Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
John Mcdonald was transported on the George The Third, departing 12th Dec 1834 and arriving 12th Mar 1835 with 220 passengers.
Built at Deptford, England in 1810. 394 tons, 114 feet length, 28 feet 3 inches beam. Registered at the Port of London. George III, was wrecked on reefs at the south-eastern entrance to the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on 12 March 1835 near the end of a voyage from Woolwich to Hobart Town. 133 of 220 male convicts on board lost their lives, 81 survived, one being a 10yr old boy. Only five of the 88 crew, guards and their families were drowned. Firearms had been discharged to keep the convicts below decks while the latter were being evacuated.
George The Third (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 90, Class and Piece Number HO11/9, Page Number 495 (249) |
| 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
Place of origin: Ross-shire No; 1009 Height; 5 ft 6 inches aged 23 years old Trade; Ploughman Offence; House breaking
Conduct Record https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-10$init=CON31-1-10P169 No 1009. John McDonald. Tried at Perth, 24 April 1834. See record for details. -------------------------------------------------- John was one of the survivors of the wreck of the George III. The Wreck of the George III https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4180709?searchTerm=John woodhall An extract from the above article. The total number saved amounts to 161, 81 of whom are convicts, and a nominal return of them is transmitted herewith. The total number of persons originally embarked was 308, 2 children were born during the voyage, one woman, three children and 12 prisoners died, leaving at the time the ship struck, 294 souls, from which statement it will be seen that 133 souls had perished on this awful occasion. Of this number 127 were convicts, 58 of whom were on the sick list in their berths, and 50 out of them totally unable to help themselves and several were washed overboard during the night. It was naturally to be expected that on the striking of the ship, the prisoners would endeavour to extricate themselves from a situation which must have appeared to them one of imminent peril, and it appears they broke down a barricade of the prison with a view to get on deck. It was at this period, that the sentries over the main hatchway, in obedience to the positive orders they then received, to keep the men below, and bearing in mind their general instructions for the safe custody of the prisoners, fired—and painful as it is for us to report upon a subject of such a distressing nature, that, at such a crisis, man should feel himself compelled, through a sense of duty, to add to the desolation of the scene and fire upon his fellow creatures, yet it is gratifying to observe, from the concurring opinions of all the officers, according to the then existing state of circumstances, it was absolutely necessary that the prisoners should be kept down, for had they at that time got on deck, the long boat, upon which alone the survivors could look with any hope of rescue, would have been rendered useless, and thus to all human appearances a much greater loss of life would have ensued.