I grew up hearing about Patrick Molloy, my maternal great grandfather, one of the pioneers of the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland, and accidental discoverer – while carrying with a bullock team over the ranges from Port Douglas, so one story goes – of a copper deposit in the area where the town of Mt Molloy was subsequently established.

My aunt Mary had mentioned another Molloy brother, Peter, also being in Queensland but it is only in the last couple of weeks that I have located specific information about all the Molloys, two brothers and one sister besides Patrick, who migrated to Queensland.

Patrick Molloy came from Brownstown or the Curragh, in County Kildare, Ireland, an area renowned for horse racing and breeding.  His parents were John Molloy, a farmer, and Sarah Byrne (or Byrnes) and he was born about 1840 – 1842.  His published obituary in the Cairns Post in October 1923 indicated that he arrived in Queensland in 1863.  There is a Patrick Molloy arriving in Brisbane on the Saldanha ship in September 1863.  He paid his own way which meant that he was eligible to claim the government incentive of 18 acres of land initially and a further 12 acres after two years.   By 1874 he had married Ellen Fearon in Rockhampton (her arrival story is here).  The birth places of their seven children show a move away from the existing townships to the more isolated locations only then being opened up by early settlers and gold strike outbreaks:

• John Augustus born 1875 in Townsville
• Mary Margaret born 1877 in “German Gardens”, Townsville
• Patrick born 1879 at Rifle Creek on the Hodgkinson Rd
• Ellen Theresa born 1880 at Leadingham Creek on the Hodgkinson goldfield
• James Thomas born 1882 at Fernvale near Northcote, Hodgkinson goldfield
• Sarah Elizabeth born 1883 at Fernvale near Northcote, Hodgkinson goldfield
• Daniel Peter Edward born 1887 at Rocky Plains, Port Douglas Road.

Dan Molloy’s birth in 1887 was at a time when Patrick’s working of the copper mine at Mt Molloy was coming to an end and he established the grazing property at Rocky Plains near Tolga, on the Herberton – Mareeba road.

Just before the time of John’s birth in 1875, Patrick was joined by two other siblings – Peter and Elizabeth Maria (or Eliza Mary, ‘Lizzie’ on the ship’s passenger list) who arrived on the ship Isles of the South, which had departed London on 15th June and arrived on 9th October, 1875.  They were both single and remittance passengers, meaning that their passage was sponsored, most likely by Patrick.  Peter was 14 years younger than Patrick and aged 19 at the time he migrated.  Eliza was 20 (shown as 24 on the ship’s list).

Peter Molloy worked as a miner initially, resident in Charters Towers.  At the age of 25 he married Mary Jane Casey.

MARRIAGE.
On the 9th February, at St. Columba’s Church, Charters Towers, by the Rev. Father McDonough, Peter Molloy, of County Kildare, Ireland, to Mary Jane, second daughter of Patrick Casey, Warrill Creek, Ipswich.
The Queensland Times. IPSWICH, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1881.

They were to have five children, all born in Charters Towers, between 1882 and 1892:  John Patrick, Rose Josephine, Sarah, Norah and Gladys.  Peter seems to have done well enough at mining to enable an entry into the hospitality industry.

The Southern Cross Hotel, Charters Towers
Amongst some of the oldest residents on the goldfield is Peter Molloy, the well-known host of the Southern Cross Hotel. His first arrival on the field dates as far back as 1874—17 years ago. For 14 years he followed the occupation of a miner, at which calling he worked assiduously until two and a half years ago, when he made up his mind to start on a more easy mode of living, and became a boni face. The house which he then took, and still occupies, was the Southern Cross Hotel, Mosman-st., and which, during his occupation, has gone through an entire renovation. It includes 40 bedrooms, six parlors, and spacious bar, besides ample dining room, sample rooms, &c., and forms a complete quadrangle, the premises fronting Bow-street as well as Mosman-street.

