Rediscovering Ginninderra:
Caleb Flude
Born: c. 1806; Died: 1870; Married: Mary Foley
Caleb Flude (also spelled 'Flood' or 'Hude') was one of the earliest convicts at Ginninderra, working for Palmer as a shepherd (according to the 1828 census).
He was born in Leicestershire around 1807. Flude had been transported for life for housebreaking. He arrived in Australia in 1827 on the Asia. In the convict records he is described as 'five foot three and a quarter inches, sandy to red hair, freckled complexion, light hazel eyes, scar on the right of his forehead and able to read and write.'
Flude was one of the few convicts who stayed on in Ginninderra (albeit briefly) after earning his freedom. He is recorded as having earned a ticket of leave in 1841 and being in the employment of Charles Campbell (possibly on a Ginninderra block).
He sought permission to marry twenty-year-old free immigrant, Mary Foley, in 1841. She appears to have been working as a servant in the district. Their marriage application was successful and they were wed in 1842 at Jerrabomberra. They lived as tenants on Ginninderra Creek and appear to have worked on a number of stations throughout the district. Caleb and Mary had three children during their time in Ginninderra (two of whom survived infancy: Sarah and Hannah).
The Fludes had moved to Victoria by the early 1860s, where they may have been attracted as part of the gold rush. Caleb Flude died in Melbourne in 1870.
References
- Gillespie, L. L., Ginninderra: Forerunner to Canberra, Campbell, 1992
- Meyers D. (ed. K. Frawley), Lairds, Lags and Larrikins: an Early History of the Limestone Plains, Pearce, 2010
- 1828 NSW census and convict transportation records