Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
William Clarke 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 246. --00--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 |
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Convict Notes
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: CLARKE, William; inmate #4718, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: CLARK Date of Birth: 1822 Date of Death: 23 Aug 1858 Place of Death: Guildford Road [no further details given] Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Warwick, Warwick, England Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 6 years penal servitude Previous Convictions: Yes (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
10 September, 1857: Although only sentenced to 6 years' penal servitude, he was sent from Portland to board the Nile on this day. No other convict on the list of prisoners from Portland had been sentenced to less than 14 years (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
25 March, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison, Grove Road, Portland; inmate #6910. Listed as 33 when convicted, single, Protestant, able to read and write imperfectly, labourer, in good health. Next of kin -- his father William Clarke Snr, labourer, of Wellesbourne, Mountford, Warwickshire (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). Portland, Portsmouth, 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--
JAILS: 25 February, 1856: Admitted to Leicester County Gaol and House of Correction, Welford Road, Leicester -- served 13 months in separate confinement; behaviour "very good". On a daily basis, the average number of prisoners there was 210 in 1853 and 224 in 1858 (https://www.prisonhistory.org/). “After a sentence of transportation [or penal servitude, it seems] 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 such as Leicester. —0—
TRIAL: 15 October, 1855: William Clarke was convicted at Warwick and sentenced to 6 years' penal servitude for larceny from the person. He had two previous convictions, one in 1851 for stealing. For this he received a sentence of transportation for 7 years but was given a Ticket of Leave (from Portland jail record). --0--
COMMITTAL: 29 September, 1855: Committed to stand trial at Warwick (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). --0--