Richard Burgess

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Summary

Born
Dec 1829
Conviction
Burglary (house breaking)
Departure
Jun 1845
Arrival
Sep 1845
Death
Oct 1866
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Personal Information

Name: Richard Burgess
Gender: Unknown
Born: 14th Dec 1829
Death: 1st Oct 1866
Age at death: 36
Occupation: Unknown

Crime

Convicted at: Central Criminal Court
Sentence term: 15 years

Voyage

Departed: 7th Jun 1845
Ship: Marion
Arrival: 16th Sep 1845
Place of Arrival: Van Diemen's Land

Transportation

Richard Burgess was transported on the Marion, departing 7th Jun 1845 and arriving 16th Sep 1845 with 299 passengers.

Built 1834 at Calcutta. Wood ship of 684 Tons. The 1847/48 voyage sent to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) BUT also went on to Port Phillip Bay, Victoria where 300 exiles disembarked. (The newspaper source says they were from Millbank, Pentonville & Parkhurst prisons.)

MarionMarion (generic)

References

Primary SourceAustralian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 91, Class and Piece Number HO11/14, Page Number 296
Source DescriptionThis 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 SourceGreat Britain. Home Office
Compiled ByState Library of Queensland
Database SourceBritish convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database

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Convict Notes

Gail Robyn Newman avatar
81
on 9th May 2025

LIFE OF RICHARD BURGESS, THE NOTORIOUS HIGHWAYMAN AND MURDERER. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF, WHILE IN PRISON, SHORTLY BEFORE HIS EXECUTION, WHICH TOOK PLACE AT NELSON, N.Z., ON THE FIFTH DAY OF OCTOBER, 1860 - I became acquainted, with youths more advanced in years than myself. They were city arabs. Their predatory acts were principally confined to picking women's pockets, and I soon acquired such proficiency that I was pronounced perfect, until one evening at the Olympic Theatre my first mishap befel me. I was in the lobby when an old lady passed to go to her carriage. I followed her out, but being watched by A detective (unknown to me) I was taken in the very act off robbing her. But that she begged very hard for me I should have been transported, instead of which I received six month's imprisonment, to be flogged in and out by the birch. On regaining my liberty I found the best friend I had in the world, my mother, waiting for me as I passed through the prison gates. I soon returned to my evil ways and companions in crime, for the dissolute life I led prior to my incarceration suited my vicious ideas of life

Gail Robyn Newman avatar
81
on 9th May 2025

Richard Burgess, also known as Richard Hill, was born in London’s Hatton Garden in 1829, the illegitimate son of a lady's maid and 'someone connected with the Horse-guards'. When his father disappeared, Richard and his mother moved to the East End where he joined a gang of petty thieves called the 'City Arabs' at the age of 14. He was soon imprisoned and flogged for pickpocketing.