Betsy Wakefield is my Great Grandmother. She was mother to Kelleen Lillian Cullinan, my paternal Grandmother and 6 other children.
Betsy was born on 12 April, 1861, in Hackham, South Australia and died on 2 June, 1904.
Betsy’s death was a little over a year after her 2 year old daughter, Catherine drowned in the Darling River at Kelleen Station, near Pooncarie in NSW.
Betsy’s parents, Thomas Wakefield (from Haslingford, England) and Tamar Speed (from Balsham, England) immigrated to Australia (Port Jackson, Sydney), on the ship Una in 1849. They arrived in South Australia in 1854.
Betsy met Michael Cullinan, her future husband, through her brother, Tom (who worked alongside Michael). They married on 2 June, 1886 in Kapunda, South Australia. She was 25 years old.
Here are the places where Betsy lived:
- 1861 Hackham, Noarlunga, South Australia
- 1886 Kapunda, South Australia
- 1888-1904 Kelleen Station, New South Wales
Further Information on Betsy’s family (the Wakefields) can be found in High on the Hill, (p.231) a history of Onkaparinga City in South Australia.