The Scots have a long history of mobility. They moved to Ireland centuries ago and have shuttled backwards and forwards across the water so often that there is a population in Ulster called Scots Irish. The (now) Canadian province of Nova Scotia was literally "New Scotland" in North America. Neu Schottland in Pomerania was the home of once German but now Polish Scots.
Life in the Highlands was never easy but the period of history know as the Clearances was catastrophic for the ordinary people eking out a living as tenant farmers. The description of the Year of the Sheep sums up the plight of the crofters which can be found described in detail in several works collected by Google Books.
An early (and entirely unauthorised) migration of Scots to Moreton Bay was organised by the Rev John Dunmore Lang (a member of the NSW Parliament) in 1849. Three ships (Fortitude, Chasely and Lima) brought Presbyterian farmers and their families to the colony to reduce the evil influence of the convict (and catholic) Irish.
The Highland and Island Emigration Society (HIES) was set up by private subscription to alleviate destitution in the Highlands by promoting and assisting the emigration of Highlanders to Australia. Their passenger lists for the years 1852-1857 have survived and are organised by ship and by family. You can search them at the Scottish Archive Network. A privately-built site enables you to view details of whole families (or complete ships). Note that relatively few HIES ships came into Moreton Bay (which was not yet a separate colony) so your ancestors may have travelled overland from Port Jackson or Port Philip.
Life in the Highlands was never easy but the period of history know as the Clearances was catastrophic for the ordinary people eking out a living as tenant farmers. The description of the Year of the Sheep sums up the plight of the crofters which can be found described in detail in several works collected by Google Books.
An early (and entirely unauthorised) migration of Scots to Moreton Bay was organised by the Rev John Dunmore Lang (a member of the NSW Parliament) in 1849. Three ships (Fortitude, Chasely and Lima) brought Presbyterian farmers and their families to the colony to reduce the evil influence of the convict (and catholic) Irish.
The Highland and Island Emigration Society (HIES) was set up by private subscription to alleviate destitution in the Highlands by promoting and assisting the emigration of Highlanders to Australia. Their passenger lists for the years 1852-1857 have survived and are organised by ship and by family. You can search them at the Scottish Archive Network. A privately-built site enables you to view details of whole families (or complete ships). Note that relatively few HIES ships came into Moreton Bay (which was not yet a separate colony) so your ancestors may have travelled overland from Port Jackson or Port Philip.