Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Matthew Flowers 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 233 (118). --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 |
Claims
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Convict Notes
From the "Convicts associated with Toodyay" database: Flowers, Matthew (1818- ) 4628 1858-01-01 Nile CWA: Mar; 5 chn; lab; semi lit Prot; receiving stolen goods prev conv 14 yrs; Perth, Fremantle, Toodyay, Northam (https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/). --0--
From his FREMANTLE jail record: FLOWERS, Matthew; inmate #4628, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: WALKER John Date of Birth: 1818 [see above] Marital Status: Married 5 children Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Derby, Derby, England Crime: Receiving stolen goods Sentence Period: 14 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 29 Jan 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 6 May 1861 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/).
IN WA: HIS AGE: There is some variation in his age across records. He is listed on arrival in WA as 40 and 24 when convicted on two main Convict documents (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department Estimates and Convict Lists (128/1 - 32); and Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). His jail records in England give his age when convicted as 24, suggesting his year of birth was 1831. --00--
8 September, 1857: Sent from Portsmouth, convict #26/3950, to board the NILE for transportation to WA. By this time, he had served 2 years 8 months 7 days of his sentence. Behaviour on the voyage "indifferent" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
12 May, 1857: PORTSMOUTH -- inmate #3950. 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) Matthew Flowers alias John Walker was listed as 24 when convicted, married with 5 children, able to read imperfectly, and a framework knitter by trade. Next of kin -- his wife Elizabeth Flowers of Sandy Lane, Nottingham (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1855-1858). --0--
10 January, 1856: DARTMOOR -- behaviour "exemplary" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --0--
26 January, 1855: LEICESTER County Gaol, Welford Road, Leicester -- served 11 months 15 days in separate confinement; behaviour "very good". “After a sentence of transportation 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, Wakefield, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails such as Leicester. --0--
4 January, 1855: DERBY County Gaol, Vernon Street, Derby -- served 22 days; behaviour "good". --0--
JAILS: 31 October, 1854: At ECKINGTON, committed to stand trial. --0--
NEWSPAPER reports of the trial: Compiled from reports in the Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal (5 Jan, p8), Derbyshire Courier and Sheffield Independent (6 Jan), and Derby Mercury (10 Jan, p8): "Matthew Flowers, 24, and William Smith, alias William Kerry, 26, were charged with breaking into the dwelling house of Robert Bond and stealing fifty-four pounds in money, fifty yards of woollen cloth, eighty yards of satin, fifteen yards of silk, and one linen handkerchief, on the 15th of October, at Bolsover, the property of William Barden. It appeared from the evidence, which was very lengthy, that on the evening of the 14th October the prosecutor, who is a travelling draper, arrived at the Blue Bell Inn, Bolsover, having in his possession the money and goods named in the indictment. He had put up at the same house for the last twenty years. The goods and the money were deposited in the parlour and the door locked. On the landlady getting up, about seven o’clock on the Sunday morning, she discovered that the house had been broken into and the goods and money mentioned had been taken away. On examination it was found that an entrance had been effected by ladder through the club-room window and so the thieves got down into the parlour. To trace the robbery to the prisoners it was proved that on Sunday, the 15th October about eleven in the morning, they went to the house of Mr Pagden, in Howard-street, Sheffield, stating they were very tired, having walked forty miles during the night. The prisoners showed Pagden some patterns of cloth, asking him if he wanted any for they knew a party who had some to sell; they went away and in a short time came back and asked Pagden if he could get a horse and dray to take them to Staveley; conveyance was obtained the same afternoon and they went to Staveley, accompanied by Pagden and driver. On arriving at Staveley, the prisoners got out and told the driver and Pagden to go to the Crown Inn, where they would follow them; they went there, and some time after were joined by the prisoners, who put two bundles into cart and they all drove towards Sheffield, on arriving at which place the bundles were conveyed to Pagden’s bouse, where they were found Inspector Sills, who also apprehended the prisoners at Staveley, through the information of Pagden. Flowers was previously convicted, in 1853, at the Sheffield sessions, and underwent a term of imprisonment in Wakefield House of Correction. Several witnesses were called to Smith's character. — Guilty. Flowers was sentenced to be transported for fourteen years; Smith to undergo four years’ penal servitude." (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) --00--