Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
John 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 267 (136). --0-- 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 |
Claims
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Photos
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Convict Notes
FOOTNOTE: His brother Peter Connolly arrived in WA with him, aboard the Hougoumont. See his bio at https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/connolly/peter/68500. --0--
DEATH and INQUEST: "John Connolly, run down by a cab at Perth on Thursday, died in the Hospital on Saturday." (Evening Star, Monday 5 June, 1899, p2, at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203519989) -- "Fatal Cab Accident. Perth, Saturday. John Connolly, an old man, who was found bleeding from a wound in the head at the corner of Barrack-street and St. George's terrace a few evenings ago and who was taken to Perth hospital, has succumbed to his injuries. At the inquest this afternoon the evidence showed the deceased was knocked down by a cab driven by James Watts. The spot where the accident occurred is badly lighted and the driver called out but the old man did not hear him. A verdict of 'accidental death' was returned, no blame being attachable to the driver." (Albany Advertiser, Tuesday 6 June, 1899, p3, at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69912308). --0--
From the "Convicts associated with Toodyay" database: Connolly, John (1842-1899) 9694 1868-01-10 Hougoumont CWA: Unm; lit RC; convicted in Jersey; assault & highway robbery 10 yrs; Perth, Fremantle, York, Sussex, Wellington, Swan, Toodyay, Champion Bay; polisher, lab, sawyer, wood cutter, clearing, teamster, well sinker, road maker. Ancestry: General Register for Nos 9059 - 9598 cont., 9599 - 10128 (R15 - R16): P584: 9694 Connolly, John. Hougoumont. Working out of Toodyay a few months in 1877, well sinking for W. Padbury, Dandaragan. BDWA: Connolly, John. b. 1842, d. 3.6.1899, (expiree). Arr. 10.1.1868 per Hougoumont. Died in a collision with a cab. Trove: 1899 June: report of his accident (hit by cab) and later death. EP CEM: Inquest - Police Gazette 1899 pg 178 (https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/). --0--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: CONNOLLY, John; inmate #9694, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1842 Date of Death: 3 Jun 1899 Place of Death: Collided with cab Marital Status: Unmarried Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands Crime: Assault & highway robbery Sentence Period: 10 years Ticket of Leave Date: 25 May 1873 Certificate of Freedom Date: 25 Jun 1880 Comments: Polisher, labourer, sawyer, wood cutter, clearer, teamster, well sinker, road maker (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
5 October, 1867: He was sent to board the Hougoumont for transportation to WA. He took with him a reference to his behaviour while in Portsmouth as "fair". --00--
14 June, 1867: John Connolly was admitted to Portsmouth prison, Cumberland Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire -- inmate #1017 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for John Connolly; Portsmouth Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1866-1867). Portsmouth, Portland, 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--
19 December, 1866: He was admitted to Millbank prison, Westminster, London -- inmate #2668; behaviour "indifferent". Listed as 26 when convicted, single, able to read and write imperfectly, Private 69th Regiment. He was "Protestant on reception" but, on 31 January, 1867, this was altered to Roman Catholic. Next of kin -- parents [father Michael] living at 96 Thompson Street, Oldham Road, Manchester. Notation: "Same case as #2667" [Peter Connolly was also admitted to Millbank with him] (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for John Connolly; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1866-1867). At Millbank, John Connolly would have been held in separate confinement. “After a sentence of transportation [as well as 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. --0--
JAILS: 21 September, 1866: John Connolly, 26, was held at HM Prison, La Moye, Jersey, for 2 months 28 days (https://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org/collection/Details/archive/110279192). --0--
NEWSPAPER report of the trial: 29 September, 1866: From the South London Press, p2: "Garrotte Robbery by Soldiers.—Two privates of the 69th Regiment, John Connolly and Peter Connolly, brothers, were tried before the Royal Court of Jersey, Friday, on a charge of committing a highway robbery with violence to the person. One of the prisoners accosted Mr. Messeroy, tradesman, on the St. Aubin’s-road between 9 and 10 o'clock at night, and while he kept him engaged in conversation the other came up behind and grasped him around the neck, while the one in front took from him 1s. 6d., a handkerchief, and a gold scarf pin. As soon as prosecutor recovered from the half unconscious state he was left in by the prisoners, he proceeded to town and gave information to the police, by whom the prisoners were apprehended the same night, with the stolen articles in their possession. The Attorney-General, who prosecuted, pressed for a severe sentence, and the Court sentenced the prisoners to 10 years’ penal servitude. The prisoner Peter Connolly, on hearing the sentence, exclaimed, 'I’ll do that on my head.'" (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/). --0--
TRIAL: 21 September, 1866: John Connolly and Peter Connolly were convicted at the Royal Court of Jersey, St Helier, and sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude for assault and highway robbery (https://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org/collection/Details/archive/110279192). --0--