Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Robert Kyme was transported on the Edwin Fox, departing 24th Aug 1858 and arriving 20th Nov 1858 with 284 passengers.
892 ton ship, built in Calcutta, India in 1853. Transported convicts, pensioner guard, soldiers and their families - from Plymouth, England to Western Australia - 1858. (Had been to Australia previously, in 1856, as a passenger ship.) (Later went on to service in the Crimean War.) Converted to be a passenger ship and carried immigrants to New Zealand. In 1880 converted, again, as a cool storage facility in Picton, New Zealand. Ship was in use until 1950 when abandoned. In 1965 she was bought by the 'Edwin Fox Society' and towed to Shakespeare Bay for restoration and then towed to Picton Harbour, New Zealand for display and is on the National Trust Registry, NZ. She is the second oldest surviving merchant ship.
Edwin FoxReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/18, Page Number 299 (151) |
| 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
From his FREMANTLE JAIL record: KYME, Robert; inmate #5186, arrived 21 Nov 1858 per Edwin Fox Date of Birth: 1819 Date of Death: 14 Mar 1867 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Farm labourer Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Date: 1857 Sentence Place: York, England Crime: Robbery Sentence Period: 6 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 2 Mar 1861 Conditional Pardon Date: 22 Dec 1862 Certificate of Freedom Date: 2 May 1865 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/)
From the Greenough Museum web site at https://greenoughmuseum.org.au/convict-notes/ Robert Kyme #5186 -- Kyme’s early crimes were paltry – stealing fowl – but he moved on to housebreaking (then attempted prison breaking) and eventually highway robbery. Sentenced to six years, he arrived in Fremantle in 1858 and worked in various mines around Northampton and Greenough. Life was tough in Yorkshire for men without education or income. We know little about Kyme’s early life. Born in 1819, he first went to prison for three months for stealing fowls. He then moved to house-breaking, for which he spent seven years inside. It is easier breaking in than breaking out as Kyme discovered when he failed in his attempt to escape. Then at York on 19 March 1857, he and four mates were found guilty of committing highway robbery, and sentenced for six years. Kyme was transported from Portsmouth Prison on the Edwin Fox, arriving at Fremantle on 21 November 1858. He is noted as having lost several upper front teeth. Kyme’s Ticket of Leave was issued on 2 March 1861 and he received his Conditional Pardon at Champion Bay on 22 December 1862. Kyme worked at the Mines near Northampton and at Greenough. He was granted his Conditional Freedom on 2 May 1865. Kyme died at Greenough on 14 March 1867. Neither the cause of his death nor his place of burial is recorded."