O’CONNOR, Maria

Name – O’CONNOR, Maria
Born – Cir 1845
Died – 21/01/1934
Location – No 12 Anglican Section
Mother – Bessie Sutton
Father – James Hanlon

Notes – Maria was born to Bessie (nee Sutton) and James Hanlon in 1845 in County Wicklow, Ireland. She came to Australia by 1855. Her siblings were Henry, William, Sutton, Alicia, James, Anthony and John.

Maria married Michael O’Connor when she was 27 years old in Victoria in 1872. They had eight children. Alice Jane 1873, Thomas 1875, Ellen 1876, Stephen William 1879, Bessie Sutton 1880, Wilhelmina Mary 1882, Amelia 1884 and James Francis Russell 1886.

From her husbands obituary (read here) the family first went to live at Port Fairy. In 1889 they came to Queensland and Michael selected 20,000 acres of Coongoola Station, calling it Longlands. They lived there for 20 years. Around 1912 Michael bought a portion of Bowenville Station calling it Brookvale and they moved there. Michael died in 1922.

Two of her daughters were living in the Tara District at the time of her death. Bessie Sutton had married William Thomas Sheehan of Clonard, Meandarra (they are also buried in the Tara Cemetery) and Alica had married Henry Roland Kewley who lived at Glenmona, Cabawin. Maria died at the residence of her daughter Mrs Alice Kewley, Undulla Creek.

Maria has no headstone to mark her grave.

Newspaper Article – Click here.

War Service File  –

Learn more about the Tara Cemetery here.