Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Saunders Johnson 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 251 (128). --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. 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
FOOTNOTE: RICHARD ROBINSON was also sent to WA aboard the Hougoumont. His story can be found at https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/robinson/richard/68926. --00--
NOTE: Year of Birth is known from UK and other official records but not the day and month. The latter dates have been entered as 01/01 because the site does not allow those fields to be left empty.
REPORT OF DEATH: “MOUNT ELIZA DEPOT. – The following inmates of the Mount Eliza Depot have died in that institution from the causes stated since the publication of the last report in The Morning Herald on May 14: — May 15 — James Connelly, 66 years, cancer . Thomas Merson, 39, paralysis. May 20 — Sanders Johnson, 74, senile decay...” (The Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth), Fri 18 Jun 1897, p8 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66522895) --000---
DEATH: Name: Johnson, Sanders Sex: Male Age: 74 Father: Unknown Mother: Unknown Place of death: Perth Died: 1897 Reg. number: 1986 Registered: 1897 (WA Registry BDM at https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice). --00--
OTHER: YORK COURT HOUSE ... (Before S. E. Burges, Esq., J.P.) Tuesday, April 2, 1878... SAUNDERS JOHNSON was charged by P. C. Farley with using obscene and indecent language within the hearing of the public. Fined in costs and cautioned. (Eastern Districts Chronicle (York), Sat 6 Apr 1878, p2 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/148241171) --0-- GENERAL NEWS. At the Police Court on Tuesday last a man named SAUNDERS JOHNSON, alias “Bricky”, was discharged with a caution for drunkenness. (Eastern Districts Chronicle (York), 16 Mar 1889, p4 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/148587892) --0-- AT the Police-court on Wednesday morning last, a man named Saunders Johnson was fined 5s, or in default of payment 7 days’ imprisonment, upon a charge of drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The Resident Magistrate presided on the Bench. (Eastern Districts Chronicle (York), 6 Sep 1890, p4 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/148137000) --0-- Police News.—-At the Police Court on Monday last, before Mr. C. Edwards, J.P., a man named Thomas Wisbey was charged on remand with vagrancy, and sentenced to one month's imprisonment. Saunders Johnson, for a similar offence, received similar punishment. (Eastern Districts Chronicle (York), 16 Nov 1895, p5 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/148337806) --00--
From his FREMANTLE jail record: JOHNSON, Saunders; inmate #9778, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1830 Marital Status: Married 2 children Occupation: Hawker Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Ipswich Crime: Robbery with violence Sentence Period: 10 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 15 Sep 1871 Certificate of Freedom Date: 8 Nov 1876 Comments: General servant, teamster, labourer, wood cutter (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/). --00--
IN WA: 1868, January: On arrival, SAUNDERS JOHNSON was listed as convict #9778, 36 [when convicted], married with two children, semiliterate, hawker, Protestant; convicted 3 Aug 1866, Ipswich, robbery with violence and pc felony, 10 years; family – wife Sarah (38), and children John (17) and Sarah (7), Hadleigh, Suffolk; 5’11/4” tall, light brown hair, grey eyes, fresh complexion. Behaviour in jail in England “good” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department; Convict Dept Registers, General Registers for Nos 9599-100128 cont. (R16)). --00--
EMBARKATION FOR WA: 1867, 8 October: Saunders Johnson was sent from Portland to board the Hougoumont for 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 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 [not the senior Fenian, Captain Moriarty; rather, this was Bartholomew Moriarty, aged 17]. 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--
1867, 25 June: Saunders Johnson was sent to Portland prison, Grove Road, Portland, Dorset; inmate #6259. 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) --00--
JAILS: 1866: Both Johnson and Robinson were held at Bury St Edmonds jail, Southgate Green, Sicklesmere Road, Bury St Edmunds (UK, Criminal Records, 1780-1871 for Saunders Johnson; Prison Registers and Statistical Returns; 1864-1871; HO 24/18). --0-- 1866, 30 August: Johnson and Robinson were admitted to Pentonville prison, Caledonian Road, north London – Johnson, inmate #3920, aged 36, vagrant hawker, and Robinson #3921, aged 25, vagrant hawker (UK, Criminal Records, 1780-1871 for Saunders Johnson; Prison Registers and Statistical Returns; 1864-1871; HO 24/18). Pentonville took male convicts “ideally aged 18-35 and with some promise, to serve a probationary period of 18 months before dispatch to the Australian penal colonies”. Behaviour at Pentonville determined one's place in the colonies (the best received tickets of leave). In 1849, Pentonville's special status in the convict system was removed. Along with Millbank, it became “a place for all male convicts to serve their probationary term (now reduced to 9 months), after which they would be transported or sent to a public works prison” (https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/pentonville-prison-2/). --0--