Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
David Leedham was transported on the Thomas Arbuthnot, departing 6th Jan 1847 and arriving 4th May 1847 with 289 passengers.
Built 1841 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Wood ship of 621 Tons. Thomas Arbuthnot, 1847. “The Thomas Arbuthnot convict ship, Captain Thomson, sailed from Spithead this morning for Port Phillip, with a superior class of delinquents, officially called “exiles.” These are the first “exiles” sent to the above settlement, which the inhabitants of that respectable place are very wroth at, and have memorialised the Government on the subject. The most ingenious trades and professions are carried on, on board this ship; in fact, we believe, all trades in vogue have their representatives on board. The most ingenious affair, however, is a newspaper in manuscript, published every Saturday, having its foreign and domestic correspondence, advertisements, and, indeed, all the necessary accessories to an apparently well-conducted journal. The articles are well written and the arrangements well made. The name of this paper is the Citadel, and the conductors dub the captain of the ship ” the governor.” The Citadel having no opponents enjoys a large circulation. The editor is a man who has been of considerable note in the legitimate literary world; but all names and circumstances in connexion with their present position is strictly preserved secret with regard to these “exiles,” the greatest majority of whom are juvenile offenders from Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) prisons.”—Times, January 12. Published in the Launceston Examiner, 2 June 1847. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36252218?searchTerm=Thomas Arbuthnot There was a lot of public criticism of the arrival of these “Exiles” in New South Wales, and of their treatment, by being offered training, etc, to the detriment of honest but poor labourers.
Thomas Arbuthnot (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/15, Page Number 153 (78) |
| 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
ADM 101/71/6 . Medical journal of the convict ship Thomas Arbuthnot for 30 November 1846 to 8 May 1847 by Henry Baker, RN, surgeon, during which time the said ship was employed in carrying prisoners to Port Philip. • Folio 1: David Ludham, aged 17, prisoner; sick or hurt, fracture; put on sick list, 17 April 1847; discharged 4 May 1847 cured. Folio 5: Surgeon's general remarks. The total number of days that the Guard and prisoners were under my care was 155. During which time there was very little sickness amongst them. One of the prisoners a Parkhurst boy, died of disease of the lungs when within 10 days sail of our destination, and another Parkhurst boy fractured the right clavicle by a fall, these were the only two cases of any consequence that occurred during the voyage. They all landed in good health on 9 May 1847. None being sent to the hospital.
David Leedham, Parhurst Boy Father, William Leedham and mother Ellen Hangel. David first tried along with his brother Richard for stealing on 18 Oct 1842 at Staffordshire, Newcastle Under Lyme Assizes, both were sentenced to be whipped and 1 month imprisonment. David was again tried 16 May 1843 for stealing a side of bacon value 8 shillings and sentenced to 7 years transportation. As he was only 14 he was imprisoned at Parhurst, Isle of Wight till he was 18 and then transported on the Thomas Arburthnot with 88 other boys from Parkhurst. He married Bridget Mc Quade on 22 Apr 1850 at St James, Melbourne, Victoria. Children of David and Bridget Leedham are: Mary born 1851 Melbourne, died 1854 Melbourne. Mary Ann born 1855 Melbourne. Bridget born 1857, married Alexander William Gravino Melbourne 1878. Henry born 1859 West Melbourne. Ellen born 1861 Melbourne. Nellie born 1862 Melbourn, died 1881 West Melbourne. Catherine born 1863 Melbourne, died 1865 Melbourne. Rose born 1866 Melbourne. Rose gave birth to a child age 15 in 1881, father unknown, Rose Leedham, which died 3 days later. David born 1868 Melbourne. Andrew born 1870 Melborne. Joseph Patrick born 1873 South Melbourne. David died at the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum, Victoria on 7 Aug 1891.