Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
William Burrows was transported on the Nile, departing 18th Sep 1857 and arriving 1st Jan 1858 with 271 passengers.
Nile (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/18, Page Number 230. UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records; Undated. |
| 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


IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: BURROWS, William; #4706, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1827 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Place: London, London, England Crime: Rape Sentence Period: Life Ticket of Leave Date: 23 Mar 1858 Conditional Pardon Date: 16 Apr 1863 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--


At some time before boarding the Nile for transportation to WA, he was brought back to Portsmouth, according to his WA Convict Record (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). He may have been held on the Defence hulk, moored at Portsmouth. Fire destroyed it in 1856 and "the convicts were dispatched to a temporary prison requisitioned from the navy at Lewes. The destruction of the Defence brought the convict hulk establishment in England to a close." (https://www.prisonhistory.org/) --0--


18 February, 1851: He was sent from Portland to board the Cornwall for Gibraltar (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records; Undated). --0-- No date: William Burrows is on a register of prisoners aboard the hulk Europa at Gibraltar; #1552, 22 years old, convicted 11 June 1849, first conviction, from Hanworth near Hounslow, single and a labourer (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Wm Burrows; Misc. Register of Prisoners; 1810-1822). --0--


1 July, 1850: William Burgess was received at Portland prison in Dorset; #1468, 22, single and a labourer. He was visited there by his mother Sarah Burrows on 23 October, 1850 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records; Undated). A male convict public works prison, Portland took prisoners who had already undergone periods of separate confinement at Millbank, Pentonville and specially contracted local prisons (https://www.prisonhistory.org/). --0--


24 August, 1849: He was sent from Newgate to Pentonville prison, also in London in Caledonian Road. "Opened in late 1842, for male convicts ideally aged 18-35 and with some promise, to serve a probationary period of 18 months before dispatch to the Australian penal colonies, their behaviour at Pentonville determined their place in the colonies (the best receiving tickets of leave). In 1849, however, the special status of Pentonville in the convict system was removed, and it became, like Millbank, a place for all male convicts to serve their probationary term (now reduced to 9 months), after which they would be transported or sent to a public works prison. This function continued more or less (notable exceptions including the reception of military prisoners in the 1860s, and the use of associated labour to enlarge the prison in the late 1860s and early 1870s) until the decision to remove it from the convict prison system in 1885 and hand it over to the local prison authorities.” (https://www.prisonhistory.org). --0--


TRIAL: 11 June, 1849 -- Old Bailey: "#1282. WILLIAM BURROWS was indicted for a rape on Elizabeth Craft. GUILTY. Aged 22.— Transported for Life" (https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/). Note: His Newgate jail record says his trial was on 15 June, before Baron Rolfe. --0--


IN JAIL: 5 June, 1849: William Burrows, 22, a labourer from Hanworth in west London, was admitted to Newgate prison in London. He had been committed for trial by WF Beadon Esq at Hammersmith on a charge of raping Elizabeth Craft (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Newgate Prison; Registers of Prisoners; to 1861). --0--