William Saunders or Sanders was born in Birmingham around 1795, and was a seaman and smith by trade. At the Surrey Quarter Sessions of March 1817, Saunders was convicted of “robbing Bleachgreen”, and sentenced to be transported for fourteen years. Thief. Saunders arrived in Sydney on the Larkins on 22 November 1817. He was 5Continue reading “The Amity Convicts – “a Radically Bad and Infamous Character.””
Tag Archives: Convict Runaways
The Convict Runaways – Part 1
Four men escaped from Moreton Bay in October 1825 – did they really commit murder, and leave five drowned comrades? Runaway 1 – John Longbottom. (Updated from the Post – A Notorious Rogue and Vagabond.) At York in January 1817 a young sailor was sentenced to seven years’ transportation to New South Wales. Even forContinue reading “The Convict Runaways – Part 1”
The Convict Pirates of Norfolk Island Seize the Barque Lady Franklin.
A Piratical seizure, a journey to the south seas, a court martial and a decades-long international manhunt. In December 1853, the last of the Norfolk Island Pirates, already under sentence for their misdeeds in Moreton Bay, faced the Court at Hobart Town and pleaded guilty to stealing the launch at Norfolk Island. Property of HerContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Norfolk Island Seize the Barque Lady Franklin.”
Convict Runaways – “Duramboi” Davis Returns.
1842 Several factors combined to bring Duramboi back to Moreton Bay in 1842. His life amongst the indigenous people of the Fraser Coast would have become known to Europeans soon, due to the setting up of sheep stations near his family’s traditional lands. Explorers were mapping the Colony. And the times were changing. 1842 wasContinue reading “Convict Runaways – “Duramboi” Davis Returns.”
The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – on the run in the South Pacific.
When the Caledonia sailed out of Moreton Bay into open water, Captain George Browning remained under the close watch of the leader of the Caledonia pirates, William Evans, and his deputies Hugh Hastings and William Smith. They were determined to head to the island of Rotumah to hopefully get aboard a whaler or trading ship. CaptainContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – on the run in the South Pacific.”
The Convict Pirates of Moreton Bay – the seizure of the Caledonia Schooner
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”
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.”
Convict Runaways – John Sterry Baker
John Sterry Baker. John Sterry Baker was one of the earliest Convict runaways in Queensland and he was the first to live among the Indigenous people for a significant number of years (14 in all). His story is not as well known as those of James Davis (Duramboi), David Bracewell (Wandi) and Sheik Brown, becauseContinue reading “Convict Runaways – John Sterry Baker”
Moreton Bay and More 