Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
John Birchall was transported on the Calcutta, departing 31st Jan 1803 and arriving 4th Oct 1803 with 305 passengers.
HMS Calcutta was the East Indiaman Warley (1795), converted to a Royal Navy ship. This ship of the line served for a time as an armed transport. She also transported convicts to Australia. The French Magnanime captured Calcutta in 1805. In 1809, after she ran aground during the Battle of the Basque Roads and her crew had abandoned her, a British boarding party burned her. In 1803 the Calcutta sailed into Port Phillip bay where at least 4 convicts escaped , in Sydney in April 1804 it was reported that 8 had died on the trip. Of the four known escapees one was shot on escape, 2 turned back after 2 days to reattach to the group at the camp in bay before the boat left , one continued on ...into Australia's history books. At least 13 convicts were transferred on to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Australia.The ship also carried officers, wives and free settlers.
Calcutta (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 87, Class and Piece Number HO11/1, Page Number 334 |
| 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 |
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Convict Notes
Robert Knopwood’s Diary. The Rev. Robert Knopwood sailed from England, on the Calcutta in 1803, and landed in Port Phillip with the prisoners. He later became the first chaplain appointed in Van Diemen’s Land, and was also appointed a Magistrate. He kept a diary, from 1805 -1808, which can be downloaded by following the links: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13550/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/13563/ Entry for Friday 19 Dec 1806. am. this morn engaged upon the bench and I had the following prisoners to try myself being the only acting Magistrate in the Colony Absent 8 weeks 300 Lashes. Tho. Tooms for absenting himself from Labour and Dog stealing. Absent 5 weeks, 200 Lashes. Burchall, ditto. Absent 3 weeks, Plunkett ditto. Absent 11 weeks, 300 Lashes Duff ditto. 100 Lashes, Crener, for Robbing Kennedy’s Garden. Entry for 20 Dec 1806. at 11 the punishment of the Prisoners took place. (The fact that he stole dog(s) is significant, as escaped prisoners could use the trained dogs to hunt kangaroo, emus, etc for food.) dogs were valued among the early settlers - Rev Knopwood offered a £10 reward when one of his dogs went missing.
Tasmanian Records. https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON22-1-1_0062 Ship Calcutta 1804, Ocean to VDL. John Birchall, Tried Chester. 23 Oct 1802, Life.
Colonial secretary Index. BIRCHALL, John. Per "Calcutta", 1803 n.d. - In index to land grants in Van Diemen's Land; listed as Burchall (Fiche 3262; 4/438 pp.6, 11) 1819-22; 1823 - On list of persons owing quit rents in Van Diemen's Land; for land in the District of Gloucester. Also listed as Burchall (Fiche 3270; X19 pp.3, 11) 1823 Feb 7-Mar 5 - Of Pittwater. Thomas Newby convicted by Court of Criminal Jurisdiction of forging promissory note drawn on Birchall (Reel 6023; X820 p.81)
On the 4th May, at Marsh Farm, near Sorell, JOHN BIRCHALL, Sen., aged 92 years. Friends are respectfully informed that the funeral will take place on Wednesday, 9th May, at two o'clock. Hobart Town Daily Mercury, 8 May 1860.
This from the research of Shirley Elrick: John Birchall c.1779-1860. Aged 23 at the time of his trial he was a native of Woore, married with four children. He was the son of James and Elizabeth Birchall, tenant farmers of Woore Hollows. One of five children, he was baptised at Woore on May 6th 1779. Birchall was tried at the City of Chester Pleas of Sessions on October 23rd, 1802, for the theft of five pounds' worth of goods, the property of Thomas Benbow and for breaking gaol on October 31st 1802. He was retaken in London on April 24th 1803. At his trial he was acquitted of theft but sentenced to death for breaking gaol. He was reprieved and sentenced to transportation for life. Gaoled in Chester Castle, he was transported to the Captivity, a hulk moored at Portsmouth. He is mentioned in the Hobart musters of 1810, 1818, 1819 and 1823. He was granted a conditional pardon in June of 1810 and freed in 1818. Granted 55 acres of land at Pitt Waters, he purchased 400 acres in 1819 and employed seven servants. A further 433 acres were added to his property in 1831. He contracted to supply the commissariat and the military with large quantities of grain and meat. He married Sussanah Bellett on October 24th,1809. She was the daughter of a Jacob Bellett, a First Fleeter from Norfolk Island. They had nine children between 1812 and 1819. Their eldest son, James, the first native-born white child, married Sarah Reardon the daughter of a neighbour, Bartholomew Reardon who was also a First Fleeter. Birchall acted as a district constable for the Pitt Water district until 1819. He built a schooner which he used to carry passengers and goods across the lagoon between Pitt Water and the opposite bank. He was absent from work for five months in 1806 and stole a dog. For these misdemeanors he received 500 lashes. In 1818 he was tried for beating a prisoner but there was insufficient evidence to convict him. Later in 1818 he was removed from his duties as a constable. He was buried on May 9th, 1860
Married in Hobart and Had 12 Children