Free Settler or Felon
Convict and Colonial History




Convict Ship Marquis of Hastings - 1828


Voyage: 104 days
Deaths: 0
Surgeon's Journal: yes
Tons 452
Crew 36 men
Previous vessel Competitor arrived 10 October 1828
Next vessel: Albion arrived 3 November 1828
Captain John Jeffrey Drake
Surgeon William Rae
Prisoners and passengers of the Marquis of Hastings identified in the Hunter Valley


This was the third of five voyages of the Marquis of Hastings bringing convicts to Australia.

Prison Hulks

Some of the prisoners to be embarked on the Marquis of Hastings were held on the Leviathan hulk at Portsmouth. They were transferred to the Marquis of Hastings on 24 June 1828.


A Prison ship in Portsmouth harbour c. 1829 by William Edward Cooke -
Prison ship in Portsmouth harbour. Prisoners going aboard. c. 1829. Creator Wiliam Edward Cooke

Example of Prison Hulk Records of the Leviathan showing some of the prisoners held there in June 1828 [1]

Example of Prison hulk record of the Leviathan at Portsmouth 1828 (Ancestry)


Departure

The Marquis of Hastings departed Portsmouth 30 June 1828 with 178 male prisoners. There were no deaths and Captain Drake reported that it was an excellent voyage.

Surgeon William Rae

William Rae was approximately forty-two years of age at the time of this voyage. He kept a Medical Journal from 23 May to 28 October 1828. He also kept a Meteorological Register during the voyage commencing on 29 June at Portsmouth and finishing on 9th October in Sydney harbour.

The weather and ship location of every day of the voyage was recorded in his journal - e.g. the convicts of the Marquis of Hastings, experienced on 12th September 1828, at lat. 40° 4' and long 45° 50', a dark and rainy day with strong gales from the north-east.

Excerpt from William Rae's Journal.....In the preceding journal I have detailed every case which occurred on board during the voyage. There are none of them however, of much importance and the remarkable state of good health which we enjoyed during the whole voyage leaves me little room for pathological observation. Several times indeed I had not a man on the sick list, a regulated diet, exercise, clothing, cleanliness and ventilation were the only prophylactics necessary to ensure continuance of good health.

In the three scorbutic cases it will be observed that their constitutions were previously debilitated by hard living and the meteorological table will show that the weather frequently compelled me to keep the prisoners below and by coping with closed hatches in an atmosphere less dry than I could have wished, and consequently favourable to the production of scurvy, particularly in such cases as I have related. Still by taking advantage of every dry day together with the ample means placed at my disposal the disease was successfully combated......

These, gentlemen are the only observations which I have at present to offer, whilst we remain in a state of health, the dull monotony of a sea life, cooped up from all the world, affords little scope for much observation. Suffice it to say in conclusion, therefore, that the provisions and other articles put on board were all of a good quality and regularly supplied by the master of the ship from whom, and his officers I received every assistance in the execution of my duty and it is but Justice to the Master to observe that his ship was clean, well managed and in every respect superior to the majority of ships employed in this service.
[2]

Prisoners, soldiers and crew mentioned in the Surgeon's Journal:
Daniel McCarthy, aged 19, convict
William King, aged 23, private, soldier, 57 Regiment;
Robert Stafford, aged 24, convict
Michael Connor, aged 24, soldier
Charles Brewhouse, aged 21, convict
Edward Schofield, aged 40, convict
James Wiseman, aged 16, convict
James Bristow, aged 22, convict
Edward Schofield, aged 40, convict
Michael Woods, aged 4 months, infant This infant belongs to one of the soldiers of the guard. Died 20 September 1828.
George Martin, aged 19, convict
James Stillwell, aged 19, seaman
Abraham Schofield, aged 40, convict
John Shortis, aged 24, private, soldier
Thomas Smith, aged 26, convict
Thomas Winterburn, aged 54, convict
George Skinner, aged 19, private soldier [4]

Passengers

Cabin passengers on the Marquis of Hastings included Colonel Allen 57th regiment and family.

Steerage passengers included Ann Driscol and Harriet Amos, servants to Colonel Allen.

