Pikes in Australia

Location: Australia

A WORK IN PROGRESS: Christine Pike 06:21, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

My goal is to develop this page into:

• A work area for tracking current activities team members are working on for Pikes/Pykes in Australia
• Documentation of some specific, interesting Pike/Pyke Families in Australia
• A place for suggestions on further Pike studies in Australia

Would you like to help?
Do you have some suggestions?

Some of the areas I have been working on are:

• Attempting to locate family origins for Pikes who emigrated to Australia, including tracking down immigration and shipping records, and adding immigration/shipping categories
• Adding, improving and/or connecting profiles of Pikes who served in World War One and Two and adding military categories (still in progress)
• Early Pike settlers in Australia, particularly some of the larger, or more interesting ones, like:

Other areas I am interested in are:

• Pike Convicts
• Pike Notables

Contents 1 Early Pike/Pyke Settlers in Australia 2 Pike/Pyke Convicts Transported to Australia 3 Notable Pikes/Pikes in Australia 4 Some interesting Pike/Pyke Families in Australia 5 Other Pike/Pyke Families in Australia 5.1 My Own Pike Family Story 6 Contributors 7 Sources

Early Pike/Pyke Settlers in Australia

• Thomas Henry Pyke (bef.1808-1861), William Pyke (bef.1815-1850) and George Pyke (abt.1819-1855):

The three brothers, from Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire, England, were early pioneers in the Colony of Victoria. Thomas Henry Pyke, in a letter to la Trobe, records that his brothers took up the country at Parwan Creek (now including the site of the township of Melton), In 1838, he himself settling at Ballanie, near Ballan, on the Upper Werribee, a few years later. It was said that "Gentleman Pyke had kept up considerable style. His pack of hounds, the Upper Werrlbee Hunt, was famed above all in the colony".

• Henry Morris Pike (abt.1833-1883):

From Stepney, London, England, he emigrated to the Colony of Tasmania, and played a prominent role in early education, in particular, the City School, Hobart.

Pike/Pyke Convicts Transported to Australia

• John James (Pack) Pike (1774-1860): Transported to Sydney Cove, New South Wales, on the ship "Perseus", arriving August 1802

Convicted of stealing kitchen utensils including two copper stew pans, a gin cask and a delft bowl, total value 11 shillings from Henry Richards (the elder); 2 waistcoats worth 10 shillings from Frederick Richards. Sentenced on July 31, 1797 to seven years. By October 30th, 1797, he was aboard the hulk "Foortunce" in Langton to sit in the harbour and await transportation.

He arrived in Sydney Cove, Sydney, Australia on the ship "Perseus" on 4 Aug 1802. He became the assigned servant of one Collet, at Toongabbee, and was wounded in the leg by the mutinous convicts at the time of the outbreak at Castle Hill. By 1806, he was recorded as being free of servitude. By 1814, he had a grant and purchase of 270 acres of land, 5 acres under wheat, six acres of maize, seven acres of barley, and one acre each of oats, peas and beans by 1822. He also had six horses, fifty cattle, twenty sheep, eight hogs, ten bushells of wheat and eighty bushels of maize in hand.

Despite acquiring extensive landed property in Prospect (said to have been principally through the industry and frugality of his wife) after his wife's death, through litigation and other causes, it dwindled away much faster than it had been obtained; and the old man outlived his property some years, becoming a pensioner upon the bounty of his children. He was 90 years old when he died in 1860, and up to the period of his death was said to be hearty and strong. It was thought the old man would probably have lived much longer, had it not been for an accident by which one of his arms was broken, when returning from Parramatta in a cart driven by his daughter-in-law, after which gangrene ensued and he died 8 weeks later. He left a large family of sons and daughters, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren.

• Theodore Ernest Pike (1805-1862): Transported to Sydney Cove, New South Wales, "Asia", arriving 28 December 1820

A Chimney Sweep by trade, Theodore (age 15) was tried and convicted at the Old Bailey on 28th June 1820 for pocketpicking, and sentenced to transportation for life. On 21st July he was sent, along with 24 other young convicts to the Prison Hulk "Bellerophon" moored at Sheerness. He was transported on the ship "Asia", arriving at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, on 28 December 1820.

He married Sarah Buckley (daughter of convicts James Buckley & Mary Hitchen) in 1834, and they had 8 children. He received a Conditional Pardon in 1836. Theodore died in 1862, aged 57, at Forbes, New South Wales, Australia.

• Joseph (Pike) Pyke (1801-1882): Transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) on the ship "Marmion", arriving March 1828

Joseph was transported to Tasmania, on the ship "Marmion" which arrived in Hobart, Van Diemens Land on 6 March 1828. In 1841 he was listed as a Farmer, when he married Elizabeth McInnes (also a convict). They had 11 children. Joseph was listed as a Farmer, of Ram Island, Tasmania, when he died in 1882, aged 81 years.

• Joseph Pike (1808-1886): Transported to Sydney, on the ship "Claudine", December 1829

Joseph arrived in Sydney as a convict on the ship "Claudine" on Dec 6, 1829 having been convicted (term of 14 years) of housebreaking at age 20 at the Gloucester Lent Assizes on April 1, 1829. He was born in 1808 at Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. His occupation was listed as Ploughman/farm labourer. He received his Ticket of Leave April 1836.

