Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Edward Yates was transported on the Racehorse, departing 19th May 1865 and arriving 10th Aug 1865 with 279 passengers.
This ship began her life as Matilde Wattenbach built by Frederick C Clarke in St Heliers, Jersey in 1853. Her principal owners were J J Melhuish of Liverpool and T H A Wattenbach, of London. In 1863, after trading for some years out of London to the Cape of Good Hope and to New Zealand, she was acquired by Philip Blyth, of London and the following year she was sold. Within a few days she was purchased by Alexander Fotheringham and renamed Racehorse. Racehorse was surveyed at Sunderland shipyards in January 1864 and at that time her specifications were 1077 tons, length 209.3 ft., breadth 36.1 ft. and depth 20.0 ft. For her voyage to the Swan River Colony another owner would be on the scene – John Smurthwaite, a Sunderland merchant. Racehorse left Portland on May 26, 1865 bound for Fremantle. She carried the thirty second of 37 shipments of male convicts destined for Western Australia. The voyage took 76 days and the Racehorse arrived in Fremantle on August 10, 1865 with 172 passengers and 278 convicts. M H Seward (DPS) or J Mann (Lloyds Register) and Dr Alexander Watson were the captain(s) and surgeon respectively.
RacehorseReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, Page Number 93 (49) |
| 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
"I believe this man is my maternal grandmother’s grandfather. Her names was Elizabeth Margaret Yates"
Photos
No photos have been added for Edward Yates.
Convict Notes
Following his court marital, Edward served time in Portland civil gaol in Ontario. He returned to England on the North American, according to newspapers it left Quebec on 30th May 1863. It arrived in Lough Foyle, Ireland in June but left the same day, arriving Liverpool 12th June. Edward and other soldier convicts on board were received at Millbank Prison on the 20th June. His age on this register is 27, and he is a painter. His father's name and address are given ie James Yates, 44 Aberdeen St, Preston. He was transferred to Pentonville on the 23rd. He was then transferred to Chatham, no date given. Although his convict papers say he came from Portland, I haven't yet found a prison register for him from the English gaol. The Racehorse did pick up prisoners from Chatham as well as Portland, so I'm inclined to think he was actually one of those.
The charge was actually desertion and losing ammunition. Edward was born in Preston, Lancashire c 1839 although his birth was not registered. He was christened on the 26th May 1839 at St John's, Preston - his parents James Yates and Sarah Salter. He joined the 63rd Foot Regiment on the 20/11/1854 and served in the Crimea and Canada. His father's address on his convict records is given as 44 Aberdeen St, Preston. He married Margaret Connelly on the 22nd Oct 1868 at St Mark's Picton in WA. They had four children, and most of his life was spent in the Australind/Bunbury area. He died in Perth, however, a few days after attending a Crimean veterans dinner. He is buried at Karrakatta.