Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
William (The Younger) Mepham was transported on the Surrey Or Surry, departing 16th Mar 1842 and arriving 11th Aug 1842 with 254 passengers.
Built at Harwich in 1811 a square-rigged transport ship of 443 tons and copper lined she had two decks with a height between decks of 5 ft. 8 ins. In 1818, she had a major refit increasing the decks (and convict carrying capacity) to three. She was owned by the London firm of F. & C.F. Mangles.
Surrey Or Surry (generic)References
| Primary Source | Tasmanian Libraries. "Mepham, The Innocent Convict.-The friends of." Times, 26 Jan. 1844, p. 3. The Times Digital Archive, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS51410490/GDCS?u=nzsocgen&sid=GDCS&xid=5b614b68. Accessed 27 June 2020. Gale Document Number:GALE|CS51410490 |
| 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 |
Claims
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Convict Notes
Conduct Record: aged 18, Tried 19 Oct. 1841, Transported for Maliciously cutting & wounding, Single, Protestant, can neither read nor write, Trade Ploughman & Farm Labourer, Free Pardon 5 Sept. 1843 https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON33-1-27P152
In January 1844, Mepham (the 'innocent convict') arrived in London on the ship Eudora, having been provided a free passage home [from Tasmania] by the Government, two years after he was convicted. Summary of Narrative from The Times (26 Jan 1844) Two weeks after his conviction, Mepham was moved to the Fortitude Hulk at Chatham. Five months later, as part of a group of 250, he boarded the Surrey Transport which arrived at Hobart in August 1842, and from there he was sent to Port Arthur on a schooner which ran on to rocks. The Schooner was refloated the next day and Mepham was sent to the Cascade Station to clear forests. Twelve months later he read of his pardon in a Maidstone newspaper that had reached the colony and in a further nine weeks the superintendent of the station received an official letter about his free pardon. He made his way back to Hobart and after a week was awarded a free passage home on the Eudora.