Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
William Mullen was transported on the Nile, departing 18th Sep 1857 and arriving 1st Jan 1858 with 271 passengers.
Nile (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/18, Page Number 235 (119). --00-- 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 |
| 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
From the Toodyay Convicts database: Mullen, William (1821- ), #4570, 1858-01-01, Nile CWA: Mar; 2 chn; horse dealer; semi lit RC; utter forged bank notes, 20 yrs; Toodyay, Perth (https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/). --00--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: MULLEN, William; inmate #4570, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1821 Marital Status: Married 2 children Occupation: Horse dealer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Hereford, Hereford, England Crime: Uttering forged bank notes Sentence Period: 20 years Ticket of Leave Date: 27 Dec 1860, at Perth Conditional Pardon Date: 22 Jul 1864 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/) --00--
10 September, 1857: Sent from Portland to board the Nile for transportation to WA; listed as #63/6947 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
6 April, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison; inmate #6947; behaviour "very good". Portland, Portsmouth, Chatham and Spike Island in Ireland were listed public works stations and the second stage in the penal process. After separate confinement, prisoners were “placed on work parties at various locations, most commonly naval stations, where maintenance of facilities was vital for the effective protection of Britain’s far flung commercial and military influences around the world. While there, attitude and behaviour were monitored closely. In theory, only after consistently positive reports was a prisoner moved on to the third stage of his incarceration—transportation.” (Edgar, p40) Listed as William Mullen alias Ryan, 35 (when convicted), horse dealer, Roman Catholic, able to read. Married, two children; next of kin -- his wife, Catherine Mullens [sic] alias Ryan, 6 Oxygen Street, Birmingham (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). --0--
25 June, 1856: Admitted to Pentonville prison; inmate #6813 -- served 9 months 11 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1854-1856). --0--
26 April, 1856: Admitted to Millbank prison, London -- served 1 month 29 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good". --0--
JAILS: 28 February, 1856: Admitted to Hereford County Gaol and House of Correction -- served 1 month 28 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good". “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, Wakefield, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
24 March, 1856: Tried at Hereford Assizes and convicted for feloniously uttering forged bank notes with intent to defraud; sentenced to 20 years' transportation. --0--
28 February, 1856: Committed at Hereford to stand trial for uttering forged bank notes. --0--
From 'The Manchester Guardian', February 11, 1856, p.3: "FORGED BANK OF ENGLAND N0TES. HEREFORD, THURSDAY EVENING. - The individual described in the Police Gazette as a respectably dressed horse-dealer, and who has for some time past been uttering forged notes at the Bank of England at Rugby, Gloucester, and the midland counties was apprehended in this city on Tuesday last, where he had changed several Bank of England notes, and one, if not more, of the old Cheltenham and Winchcomb Bank, which has been defunct for some 20 or more years. He gave his name as William Mullen, an Irishman by birth but latterly of Edge, near Derby. During his examination to-day the chief constable of Gloucester made his appearance, and said he wanted the prisoner for having uttered several spurious notes of the Bank of England in that city. Singularly enough, Mullen was about to leave for Gloucester by the Hereford and Gloucester Railway at the time he was apprehended. When searched, he had a considerable amount of gold in his possession and two Bank of England notes numbered respectively 96,009 and 91,463, both of which are forgeries. The prisoner was remanded for a week. - The ‘Standard’ (http://www.perthdps.com/convicts/w4570.htm) --00--