The precious photo that journeyed across the sea
This post is part of my A to Z Challenge series on migration journeys---exploring the routes, reasons, and realities behind the movement of people to and within Australia. In this installment, I focus on a precious keepsake that travelled with a young migrant, while saving the full story of her journey for a later post.
When Martha Sarah Ellis left England aboard the brand new SS Nairnshire in 1889 with her sister Kate, she couldn’t bring much. The sisters travelled on what was colloquially known as a “bride ship”—one of the British government-sponsored passages intended to bring young women to the Australian colonies to work or marry. Each woman could carry only what would fit in a modest travel case. Clothes, perhaps a Bible, a small token or trinket. For the sisters, this included a single cherished photograph of their late mother, Martha Bartlett.
Photographer thought to be Richard Ellis, Mortuary Photograph of Martha Ellis nee Bartlett circa 2 September 1880, Lurline Marshall's private photo collection an identical copy also held in Sandra Williamson's private photo collection.[T097]
This photograph has been passed down through our family, long treasured as a portrait of my 2nd great-grandmother. But on closer examination, I came to believe it was actually a Mortuary Photo, a memento taken after her death in 1880. The signs are subtle but telling: the unnaturally dark pupils, the stiff bow framing her serene face, and the quiet stillness of the composition. The eyes appear to have been added later, and splicing marks are visible when the image is magnified.The photo may have been the work of Martha’s uncle Richard Ellis, a photographer who began his career in Malta taking post-mortem photographs for grieving families. He would have had the skill to produce such a piece, especially if done as a favour for his brother Alfred (Martha's father), who was likely unable to afford it himself at the time.
Post-mortem photography was a common and cherished practice in the Victorian era, when photographs were rare and expensive. For many families, a mortuary photograph might be the only image they would ever have of a loved one, particularly in cases of child mortality. These photos served as precious keepsakes and mementos of the deceased, allowing families to preserve the memory of those they had lost in a time when death, especially from illness, was a much more frequent visitor to the family home than it is today.
For Martha Sarah Ellis, making the long journey to Western Australia at the age of 19, that photo may have been one of her few tangible connections to her mother and her past life in England. A simple keepsake, but filled with love, grief, and memory.
I’ll be exploring Martha’s migration journey more deeply in my upcoming post for “M is for Matrimonial Opportunities: Bride Ships”, where I’ll delve into the government’s plans to bring women to the colonies and what those voyages meant for the women aboard.
Thank you for reading another piece from my A to Z Challenge on migration. Each post explores a small detail or moment from the journeys my ancestors, and others, took to find their way to Australia. From tin to timeline, these stories bring the past to life.
Useful Links for Background
Arriving in Fremantle aboard the SS Nairnshire
Blog Post Meta Data
The URL for this post is https://ancestralresearchjournal.blogspot.com/2025/04/k-is-for-keepsakes.html originally published on April 2025
Author 2025, Sandra Williamson
Sources:
* Shipping Records for the 'Nairnshire', Page 3 Passenger listing, 8 Oct 1889; Passenger and Crew Lists (State Records Office, Western Australia. [Copy of the original record provided via email by Tom Reynolds from the State Records Office of Western Australia on 8 February 2013
* Anon, 'The S.S Nairnshire.', The West Australian, 24 September 1889, p. 3, Col.1, viewed 09 Feb 2017
* Anon, 'ENGLISH SHIPPING NEWS.', Western Mail , 28 September 1889, p. 22, Col.3, viewed 09 Feb 2017
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