They committed serious crimes and ended up in the Colonies. They reoffended and were sent to Moreton Bay. The prisoners who inhabited the Penal Colony at Moreton Bay between 1824 and 1839 still committed crimes. There were the murderers, who went to Sydney to be tried and almost inevitably found guilty and executed. There were the absconders – those who escaped into the bush for a few days or a dozen years – they generally received a severe lashing on the orders of the Commandant, also the Magistrate at Moreton Bay. Then there were the minor offences – some so trivial as to be comical – for which prisoners were charged and punished in order perhaps to maintain discipline and order in the establishment as a whole. It certainly kept the Commandant busy, dealing with all of the insolent, lazy, rude and sneaky people who had to be kept in line. From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay, here are a few of the matters that came to official attention.
8th April 1839
John Gallagher
Ship: Sir Godfrey Webster
Insolence
Overseer Turner sworn states prisoner was employed this morning about 2 o’clock in pumping out the Cutter George, I told him before leaving off pumping to see that the pump sucked, in order that the man who relieved him might take the pump over in proper order. Upon which the prisoner replied, “Suck my ‘arse’”.
Sentenced 25 Lashes. Commandant
17 June 1839.
Mary Ann Carrol
Ship: Louisa
Refusing to take Medicine
Doctor Ballow being sworn states: the prisoner would not take the medicine I ordered.
Admonished. Commandant.
17 June 1839.
Thomas Brown
Ship: Fairlie
Getting Tea under False Pretences
Constable Thompson being duly sworn states that the prisoner borrowed tea of me in the Chief Constable’s name. The Chief Constable duly sworn states the prisoner had no orders from me to do so.
Admonished and sentenced to hard duty. Commandant.
22nd May 1839
Robert Giles
Ship: Exmouth
Disrespect
Constable Brown being sworn, states I was standing by the gateway of the Prisoner’s Barracks when the prisoner, Robert Giles, ran a wheelbarrow against me.
Admonished. Commandant.
20 August 1835.
Thomas Lurcher
Lord Melville
Turbulent Conduct and Neglect of Work
Constable Clarke duly sworn states that the prisoner is in the gaol gang under his charge and this morning he kept constantly squabbling with the other men, threatening to strike “Sheik Brown” and persistently refusing to go on with his work when ordered to do so by Overseer.
Defence: – Prisoner says he had too great a proportion of work left to be done by him by “Brown” and denies threatening to strike him.
Sentence:
25 lashes. J. Clunie, Commandant.
Moreton Bay and More 