Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Abraham Van Brienen was transported on the Agamemnon, departing 22nd Apr 1820 and arriving 22nd Sep 1820 with 180 passengers.
Built 1811 Sunderland. Departed Portsmouth 3 May 1820.
Agamemnon (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 88, Class and Piece Number HO11/3, Page Number 300 |
| 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
Abraham Van Brienen, born in Archangel about 1789, Protestant, a merchant by trade. He was a well-educated gentleman with an excellent knowledge of English, German and French languages. He was arrested when living in London and exiled to Australia for 7 years, arrived in Sydney on 22 September 1820. On the day of arrival he sent the Governor Macquarie a letter, probably, with a request to ease his fate and an attachment of a recommendation reference written in French by ‘le compte de Lieven’ – the Russian Ambassador in London, who had written that the Van Brienen’s family in Russia belongs to the ‘une Famille de la premiere respectabeleté dimi celeé en Russie’ and Brienen himself enjoyed ‘une reputation sans pache et admis dans la premiere societe’. Initially it didn’t help and Brienen was sent to work to Emu Plains, then to Port Dalrymple in the North of Tasmania. At last in 1822 he managed to find a clerk position (his handwriting was really perfect) in the Paramatta Commissariat Office. Soon after that he wrote a petition of mitigation of sentence (in excellent French) to the new Governor T. Brisbane having enclosed a copy of the Russian Ambassador’s reference. During these years Brienen attracted attention of the authorities by unsubstantiated revelation about his management or by escape from the place of work, but somehow he managed to have got away with all that for educated people were a value for the colony. In 1823 Brienen was enjoying a comfortable life in Sydney working as a clerk and hanging around in the local high society. But in the end of 1823 he was arrested for operation with a forged check and put into the Sydney Gaol, and then sent to Port Macquarie – a convict camp for repeat offenders till the end of his term. Having done his time, he managed to return to England in 1828. But there he was arrested again for document forgery and sent to Australia again where he arrived on the "Surrey" in 1834 with life sentence. Now he had a name of Alexander Brannon. He was only 45, but seemed to be a worn-out old man – nearly bald with grey hair, lacking half of his teeth. He was known to work on Goat Island in Sydney Harbour. He died in 1844.