Mary Strickland

Born: 1783, Died 1860

Mary Strickland was born in London in 1783 and she grew up in her parent’s home with her family. Her father’s name was David McRae. He went off to war during her teen years and the two of them did not ever see each other again.

Conditions in London at the time of the Industrial Revolution were difficult for working class families. The McRae family was certainly far from wealthy. However, there was hope for young Mary as the news of a foreign land called New Holland was spreading and people were flocking there with the hope of a better life.

At the start of 1829, Mary and her husband Robert Henry Strickland decided they would embark on a voyage to Perth, Australia. They travelled the high seas on the mighty ship “Hoogly” with another 120 passengers. Captain Peter Reeves was in charge and the second officer was George Bayly. It was a long and torturous journey, the vessel only stopping once in Singapore before setting off again and finally arriving safely at Fremantle on the 12th of February 1830.

Once Mary and Robert had arrived they took up farming. The couple had a very hard time because the soil on their allotted land was not very fertile at all, so it was hard to grow crops and other sources of food.

Soon the Strickland family had their first son and they named him William Henry John Strickland. Pioneer’s rations became very low and times were especially hard. Unfortunately for many people in those times, physical survival was a real challenge. Many people were malnourished and unwell.

Luckily, Mary’s husband was hired as a butcher. He was able to provide enough for their family to get by sufficiently, but this is not to say things were easy.

Mary Strickland later died at the age of 77, a happy woman, the family having prospered as the colony developed.