Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Thomas Wisbey 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, Page Number 233 (119). --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. |
| 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
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: WISBEY, Thomas; inmate #9917 on 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1822 Date of Death: 21 Dec 1898 Place of Death: At his railway camp Marital Status: Widower Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Cambridge Crime: Burglary Sentence Period: 14 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket Leave Date: 18 Aug 1872 Certificate of Freedom Date: 31 Jul 1879 Comments: Conditional Release 14 Feb 1876 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
September, 1867: He was sent from Chatham to board the Hougoumont for transportation to WA. “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 [an anchoring-ground in the estuary of the Thames, 3 miles n-e of Sheerness] on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank… 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 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.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 19 December, 1867, p4, on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271). --00--
30 September, 1867: Some time before this date he was transferred to Chatham prison, Kent. Chatham, Portland, Portsmouth, 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) --0--
10 October, 1866: Thomas Wisbey was sent from Millbank to Dartmoor prison, Yelverton, Devon. Originally built in 1809 and first used for prisoners of war until about 1816, Dartmoor was reopened as a male convict public works prison in November 1850. Within five years the prison became reserved for less able-bodied convicts (https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/dartmoor-prison/). --0--
JAILS: 6 September, 1865: Thomas Wisbey, inmate #886 Marital Status: Single Criminal Admission Age: 40 Record Type: Register Birth Date: abt 1825 Occupation: Laborer Criminal Charge: Burglary Sentence: 14 years Religion: Romanist, Church of England on reception Separate confinement: Cambridge County jail, 4 months 22 days Family: Sister Mary Ann Matthews, Sawston, Cambridgeshire Criminal Admission Date: 6 Sep 1865 Criminal Admission Place: Middlesex, England Jail: Millbank Prison Source Description: Millbank Prison, Middlesex: Register of Prisoners (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Thomas Wisbey; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1865-1866). --00--
NEWSPAPER reports of trial and aftermath: "The following is a list of the prisoners: Thomas Wisbey, 40, laborer, burglaries at Landbeach, Trumpington, Haslingfield, and Comberton..." (Cambridge Independent Press, 29 July, 1865, p5). -- "... convicts were Wednesday morning last removed from the Castle in the custody of the governor, to Millbank prison, London: Thomas Wisbey, for burglary, at Waterbeach and three other places, fourteen years..." (Newspaper: Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, Saturday 09 September 1865, pp 4-5). --00--
TRIAL: 29 July, 1865: Convicted at Cambridge Assizes and sentenced to 14 years' transportation on four counts of burglary; previous convictions include 1850 for felony, 7 years, and 1857 for burglary, 7 years (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers, General Register for Nos 9599-10128 cont. (R16)). --00--