Theme Reveal A to Z Challenge 2025

#AtoZChallenge

Finally, it’s time to do my Theme Reveal for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. This challenge requires me to post every day in April, except Sunday, to a chosen theme. Some bloggers choose not to have a theme, and that’s ok too. I’m very excited to reveal my theme, and also cannot wait to check out the themes chosen by other bloggers, for this year’s challenge.

My theme for 2025 is The Earl Grey Orphan Scheme, which saw young destitute girls, from Ireland, of about 15-16 years old, sent to Australia, to start new lives, between 1848 and 1850. This was seen as an opportunity for them to have a better future than they were likely to have in Ireland.

Some of the topics I plan to cover from A to Z are:

• Information about the Earl Grey Orphan Scheme

• The circumstances in Ireland which led to the girls being sent to Australia

• The long voyage to Australia and the ships that brought them

• Reactions across Australia, to the arrival of the girls

• Personal stories of some of these young girls.

• My connection to The Earl Grey Scheme

The Reason For My Interest

Over the past few years, I have developed an interest in the Earl Grey Orphan Girls, and in the scheme generally. I have come to it, because my 2x great grandmother Ellen Boyle, was one of the Irish orphans who made a successful life for herself after arriving in Australia destitute, and facing bias and ridicule.

I am not at all an expert on this topic, but rather a family historian with an extreme interest in the topic. The posts in my A to Z Challenge come from information that I have come across in my research, and my reading over the years.

As my research of the Earl Grey Scheme has been mainly focused on the Victorian experience, these posts will reflect that. I will be sharing information about the scheme and also stories about some of the girls.

I have obtained information from archives, civil registration records, newspaper reports and family stories of descendants of the Irish girls. I have also read books and papers on the subject.

AI Generated Image: 19th century voyage to Australia