Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
George Connolly was transported on the Hougoumont, departing 10th Oct 1867 and arriving 9th Jan 1868 with 281 passengers.
875 ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1852. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/on-this-day-in-history-australias-last-convict-ship-docks.htm ---------------------------- Incorrect Image ....This is a four masted steel hulled Barque in the drawing , im surprised Australian Geo didn't do a bit more research on this .......The Hougoumont was a works ship on the Forth Bridge Project in 1885 ....the one potrayed as a drawing in Aust Geo is the later version of this ship.....the photograph i have attached is the correct and original convict vessel. --00-- 1867 "The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn, and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land." Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 19 Dec 1867, p4, English Shipping, available on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271?searchTerm=hougoumont.
HougoumontReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, Page Number 260. Keith W Amos (1987), “The Fenians and Australia c1850-1880” at https://rune.une.edu.au |
| 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
From Keith W Amos (1987), "The Fenians and Australia c1850-1880", p360 (https//:rune.une.edu.au): Connolly, George, b. 1829, married to Ellen (b. 1835), Dublin, 4 chn: Margaret 17 yrs, Michael 11 yrs, Alice 6 yrs, Thomas 2 yrs; poplin weaver, Dublin, lit., RC, conv. Dublin 8/4/67: 'A weaver working for Messrs Pim and Co., Georges St - a centre in the F.B. actively engaged in preparing for the rising in March '67 - a quantity of ammunition found on him', treason-felony, 7 yrs p/s; Millbank prison (3516); Fremantle prison, West Guildford road party (9693); 11 letters home, character good. Record: (1) Would not accept appointment as constable, 1/3/69. (2) Granted TL, 23/2/71. TL work: Labourer for J. Noonan, Guildford, 4/- p.d., 24/2/71. Release: CP 13/3/71; sailed for Sydney on Rangatira 29/5/71, then to San Francisco 31/8/71. --0--
FOOTNOTE: 1867, 6 March: Prior to his trial before Chief Justice Whiteside in Dublin - as George Francis Connolly - he was held at Kilmainham Jail. That jail record gives his place of birth/place of last residence as Meathstreet, Trinity Place, Dublin. He was 37 years old, and born in 1830. He was transferred from Kilmainham to Mountjoy Prison on 21 May, 1867 (see Ireland, Prison Registers, 1790-1924; Dublin; Kilmainham 1850-1871).
1868, 10 January: On arrival in WA, he was listed as convict #9693, 38 years old, and a poplin weaver; married, with four children (see Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department Registers (128/40 - 43)). This record also contains his physical description. --00-- From his Fremantle Jail record: Date of Birth: 1828 [not disparity with jail records] Place of Birth: Dublin Marital Status: Married 4 children Occupation: Poplin weaver Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Dublin Crime: Treason Sentence Period: 7 years Ticket Leave Date: 23 Feb 1871 Conditional Pardon Date: 13 Mar 1871 Comments: One of 62 Fenians transported on the Hougoumont, the last convict ship sent to Australia. Its arrival at Fremantle on 9 Jan 1868 signalled the end of transportation to this country. Labourer. To New South Wales, 15 May 1871.
1867, 8 April: Tried and convicted for treason at Dublin Supreme Court. Between his trial in April and transportation 6 months later, George Connolly - along with 13 other Fenians - was held at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. Mountjoy, opened in 1850, was originally intended as the first stop for men sentenced to transportation… [who] would spend a period in separate confinement before being transferred to Spike Island and transported from there to Van Diemen’s Land” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountjoy_Prison). 1867, 6 July: From Mountjoy, George Connolly and the other "Government prisoners" were admitted to Millbank Jail in Westminster, London. It, too, served as a holding facility for convicted prisoners before they were transported to Australia. He is listed on the Millbank records as a silk weaver, 37, married, Roman Catholic, able to read and write imperfectly, convicted of treason and sentenced to 7 years. He had spent 3 months in “separate confinement” since his conviction. His wife - Ellen Connolly, of 7 Trinity Place, Dublin - had visited him in jail. 1867, 30 September: He was sent from Millbank for transportation on the Hougoumont (see UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners 1867-1868). --00--