A series of coincidences led to eleven Moreton Bay convicts seizing an opportunity to become pirates and sailing the South Pacific in a rum-soaked bloody adventure in 1832. On 26 June 1831, a ship named America ran aground on a reef in the Torres Straits, near far north Queensland. She had been on a voyageContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – the seizure of the Caledonia Schooner”
Category Archives: Convicts
Charles McManus: Let my fate be a warning to you.
Charles McManus (per “James Pattison”) and John Norman (per “Atlas”) were quite alike. They were both about 30, both 5 feet 7 ½ inches tall, both had sallow complexions with brown hair and hazel eyes. Both were sentenced to Moreton Bay for reoffending in the Colony of New South Wales, and both travelled from SydneyContinue reading “Charles McManus: Let my fate be a warning to you.”
The men of the Stapylton Survey
Who were the men who took part in the ill-fated survey party in 1840? Granville William Chetwynd Stapleton was the youngest son of Major-General Granville Anson Chetwynd Stapylton, born in 1800. He married Catherine Bulteel in 1825, and decided to make his career in the (very) New World in 1828, becoming an Assistant Surveyor inContinue reading “The men of the Stapylton Survey”
From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay – Indigenous people
For millennia, the indigenous people of Moreton Bay lived in and travelled about their country without external disruption. There had been the occasional sighting of ships in the distance, a surveying boat now and then, and a few brief sightings of Europeans, but they had not had their lands entirely taken over. The establishment ofContinue reading “From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay – Indigenous people”
Convict Runaways – George Brown, escapee, draftsman, constable and trouble-maker.
George Brown was one of the most flagrant absconders from Moreton Bay. And, like his namesake Sheik Brown, his story is extraordinary. George Brown was said to have born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) around 1800, and was a seaman and servant by trade. Like Sheik Brown, he was an indigenous Sri Lankan or possiblyContinue reading “Convict Runaways – George Brown, escapee, draftsman, constable and trouble-maker.”
From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay: Bushrangers
In early 1839, the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was about to be “broken up”. Aside from a basic staff and 39 convicts to maintain the place, the inmates and their Regimental masters were preparing to be sent to Sydney. Doubtless there was a great deal of relief on all sides. Before the breaking-up, a groupContinue reading “From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay: Bushrangers”
The barefoot overseer, the razor, the lash and some pork
Thomas O’Meara’s story. Thomas O’Meara thought Overseer John Bluer was a bit mad. Bluer wore no shoes – except on Sundays – and scurried around a lot, giving incomprehensible orders to the men. Bluer had been relieved of Overseer duties a couple of times – once for leaving two men out in the field whenContinue reading “The barefoot overseer, the razor, the lash and some pork”
Murder at Moreton Bay – “But for one oppressed man to kill another oppressed man, is matchless in infamy.”
On a rainy morning in April 1830, two convicts from Moreton Bay were taken to the Gallows at Sydney gaol. The usual crowd of spectators gathered to watch the events of the morning. Some were morbidly curious to see the condemned men hanged, others to see if there would be any drama before the hangingContinue reading “Murder at Moreton Bay – “But for one oppressed man to kill another oppressed man, is matchless in infamy.””
Murder at Moreton Bay – I am tired of this life.
Patrick Maguire was 30, and he was tired of life. It was the 6th of January 1832, and he was working in the sun with a young Scot, Matthew Gallagher, getting gravel from the pit to repair the roads. It was humid, it was hot, the sun blazed overhead. The only relief might come inContinue reading “Murder at Moreton Bay – I am tired of this life.”
Murder at Moreton Bay – The Awful Entries in Spicer’s Diary.
Spicer’s Diary is the name given to the Book of Monthly Returns of Prisoners Maintained at Moreton Bay. Peter Spicer was Superintendent of Convicts from 23 August 1826 – 8 May 1839. The diary records the number of prisoners assigned to every form of work in the Colony, from clerical workers to bullock drivers. ThereContinue reading “Murder at Moreton Bay – The Awful Entries in Spicer’s Diary.”
Moreton Bay and More 