[Index]
Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN (1820 - 1877)
nurse, midwife, hostess of 'Grant Inn'
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Arthur WEBB (1841 - 1912)
Catherine WEBB (1842 - 1892)
Thomas WEBB (1845 - 1934)
Eleanor Ellen WEBB (1847 - 1923)
John WEBB (1847 - 1908)
Mary WEBB (1850 - 1930)
Walter WEBB (1852 - )
Julia Alice WEBB (1855 - )
Richard WEBB (1860 - )
William WEBB (1860 - )
Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN (1820 - 1877)

+

John WEBB (1818 - 1891)
Walter HOOLIHAN











Bridget DOWLAN











Julia

Julia
Julia Julia
b. abt 1820 at Co Kilkenny, Ireland
m. 1840 John WEBB (1818 - 1891) at Co Kilkenny, Ireland
d. 01 Sep 1877 at Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia aged 57
Near Relatives of Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN (1820 - 1877)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Father in Law Tobias WEBB
Mother in Law Eleanor BLANCHFIELD

Father Walter HOOLIHAN
Mother Bridget DOWLAN

Self Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN abt 1820 Co Kilkenny, Ireland 01 Sep 1877 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 57

Husband John WEBB 1818 Co Kilkenny, Ireland 19 Nov 1891 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 73

Son Arthur WEBB 1841 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 30 Sep 1912 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 71
Daughter Catherine WEBB 1842 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 29 Nov 1892 Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia 50
Son Thomas WEBB 1845 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 23 Feb 1934 Auburn, New South Wales, Australia 89
Daughter Eleanor Ellen WEBB 1847 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 27 Jul 1923 Newtown, New South Wales, Australia 76
Son John WEBB 1847 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 1908 Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia 61
Daughter Mary WEBB 1850 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 28 May 1930 Marrickville, Sydney, Australia 80
Son Walter WEBB 1852 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia
Daughter Julia Alice WEBB 1855 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia
Son Richard WEBB 1860 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia
Son William WEBB 1860 Ginninderra, ACT, Australia

Son in Law William MCMAHON abt 1832 Park Hill, Co Fermanagh, Ireland 01 Jul 1891 Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia 59
Daughter in Law Ann MCINNES 1847 Reedy Creek, Acton, New South Wales, Australia 10 Dec 1874 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 27
Son in Law John James BREEN 1851 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 30 Nov 1932 Newtown, New South Wales, Australia 81
Daughter in Law Margaret SHEEDY 1845 Yarralumla, ACT Australia 09 Jun 1901 Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia 56
Son in Law John NOONAN

Grandson William MCMAHON 1865 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Ellen MCMAHON 1867 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter John MCMAHON 1868 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Arthur MCMAHON 1870 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia 1870 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia 0
Granddaughter Julia MCMAHON 1872 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Francis MCMAHON 1874 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Thomas MCMAHON 1875 Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Kate WEBB 1870 1870 0
Grandson John WEBB 1873 Canberra, ACT, Australia 02 Apr 1917 France 44
Granddaughter Margaret Mary BREEN 1879 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson John WEBB 1883 1884 1
Grandson Walter WEBB 1883 1883 0

Nephew George HARDY 1857 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1863 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 6
Niece Mary HARDY 1857 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1857 0
Niece Mary Ellen HARDY 1859 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 20 Oct 1927 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 68
Nephew William HARDY 1861 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 14 Aug 1940 Sutton, New South Wales, Australia 79
Nephew Philip HARDY 1864 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 29 Mar 1939 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 75
Nephew Charles HARDY 1866 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 07 May 1928 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 62

