Daniel Connor (183112 January 1898) was an Irish convict

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...

to colonial 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 County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, Ireland in 1831. Nothing is known of his early life, but on 20 June 1850, he was sentenced to seven years' transportation for sheep stealing. He arrived in Western Australia on on 30 August 1853. During his time as a

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 convicts ...

he went by the surname Connors "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 United Kingdom, Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. ...

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 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 list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. In 1883, he bought the Shamrock Hotel. Later that year, his daughter Teresa married

Timothy Quinlan Timothy Francis Quinlan (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 1897 and ...

, 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 £76,000. Connor's eldest son,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, who took the surname ''O'Connor'', presumably to obscure his convict parentage, became a

Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Following are lists of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament s ...

Family

Daniel Connor and his wife Catherine, née Conway, had three sonsthe eldest, Michael, became a politicianand four daughters, the eldest of whom, Teresa, married the businessman and politician

General references

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Daniel 1831 births 1898 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians Businesspeople from County Kerry Convicts transported to Western Australia Irish emigrants to colonial Australia People from Toodyay, Western Australia Settlers of Western Australia Western Australian local councillors O'Conor dynasty