One clear sunny day at Todhills in a place called Glimerton in a Town called Liberton in the Shire of Edinburgh in the Country of Scotland, on the 16th of July, 1879 Lillias Telford and David Wightman were married .
"I now pronounce you man and wife, "said the preacher ... a wave of cheers came up from the guests all delighted of course, also waiting for the cake. The house was done up in style : flowers and ribbons hung on walls and on desks. Presents scattered all around the one room, a grand sight.
Four years later on the 1st of December, 1883, because the ill health of Lillias the couple with their 2 children left on the ship Sterling Shire which had departed Scotland from Greenoch on The Clyde bound for Australia. The ship was a barnacle covered beauty metal hold and with 2 funnels. Smoke started to come out of the black funnels. They were off .
The fares were for David 4 pounds, Lillias 2 pounds, young George 1 pound and baby David no charge . Before departure a rat was chewing on a rope . It snapped and the front of the boat started to drift sideways. It was recovered but slowly. The captain was nice and gave them a better room than the one they paid for and the two children and Lillias got extra food . They arrived 78 days later. (This was regarded as a fast trip) On the way unfortunately, poor baby David died at sea with the measles, this probably made Lillias feel even worse. Another 24 children died with suspected measles (those poor children).
Lillias was carried on and off the boat, not getting any better by Sydney. Later on Lillias got better now pleased that they had come to Australia. The weather was a lot better there and they lived there for the rest of their lives. George loved all the animals and liked to see all the beautifully colored birds such as the Rainbow Parakeet, the Kookaburra and the Tawny Frog-mouth .
