James Hale had the distinction of having a free passage to Australia in 1831 courtesy of HM Gov't, being a machine breaker. He left a wife and three children behind. His passage was aboard the Eliza to Tasmania. I would not have known of this journey if it were not for Jill Chambers' book Wiltshire Machine Breakers Vol 2. because James arrived back in Wiltshire in time to be enumerated on the 1841 census. My questions are:
1 who did he work for in Tasmania or how to I find out and
2. how did he get home? Obviously by ship but was a fare required or did he work his passage?
Any suggestions on how to find out would be welcome. pwholt
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31-10-2021, 4:50 PM #1
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James Hale of Enford in Australia
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31-10-2021, 6:55 PM #2
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- Sep 2005
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Tasmanian Name Index will give you his convict records.
https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fNAME_INDEXES$002f0$002fNAME_INDEXES: 1398010/ada?qu=James&qu=hale&d=ent%3A%2F%2FNAME_INDEXES%2F 0%2FNAME_INDEXES%3A1398010%7ENAME_INDEXES%7E4&h=8
They also have some departure records so it's worth searching them.
Convicts were responsible for getting themselves home.
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31-10-2021, 7:00 PM #3
The image I saw on ancestry in Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868 doesn't give anything other than his name but this site gives the extra information that he was sentenced to 7 years so unless he served less time his return to the UK was sometime between 1838 and 1841. The site also gives links to other resources.
More information from The National Library of Australia on researching your convict ancestors.
https://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/convicts
Megan certainly knows more than me about research in Australia even though I lived there for 50+ years.
Megan I can't make your link work, what am I doing wrong? Okay so I cut it down to just the first bit and made my way to this page but didn't go any further.
https://www.libraries.tas.gov.au/fam...departure.aspx
ChristinaSometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
William Burroughs
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31-10-2021, 8:22 PM #4
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Apologies about the link. Hopefully this one will be better:
https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-20$init=CON31-1-20p94
According to his Conduct Record he received a free pardon 3 December 1836 (6 years after his arrest).
He was tried at the Special Commission held at Wiltshire Assizes 1830 (27 Dec 1830) – accused of "feloniously destroying a threshing machine" – dozens of people tried and convicted.
James Hale aged 28 – sent to VDL 22 Jan 1831 from the prison hulk York moored at Portsmouth.
Lots of newspaper reports:
13 January 1831 – Dorset County Chronicle
13 January 1831 Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette
I cannot see a record of his departure. The most likely thing is that he worked his passage home.
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31-10-2021, 8:24 PM #5
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- Sep 2005
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- Lancashire
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=Megan Roberts;692379]Apologies about the link. Hopefully this one will be better:
https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-20$init=CON31-1-20p94
Unfortunately I see that it isn't....
https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx
In the drop down box in the top right hand corner select "Names Index"
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31-10-2021, 8:41 PM #6
- Join Date
- May 2009
- Location
- uk
- Posts
- 1,843
I'm not having much luck with copying and pasting The Machine Breaker Convicts from the Proteus and the Eliza by B W Brown - it is an Australian university thesis that Google brought up and is very informative. Most of the machine breakers were pardoned and many did return home. They mostly saved the money to pay their way.
Helping you trace your British Family History & British Genealogy.
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