Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Charles Austin was transported on the Hougoumont, departing 10th Oct 1867 and arriving 9th Jan 1868 with 281 passengers.
875 ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1852. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/on-this-day-in-history-australias-last-convict-ship-docks.htm ---------------------------- Incorrect Image ....This is a four masted steel hulled Barque in the drawing , im surprised Australian Geo didn't do a bit more research on this .......The Hougoumont was a works ship on the Forth Bridge Project in 1885 ....the one potrayed as a drawing in Aust Geo is the later version of this ship.....the photograph i have attached is the correct and original convict vessel. --00-- 1867 "The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn, and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land." Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 19 Dec 1867, p4, English Shipping, available on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271?searchTerm=hougoumont.
HougoumontReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, Page Number 241 (123). --0-- Edgar, W. (Bill) (2018), “The precarious voyage of her majesty’s convict ship ‘Nile’ to the Swan River colony, late 1857 – and the unexpected aftermath.” The Great Circle, 40(1), 20–43. |
| Source Description | This record is one of the entries in the British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Pro |
| Original Source | Great Britain. Home Office |
| Compiled By | State Library of Queensland |
| Database Source | British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database |
Claims
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Photos
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Convict Notes
From his Fremantle jail record: AUSTIN, Charles; inmate #9651, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1839 Date of Death: 28 May 1881 Place of Death: Perth, prison hospital, fever Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Bricklayer Literacy: Literate Sentence Date: 1866 Sentence Place: Maidstone Crime: Grievous bodily harm Sentence Period: 10 years (https://fremantleprison.com.au/).
IN WA: On arrival, as convict #9651 he was noted to be of "bad" character. His next of kin was now his father, Robert Austin, a bricklayer, at Chatham (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 9059-9598 cont., 9599-10128 (R15-R16)). --0--
5 October, 1867: Charles Austin was sent from Portsmouth to board the Hougoumont for WA (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Charles Austin; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1866-1868). --0--
14 March, 1867: He was admitted to Portsmouth prison, Cumberland Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire -- inmate #781. Aside from his name and number the only other entry is about his receipt and despatch for transportation (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Charles Austin; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1866-1868). Portsmouth, Portland, Chatham and Spike Island in Ireland were listed public works stations and the second stage in the penal process. After separate confinement, prisoners were “placed on work parties at various locations, most commonly naval stations, where maintenance of facilities was vital for the effective protection of Britain’s far flung commercial and military influences around the world. While there, attitude and behaviour were monitored closely. In theory, only after consistently positive reports was a prisoner moved on to the third stage of his incarceration—transportation.” (Edgar, p40) --0--
27 April, 1866: Admitted to Millbank prison, Westminster, London -- inmate #1874, aged 28 when convicted, a bricklayer and Private Royal Marines, Chatham; single; able to read and write imperfectly, Roman Catholic; convicted "Wounding with intent", 10 years' penal servitude. A notation says he was "placed in the penal class". Next of kin -- his mother, Emma Clarke of The Anchor (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Charles Austin; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1865-1866). “After a sentence of transportation was handed down, the prisoner entered into a separate stage where he was placed into an individual cell, isolated from others, apart from brief periods of exercise and attendance at chapel. However, no communication of any kind with other prisoners was permitted at any time. The philosophy behind this penal methodology had its provenances in the religious, monastic traditions; i.e., that in the isolation of his cell the malefactor would be able to contemplate the errors of his way, unadulterated by the negative influences of former contemporaries, and be reformed.” (Edgar, 2018, pp39-40) When first put into practice, the mandated period of separate confinement was 18 months. By the late 1840s, authorities had conceded that such conditions of imprisonment were “injurious to many prisoners’ mental health” and the stint was reduced to 12 months. Periods of separate confinement were reduced further “as a prisoner displayed good behaviour tendencies” (Edgar, p40). Millbank, Pentonville, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: March, 1866: Held at Maidstone County Gaol and House of Correction, County Road, Maidstone, Kent (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Charles Austin; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1865-1866). --0--
Newspaper report of the trial: "Charles Austin, a marine, was indicted for stabbing and wounding a woman named Crisp, with intent to murder her, at Chatham. That charge, however, was thrown out by the Grand Jury, and the charge on which which he was tried was one of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The Hon. E. Stanhope, conducted the case for the prosecution; Mr. Bibton defended the prisoner. Mr. Stanhope, in stating the case, said there could be no doubt about the fact of the wounding with a knife; the only question would be as to the intent, which was to be inferred from the nature of the wound and the prisoner’s expressions, and all the other circumstances of the case. It appeared that Outrid kept a public house at Sevenoaks, and one night in February last, after 12 o’clock, when the door was closed, the prisoner wanted to get in to have some liquor and when he was refused admittance became angry and kicked, knocked, and swore, and used angry expressions. The publican went to the door to send him away, and the prisoner took his knife out and stabbed him several times in the side, but, happily without inflicting a mortal wound. When the facts had come out thus far, the Lord Chief Baron asked if it was worth while going on with a charge of wounding with the felonious intent ..." (Canterbury Journal, Kentish Times and Farmers' Gazette, 17 March, p1) --0--
TRIAL: 12 March, 1866: Convicted at Maidstone Assizes and sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude for "feloniously wounding with intent to disable" (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for Charles Austin; England; Kent; 1866). --0--