Founding Families in Australia
Henry Barcham (1833-1910) founded the first branch
in Australia when he married Jane Richards at Portland, Victoria, in 1854. Henry
was second mate on the Nestor and Jane was one of a large family of immigrants on
board. The Nestor was sunk in Portland harbour and the captain, second mate and ship's
carpenter were arrested, tried and acquitted of scuttling the ship. However, it was
the newly appointed second mate who was charged, not Henry, because a few days earlier
he had been dismissed as he had married Jane. A plaque has been erected on Immigrants
Wall in Portland, Victoria for Jane Richards family. These plaques are only eligible
for the people who arrived on the 37 ships carrying assisted migrants arriving at
Portland between 1851 and 1857. The plaque reads:
JOHN & ELIZABETH RICHARDS OF CORNWALL ARRIVED IN PORTLAND WITH THEIR EIGHT DAUGHTERS
ON THE NESTOR 16 SEPTEMBER, 1854. THEIR SECOND DAUGHTER, JANE, MARRIED HENRY BARCHAM
2ND MATE OF THE NESTOR WHO ALSO SETTLED IN PORTLAND.
ERECTED TO THEIR MEMORY BY THEIR GRATEFUL DESCENDANTS.
The descendants of Henry and Jane Barcham who are visiting Portland can see the plaque
on Immigrants Wall which is located on the foreshore near the Maritime Museum where
the lamp of the Nestor is housed. The Portland Historical Society is also another
interesting place to visit.
Jedidiah Benjamin Pegg Barcham (1845-1928) emigrated to Australia about 1875 where
he married Frances Swinfield in 1876 at Waterloo, NSW.
James Norman Barcham (1871-1959), Henry Barcham's nephew, emigrated first to New
Zealand, aboard the RMS Ophir, arriving in New Plymouth on 23 February 1894 (see
photo). James then went to Melbourne where he married Eleanor Rachel Philips in 1895,
starting the second branch. James was a pharmacist who owned chemist shops in Victoria.
James and Eleanor lived in Portland, Victoria.
Richard Edwards Barcham (1861-1939) lived in Brisbane between 1894 and 1899, where
he married Mary and had six children, some of whose descendants live in Queensland
at present.
Neal Barcham (b. 1861), a great-grandson of Benjamin Barcham of Sherringham, emigrated
with his family aboard the SS Miltiades in 1911. He and his wife, Alice, settled
in Blackburn, Melbourne.
See other Barchams who have emigrated.
