Henry Cowper was 25 when he came to Brisbane to take up the role of Assistant Colonial Surgeon at Moreton Bay. (Assistant was just part of the title – he was the only medical officer at the settlement.) He arrived at the same time as Captain Patrick Logan became Commandant, to a couple of hutsContinue reading “Henry Cowper, Moreton Bay’s First Doctor.”
Tag Archives: Convicts
Convict Runaways: The life of David Bracewell (Wandi).
In my recent posts on James “Duramboi” Davis, I have referred in passing to David Bracewell (sometimes called Bracefell or Bracefield), known as “Wandi” to the indigenous people of Eumundi. I think now is perhaps a good time to fill in the details. David Bracewell was born in Shadwell, London in 1805 and worked asContinue reading “Convict Runaways: The life of David Bracewell (Wandi).”
Minor Offences – from the Trial Book of Moreton Bay.
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 wereContinue reading “Minor Offences – from the Trial Book of Moreton Bay.”
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”
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.”
