Robb descendants to Australia

By Kay McMeekin

Link to  Jane Wylie Robb on the Cumnock Connections tree.

Jane Wylie Robb and Thomas William Gray c 1912
Photo from Alan Skelton

Farmer's daughter Jane Wylie Robb married Thomas Gray on the 21st September 1881 at her home Mossback farm in Cumnock. She was 24 and single. He was 35 a widower and a draper from Irvine. He was previously married to Jane Hay in 1874 at which point he was an iron miner in Tanyard, Kilwinning. Jane died in 1880. They had 4 children 2 of whom had already died. I can't find him at all in the 1881 census but his 2 daughters were staying with different members of Jane's family. His parents were Thomas Gray and Annie Porter on both marriage certificates. I can't find them in Scotland. I suspect he came from Ireland between 1871 and 1874.

Thomas and his new wife and his 2 daughters Janet and Bella sailed on the "Scotland" from Glasgow arriving Cooktown, Queensland on 4th September 1882. Cooktown was the port for Brisbane.  

Their son Daniel was one of three children born on the voyage, on the 5th June 1882. (according to the second article below the Scotland departed on the 5th July 1882, so one of these dates is wrong if he was indeed born at sea.  Update : he was born 1 8 August 1882 and registered in Queensland.) 

Daughter Annie Porter Gray was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1884 and daughter Elizabeth Vallance Gray was born in Newcastle, New South Wales in 1884 and the family seem to have settled there.

ARRIVAL OF THE SCOTLAND. (1882, September 23). The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), p. 4. Retrieved January 27, 2025

from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181781293

In Australia, Thomas adopted the middle name William. He didn't use the middle name in Scotland other than to name his son with Jane Hay, Thomas William Gray 1876-7.

He lived in Brunker Road, Adamstown a Newcastle suburb,  where he died in 1915, since about 1895. He was a miner but unable to work for the previous 10 years due to "miner's ailments".

ADAMSTOWN (1915, October 28). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137977698

"Arrival of the Steamer Scotland." The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939)23 September 1882: 404. Web. 27 Jan 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19786866>.

His wife Jane Wylie Robb died in Kurri Kurri Hospital on 18th January 1925

Footnote about the journey

In the 1880s, a steamship called "Scotland" was operating on the route to Australia, often associated with the British India Steam Navigation Company (B.I.S.N) and primarily carrying passengers from Glasgow, Scotland to various Australian ports; historical records mention its arrival in Brisbane, Australia during this period. 

The following linked article describes likely conditions on board and that they had medical attention and food supplied which ties in with the newspaper report.

https://www.lightstation.com/tales-of-the-cape/the-voyage-migration/#:~:text=In%20the%201840's%20the%20journey,hundreds%20of%20people%20on%20board.