Thomas Yates II, my great, great, great, great grandfather, was born on 1790 to his lovable parents Thomas and Mary. Thomas was very smart and bright unlike many other British people. He married his love Mary Ann Matthews and 18 years later they began their journey to Australia. Mary Ann was seven years older than Thomas and was the daughter of Mr Matthews, a butcher and his wife also named Mary Ann. Thomas Yates, like most Englishmen had agricultural and labouring backgrounds and was selected to emigrate to Victoria for free to help increase the population. Only nine years after John Batman and John Pascie Fawkner founded Melbourne, the ship Abberton sailed into the port of Williamstown on the 22nd of September 1844. On board was my family, Thomas, Mary Ann and their children Samuel, 17 years old, Josiah ( pronounced Joseph), 14 years old, Elizabeth, 10 years old and John, 6 years old. Mary Ann and Thomas' other children were older and deiced to stay in England with their partners. In Australia Thomas worked for Mr Robert Purcell were he was contracted to work for one year receiving 40 pounds in wages, which is equivalent to $64.40 nowadays. In the 1850's my family moved to Geelong were they took up farming as their way of making a living. In the Balliere's Post Office Directory the Yates were listed as bakers as well as farmers. Mary Ann Yates died on June 26th 1886 aged 88 years. Its unknown when Thomas died.
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