Hi janet123nz.

There were a few John and Margaret HEENANs in Victoria around this time.
Need Margaret's maiden name to help pick up their trail.

Margaret's maiden name was Kelly I think she was from County Clare in Ireland. The two eldest children were Patrick and Martin. Not sure where they were born but the next two Thomas and Margaret were born in Ballarat. A further son was born in NZ

John HEENAN and Margaret KELLY have covered their trail well.
Having searched all the Australian records the only thing I can find is the birth of their son, Thomas James HEENAN, born 1863 in Ballarat, Victoria.

There is no record of John and Margaret having a daughter named Margaret in Ballarat, or Australia. If you can give me the year of Margaret's birth I will search the records again as her birth may have been recorded under a different spelling than HEENAN.

I also searched the births in New Zealand but could not to locate the birth of their son you mentioned.

There were a few John HEENANs landed in Victoria but there was no Margaret with children named Patrick and Martin listed. It's possible they arrived in another state, or were recorded under a different name.

If you can include the birth years of their children Patrick, Martin, Margaret and their son born in New Zealand it may assist with further searches in the shipping records. Birth years for John and Margaret would also help to ID them on the passenger lists.

The more details you supply the more it will help other members willing to assist you with your research.

Here are the details I have regarding the Heenan family. The oldest two children were Patrick - born 1954 (don't know where) and died in Hokitika, Westland NZ in 1868 the result of an accident (age 14years)
Martin was born abt 1958 (don't know where) and died in 1916 (Westland NZ) He married Elizabeth Cupit Phelan.
Margaret was born in Ballaret in 1962 and died in Hokitika Westland NZ in 1934. She married John Jerome Breeze.
Thomas James was born in Ballarat in 1863 and died in Hokitika in 1921. He married Mary Cecilia Kearns.
David Alexander was born in Hokitika in 1866 and died in 1915 - in Hokitika Westland NZ. He married Alice Jane McGinity in Dunganville Westland NZ.
I have been given information which I have been unable to verify that John and Margaret and 2 children arrived in Melbourne on the Morning Light in January 1962. John was born about 1813 (died 11.6.1895 in Hokitika) and Margaret was born about 1927 (died 1898 in Hokitika, Westland NZ).

The "Morning Light" landed in Melbourne in January 1862 with 482 passengers.
There was only one HEENAN family recorded.
Their names and ages were recorded as:

John HEENAN - aged 45 years. (Born c1817)
Bridget HEENAN - aged 38 years. (Born c1824)
Ann HEENAN - aged 15 years. (Born c1847)
Mary HEENAN - aged 13 years. (Born c1849)
Bridget HEENAN - aged 11 years. (Born c1851)
Patrick HEENAN - aged 10 years. (Born c1852)

Does not tally with the information you have been given.
What do you think?

I think it is a different family. The names of the spouse and family do not tally apart from Patrick unless he took a new wife in Australia but I can find no marriage record there for him. As they were obviously chasing after the goldfields it has occurred to me that they may have gone to America first. Legend has it that there were originally two brothers who travelled around the goldfields selling leather goods to the miners etc there was another brother on the West Coast who was a boot maker William Joseph Heenan. He moved to Wellington and some of the other Heenana in the. West Coast were bootmakers and made other leather goods, so there may be some truth in that.

Have now discovered their son Martin was born in Geelong in 1858 and possible a. Patrick born bofore that time . Therefore they came to NZ with 4 children, provably into Port at Greymouth as their son David Alexander was born in Dunganville in 1865. I would love to hear from anyone who can help The smallest bit of info could be a big help to me.

Did not locate a birth for Martin HEENAN in 1858 but did find this one recorded under HENAGHAN.

Name: Martin HENAGHAN.
Born: 1859 Ashby, Victoria.
Father: John HENAGHAN.
Mother: Margaret KELLY.
Ref: Registry of Deaths, Victoria. Reg #2832.

May be of some interest to you.