Thomas Meredith Buzzard (Millar’s grandfather) was born in London on 26th August 1825, to Charles and Agnes. When he arrived in Victoria, he was the first direct ancestor of Millar to emigrate from England.
Thomas was baptised in St. Catherine Cree Church, Aldgate, Central London. St. Catherine Cree was created as a Parish church in 1404.
Thomas’s family was recorded on the 1851 Census of England and Wales as living at 16 Tulse Hill, Lambeth, London. At the time, Thomas was 25 years old, and he was employed in two occupations. We already know that he was in the “straw hat trade” but he also had another occupation which is indecipherable from the document used. His father, Charles, was a lead merchant.
Transcript:
| Street | Name | Relation to head | Condition | Age | Occupation | Where born |
| 16 Tulse Hill Tower | Thomas Meredith | Son | Unmarried | 25 | Indecipherable straw hat trade | City of London |
Thomas had moved to Jewry Street, Aldgate, London before he emigrated, alone at the age of 27, and at his own cost, from London, England, on 22nd May 1852 bound for Port Phillip in the Colony of Victoria. Before setting sail for Melbourne, Thomas Meredith was given a bible by a friend. Thomas, and his wife to be, Elizabeth Anne Long, added a flyleaf to the bible and wrote on it “as a parting gift on leaving home for Australia by our very kind friend Mrs. Walker, Claphane Road, 22nd May 1852”. The flyleaf recorded the births and deaths of immediate family members.
Thomas travelled on the “Persia”, a 638 ton three masted “barque”, similar to the one depicted below. At the time there were two similar sized vessels registered in the Lloyd’s Shipping Register as the “Persia”, but only one was a “barque”.
The “Persia” was built in 1838 and details of her construction are shown in the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. [4]
Annual surveys were also conducted on vessels insured with the Society of Lloyd’s and, luckily for Thomas, the survey of the “Persia” showed it to be in good condition.
The surveys were conducted by Officers of the Society of Lloyd’s. The officers were in many ports across the United Kingdom and the whole of Ireland and their job was to make sure the vessels were safe and therefore reduce the risk of the vessel being the subject of future insurance claims. [5]
The voyage to Australia took 103 days and he arrived in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria on 2nd September 1852. The ship was licensed to carry 220 passengers (excluding crew) and provisions were carried for 174 passengers but only 123 made the voyage. With an excess of provisions, the passengers were well catered for.
The cost of the voyage, from London to Melbourne, would have been between £35 and £40, and this included the provisions Thomas consumed onboard. [6] Considering that the average gross wage, in England, was around £35 per year in 1850, the cost of his ticket was an enormous sum to pay. [7]
[4] Lloyd’s Shipping Register
[5] Lloyd’s Shipping Register Survey reports 1850
[6] The Ships List – extracted from July 1849 Colonization Circular No. 9, p. 3
[7] Average Earnings and Retail Prices, UK, 1209-2017 Gregory Clark, University of California, Davis
[8] Public Records Office of Victoria