From Ickleton to Australia: The Beginning

Based on research undertaken by an unknown Australian Hopwood

Peter Hopwood, the son of Richard and Dorcas, came into this world in 1771. As a man he became a thatcher and married Martha Sheldrick . Peter died in 1847 from “Paralysis not certified”; possibly what we might know as a ‘stroke”. Peter and Martha had 6 children. Their second youngest son, Charles, was a thatcher, just like his father, and possibly his brothers. Like generations of Hopwoods before him, he was born in Ickleton, England in 1812. At the age of 35 he married Ann Philpott the publican’s daughter. They must have been restless souls and true adventurers, no doubt he more than she. They heard stories about gold, and a life of promise beckoned them from the colonies; if not for themselves at least for their children. With this in mind they planned their voyage of a lifetime. In the year of 1853, Charles and Ann, along with their boisterous boys, 4 year old Frederick , 2/1/2 year old Robert and Baby Charles left England for good, bound for Australia on the “Sussex”. They paid their own way and planned to arrive in their new land as free settlers; not as convicts or as assisted settlers.
Life on board must have been much harder than they had expected. How many times did they wonder about the sense of what they had done? Sick of the sea and weary from their journey, they were looking forward to reaching the west coast of Australia in a matter of days. But this was not to be. They sailed into a violent storm and were blown back to the coast of Africa. On-board rations did not include any surplus for such a catastrophe.Starvation set in. Tragically Baby Charles was not old enough or strong enough to endure such hardship and he died. He was buried at sea in 1853 .
The grief stricken family eventually landed at Geelong in Victoria and then settled, close by, on land at Inverleigh. Father Charles became a farmer. Their young sons thrived and soon they had two more, Joseph, and then Charles who was named in loving memory of their adored but lost third born.
Unlike many colonials, such as the Kelly Gang [5] , the children of Charles and Ann did not run wild. However tempted they might have been by the easy wealth to be had in the nearby frontier towns of the goldfields, these boys never strayed from the values of their parents and each in their own unique way prospered.
A word about Ann Philpot
Ann Hopwood née Philpot was born in 1822 in Canterbury, Kent. She died on the 18th June 1910 at “The Chase”, in Narrandera NSW Australia. This property was owned by her son, Charles. Ann is buried in the Church of England Cemetery at Narrandera, NSW, Australia.
Ann's parents were Fletcher Philpott (B.1790 Ickleton D. 23/9/1842 Duxford, from Consumption ie Tuberculosis) and Ann Ilott (B. 1781 Ickleton D. 28/5/1868 Duxford due to Diarrhoea of Old Age). Fletcher was a “publican” . After he died his wife, Ann, carried on the family business and became the publican.
The name of their establishment is unknown. Was it the "Red Lion" which is still trading in Ickelton today?
The death certificates of both Fletcher and Ann feature the marks of a Sarah Mear (1842) and a Sarah Poulter (1868) respectively, confirming their presence at these two deaths. The relationship of these Sarahs is unclear. Could she have been the same person with a different surname? A relative? Any information would be welcomed.

The sons of Charles and Ann Hopwood:
Frederick B. 1849 England, presumably Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, England
Robert B. 22/9/1850 Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, England
Charles B. 1852 Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, England (died at sea 1853)
Joseph B. 1856 Inverleigh Victoria, Australia
Charles B. 1859 Inverleigh Victoria, Australia

[1] the unknown author writes “This information was given by ..., obtained from her mother ....née Hopwood, daughter of Robert Hopwood”
[2] his death certificate
[3] Joseph B. 1856 Inverleigh Victoria, Australia
[4] Charles B. 1859 Inverleigh Victoria, Australia
[5] Family story from Rose Slender née Hopwood that the Kelly gang rode through her father’s property