The Northern Mining Register (Charters Towers, Qld. : 1891 – 1892) Thursday 24 December 1891

However all was not well and in August 1893 he was facing insolvency.  The family moved to Cloncurry sometime after 1913.   Mrs Molloy (Mary Jane Casey) died in 1938 at Cloncurry and at Peter Molloy’s death in Mt Isa in 1939, the Cloncurry Advocate remembered him thus:

Cloncurry Advocate Friday 28 July 1939
There passed away suddenly in Mount Isa on Monday afternoon another respected old pioneer in the person of Peter Molloy. Deceased, who was close on 80 years of age, was a very well known identity on Charters Towers in the heydey of that town and was mine host of several hotels. It was Mr. Molloy’s proud boast that he attended the first race meeting ever held in Charters Towers. Coming to Cloncurry district many years ago he followed mining, mostly seeking the elusive yellow metal and when Mt. Isa opened up he was employed by the company as caretaker at the dam, and afterwards at the mine. Mrs. W. Seymour and Mr. John Molloy, both resident of Cloncurry are children.

A CORRECTION.
In our last issue in reporting the death of Mr. Peter Molloy we said his children were Mrs. W. Seymour and Mr. J. Molloy of Cloncurry. In addition to these we should have mentioned three other daughters namely, Mrs. J. Warman (Brisbane), Mrs. J. Ford (Tennant Creek) and Mrs. J. Hamilton (Cloncurry).

He is buried in Mt Isa.  As the obituary indicates, the children of the family had in some cases spread beyond Cloncurry to Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory (Norah’s family) and Brisbane (Sarah’s family).  John Patrick did not marry. Rose married William Seymour, had a large family and lived all her life in Cloncurry, as did Gladys, married to James Hamilton.

Eliza Molloy married at Herberton in 1883 to James McCloskey, who died the following year and then in Cairns, in 1889, to Patrick McHugh, a police constable.    She had two children from this second marriage, John Patrick Joseph, born 1890 and Elizabeth Mary, born 1892.  Eliza and her family were living in Petrie Terrace, Brisbane when she died in 1917 aged 66.  She is buried in Toowong Cemetery.

The photograph shows Patrick Molloy at the age of about twenty.  He was photographed in Bolton, Lancashire prior to migrating to Queensland in 1863.  What exactly took him to Bolton I am yet to discover, but there was at least one other family member living there, if not in 1863, then later in that decade.

His brother John Molloy was resident in Bolton with his family, from at least 1869 to early 1887.  In 1884 he had placed the following advertisement:

Advertisement: PATRICK, PETER, and ELIZA MOLLOY, your brother JOHN would like to hear from you. Patrick, formerly carrier Charters Towers. Address JOHN MOLLOY Bolton Iron and Steel Works, Bolton, Lancashire England.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 – 1939) 20 December 1884 (repeated 27 Dec 1884, 3 Jan 1885)

All of the siblings’ marriage and death certificates indicate that their parents were John Molloy and Sarah Byrnes (with some spelling variations), from County Kildare, but this advertisement is further proof confirming their relationship.  It appears that John’s advertisement may have been successful in reaching the intended audience, as he and his family were sponsored as remittance passengers when they sailed from London to Queensland, on the ship Jumna in February 1887, arriving in Townsville on 1st April.

John Molloy was also younger than Patrick, but only by about six  years.  He had married Eve Hardy in Bolton in 1869 and they had five children born in Bolton between 1870 and 1878 : John (Jack), Robert, Sarah Veronica, James and Eva Monica.  John was working as an iron forgeman at the iron and steel works in Bolton.

The family settled in Charters Towers but John Molloy died in 1902 at the age of 55.  He is buried  in Charters Towers cemetery.  Subsequently the remaining family moved to Townsville.   The two elder boys, John and Robert, died relatively early in Townsville at the ages of 49 and 46.  The two girls, Sarah and Eva, married and their later years were spent with their families in Collinsville working in the mining industry.  James died in Townsville in 1942 at the age of  66.  Neither James nor Robert married.