Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Henry Cooper was transported on the Claudine, departing 19th Aug 1829 and arriving 6th Dec 1829 with 180 passengers.
The 'Claudine' was an East Indiaman built in Calcutta in 1811 from teak wood with a tonnage of 452 tons. In 1820 she ran from London to Hobart Town, Sydney, Batavia and back to England. After leaving Sydney on 10 May 1820 under the command of John Welsh, she discovered the Claudine Reef in the Coral Sea, before making her way past Murray Island in Torres Strait on her way to Batavia. The Claudine made two voyages to Australia as a convict transport. Departing Woolwich 24 August 1821 mastered by John Crabtree with Henry Ryan as ship's surgeon. She arrived in Port Dalrymple, van Diemen's Land after a passage of 113 days via Teneriffe, on 15 December, landing 40 convicts. She then sailed on to Hobart Town and landed the remaining 119 male convicts, one prisoner having died en route . On 24 August 1829 the Claudine departed London, arriving in Sydney on 6 December 1829 after a voyage of 104 days; her Master was William Heathorne, the surgeon William H Trotman. On this voyage she sailed with 180 prisoners and their guard; two prisoners died en route. she then sailed on to Madras on 30 December. The Claudine returned to merchant service and on Monday 21-22 November 1840 under the command of captain Brewer was deliberately beached with another East Indiaman 'Westminster' during a storm off the Kent coast near Margate. This stranding was the subject of a famous engraving by William Henry Bartlett and a pencil and chalk sketch by J.M.W. Turner. The 'Westminster' successfully unloaded 6000 chests of tea into two steamers which delivered it to the East India Docks and was refloated on 7 December. 'Claudine' which was beached onshore unloaded into 200 carts the following day 23rd November and was then refloated on a spring tide after 7 December. Both ships having been dismasted in the storm, were repaired and put back into the trade. The Claudine appears to have been sent to the wreckers in 1849.
Claudine (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 89, Class and Piece Number HO11/7, Page Number 175 (90) |
| 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
1829 - New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents. Claudine - 1829 Indent No; 155 Name; Henry Cooper Age; 30 years. single Native Place; Wilts Trade or calling; Ploughman Offence; Returning from transportation Trial; Winchester - 2 March 1829 - Life. 2 former convictions Height; 5 ft 8 1/2 in Mars; Scar left side upper lip. Assigned; Establishment, Wellington Noted against name; TWICE. Here formally same name per Mangels 3 - 1824. Sentence; 7 years. 1840 - Sydney Gaol Entrance Book. 4 April 1840. No; 648. Offence; Attempt to Escape from Colony. Trade; Seaman. Transported - 14 years 1840 - The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Tue 14 Apr 1840. Page 2. Sydney Quarter Sessions. The four men, Henry Cooper, Zacharia Williams Thomas Ware, and Benjamin Rolins, were indicted with trying to effect their escape from the Colony they being prisoners of the Crown. Inspector Goodwin, of the Water Police, stated that he found the prisoners on board the American ship France and that when they were taken, the prisoner Rolins jumped overboard and said he would swim for it, he was afterwards taken by the Water Police boat. Mr. Rogers, clerk in the Superintendent's office, stated that Williams, Ware, and Cooper absconded from Garden Island some time ago, and that Rolins was an assigned servant to Colonel Wilson. The prisoners in their defence, gave a paper over to the Clerk of the Court, wherein it was stated that they met the Captain of the American ship FrancĂȘ near to a public house, that he asked them to go on board, but they denied ; he then took them to a public-house and made them tipsy and coaxed them to go on board, saying that he would bring the boat himself for them. When they got on board he gave them some drink, with something mixed in it, which sent them to sleep, and they slept a considerable time. When the prisoner Williams awoke he found himself on a locker in the cabin, and the captain told him the police had been looking for them They stated the Captain had decoyed them on board the ship, but that they never intended to go if they could avoid it. Mr. Goodwin gave Williams a good character; but stated that nothing was said at the Police-office about the Captain decoying them. Inspector Ryan also gave Williams a good character ; and Colonel Wilson's overseer gave the prisoner Rolins a good character for behaving him- self during the while he was a servant at Colonel W's. The Chairman found them guilty, and passed a sentence of fourteen years on them saying, at the same time, that he would try to get Williams' sentence mitigated to five years and the sentence of the others to seven years. It appears that Cooper made his escape before and was found out in England and sent to Norfolk Island for life; but that conducting himself well, he was allowed to come to Sydney.