Steley, Maria, 1848-1869.

Maria Steley was born to Leah and Abel Steley on 29 December 1848 in Monmouthshire in the south of Wales . The Steley family emigrated to Queensland when Maria was fifteen, leaving Liverpool 6 October 1863, on board the "Ariadne," arriving Brisbane January 1864. The family included Maria's mother and father, her four younger brothers and her younger sister Mary Leah. The Steley family were the only assisted emigrants from Wales on board ship. The ship and those aboard were quarantined until February 1864 due to measles.

After arriving in Brisbane, the Steley family lived first in Rockhampton with Maria's older sister Maltilda, who was already living in Australia with her husband and children, and then Maryborough, where Maria's father Abel Steley was involved with the Burrum Coal Mine. Maria Steley died on 14 November 1869 at the age of 20. She was killed in a horse riding accident as she was riding home after a visit to Agnesvale Homestead, west of Maryborough. She was buried at Agnesvale Station the following day.

Information sourced from: 1869, The Maryborough Chronicle, 18th November, p. 2 ; 1870, Queensland Police Gazette, 5th January,p.8; 1982, Queensland Country Death Index, 1856-1894. Registrar General's Office, Brisbane; and Hassam, A. 1995, No Privacy for Writing: Shipboard Diaries 1852-1879, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.

From the description of OM71-14 Maria Steley Diary, 1863-1864. (Libraries Australia). WorldCat record id: 755759097