William Keast BATE arrived in NSW via the Malvina Vidal on 24 June 1853, with his wife Mary Ann NO(R)SWORTHY. They had married only months before in Plymouth, just before leaving England. The immigrant list for the ship stated that William was

* 25 years old
* a sawyer
* a native of Plymouth, Devonshire
* the son of Henry, still living at Plymouth, and Elizabeth
* a Methodist
* able to read and write
* without relations in the colony

Mary Ann was

* 24 years old
* a native of Plymouth, Devonshire
* the daughter of William, still living at Plymouth, and Mary
* a member of the Church of England

After a short time in Sydney, they settled in the Illawarra area, on the coast just south of Sydney, where they raised a family of eleven children:

1. Elizabeth Ann b. 31 Aug 1853
2. William John b. 13 Dec 1855
3. Mary b. 6 Nov 1857, d. 24 Dec 1857
4. Henry b. 1859, d. 1859
5. Rosina b. 8 Feb 1860
6. Mary Jane b. 20 Apr 1862
7. Henry Nathaniel b. 1864
8. Alice Louisa b. 1866
9. Richard b. 1869, d. 3 Oct 1888
10. Frederick b. 1871
11. Arthur b. 11 Mar 1877

Searching the IGI for Devon turned up no trace of William or his family. It was only when Roy Parkhouse in England sent me these details from the 1851 census of Devon, that I looked in Cornwall records:

Stonehouse Lane, Plymouth St Andrew
* Henry BATE, head, married, 52 yrs old, timber merchant, b. Langternglas, Cornwall
* Elizabeth BATE, wife, married, 49, b. ditto
* Henry BATE, son, unmarried, 25, publican, b. Devonport, Devon
* William BATE, son, unmarried, 23, lath maker, b. Turnchapple Devon

Searching the IGI, I found that Henry and Elizabeth's children were baptised in Cornwall, where the parents had married:

Henry BATE m. 13 May 1821 Elizabeth KEAST at Talland, Cornwall

1. Mary bap. 25 Dec 1823 Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Polperro, Cornwall
2. Charlotte bap. 25 Dec 1823 Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Polperro, Cornwall
3. Henry [no record found]
4. William Keast bap. 1 Jan 1829, Talland, Cornwall
5. Elizabeth bap. 29 Nov 1829 Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Polperro, Cornwall
6. Richard Keast bap. 2 Sep 1832 Talland, Cornwall
7. Nathaniel bap. 6 Jul 1834 Talland, Cornwall

William and Mary Ann remained in the Illawarra area for the rest of their lives. William was an alderman of the North Illawarra Council, and served as mayor on two occasions. His obituary was printed in the Illawarra Mercury on Wednesday 13 November 1901:

Death of Mr. W.K.Bate, J.P.

We regret very much having to announce the death of Mr. W.K. Bate, J.P., early on Monday morning. The late Mr. Bate has been a great sufferer from a complication of internal troubles for several months past, he some time back undergoing an operation in Sydney. Since then up to a couple of weeks ago he had been able to be about, but was never entirely free from pain. He at one time occupied the position of Mayor, and was an alderman for many years in the North Illawarra Council; was chairman of the local branch of the Freetrade Association; chairman of the board of directors of the Wollongong Gaslight Company; and a trustee of the Savings Bank of N.S.Wales. Up to the time of his death Mr. Bate was engaged in brickmaking, he being the first to introduce machinery into the district for the manufacture of up-to-date bricks. The funeral took place yesterday afternoon, Rev. H.Tate of Bulli , in the absence of the Rev. G. D'Arcy Irvine, officiating at the grave at the Church of England cemetery. Deceased was 74 years of age.

William's deceased estate file at the NSW Archives revealed that he owned several pieces of real estate in Wollongong, totalling £1373-0-0. His will left his entire estate to his widow.

Mary Ann died nine years later on 11 February 1910, leaving an estate of £328-12-7 divided between her children, except that her son William received only one shilling (what had he done wrong?).