Hilda, Mabel, Harry, Elsie on Garden Island
Date1900-1907
Object number00051977
NamePhotograph
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 135 x 90 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Eugenie Greig
DescriptionThe Danahay family and Neil Murray histories written by donor Eugenie Greig, December 2010 and May 2011 tell the fascinating history of the Danahays (Eugenie's grandparents) and their lives on Garden Island and environs as a naval family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Danahay family history begins with the family's connection to the Royal Victoria Victualling Yard in Greenwich, United Kingdom and later with the Royal Edward Victualling Yard, Pyrmont, Australia. Neil Murray's history (father of Eugenie) tells of his life as a lighthouse keeper in Scotland and Australia, his service aboard HMS INCONSTANT during World War I and a surprising career transition to life as a poultry farmer in Western Sydney.
The collection includes some wonderful photographs from the family album pieced together with informative documentation and Eugenie Greig's own written accounts.
HistoryJohn James Danahay (also known as Jack) and Fanny Eugenie Atkinson (grandparents of the donor Eugenie Greig) sailed from London on 13 June 1899 with their two children Mabel (mother of donor) and Hilda, as unassisted passengers on the INDIA, arriving in Australia on 16 July 1900. John James had been employed by the Royal Navy in the Victualling Yard in Greenwich, and was appointed a position on Garden Island, Sydney, which had been used by the Royal Navy as a naval base and ship repair yard since the late 1850s. They lived for some years in one of the six semi-detached houses on the island, and made close friendships with the five other English families living on the island. The children enjoyed a particularly idyllic childhood, while the rest of Sydney's waterfront particularly around the squalid Rocks area was beset by the outbreak of bubonic plague. John James and Fanny's son, Little Jack (William James) Danahay, was born on Garden Island in 1902 - commemorated by a plaque in the Navy Chapel.
John James Danahay's service on Garden Island lasted until 1907 when he was appointed Foreman in Charge at the Royal Edward Victualling Yard, which had just opened in Pyrmont. An honour board in the Garden Island heritage centre shows that he held the position of Foreman of Victualling Storehouses, for duty at His Majesty's Naval Victualling Yard, Sydney, from 1907-1926 and from 1931-1934. His appointment transferred to the Royal Australian Navy following its establishment. Fanny died in 1938 and John James died in 1951.
Neil Murray (father of donor Eugenie Greig) was born in Scotland in 1885. He initially worked in fishing and seafaring jobs as a young man in Scotland, before taking up service with the Northern Lighthouse Board. He served in Scottish lighthouses for eight years, broken only by four years service in the Royal Naval Reserve during WWI. He served in HMS INCONSTANT, his war service lasting from January 1915 to January 1919. He arrived in Sydney in 1924, and served in New South Wales lighthouses for four and a half years.
From 1810 until 1856 Garden Island was used essentially as a picnic area for the residents of Sydney. In 1856 the NSW Government suggested that the Island be given over to use by the Royal Navy as a naval base and in 1858 the Admiralty approved an outlay between 200 and 300 pounds to render the Island available for repair of ships. Following the granting of the title Royal Australian Navy by King George V on 10 July 1911, on 1 July 1913 all naval establishments in the Australia Station were handed over by the Admiralty to the RAN. These facilities included Garden Island and the buildings that had been erected by the Government of NSW in the years before federation.
From: Danahay family history and Neil Murray history written by Eugenie Greig, December 2010 and May 2011, and Naval History of Garden Island at http://www.gardenisland.info/1-02-000.html
SignificanceThe Danahay family and Neil Murray histories written by donor Eugenie Greig, December 2010 and May 2011 tell the fascinating history of the Danahays (Eugenie's grandparents) and their lives on Garden Island and environs as a Royal Naval family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Danahay family history begins with the family's connection to the Royal Victoria Victualling Yard in Greenwich, United Kingdom and later with the Royal Edward Victualling Yard, Pyrmont, Australia. Neil Murray's history (father of Eugenie) tells of his life as a lighthouse keeper in Scotland and Australia, his service aboard HMS Inconstant during World War 1 and a surprising career transition to life as a poultry farmer in Western Sydney.
The collection includes some wonderful photographs from the family album pieced together with informative documentation and Eugenie Greig's own written accounts.
