Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
George Thurston was transported on the Thomas Arbuthnot, departing 6th Jan 1847 and arriving 4th May 1847 with 289 passengers.
Built 1841 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Wood ship of 621 Tons. Thomas Arbuthnot, 1847. “The Thomas Arbuthnot convict ship, Captain Thomson, sailed from Spithead this morning for Port Phillip, with a superior class of delinquents, officially called “exiles.” These are the first “exiles” sent to the above settlement, which the inhabitants of that respectable place are very wroth at, and have memorialised the Government on the subject. The most ingenious trades and professions are carried on, on board this ship; in fact, we believe, all trades in vogue have their representatives on board. The most ingenious affair, however, is a newspaper in manuscript, published every Saturday, having its foreign and domestic correspondence, advertisements, and, indeed, all the necessary accessories to an apparently well-conducted journal. The articles are well written and the arrangements well made. The name of this paper is the Citadel, and the conductors dub the captain of the ship ” the governor.” The Citadel having no opponents enjoys a large circulation. The editor is a man who has been of considerable note in the legitimate literary world; but all names and circumstances in connexion with their present position is strictly preserved secret with regard to these “exiles,” the greatest majority of whom are juvenile offenders from Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) prisons.”—Times, January 12. Published in the Launceston Examiner, 2 June 1847. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36252218?searchTerm=Thomas Arbuthnot There was a lot of public criticism of the arrival of these “Exiles” in New South Wales, and of their treatment, by being offered training, etc, to the detriment of honest but poor labourers.
Thomas Arbuthnot (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/15, Page Number 153 (78) |
| 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
Born in Suffolk to Isaac Whayman Thurston and Mary Mays. Thurston's mother died in 1831 and his father married Susannah Bacon. Isaac and Susannah wrote to the Home Office asking to be able to see George before he was transported, but were seemingly not able to. Shortly after he sailed to Australia, Susannah was found drowned, from apparent suicide. Thurston married Mary Tate in 1849, and Ann Elizabeth Smith in 1884. He was well known for making billiards tables and carpentry more generally. He died at Ballarat.
A lad named George Thurston, was brought before the Magistrates at the Town-hall, on Monday last. charged with having, on the previous Friday, stolen a silk-handkerchief from the shop-door of Messrs. Mason and Hodgson, pawnbrokers, St. Clement's Fore street. Policeman whist e stated that having apprehended the prisoner on another charge, he was searching him at the station house, when he found the handkerchief in his pocket. The prisoner on being asked to account for his possession of it, stated that he had purchased it at the prosecutors' shop for nine-pence. Evidence was called to prove the falsity of this representation, and the prisoner was fully committed for trial. Ipswich Journal, 18 Jan 1845. ----------------------------------------------------- Ipswich Borough Sessions. George Thurston (16), stood charged with stealing one silk handkerchief, the properly of Messis. Mason and Hodgson. Mr. Rouse appeared for the prosecution. The handkerchief was stolen from the prosecutor's shop door, at which it had been exhibited for sale and it was afterwards found, in the prisoner's pocket. The prisoner had been previously convicted of stealing a pistol. The Jury recommended the prisoner to mercy, but the Recorder said, that at the November Sessions the prisoner was sentenced to one day's imprisonment, with a warning as to any future conviction. The sentence of the Court now was, that you be transported for seven years. You will be taken, said the learned gentleman and educated, and if you behave yourself properly, you may turn out an honest man at last: the best thing for you now is, to remove you from your present bad associations. Ipswich Journal, 29 Mar 1845. -------------------------------------------------- Convict Exiles Index. George Thurston, age 16, per Thomas Arbuthnot. Date of trial, 24/3/1845, at Ipswich Sessions, sentence, 7 years, Charge, Stealing handkerchief from a shop. Remarks: The conduct of all these prisoners during their stay in Milbank Prison has been good; besides having learned to read and write well, they have made some progress in Arithmetic and all have been instructed in some useful trade.