Sister in Law Mary Ellen WEBB abt 1823 Co Kilkenny, Ireland 04 Nov 1908 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 85
Events in Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN (1820 - 1877)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
abt 1820 Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN was born Co Kilkenny, Ireland 6
1840 20 Married John WEBB (aged 22) Co Kilkenny, Ireland 6
1841 21 Birth of son Arthur WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 6
11 Mar 1841 21 Immigration Sydney, New South Wales, Australia per 'Portland' 6
1842 22 Birth of daughter Catherine WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 6
1845 25 Birth of son Thomas WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 6
1847 27 Birth of daughter Eleanor Ellen WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia twin 6
1847 27 Birth of son John WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia twin 6
1850 30 Birth of daughter Mary WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 6
1852 32 Birth of son Walter WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 6
1855 35 Birth of daughter Julia Alice WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia 6
1860 40 Birth of son Richard WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia twin 6
1860 40 Birth of son William WEBB Ginninderra, ACT, Australia twin 6
01 Sep 1877 57 Julia 'Judy the Great' HOOLIHAN died Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 6
Source References:
6. Type: Book, Abbr: Queanbeyan Register, Title: Biographical register of Canberra and Queanbeyan: from the district to the Australian Capital Territory 1820-1930, Auth: Peter Proctor, Publ: The Heraldry & Genealogical Society of Canberra, Date: 2001
- Reference = 330 (Name, Notes)
- Reference = 149 (Death)
- Reference = 149 (Birth)
- Reference = 330 (Marriage)
80. Type: Web Page, Abbr: Hall Museum, Title: Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, Locn: https://museum.hall.act.au/
- Reference = https://museum.hall.act.au/display/1939/person/2060/julia-judy-great-webb.html (Name, Notes)
- Notes: Julia 'Judy the Great' Webb

Born: c. 1820; Died: 1877; Married: John Webb

Julia 'Judy the Great' Webb
Related Places
Glenwood
[work in progress]

Julia Webb, born in 1820 in Kilkenny, Ireland, arrived in this district with her husband John in 1841. She was the daughter of Walter Hoolihan and Bridget (nee Dowlan). Pregnant with the first of their ten children (eight survived), she and John came as free settlers, under a sponsored Bounty system. On their documents John is listed as a labourer, and Julia, a nurse. Both could read, but not write.

Like other free settlers of the Catholic faith they were welcomed by James McCarthy of 'Glenwood', Ginninderra. Several of the Webb children were born on this property and the others at properties where John worked as a farm labourer.

Julia was a district midwife reputed to have never lost a case. She was a capable nurse too, setting broken limbs and stitching up wounds. She also laid out the dead, an essential service. She was much loved and respected in early Canberra.

But it is for her other business, as the hostess of the 'Grant Inn', situated near the present suburb of Dunlop, that she is also known. Without a liquor licence, and known locally as 'Judy the Great', Mrs Webb ran a 'sly grog shop' out of her slab hut. As her shop was off the beaten track and loved by locals, she was able to operate for many years with impunity and little fear of legal action.

In 1854 she placed an advertisement in the Goulburn newspaper explaining why she had to increase the price of her drinks. It appears a carter tipped over the dray, and, not wishing to waste the liquor, he drank most of it! In this advertisement Julia calls herself – 'Judy the Great'! Considering her contribution to the fledgling communities in the area, especially in the Ginninderra region in the 1860s, until her death on the 1 September 1877, Mrs Julia Webb was truly 'great'!

Many of her customers were ex–convicts who worked as shepherds and farm labourers for the big landowners. In the 1850s, Julia, with a very young family and a household to run, still provided a warm and friendly environment, even if it was against the law.

Judy was forced to close down after a conviction at Queanbeyan Police Court and was fined £30 (half of which was claimed by the unpopular informant). 'Judy the Great' went to live at Springbank where she continued providing people in the Canberra district with nursing services. 'Springbank', was where Julia, aged forty in 1860, had the last of her children, her second set of twins, William and Richard. Sadly both boys died soon after their birth.

Julia, who died at the relatively young age of 57, of 'fatty degeneration of the heart', is buried with the twins in the Riverside Cemetery, Queanbeyan. But they are not mentioned on her handsome gravestone bought by public subscription.

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