Trunk

In 1852 a young and destitute Irish woman, Catherine Stunden, set sail from Ireland to Australia to embark on a daring adventure that would change the course of her life. Stunden was among 30 women aged 17 to 25, offered free passage onboard the Travancore - the first of two ships that would become known as the Irish Bride Ships in a scheme devised to provide wives for Western Australian settlers. The scheme came about in response to both the famine gripping Ireland and the disproportionately high numbers of men, as compared to to women, in the Western Australian colony. Western Australian men were desperate for wives and the British government was keen to ship out destitute young women from orphanages and workhouses. More than 60 young women and girls took part in the scheme. Stunden packed the possessions for her new life inside this simple trunk. It is hard to imagine what would have crossed her mind as she prepared to leave her famine-ravaged home country for life on the other side of the globe? Stunden eventually married Pinjarra man Thomas Robinson, who worked as a shepherd. Together the duo lived in a primitive cottage, and went on to have a family who continue to holiday in the region today.