Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
William Brightwell was transported on the Thomas Arbuthnot, departing 6th Jan 1847 and arriving 4th May 1847 with 289 passengers.
Built 1841 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Wood ship of 621 Tons. Thomas Arbuthnot, 1847. “The Thomas Arbuthnot convict ship, Captain Thomson, sailed from Spithead this morning for Port Phillip, with a superior class of delinquents, officially called “exiles.” These are the first “exiles” sent to the above settlement, which the inhabitants of that respectable place are very wroth at, and have memorialised the Government on the subject. The most ingenious trades and professions are carried on, on board this ship; in fact, we believe, all trades in vogue have their representatives on board. The most ingenious affair, however, is a newspaper in manuscript, published every Saturday, having its foreign and domestic correspondence, advertisements, and, indeed, all the necessary accessories to an apparently well-conducted journal. The articles are well written and the arrangements well made. The name of this paper is the Citadel, and the conductors dub the captain of the ship ” the governor.” The Citadel having no opponents enjoys a large circulation. The editor is a man who has been of considerable note in the legitimate literary world; but all names and circumstances in connexion with their present position is strictly preserved secret with regard to these “exiles,” the greatest majority of whom are juvenile offenders from Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) prisons.”—Times, January 12. Published in the Launceston Examiner, 2 June 1847. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36252218?searchTerm=Thomas Arbuthnot There was a lot of public criticism of the arrival of these “Exiles” in New South Wales, and of their treatment, by being offered training, etc, to the detriment of honest but poor labourers.
Thomas Arbuthnot (generic)References
| Primary Source | Pentonville Prison Register, National Archives UK, HO24 |
| 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
No one has claimed William Brightwell yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for William Brightwell.
Convict Notes
Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 10 December 2022), March 1845, trial of HENRY GRANT WILLIAM BRIGHTWELL (t18450303-777). HENRY GRANT, WILLIAM BRIGHTWELL, Theft > simple larceny, 3rd March 1845. 777. HENRY GRANT and WILLIAM BRIGHTWELL were indicted for stealing 1 wooden bowl, value 1d.; 1 halfcrown, 4 sixpences, and 1 groat; the property of William John Busby; and that Grant had been before convicted of felony. ELIZABETH BUSBY . I am the wife of William John Busby. We live at Clapham. Between eleven and twelve o'clock on Saturday morning, the 8th of Feb., I was in the back-parlour behind our shop, and heard the shop door shut—I ran into the shop, and saw no one—I looked over the counter, and saw the till had been robbed—a wooden bowl, containing some silver, a half-crown, and some sixpences, was gone—this if the bowl—I had seen it safe with the money in it ten or fifteen minutes before. ELIZABETH MARY WELLS . On that morning, between eleven and twelve o'clock, a young man said something to me—I opened the door, and picked up this bowl in my front garden, which is next door, but one to Mrs. Busby's. WILLIAM BARNARD . I am eleven years old. I saw Brightwell go into the prosecutor's shop that day, and Grant waited outside—when Brightwell came out, they both ran away together—the policeman ran after them—I am sure that Brightwell went in, and Grant waited outside, and then they ran away together. Grant. I will swear I was twenty yards from the shop. Witness. You were close against the door—I was at the corner of the next street. GEORGE MARGUARD (police-constable, V 197.) I saw the prisoners that morning near Vauxhall gate—I and Bent watched them—they went up and down several streets till they came to Larkhall-lane, where the prosecutor lives—they went sometimes on one side, and then on the other—I saw Brightwell enter Busby's shop, and Grant was outside—we hid ourselves, and I did not see Brightwell come out, but they both ran, and we pursued them—I saw Grant throw a half-crown and some other money away—one sixpence of it Mrs. Busby can swear to. ELIZABETH BUSBY re-examined. I believe this is a sixpence which I had placed in the bowl. THOMAS BENT (police-constable V 95.) I was with Marguard, and followed the prisoners that day up and down different streets, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other—I saw Grant walk to and fro by Mrs. Busby's door—I did not see Brightwell enter the shop—I saw them running, and Grant threw some money away. Grant's Defence. The officers state they saw me throw the money, and the boy says he saw me close to the shop; I wish to know if Brightwell could give me the money while he was running, and I was at a distance from him. Brightwells Defence. I never went into the shop at all. JOHN HETHERIDGE (police-constable L 35.) I produce a certificate of Grant's former conviction, which I got from the Clerk of the Peace for Surrey—(read—Convicted on the 5th of Feb., 1843, and confined six months)—he is the person. GRANT*— GUILTY . Aged 23.— Transported for Ten Years. BRIGHTWELL—* GUILTY . Aged 22.— Transported for Seven Years.
William Brightwell was hit and killed by a train at Footscray in 1888.