Georgiana Molloy Tragedy and triumph By Misha
Georgiana Kennedy was one of the five children of David and Elizabeth. A very rich family. Two of the children were Mary and Elizabeth Kennedy, two of Georgiana’s sisters.
Georgiana’s mum taught her all about plants and how to sow. This is a picture of some of the stuff Georgiana Molloy used to sow.
Georgiana Kennedy was only 16 when her father( David Kennedy) was thrown off a horse while Riding around the city and sadly her father died.
It was 1829 Georgiana Molloy and her husband Captain John Molloy went on a ship called the Warrior to a place soon to be known as Perth but in 1830 its called the Swan Colony and the journey will take 6 months. But on the journey some of the supplies washed over board so they had to stop by Cape town to get some more supplies and while Georgiana Molloy was there she learned about some of the plants there. Then on the way to Swan Colony when they were rowing to shore some more of the supplies.
Georgiana Molloy arrived here in 1830 they landed all of the good land was taken and people said there was good land near the south. Also the flies, mossies'', tick and all bugs were annoying.
Georgiana Molloy and her husband Captain John Molloy were on a whaler called Emily Taylor from the Swan Colony to Flinders bay accompanied by the Bustle Boys. The trip took 3 days and 3 nights.
Captain John Molloy got of the ship to look for land while Georgiana stayed on the ship that was on the waves. Georgiana waited for her husband to come back soon Because she felt like she was going to have a baby, John Molloy came to the boat with a smile on his face because he finally found land Georgiana quickly got out of the boat with the help of the Bustle Boys.
Dear: Georgiana Molloy Can you please collect plants from New Holland (Australia) and send them back to England so me and a few other botanist to study. Please make sure that they are in good condition. Hope you have a lovely time. From: James Mangles and other botanist
Then Georgiana Molloy received a letter out of the blue from James Mangles. He asked if Georgiana could collect some plants for him, so the botanist in England could study them.
Once they got to there place, They started setting up the tent After a few days she had a baby and on the day it also rained so Georgiana ran into the tent but the rain came in so one of the servants had to put an umbrella on top of her. Georgiana named her baby Mary Elisabeth after her two older sisters. Sadly after 9 days here baby died.
□ Make food □ Feed children □ Clean up □ Collect plants □ Preserve plants until boat comes. Poor Georgiana had to do all of the house work while her husband John Molloy was Busy doing other stuff.
Georgiana Molloy Triumphs Georgiana was the first internationally successful female botanist in WA. Specimens from two of Georgiana’s collections, including Type specimens, are archived in Kew Herbarium and Cambridge University Herbarium. Some of her letters and some diaries have also survived, held at the Cumbria Archive Centre in Carlisle UK also in the JS Battye Library in Perth WA. Many of Georgiana’s new items are available now on computer screen anywhere in the world! The botanical work by Georgiana Molloy comes to life vividly through the images on the computer that are now available. By combining the content of her diaries and letters with online sources makes it possible to trace a few of her specimens from the day she collected them in the bush, through their journey from collector to collector, also on to their current resting place in a herbarium. Georgiana’s life as a settler was one of hardship and tragedy, and for most of her 13 years in the Swan colony she was nursing a baby. Her days were filled with lots farm work and domestic jobs she starts before dawn and finishes late at night, and yet she always found time for her botanical passion! A medical condition meant that she risked her life with the birth of each baby and soon after her seventh child was born she sadly died, still desperately longing to successfully collect and send the seeds to Mangles. She was thirty-seven when she died.