The Ladies of the Bride Ship Tynemouth

Long before the famous war brides of the post Second World War there were the brides of colonial days; young British women, aged 14-20, who gambled their futures by sailing halfway round the world to “the colonies” in hopes of finding husbands.

Those who landed in Victoria’s Inner Harbour in 1862 were, in the words of one of their own, “an odd assortment of females”.

The story of some of the 60 ladies of the bride ship Tynemouth in next week’s Chronicles.

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PHOTO: The Tynemouth was the largest of the bride ships used to transport prospective brides to the British colonies. —www.pixabay.com