William Mclaren

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Wendy Smith on 6th October 2020

Newspaper report in the Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, Wednesday 7 August 1839, page 2 states under the heading supreme Court - Saturday 3 August before Sir James Dowling and a military Jury that 'Patrick Quilkin, late an assigned convict in the service of the Australian Agricultural Company, stood trial for the wilful murder of Wm (William) Maclaren a fellow convict servant at Gloucester, on 11 December, 1838. Joseph Burbridge, alias Bretion, a ticket of leave holder in the service of the Australian Agricultural Company, deposed tht he served his term of transportation with the Company, and was promoted to the situation of overseer after he had obtained his ticket, eight years ago. William Maclaren was a watchman, about two miles from his station; he was a convict, about tow or three and twenty years of age, and five feet five inches in height. The prisoner was employed at witness's station. The prisoner once said, on witness telling him what Maclaren had said of him, that 'if he had wished to rob his hut, he had plenty of opportunities, and it was not Maclaren that would prevent him, for he could have easily knocked his brains out and thrown him in the creek'. Has heard prisoner threaten different people at times, but not MacLaren. MacLaren stopped by himself in a hut in the day-time, at night he stopped near his hurdles; there are there shepherds and one watchman at MacLaren's stations (D..try, Baker and B...; MacLaren was the responsible watchman at that station; it was the duty of the these men to go out in the morning with their sheep and MacLaren's business was to ... There is a long report following the above comments but the printing is much faded and difficult to read.

56

Wendy Smith on 5th October 2020

The Convict Indentures state that William McLaren was 20 years old. He could read and write; religion Presbyterian; status single and a native of Perthshire. He was a grocer and spirit dealer. (There is no code for Grocer only Grocer's boy). William was convicted of fraudulent and sentenced at Edinburgh Court of Justiciary on 23 May 1836 for 14 years. He had no prior convictions. Physical attributes: Height 5 feet 8 inches; complexion fair ruddy and much freckled; hair dark red and eyes hazel. Transport number 193. Prisoner number 37-1729. Newspaper report - Colonist (Sydney) Wednesday 7 August 1839 states under the heading of Supreme Court - Criminal Side, Saturday August 3 that 'Before the Chief Justice and a Military Jury, Patrick Quilkin was indicted for the wilful murder of William MacLaren, by beating him on the head with a stone, cutting him with a knife, and striking with a tomahawk at Gloucester, on 11 December. The prisoner and deceased were both assigned servants to the Australian Agricultural Company, Manning River - Quilkin was a watchman, and was removed from that berth on the complaint of Maclaren, who said he had attempted to rob him. A short time afterwards when the shepherds returned home, they found MacLaren, who had been appointed watchman, was murdered. He was lying in the garden with his head literally smashed by a large stone weighing thirty pounds, and his throat cut..... Patrick Quilkan was a convict on the Waterloo (4) in 1836. PLEASE note differences in surname spellings in newspaper reports.