Thanks Jean- I suspect you have found the link I needed! Was it common for a young man from IOM to go looking for work in Liverpool, and then go alone to the other side of the world? He was following the Gold Rush of the 1850s I presume. Maryborough was a noted goldrush town. Would he have had his parents' blessing? So many questions! Interestingly, my gg grandfather on the other side of the family left London as a 14 year old to sail the seas, and never returned home as far as we can tell.