Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Emanuel Morelas was transported on the Hougoumont, departing 10th Oct 1867 and arriving 9th Jan 1868 with 281 passengers.
875 ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1852. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/on-this-day-in-history-australias-last-convict-ship-docks.htm ---------------------------- Incorrect Image ....This is a four masted steel hulled Barque in the drawing , im surprised Australian Geo didn't do a bit more research on this .......The Hougoumont was a works ship on the Forth Bridge Project in 1885 ....the one potrayed as a drawing in Aust Geo is the later version of this ship.....the photograph i have attached is the correct and original convict vessel. --00-- 1867 "The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn, and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land." Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 19 Dec 1867, p4, English Shipping, available on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271?searchTerm=hougoumont.
HougoumontReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, p247 (126) --0-- Edgar, W. (Bill). (2018). “The precarious voyage of her majesty’s convict ship ‘Nile’ to the Swan River colony, late 1857 – and the unexpected aftermath.” The Great Circle, 40(1), 20–43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26783779 --0-- https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/ |
| 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
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.
TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA: 1881, 28 June: Emanuel Morelas sailed from WA on the “Clifton” for Port Augusta, SA. Listed as “expiree, late reg no 9827, arrived in Hougoumont. Remarks: Strong appearance, age 44, 5ft 4in high, black hair, dark brown eyes, long visage, dark complexion, cross left arm, scar on groin.” (WA Police Gazette, No 28, Wednesday July 13, 1881, p118 at https://slwa.wa.gov.au/pdf/battye/police_gazettes/188107_m.pdf) --000--
FREMANTLE JAIL RECORD: MORELAS, Emanuel; inmate #9827, arrived 10 January, 1868, per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1837 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Sailor Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Clerkenwell Green Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 10 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 14 February, 1873 Certificate of Freedom Date: 24 March, 1881 Comments: Sawyer, brick maker, labourer, general servant, miner, hutkeeper, wood cutter, quarrier. To South Australia, 1880 [incorrect, see below] (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/). --00--
IN WA: 1868: On arrival, EMANUEL MORELAS, 29, was listed as convict #9827; sentenced to 10 years, at Clerkenwell Green, 19 November, 1866, for “larceny after previous conviction”; sailor or tailor [?]; single, no children; literate; Protestant; family – no family; character “indifferent”. Described as 5’4” tall, black hair, dark brown eyes, long visage, dark complexion, strong appearance; cross on left arm, scar in groin. Previous convictions: 1852, 26 April at Glasgow, High Court – as Andrew Clark, aged 14, sentenced to 7 years’ transportation for theft and previous convictions (3). Found guilty of theft, as below: “Before the Lord Justice Clerk... Andrew Clark, a young boy, was convicted of picking the pocket of a gentleman of a silk handkerchief, in Bell Street, on the 16th February last, and there being three previous convictions against the prisoner —one before the Circuit Court of Justiciary, at Glasgow in 1847—he was transported for seven years.” (Glasgow Chronicle, Wednesday 28 April, 1852, p4 at https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003088/18520428/036/0004). 1861, 25 February at Central Criminal Court, London – as Edward Spencer, sentenced to 3 months for rogue and vagrancy. 1862, 6 October at Middlesex Sessions – as Edward Spencer, sentenced to 4 years’ penal servitude for felony. Other: Ticket of Leave 14.2.73; Certificate of Freedom 24.3.81 (Convicts to Australia at https://www.perthdps.com/convicts/con-wa42.html; and Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 9599-10128 cont. (R16)). --0--
EMBARKATION: 1867, 30 September: Emanuel Morelas was sent from Millbank to board the Hougoumont for WA (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Emanuel Morelas; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1867-1868; image 86). “The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up, by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn [only two were on the Hougoumont – Thomas Berwick and Lionel Holdsworth, each sentenced to 20 years for fraud], and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank, for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty [not the senior Fenian, Captain Moriarty; rather, this was Bartholomew Moriarty, aged 17]. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 19 Dec 1867, p4, at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271). --00--
