NameDowneyAlternative NameDownieDescriptionWilliam and Bridget Downey (nee Walsh) and their seven children, Johanna, Mary, John, Patrick, James, William Osmond, and Ellen, arrived in Australia from Tipperary, Ireland aboard the 'Rajah Gopaul' 13 September 1852. Their eldest daughter was 17, and their youngest daughter was 6 years old.
They set out for Kiama, took a bullock dray to Jamberoo and walked to the site of their new home at Rocklow, Dunmore. Before the home could be constructed, they had to clear the land.
In 1857, their daughter Johanna married Nicholas Hanly from a neighbouring farm. The couple had eleven children.
One son, William Osmond Downey, lived at the family farm at Rocklow his whole life.
William married Bridget Teresa Farraher/Farragher, daughter of Thomas and Mary, whose family also lived on a neighbouring farm at Stoney Creek. The couple had two children, William Thomas and Mary Winifred.
William Osmond was a gifted violinist and played for social functions on the coast. He also loved to walk. William farmed the land and was well respected for his knowledge. He remembered when all produce from Stoney Creek and surrounds was taken by bullock dray over Locking Hill, to Captain Baxter's boat at Shellharbour.
Rocklow Road, c.2003.