 and is buried in Box Hill cem-
etery sharing a grave with her husband John. Two of
their sons, Jim and Charlie fought in WW1.
It cannot be overstated that the success of Harriett and
William and their descendants was at the expense of the
Wurundjeri people, who are the Traditional Owners of
the land and who, for thousands of years nurtured and
protected the land and its creation stories, and in return,
enjoyed the highest standards of living, health and
wellbeing.
In 1840, the Wurundjeri people requested Bolin Bolin
Billabong in Bulleen be reserved for their use as it was
an important living and eel fishing area. It remained an
important living area and visiting place for Wurundjeri
people returning from lyrebird hunting in the Yarra
Ranges into the 1850s. Eventually, Wurundjeri people
and members from other Kulin (Victorian) tribes who
were forcibly displaced from their traditional lands were
taken to Coranderrk Aboriginal Station.
Established in 1863, Coranderrk was located on the land
of the Wurundjeri-balluk clan (William Barak’s clan).
The Wurundjeri people and all First Nations people in
Australia still suffer the effects of this devastating land
dispossession, violence and racism.
References:
2. https://parlipapers-proquest- com.ezproxy.slv.vic.gov.au/parlipa-
pers/result/pqpdocumentview?accountid=13905&groupid=9749
7&pgId=348fb0cd-28af-456e-b15e-c1feeebc7081#0 - page 4 (Dead Link Dec2025)
Source: 2023-12 DTHS Newsletter
