Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Denis Mcinerney was transported on the Albuera, departing 6th Sep 1858 and arriving 28th Oct 1858 with 11 passengers.
Albuera, launched at Moulmain (British Burma) in 1854, made three voyages to Adelaide up to 1874. Sailing from Calcutta, India, on 6 Sep, 1858, she arrived at Fremantle with 11 military convicts on 28 Oct. They were all convicted by Courts Martial (in India and Burma) and sentenced to transportation. Note: Albuera is not to be confused with other ships of the same name or those spelled Albeura.
Albuera (generic)References
| Primary Source | Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 4679-5166 (R1); https://www.ancestry.com.au) |
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Convict Notes
NOTE: Year of Birth is taken from official records but day and month are not known. The latter dates have been entered as 01/01 because the site does not allow those fields to be left empty. --00--
REGISTRATION OF DEATH: Name: McInnerney, Dennis Sex: Male Age at death: 36 Place of death: Convict Establmt Year of death: 1861 Reg. no.: 1859 Reg. year: 1861 (WA Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages at https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-justice). --000--
DEATH: 1861, 13 November: 5051 Dennis McInnerney [sic] is listed as “1 ToL holder died in Hospital” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930 for Dennis McInnerney Convict Establishment, Receipts and Discharges; Receipts and Discharges, 1859 - 1861, 1863 - 1865 (Rd3 - Rd4)). --00--
OTHER: Denis McInerney Male, #5051, b. 1825, d. 13 November 1861 Death: He died on 13 November 1861 at Convict Establishment, Fremantle, Western Australia; inflammation of brain. Convicted: Convicted of desertion & stealing (Court Martial) and sentenced to 14 years on 7 July 1857 at Rangoon, Burma. Family Status: Claimed that his marital status was unmarried as at 28 October 1858. Occupation: Recorded as a soldier; labourer on 28 October 1858. Convict No.: Assigned with Convict No. 5051 on 28 October 1858. Transported: Transported to WA on the Albuera arriving at Fremantle, Western Australia, on 28 October 1858. He had been collected from Calcutta prison. Ticket of Leave: His Ticket of Leave was granted on 28 November 1860 at Western Australia (https://www.waconvicts.fhwa.org.au/g0/p203.htm#i5051). --00--
FREMANTLE JAIL RECORD: MCINERNEY, Denis; inmate #5051, arrived 28 Oct 1858 per Albeura [sic] Date of Birth: 1825 Date of Death: 13 Nov 1861 Place of Death: Inflammation of brain Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Brick maker, soldier Sentence Date: 1857 Sentence Place: Rangoon, India Crime: Desertion & stealing Sentence Period: 14 years Ticket Leave Date: 28 Nov 1860 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/) --00--
IN WA – CHARACTER RECORD: 1858, 28 October: DENIS McINERNEY, 33, labourer; Roman Catholic who converted to Protestant 17.5.60”. Court martial 7 July 1857, Rangoon – “desertion and escape, stealing a blanket, desertion and escape again” – 14 years. General character – “Very bad”. 1860, 28 Nov: Ticket of Leave (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
IN WA: 1858, 28 October: On arrival, DENIS McINERNEY was listed as convict #5051, 33 years old, single, 5’7½” tall, dark brown hair, grey eyes, oval visage, sallow complexion and slight appearance; marks – pockmarked, two eagles and cross on right arm. A brickmaker by trade, he had been convicted at a General Court Martial, at Rangoon, in Burma, and sentenced to 14 years’ penal servitude for “desertion and stealing” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 4679-5166 (R1)). Note: Various records give his year of birth as 1825, presumably based on an assumption that he was 30 on arrival in WA. However, the “Convicts to Australia” site says the age quoted on these WA Convict Records “seems to refer to the age of the convict when the passenger list was created”. Also, if 33 when convicted, he could have been born in 1824 or 1823. --00--
THE VOYAGE TO WA: One of the few snippets of information found about the Albuera's voyage in 1858 comes from an article in the Melbourne Argus: “INDIA (From our Galle [Sri Lanka] correspondent. October 20, 1858): ... The very great mortality which has taken place in the shipment of horses from the different ports of Australia has created no little attention here. The Admiral Boxer, which arrived lately at Bombay from Sydney, landed only 76 out of 108 shipped. This makes the Australian horse too costly for cavalry purposes, and I am bound to say also, that the stamp of horses selected has not come up to what it might and should have been, in the opinion of the best judges, and those who have been in the colonies. The Government have despatched the ALBUERA [my emphasis] with convicts to Swan River, and to return with 120 horses from that colony. The experiment will be watched with much interest.” (The Argus, 18 Nov 1858, p5 at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/7304789) --00--
GENERAL COURT MARTIAL (GCM): This was army’s highest tribunal, dealing with commissioned officers and the most serious cases involving other ranks. It could only be convened by the Crown or its deputy (for example, the commander in chief, or governors general). At least 13 commissioned officers had to be present if ‘at home’ (serving in the British Isles, Ireland, non-British territories or small British possessions), or five if ‘overseas’ (the British colonies), together with a judge advocate. Decisions were confirmed by the person who issued the warrant (that is, the Crown or its direct deputy). (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/courts-martial-desertion-british-army-17th-20th-centuries/) --00--
COURT MARTIAL: 1857, 7 July: Soldier DENIS McINERNEY, rank and regiment not provided, appeared before a General Court Martial at Rangoon, Burma, and was sentenced to 14 years’ transportation for a “desertion and stealing”. Given the severitry of the sentence, this would not have been his first court martial. At some stage following his conviction, he was sent to Calcutta and held there in jail to await transportation (https://www.perthdps.com/convicts/con-wa24.html; Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 4679-5166 (R1); https://www.ancestry.com.au) --00--