Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
John Hall 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 242. --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. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26783779 |
| 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
NOTE: In the summary window, only the year of birth is listed, i.e. 1837, as shown in records consulted. Disregard the day and month (01/01). The year will not register unless a day and month are provided in the window.
From his FREMANTLE JAIL record: HALL, John; inmate #9754, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1837 Date of Death: 7 Nov 1872 Place of Death: Champion Bay, natural causes Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Manchester Crime: Receiving stolen goods Sentence Period: 12 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket Leave Date: 23 Aug 1872 Comments: Labourer (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/). --00--
IN WA: 1868: On arrival in WA, convict #9754 JOHN HALL was listed as 29, a labourer, single, literate, Protestant and sentenced to 12 years for “receiving stolen property and previous convictions”. Previous convictions, all at Manchester, included housebreaking (Aug 1854) 12 months’ jail; stealing boots (Feb 1856) 4 years; and stealing a watch (2 April, 1860) 7 years. Next of kin – mother, Charlotte Fiddler, Manchester. His behaviour in Portland jail was listed as “very good”. He received his Ticket of Leave on 23 August, 1872. He died of “natural causes” at Champion Bay on 7 November, 1872 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department Registers, General Register for Nos 9599-10128 (R16)). —0—
TRANSPORTATION: 1867, 8 October; John Hall was sent to board the Hougoumont for transportation to WA: “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 [anchorage] 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 [only two were on the Hougoumont – Thomas Berwick and Lionel Holdsworth, each sentenced to 20 years for fraud], 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.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 19 Dec 1867, p4, at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271). --00--
JAIL: 1866: Some time after his sentencing, John Hall was sent to Portland jail, where he was listed as inmate #5992 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department Registers, General Register for Nos 9599-10128 (R16)). Portland jail, south-west of London, in Grove Road on the Isle of Portland, at Dorset, held adult convicts and “its purpose was largely to make use of convict labour in the construction of the breakwaters of Portland Harbour and its various defences” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Prison_Portland). 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, 2018, p40) --00--
TRIAL: 1866, 3 April: John Hall and John Wharf were convicted and sentenced at the Manchester Quarter Sessions – the former to 12 years’ penal servitude for receiving stolen property and the latter to 7 years for larceny. John Hall four previous convictions that were taken into account (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire, 1866). --00--