1867, 28 September: Admitted to Millbank Prison, London – inmate #3862 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Emanuel Morelas; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1867-1868; image 86). --0--
1867, 26 February: Sent from Millbank and admitted to Pentonville Prison, Caledonian Road, London – inmate #4298 Emanuel Morelas, alias Charles Clarke, alias Andrew Clark; 35, single, literate, tailor; convicted 19 November, 1866, Middlesex Sessions, larceny after a prev conv of felony, 10 years; previous conviction – 6 years PS 6 Nov 60 as Charles Clarke. Remarks: “Not to go to Portsmouth” [signed] M Gambier, 2.2.67. “When this convict is removed to Public Works a special notification will be made to the Director of Prison for which he is released. C.A.B. 26.3.67” (UK, Criminal Records, 1780-1871 for Emanuel Morelas; Prison Registers and Statistical Returns; 1864-1871; HO 24/18; image 125; and UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Emanuel Morelas; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1866-1869; image 70). --0--
1867, 14 January: Admitted to Millbank Prison, London – inmate #2750, Emanuel Morelas alias Clarke, 35, tailor, single, Church of England, semiliterate; tried 19 Nov 1866, Middlesex Sessions; larceny with prev con, 10 years PS; previous conviction Nov 1860, 6 years’ PS, thrice summarily. Family – no relations; behaviour “bad” (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Emanuel Morelas; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1866-1867; image 147). “After a sentence of transportation was handed down, the prisoner entered into a separate stage where he was placed into an individual cell, isolated from others, apart from brief periods of exercise and attendance at chapel. However, no communication of any kind with other prisoners was permitted at any time. The philosophy behind this penal methodology had its provenances in the religious, monastic traditions; i.e., that in the isolation of his cell the malefactor would be able to contemplate the errors of his way, unadulterated by the negative influences of former contemporaries, and be reformed.” (Edgar, 2018, pp39-40) When first put into practice, the mandated period of separate confinement was 18 months. By the late 1840s, authorities had conceded that such conditions of imprisonment were “injurious to many prisoners’ mental health” and the stint was reduced to 12 months. Periods of separate confinement were reduced further “as a prisoner displayed good behaviour tendencies” (Edgar, p40). Millbank, Pentonville, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: 1866 – 1867, January: Held at Cold Bath Fields Gaol at Mount Pleasant, Clerkenwell, London, following his conviction. He served 1 month 26 days in separate confinement. Coldbath Fields Prison, named after a nearby well, was formerly known as the Middlesex House of Correction and Clerkenwell Gaol, and informally known as the Steel. In 1850, the prison was extended and changed to take men only. (https://www.prisonhistory.org) --0--
NEWSPAPER REPORT OF TRIAL: From the Morning Advertiser, Wednesday 21 November, 1866, p7: “Emanuel Morelas, 35 [sic], was indicted for stealing five coats, value £10, the property of Strewen Robinson and another, in a dwelling-house. Elisa Kersey, a cook in the employ of Mrs. Robinson, of 11, King Henry’s road, St. John’s-wood, said that at three o’clock in the afternoon of the 3rd of November, she went out to fetch some ale, and saw the prisoner enter the gate, and she told him that nothing was wanted. When she returned she saw him in the side-room on the kitchen floor taking down some coats. She said, ‘Oh, you vagabond, come out,’ and on his coming out she followed him and struck him on the head. He ran away and she followed him again. He went into a gentleman’s garden in Avenue-road, where he was caught by the gentleman and given into custody. The Jury found the prisoner Guilty. Mr. George Lockyer, sessions officer, proved the following convictions against the prisoner:-- Six months, May, 1859: three months, February, 1860; three months, May, 1860; and six years’ penal servitude on the 5th November, 1860. Mr. Payne sectenced him to be kept in penal servitude for ten years.” (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001427/18661121/059/0007) --0--