Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
William Marmon was transported on the Calcutta, departing 31st Jan 1803 and arriving 4th Oct 1803 with 305 passengers.
HMS Calcutta was the East Indiaman Warley (1795), converted to a Royal Navy ship. This ship of the line served for a time as an armed transport. She also transported convicts to Australia. The French Magnanime captured Calcutta in 1805. In 1809, after she ran aground during the Battle of the Basque Roads and her crew had abandoned her, a British boarding party burned her. In 1803 the Calcutta sailed into Port Phillip bay where at least 4 convicts escaped , in Sydney in April 1804 it was reported that 8 had died on the trip. Of the four known escapees one was shot on escape, 2 turned back after 2 days to reattach to the group at the camp in bay before the boat left , one continued on ...into Australia's history books. At least 13 convicts were transferred on to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Australia.The ship also carried officers, wives and free settlers.
Calcutta (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 87, Class and Piece Number HO11/1, Page Number 344 The Sussex Weekly Advertiser, 2nd August 1802 |
| 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
Hulk Records. Portsmouth. HO-9-8_1. page 51/52 Received five from Sussex, 21 Sep. William Marmon, age 25, C.R. (Capitally respited), Tried at Horsham Sussex, 2 Aug 1802, NSW Life, Calcutta.
Tasmanian Records. https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON22-1-2P006JPG Per Calcutta. William Marmon, Convicted at Sussex G.D. 2 Aug 1802, Life.
William Marmon, a soldier of the 4th Regiment of Foot together with fellow soldier William Buckley was convicted on evidence given by Margaret Harris, of theft of cloth. He and Buckley were convicted at the Sussex Assizes on 2 August 1802 of having received a roll of cloth knowing it to have been stolen; the pair were originally sentenced to death but later sent to the hulks and transported for life. The Sussex Weekly Advertiser, 2nd August 1802: “The shop of Mr. Cave at nearby Warnham was broken open and robbed of several pieces of printed linens and cottons, stockings &c. and on Tuesday last a woman, wife of a soldier of the 4th regiment of foot, was taken into custody on suspicion of being concerned in the robbery. The woman, it seems, had offered several of the stolen articles for sale she was immediately suspected and secured. She has since impeached two men of the above regiment as principals and they were all on Wednesday committed to Horsham Gaol, for trial at our next assizes.” The following week The Sussex Weekly Advertiser reported: “At our assizes, which ended on Tuesday last, ten prisoners were tried, four of whom were capitally convicted and received sentences of death, William Buckley and William Marmon, the former aged 20 and the latter 25, for burglariously entering the shop of Mr. Cave, of Warnham, and stealing therein two pieces of Irish linen.” William Marmon and Buckley together with over 300 convicts, 30 wives and children as well as 170 marines and crew travelled aboard the ships HMS Calcutta and Ocean in 1803 under the command of Lt Colonel David Collins. He was charged with setting up a new colony on the mainland at Port Phillip Bay in what is known as Sullivan's Cove, near present day Sorrento Victoria. The choice of site was poor as there was no fresh water supply available, the settlers had to resort to filtering water through wooden barrels submerged in the earth, it still tasted salty and was barely drinkable. The food supply for the settlement was also inadequate. Collins in order to maintain discipline meted out harsh penalties; there were floggings of prisoners and guards alike. Some prisoners decided to escape and try to make it to Sydney with no idea of were Sydney was or where they were themselves. On Christmas Eve, Daniel McAllenan an Irishman convicted for horse stealing, broke into the commissary’s tent and stole a gun. At 9PM on the 27th of December, William Marmon, William Buckley, Charles Shore, George Pye and James Taylor made their escape, during the attempt Charles Shore was shot in the stomach and captured, the others made their way into the bush. William Marmon suffering from scurvy, left Buckley and the others pair to return Sullivan's Cove, arriving in time to join Collins and the settlers aboard the Ocean as it sailed for VDL. Marmon served out his sentence, obtained his freedom certificate in 1818 and is believed to have returned to England in 1821. William Buckley had separated from the other two and spent the next 32 years among the Wathaurong people, finally walking into the camp of John Wedge in July 1835. Wedge had arrived in Victoria with John Batman from VDL to set up a colony.