Daniel Connor (1831–12 January 1898) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

transported to the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

in western Australia, who would go on to become one of the wealthiest, and most successful men in the region. Daniel Connor was born in County Kerry, Ireland in 1831. Nothing is known of his early life, but on 20 June 1850, he was sentenced to seven years'

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

for sheep stealing. He arrived in western Australia on the on 30 August 1853. During his time as a convict he went by the surname Connors; Stephenson (1983) states that this was "to confuse researchers of his history in later years". Connor received his

ticket of leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Jurisdictions ...

on 11 August 1854 and his conditional pardon on 17 November 1855. In 1859, he married Catherine Conway (1835 - 1916). Connor worked as a

hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

until 1861, then bought land in Newcastle (now Toodyay), upon which he built a small store. He later purchased a number of other town lots and built upon a number of them. In 1870, he had a steam mill built, and over the next decade gained control over a number of large rural estates by lending money to the owners. He purchased the Freemason's Hotel in 1873. Connor became active in public affairs; he was a member (and chairman in 1880 Note that this letter was written by Connor himself.) of the Toodyay Road Board from 1871 until his death in 1898. He was also a member of the Newcastle Municipal Council and served on the Toodyay Education Board. During the 1880s, Connor sold many of his Newcastle properties and invested in land at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and Fremantle. In 1883, he bought the

Shamrock Hotel The Shamrock was a hotel constructed between 1946 and 1949 by wildcatter Glenn McCarthy southwest of downtown Houston, Texas next to the Texas Medical Center. It was the largest hotel built in the United States during the 1940s. The grand openi ...

. Later that year, his daughter Teresa married

Timothy Quinlan Timothy Francis Quinlan KSS (18 February 1861 – 8 July 1927) was an Irish-born Australian politician who represented the electorates of West Perth and Toodyay in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between 1890 and 1894, and 18 ...

, and Connor and Quinlan went into partnership. By the 1890s, Connor was one of the largest landowners in central Perth. When he died at his home on 12 January 1898, his estate was valued at over £76000. Connor's eldest son, Michael, who took the surname "O'Connor", presumably to obscure his convict parentage, became a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

Family

Daniel Connor fathered seven children by Catherine Conway: # Teresa, (1863–1904), married

, born 18 February 1861 ( Borrisokane Co Tipperary Ireland) died 8 July 1927, children: Teresa Gertrude, Daniel Alphonsus O'Connor born 16 February 1902, Eileen Mary, Mary Kathleen, and Patrick; # Michael, (1865–1940), married on 17 July 1896 to Beatrice Margaret Forbes born 20 June 1871, daughter of Col. Charles D'Oyley and Mary Louise (née Slade), children: Leo born 1889. Sent to Clongowes Wood Jesuit College, County Kildare, then studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin graduating in 1889, BA, MD, B.Ch. BAO. Returned to Western Australia in 1890 and a practice in Perth 1891. Appointed a health officer during smallpox outbreak until resignation 1907. Senior Physician Perth Public Hospital and Victoria Hospital, Subiaco. Chairman of Directors of Swan Brewery. Member Legislative Council for Moore district. Adopted the surname "O'Connor". # Daniel Edward, (1866–1928). Educated at Clongowes Wood Jesuit College, County Kildare, then studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, and was the first native born West Australian to qualify as a medical doctor. Married on 26 July 1891 to Elizabeth Jane Clune (1896–1902), children: Daniel Ignatius (1892–1967), Francis Xavier Aloys (1894–1941), Mary Patricia (1896–1918), Clement Augustine (1898–1917), Vincent Jeramiah (1900–1975); # Gertrude Blanche (1867–1878); # Monica, (1868–1958), married 1902 to Edward Joseph Hayes (1870–1929), children: Edward Daniel (1910–1879), Sheila Amorey Catherine, Eileen Mary Monica (1904–1987), Dorothea Mary Catherine; # Bernard Maurice, (1870–1932), married Teresa Jane Murphy, Children: Gerard Daniel Joseph O'Connor (1910–1993), Edward Desmond O'Connor (1912–2000), Arthur Patrick Kevin O'Connor (1912–1943), Maurice Bernard O'Connor; Mayor of Newcastle; Member of Board of Health 1901; Invested in Eureka Mine, Blackboy Hill goldfield; A founding member of Toodyay Club 1905; J.P.; Educ. Toodyay and Ireland. Adopted the surname "O'Connor". # Mary Angela, (1873–1948), married John Murphy. Children: Stanislaus (1906–1969).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Daniel 1831 births 1898 deaths Convicts transported to Western Australia Western Australian local councillors People from County Kerry Irish emigrants to colonial Australia People from Toodyay, Western Australia 19th-century Australian politicians