The only information I had about James Hawkins on the Great Victoria's voyage to Moreton Bay in 1865-1866 was that he signed the petition to the Emigration Commissioner on behalf of two people. This indicated he may have been married.
There were three children born to James Hawkins and Eliza nee Luxton in Brisbane in the years soon after arrival. Looking back to English records, James Hawkins and Eliza Luxton's marriage was registered in the September quarter of 1865 in Exeter, Devon. There were quite a few newly-married couples on the ship.
The Hawkins family lived in Mt Gravatt near Brisbane for quite a few years. There are newspaper snippets showing their address was "Devonia" or Logan Road. James appears to have been a farmer and had a least a few sheep . He was proud to have raised a hawthorn tree on his property. He and his children donated various native animal remains to the Queensland Museum.
James Hawkins died in 1907, and was buried at South Brisbane Cemetery.
Eliza Hawkins died in 1922 and was buried in the same cemetery.
It is easy to trace Eliza's early years in England. She was the daughter of John Luxton and Grace Nicholls.
It is not as easy to identify the correct James Hawkins in England. The most likely one seems to be James Mumford Hawkins born in Berry Pomeroy, Devon, about January 1836, the son of James Hawkins (a brush maker) and Mary Ann nee Mumford.
Only one of James and Eliza's daughters married and had children.
