Thomas Little : Short Biography

Thomas Little was born on 1st January 1800 and Eliza Lally was born in May 1797.  They both appear in the 1821 census, living in the Townland of Carraroe, Parish of Lickerigg.  The rest of Eliza’s family were in Knockatogher, Parish of Killtullagh in the 1821 census.  Thomas and Eliza married.

Thomas, two of his brothers, Robert & William, Eliza’s brother, Michael Lally, and Matthias Glynn (another cousin?) signed up to join the East India Company Army in mid 1823 and arrived in Bengal mid 1824.  Eliza sailed with them.  All five rose to the rank of Sergeant but Thomas was the only survivor.  The other four men died before their 30th birthdays.  Thomas became involved with Charles Prinsep, the Advocate General of Bengal and became a shareholder in his Australian Association of Bengal.  In December 1837 Thomas, with Eliza and their children, servants, Indian cattle and horses and equipment, sailed for the Swan River, Western Australia, as Charles Prinsep’s agent to buy land and breed horses for the Indian market.

Thomas achieved Prinsep’s aims but left him in 1854 to set up on his own.  He had a large farm and was a major wine producer.  He was a JP and prominent in local horse racing and local organisations.  But Thomas’ claim to fame was his philanthropy, particularly his support for Catholic and Irish causes.  He supported the Sisters of Mercy from Dublin in their charitable work and he financed the building of their schools.  He gave the land for and largely financed the first Catholic Church in the Western Australian countryside.  He supported Irish immigrants and the groups of workhouse orphans by giving them each 100 acres of land. 

Eliza died in 1866 and Thomas in 1877.  He is still remembered today by many descendants of the Irish immigrants he helped.  That area of Western Australia is still noted for the strength of its Catholic population.  The church that Thomas built still stands today, as the Thomas Little Memorial Hall.

With the help of Kieran Jordan, Stephen Lally has published the biography of Thomas and his wife Eliza (Nee Lally). ' Thomas & Eliza Little - Irish pioneers in India and Western Australia, 1797 - 1877 ' It is 182 pages and available from amazon.