Joseph and his wife, Mary (formerly Mary Talbot), purchased land in Terralong St, just west of the current town of Kiama, New South Wales, in 1847. He opened a shop in 1847 at Pikes Hill in Kiama and is said to have played a pivotal role in the general development and political, agricultural and commercial life of the town. He was a public man, very active in local affairs, being Mayor of Kiama on at least six occasions and an Alderman for nearly 30 years. He was also instrumental in the development of Kiama's Blue Metal, Retail, Butter and Shipping industries. He died in 1886, survived by his wife, 4 daughters and only 1 son out of their 10 children.

• Martin Pike (1808-1878): Transported to New South Wales on the ship "Java", arriving November 1833.

Martin, age 26, a coal miner from Queen's County, Ireland, was convicted in March 1833 at Kilkenny, one of (at least) 14 men (all of whom had no prior convictions) who were convicted of "Unlawful oath" and were sentenced to Life. Martin was effectively a political prisoner often referred to as a Whitefoot or Whiteboy. He was transported to New South Wales on the ship "Java", November 1833.

In Sep 1841, he was granted a "Ticket of Leave" to remain in the district of Queanbeyan, and recommended for a Conditional Pardon in 1847. He died in 1878, aged 70, at Long Gully, near Queanbeyan, New South Wales

Note: Of the 40,000 Irish convicts transported to Australia, as many as one in eight were political or social "protesters"; that is, they committed their crimes, not for personal gain, but as a public protest against the social injustices of their day. Most of the protests were about land — tenure, high rents, taxes, evictions — and despite the severe punishments imposed, persisted for centuries. The protesters were members of various "secret societies" — Whiteboys, Whitefeet, Rockites, Ribbonmen, Terry Alts, Lady Clares etc.

• Francis John Pike (1831-1907): Transported to Tasmania on the ship "Aboukir", arriving March 1852

In Feb 1849 Francis was found guilty of "burglary & wounding" at the Central Criminal Court in London and sentenced to 20yrs. In the 1851 he was in Portland prison in Dorset. On 27 March he was transported to Tasmania on the ship "Aboukir", to be freed for "good conduct" in 1854.

He married Mary Ann Harrington in 1860, and they had 6 children. Francis died in 1907, aged 76, his last known address was Battery Point, occupation; boot importer.

Notable Pikes/Pikes in Australia

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Some interesting Pike/Pyke Families in Australia

• Children of George Pyke (1777-1827) of Birdbrook, Essex, England: John Tweed Pyke (1806-), James Pyke (1815-1878), Henry Pyke (1817-1863),

George was a descendent of George Pike MP (1590-1658), of Baythorn, High Sheriff of Essex, & of Meldreth, Cambs., who left a legacy which endured for hundreds of years, leaving his large estates to his only son and heir, George, but who subsequently had no children. The estate was then left “in tail” for generations to come, requiring any descendants of the daughters to adopt the surname of Pike/Pyke should they wish to inherit the estates originally purchased and bequeathed by George Pike senior.

The result was a confusing tale, as each male heir either failed to reach adulthood, or had no sons, and so the estate passed through various members of the Crouch/Crowch family, and then on to the Tweed family:

The estates passed through several sons of George Jnr's sister, Elizabeth (wife of John Crouch), after her second son, John (Crowch) Pyke died without issue in 1738, the estate passed to Bromsall, son of John's brother Thomas Crouch, then successively to John and Thomas, sons of another brother Pyke Crouch, and on Thomas's death in 1773 to John Tweed, grandson of John Pyke's cousin Elizabeth (Goldegay) Tweed, and finally on to his son, George Pyke (1777-1827).

Each heir consequently took the name Pyke on succeeding to the estate, the name changes creating a confusing spaghetti trail through the records!

Other Pike/Pyke Families in Australia

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My Own Pike Family Story

(Pike-5935):

Brothers; James Pike (1797-) and Joseph Pike (1789-1870)

My family originated from Tidcombe, Wiltshire, England, where my 5xGGF, Joseph Pike (abt.1748-bef.1818), lived. His two sons, my4xGGF, James Pike (1797-) and Joseph Pike (1789-1870), along with their wives and children (a combined family of 16 in total) emigrated to Australia in 1840 as free settlers. Neither were young men (in their mid-late forties) and both listed their occupations as "agricultural labourer" (as did one of their older sons, whilst an elder daughter is listed as a maid).

They arrived in South Australia from London on the ship Fairlie on July 7 1840. Many of their descendants soon moved on to other states of Australia - Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. This was often to mining areas, so perhaps it was the lure of gold that drew them, though it does not seem any struck such wealth. My grandfather, Caleb Pike (1872-1932), was a miner who spent most of his life working in the mines in the Beaconsfield, Queenstown, Zeehan and Mount Lyall areas of Tasmania. He died of miner's complaint when my father was a boy. He wanted a better life for his wife and children, but did not live to see this.

I am neither an historian, nor a genealogist, and I remain fascinated as to why whole families such as mine chose to embark on such a long and dangerous journey to the other side of the world for a new life, where early pioneers (who were without wealth or privilege) lived in pretty harsh conditions. My ancestors are just a few of the many Pike families who chose to settle in Australia. Those transported to Australia as convicts are another story. Christine

Contributors

• Christine Pike

Sources

You can find many great sources which might assist you when working on Australian Pike profiles at Australia, Sources and Citation Examples. It does not seem worthwhile duplicating them here, but if you find something not listed there let me know (make sure you also tell the Australia Project)

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