Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Edward Cliff 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 | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/15, Page Number 150 |
| 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
ADM 101/71/6 . Medical journal of the convict ship Thomas Arbuthnot for 30 November 1846 to 8 May 1847 by Henry Baker, RN, surgeon, during which time the said ship was employed in carrying prisoners to Port Philip. • Folio 1: Edward Cliff, aged 30, prisoner; sick or hurt, catarrh; put on sick list, 4 April 1847; discharged 14 April 1847 cured. ---------------------------------------------------- Convict Exiles Index. Edward Cliff, age 23, per Thomas Arbuthnot. Date of trial, 21/2/1845, at Northampton, sentence, 10 years, Charge, Felony (2nd conviction). Remarks: Exiles. -------------------------------------------------- PRAHRAN JUBILEE. PIONEER CELEBRATIONS Another old pioneer who received well-merited recognition was Mr Edward Cliff, who is now 85 years of age, and has been 66 years in Prahran. Previous to coming here he was in business in Geelong. The Prahan Telegraph, 31 Mar 1906. Death: CLIFF.—On the 24th June, at his residence. Cliff-street, South Yarra, Edward Cliff, aged 87 years. A colonist of 64 years. The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 25 June 1908. CLIFF.— In loving memory of our dear father, Edward Cliff, who departed this live on the 24th June, 1908, at Cliff-street, South Yarra. Though lost to sight, to memory ever dear. —Inserted by his loving children, Ada, Tom and Dave. The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 24 June 1909.
Edward Cliff was convicted of receiving stolen goods in 1845. It was his second conviction; two years earlier he had been sentenced to 6 months for larceny by a servant. Cliff married Ellen Holder in 1848. The had a number of children, but appear not to have registered all births. Ellen and Edward Cliff ran the Prince of Wales Hotel in Chapel St, Prahran until 1867, when Cliff was bankrupted. They then moved to Warrnambool, apparently operating the Merri River Tannery, before taking over the Temperance Hotel. Ellen and Edward Cliff separated in 1873, with Ellen continuing to run the Temperance Hotel and Edward moving back to Melbourne to run the Surrey Hotel in Collingwood. Their strained relationship was reported in local papers, with Cliff ordered to pay maintenance more than once. Cliff partnered with Louisa Agnes Lees and they had a number of children, four of whom lived beyond infancy. In 1906, Edward Cliff (living in Cliff St, Prahran) was recognised as the oldest living pioneer in the suburb, 85 years old and a "hale and hearty gentleman". He died in June 1908 at his home in Cliff Street, Prahran.