The Bray's

Cornwall To Australia

The roots of this particular branch of the Bray family can be traced back to St. Austell, Cornwall, England in 1802.
In 1802 William Bray married Grace Penhale. William and Grace had 8 children, 4 boys and 4 girls:

The first born boy was named William, a tradition that has continued through the generations.
According to the 1841 census, William, the first born son, was a tin miner in Cornwall. He was the Cornish Wrestling Champion of 1827. The inscribed gold watch, given as prize, is still in the possesion of the Victorian branch of the Bray family.
William married Catherine Knight at St. Austell in 1833.
William died in 1844 and was buried at St. Austell, Cornwall on the 11th August, 1844.
Catherine was left to raise five children: The first Catherine, born 6/8/1837, died on the 13/5/1840.

On the 6th of March, 1854 Catherine, Maria and her husband, William Hawke and the other four children embarked on the 'Trafalgar' at Plymouth, for the long voyage to South Australia. They arrived in Adelaide on the 28th June, 1854 and made their home at Uraidla, a suburb of Adelaide, at the foot of Mt. Lofty.
Here they setup a market garden and sold the produce to their neighbors and to the people of the village.

Use the Names Index to find a person quickly.

Names Index

My name is Tim Bray, I am a fourth generation Australian born decendant of William Bray and my home is in Melbourne, Australia.
The information included in this website has been put together by many people. It is by no means complete. I have personally checked a lot of the information contained herein but I cannot guarantee the accuracy of some of the information.
Any information that could add to what is here would be greatly appreciated.

Please feel free to E-mail me, with anything of interest to this project, at the address below.

E-mail to: Tim Bray