John Keady puts his Estate up for sale in 1854 with thoughts of moving back to Ireland.
After arriving in late 1841 with his wife, Honorah and four young children, John Keady certainly seems to be doing well in his new home by the mid 1850s.
In 1854 he places on the market his land known as the “Somerset Estate” which comprises 550 acres, just 6 miles from Melbourne. It is described as having a frontage of 1 mile along Sydney Road and 4 miles along the Merri Creek. The advertisement talks about Mr Keady selling up so he can return to his native land, but clearly this didn’t happen.
John seems to be doing exceptionally well from the description of the property. Well worth the read to see how John and the family were living.
The naming of his land, “Somerset Estate” provides one of the few clues as to his origins in Ireland. While many would immediately think of Somerset in England, Somerset is also the name of a small Townland in County Galway, near the town of Laurencetown. The connection is certainly confirmed with the baptism of his second son, Patrick, in Laurencetown on 8 April, 1837.
Imaging the value of this land these days !
Keady Family in Victoria 
Dear Philip, From my information (taken from a Memorial Book at the Registrar General’s Office in Melbourne some years ago), John KEADY did not sell the Somerset Estate in 1854 but leased 400 acres of it to Richard and Thomas GUEST at that time and sold it to Francis BELL in 1873 at just over 100% profit (see attached).
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Thanks, always wondered if he actually sold it.
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