Bella was born Bridget Tyrrell on 2 April 1853 in County Clare, Ireland (probably Ennistymon or near).
She stayed behind when her parents, Edward Tyrrell and Honora Foley left for Australia with their other children in Dec 1853. Her maternal grandmother brought her to Australia on The Caractacus which arrived in Melbourne 19 Feb 1858. She first married Walter Gorrick (b. 1851, Mangrove Creek, NSW) on 19 April 1876 in Cooktown, Queensland. Walter Jr. was born on 4 August 1877 in Charter's Towers, Queensland. Walter Sr. died in Noumea, New Caledonia on 13 April 1881 (steam ships sailed fortnightly from Sydney). Bridget and Edouard then married in New Caledonia in 1881 or 1882. According to The National Archives of Australia, Edward Joseph Bodot, 41, was naturalised as a British citizen on 15 May 1884 (ref: NAA: A712, 1884/B4120). The application says that he arrived in Australia on 4 Sep 1883 on The Precursor from Bordeux, France.
Edward gave up the Fitzroy Hotel when Bella/Bridget died of tuberculosis on 21 August 1884 after four months of illness. She was buried with her sisters Honora Tyrrell (d. 1932) and Jane Muir (d. 1922) on 22/8/1884 in the Roman Catholic section of Melbourne Cemetery grave T/268. No headstone remains.
It is not known who then took care of Walter Jr. He died in Young, NSW on 22 Aug 1952.
So what happened to Edward and what was his story?
