David/Christian Thompson : Short Biography

We have little factual knowledge of David Thompson before he arrived in Sydney, Australia - only from wedding certificates, but different lines of the family have snippets that may or may not be true. 

Here's the composite picture we've been able to piece together.  Born in County Down (maybe Saintfield area) in 1835, parents Samuel Thompson (farmer) and Sarah Kennedy, David was a merchant seaman who was said to have met his future wife, Mary McDonnell, on a journey to Sydney, Australia aboard the ‘Hotspur’ in 1852.

One branch of the family understood that he changed his name on arrival in Sydney, and as there no David listed in the crew of the ‘Hotspur’, but there is a crewman listed by the name of Christian Thomson, it is possible that this was the same person.

It is also believed that he was the youngest of 16 children.

David went on to purchase the Clifton Arms hotel at Clifton Gardens, Sydney, which he renovated and developed.  He turned the very large property into a seaside pleasure ground, with dance hall and outdoor facilities, and it became a very popular venue for picnics and leisure activities.  He also ran his own steamer, ‘Meteor’, from Circular Quay to Clifton Gardens for the benefit of patrons.

Quite a lot of information is available from the time he came to Sydney, but nothing has been found, despite extensive enquiry, about his origins in Ireland