The following information is taken from a family history of a Murphy family of County Cork, from whom I am a descendent, on my father's mother's side. Patrick Murphy died in 1846 leaving a widow Mary and five children.
John KENNEDY was a pauper living in the Enniscorthy Union Workhouse when he met Mary Murphy and they married in 1848. In 1849 Kennedy renewed his acquaintance with a Catherine Timmons whom he had courted before he met Mary Murphy. Timmons is said to have queried him on his marital status and was told that he had been married twice and both wives were deceased. On 14th January 1850 Kennedy and Timmons married. A short time later authorities were given information regarding Kennedy's bigamous marriage.
On 12-13th April 1850, Kennedy's committal hearing was heard at Wicklow before Thomas Derenzy. Part of the charge statement read "He does not wish to say anything and has declined to sign this statement. He now says he was drunk when married to Catherine Timmons and did not know what he was doing, or did not know the differences of it". Kennedy was found guilty on the 4th July 1850 and sentenced to seven years transportation.
In 1852 Mary Kennedy (Murphy) presented two petitions for Kennedy's early release based mainly on his family obligations to her and her children. Both petitions failed and a letter from the Governor of the Prison to the Inspector General noted a "prior conviction for sheep stealing" and "he was in good health and well behaved in prison". Kennedy promised Mary that if he was sent overseas, as soon as he received his ticket of leave he would make application for her and any of her children who wished to accompany her, to join him.
Kennedy was then assigned to the Phoebe Dunbar and arrived in the Swan River Colony on the 13th August 1853. Kennedy received his ticket of leave on the 21st July 1854 and made application for Mary and Eliza Kennedy (daughter), and Mary's children by her former marriage, Margaret(19), Phelix (20), Patrick (16), William (13) and Michael(11). The family sailed from Southampton on the Berkshire on the 15th November 1854. The passenger list showed all the above names except for Eliza. All the Murphy's travelled under the name of Kennedy and reverted to Murphy on arrival, although they sometimes used the name of Kennedy.
The Berkshire arrived in WA on the 13th March 1855 in the searing heat of summer. The family were taken to the Swan District Depot and from there travelled to Newcastle (Toodyay) to be reunited with Kennedy. The reunion was marred by seeing how Kennedy had changed and his telling of the horrific events of his imprisonment aboard the Phoebe Dunbar. The family celebrated when Kennedy received his conditional pardon on the 2nd August 1856. Margaret Murphy married Edward O'Dea, an Irish convict, on the 25th September 1859 in Toodyay. The family approved and were happy for her.