Military Guard

The guard comprised detachments of 57th and 63rd regts., 5 women and 10 children. The husband of Esther Bowman was to make the voyage as a seaman on the Marquis of Hastings. Esther Bowman arrived with their four children as a convict on the Competitor.

Arrival in Port Jackson

The Marquis of Hastings arrived in Port Jackson on 12 October 1828.

Convict Muster

A Muster was held on board on 15th October by Colonial Secretary Alexander McLeay. Three men were sent to hospital on arrival. The indents include Name, Age, Education, Religion, Marital Status, Family, Native Place, Trade, Offence, When and Where Tried, Former convictions, Physical Description and to whom Assigned.

Convict Assignment

In the Hunter Valley convicts were assigned to settlers Thomas Potter Macqueen, John Pike, Peter McIntyre, Thomas Prentice, George Wyndham, William Bell Carlyle, Benjamin Singleton, Leslie Duguid, James Phillips, John Laurio Platt, James Bowman, Archibald Bell, William Ogilvie, Donald McIntyre, John Henry Paga, Alexander McLeod and George Townshend. Select here to find out more about these settlers.

The younger prisoners were sent to the Carter's Barracks.

Convicts of the Marquis of Hastings identified in the Hunter Valley -

Bains, James

Barr, Francis

Bavin, William

Biggs, Charles

Binken, Nicholas

Booth, Thomas

Booty, John

Brewhouse, Charles

Briant, Thomas

Burgess, William

Burnett, Stephen

Burraston, James

Burton, William

Cardinell, William

Cavanagh, John

Cobson, James

Collis, Jonathan

Dennison, Thomas

Dixon, James

Dorman, Joseph

Edwards, William

Finch, William

Freestone, Samuel

Glover, George

Godfrey, William

Goodyer, William

Griffiths, Joseph

Haines, James

Hall, Martin

Hawkins, William

Head, John

Hedges, Stephen

Henley, George

Herring, James

Hockley, John

Inman, Thomas

Keevan, William

Kinley, William

Lister, James

Marsden, John

Mason, Charles

Maxfield, John

Mitchell, William

Murrell, Daniel

Newberry, John

Newman, George

Nobes, William

Northam, Thomas

Ockenden, Joseph

Ockenden, William

Owen, Joseph

Pascoe, James

Richardson, John

Richardson, Richard

Russell, Michael

Sandy, Charles

Schofield, Abraham

Serjeantson, John

Spencer, George

Stockell, Henry

Storr, Abraham

Thompson, Thomas

Wade, John

Watt, William

Westbury, Charles

Wild, John

Woodwell, William

Notes and Links

1). Convict John Richardson from Essex who was sentenced to 7 years transportation for pig stealing was executed for bushranging on 5 August 1833.

2). Charles Westbury became a bushranger in the 1830's. Several of his companions were executed in 1831. Select here to find out more.

3). William Watt whose words and deeds reverberated throughout the colony in the 1830s arrived as a convict on the Marquis of Hastings.

4). Select here to read about the punishment that Francis Hayes endured at Windsor in 1833.

5). William Rae was also employed as surgeon on the convict ships Eliza in 1822 Isabella in 1823, Marquis of Huntley in 1826 and the Prince Regent in 1827

6). The Marquis of Hastings transported convicts to Australia in 1826 (NSW), 1827 (NSW), 1828 (NSW), 1839 (VDL) and 1842 (VDL).

7). Seventeen convict ships arrived in New South Wales in 1828 - Florentia, Elizabeth, Marquis of Huntley, Hooghly, Morley, Asia, Mangles, Borodino, Phoenix, Bussorah Merchant, Countess of Harcourt, Competitor, Marquis of Hastings, Albion, City of Edinburgh, Eliza,
Royal George

8).Return of Convicts of the Marquis of Hastings assigned between 1st January 1832 and 31st March 1832 (Sydney Gazette 14 June 1832; 28 June 1832)

Henry Brown - Painter's boy assigned to H. McArthur at Parramatta

Henry Fowler - Blacksmith assigned to Thomas Icely at Bathurst

Bigley Hermitage - Boatman assigned to R. Lambert jun. at Bathurst

John Kennedy - Ironfounder assigned to John Thomson at Maitland

John Marsh - Stone cutter assigned to W.C. Wentworth at Vaucluse

James Matthews - Ploughman. Assigned to George Bowman at Richmond


9). Convict ships bringing detachments of the 57th Regiment........

