Ann, whose life ended in tragic circumstances, migrated to Victoria in 1854 aboard the Joshua at

twenty-five years of age. Like most migrants she left behind a loving family. In her case, parents, John and Phyllis Morse and three siblings.

When Ann had been living in Geelong for seven years she married George Powney who, like

herself, came from Wiltshire, England. Ann and George had four children in quick succession and raised a loving family while spending the next thirty years in Geelong. Family was very important to them and in 1890 they moved to Beech Forest to live out their lives with their adult children. Ann was widowed in 1894 when George died suddenly whilst visiting friends in Colac.

Despite this loss, she remained closely connected to her community. The Powney home was an inviting place where friends from Colac and Geelong were welcome to stay.

During one house party over the Christmas and New Year period, on New Year’s Eve, Ann raised the problem of satin birds eating her fruit with William Fulton. William, who had brought his gun with him offered to shoot some of the birds. Ann was very pleased when he later showed her a dead bird. Later after having a cup of tea and a smoke, he went out on to the verandah. Believing Ann was still in the house, seeing some birds and movement in the bushes he fired his gun.

Upon going to where the birds had been he was horrified to see Ann lying dead. She had been shot through the head and there being no sound heard, death was thought to be instantaneous. An inquest held before a JP and five jurors later found the shooting to be entirely accidental, bringing to a tragic close the life of a woman remembered as kind, sociable and devoted to her family.

Research by Raye Loughnan and Merrill O’Donnell
Story by Norma Bakker

© 2026 Colac & District Family History Group Inc.
All rights reserved.

Life stories have been researched and compiled by the Colac & District Family History Group Inc. and its independent contributors. This material must not be copied or reproduced without permission. AI tools have been used to assist.

For more information, please contact the Colac & District Family History Group Inc.