Asia 1825 departed Cork 29 October 1824 Captain Richard Heaviside

Asia (III) 1825 departed Portsmouth 5 January 1825 - Lieutenant Thomas Bainbridge

Royal Charlotte 1825 departed Portsmouth 5 January 1825 - Major Edmund Lockyer

Hooghley 1825 departed Cork 5 January 1825 Cork - Captain Patrick Logan

Norfolk 1825 departed Portsmouth 17 April 1825 - Captain James Brown

Minstrel 1825 departed Portsmouth 17 April 1825 - Lieutenant Henry John Tudor Shadforth

Lonach 1825 departed Cork 16 May 1825 - Lieutenant John William Donelan

Sir Godfrey Webster departed Cork 11 July 1825 Lieutenant John Ovens

Medway 1825 departed the Downs 2 August 1825 Downs - Lieutenant William Bates

Henry Porcher 1825 departed Dublin 5 August 1825 Dublin - Captain Vance Young Donaldson

Marquis of Hastings 1826 departed Portsmouth 22 August 1825 - Ensign Stewart

Mangles 1826 departed Cork 23 October 1825 - Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Shadforth

Sesostris 1826 departed Portsmouth 30 November 1825 - Major John Campbell

Prince Regent 1827 departed London 11 June 1827 - Lieutenant Campbell

Morley 1828 departed Dublin 3 November 1827 - Captain Robert Hunt

Borodino 1828 departed Cork 11 February 1828 Cork - Captain Philip Aubyn

Mangles 1828 departed Dublin 23 February 1828 Dublin- Lieut. Hill and Adjutant Lieut. Kidd

Bussorah Merchant 1828 departed London 27 March 1828 - Captain Burton Daveney (+ 1 soldier)

Marquis of Hastings 1828 departed Portsmouth 1828 30 June 1828 - Colonel Allen

Asia 1828 departed London 23 November 1828 - Lieutenant George Edwards.


10). Convict ships bringing detachments of the 63rd regiment -

Albion departed Sheerness 1 June 1828 - Lieutenant M. Vickery

Eliza departed London 29 June 1828 - Major Sholto Douglas

Marquis of Hastings departed 30 June 1828 - Ensign Stulbmer

Royal George departed Spithead 26 August 1828 - Captain J. Briggs

Vittoria departed Devonport1 September 1828 - Lieutenant Aubyn

Governor Ready departed Cork 21 September 1828 - Lieutenant J. Gibbons Lane

Ferguson departed Dublin 16 November 1828 - Captain D'Arcy Wentworth

Mellish departed Falmouth 2 January 1829 - Captain Baylee

Lord Melville departed London 5 January 1829 - Lieut-Col. Burke

Waterloo departed London 14 March 1829- Lieutenant T. Grove

America departed Woolwich 8 April 1829 - Adjutant T. Montgomery

Norfolk departed Spithead 22 May 1829 - Ensign W.J. Darling

Guildford departed Dublin 12 July 1829 - Lieut McLean 89th

Larkins departed Cork 16 August 1829 - Captain Mahon

Claudine departed London 24 August 1829 - Captain Paterson

Sarah departed London 29 August 1829 - Lieutenant Croly

Dunvegan Castle departed 30 September 1829 - Lieutenant John Gray

Katherine Stewart Forbes departed Spithead 14 October 1829 - Major Fairtclough

References

[1] UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849

[2] Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857. Medical Journal of William Rae on the voyage of the Marquis of Hastings in 1828. The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey.

[3] Bateson, Charles, Library of Australian History (1983). The convict ships, 1787-1868 (Australian ed). Library of Australian History, Sydney : pp.348-349, 386

[4] National Archives - Reference: ADM 101/50/4 Description: Medical and surgical journal of the Marquis of Hastings convict ship for 23 May to 28 October 1828 by William Rae, surgeon, during which time the said ship was employed in a voyage to Sydney, New South Wales.