Prisoners transported on the Aurora were convicted in counties throughout England - Warwick, Cambridge, Southampton, Middlesex Lancaster, Suffolk, Sussex, Norfolk, Essex, Somerset, York, Northampton, Leicester, Chester, Surrey, London, Salop and Wiltshire. None of the prisoners of the Aurora were convicted in Scotland. Three men were court-martialled at Guernsey. [2]
Many, even the young boys, were held on the Hardy hulk at Portsmouth to await transportation. They were transferred from the hulk to the Aurora on 26th June.
Military Guard
The guard consisted of Major Delisle, Lieut. Greetham/Grantham, 1 soldier and 2 boys of the 4th regiment and 27 rank and file of the 21st Fusiliers. Four females and four children together with a servant also came steerage.[3]
Cabin Passengers
Cabin Passengers included Mrs. Delisle and Miss Delisle. [3]
Departure from England
The Aurora departed Portsmouth on the 4th July 1833.
Arrival in Port Jackson
There were no stops during the voyage and the Aurora arrived at Port Jackson on Sunday 3 November 1833.
Convict Muster
The convicts were mustered on board on 7th November 1833 where details such as age, education, religion, family, native place, trade, offence, when and where tried, physical description, sentence and prior convictions were recorded. There is also occasional information in the indents about pardons and dates of death and colonial crimes, but none about where the prisoners were assigned on arrival.
Guard Disembarked
The troops went on shore on 6th November and marched to Head Quarters preceded by the Highland Piper. [4]
Convicts Disembarked
The men were landed on Thursday 21st November 1833 and taken to Hyde Park Barracks where they were assigned for service.
Assignment
Later in November the distribution of the prisoners of the Aurora was published in the Australian....
Private service...256
Public service...24
Port Macquarie...4
Carters' Barracks...7
Unfit for assignment...9
The four prisoners for Port Macquarie were placed on the hulk prior to being sent. One of them was said to be the brother of a well known Custom House agent who was extensively concerned with Coster and others of swindling celebrity.
There were seventeen boys under the age of 16 on the Aurora. The youngest included William Banghust 13; Thomas Westley 13; James Welsh 14; Henry Pike 14; George High 14; Thomas Boulter 15; John Smeathman 15; and Henry Walker 15. They may have been sent to the Carter's Barracks.
Departure from the Colony
The Aurora and the Lord Lyndoch were taken up by Government to convey the 63rd regiment stationed at Hobart, to India.
They departed Sydney on 8th December 1833
Notes and Links
1) Alexander Stewart was also surgeon on the convict ships America in 1829 and Southworth in 1830 (VDL).
2) One of the prisoners who arrived on the Aurora was Thomas Homer. In 1841 he was committed for trial for the murder of his overseer James Stone at New England. He was taken to Sydney for trial and then to Newcastle Gaol where he was executed in 1842.
3) The Australian published the following cryptic article on the 11th November which probably referred to Robert Byers...By the Aurora, a certain commission agent, who cut a very pretty figure in the witness box of the Supreme Court of this Colony some two years since, has arrived. The rudiments of learning that he had imbibed in this Colony were insufficient to protect him against the law reforms at home, and he has therefore been sent out to complete his education in the school where it was commenced.
4). Marriage at Sydney, by special license, by Rev. John McGarvie, Moore, Neil Campbell, Esq., to Miss Fanny Delisle, daughter of Major Delisle of the 4th Regt., or King's Own. The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842) Mon 30 Jan 1837 Page 2
5). Mrs. Delisle, relict of Major Delisle and mother of Mrs. Campbell, died at Bunglegumby in May 1878. She had reached the unusual age of 89 years and lived to find herself one of the four living generations The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893) Thu 23 May 1878 Page 7 DUBBO.
6). Convict ships bringing detachments of the 21st regiment (Royal Scotch Fusiliers) and Officer in command of the Guard....
Bengal Merchant departed 28 March 1 departed 28 March 1838 - Lieut. Dear of 21st regt.,
References
[1] Bateson, Charles, Library of Australian History (1983). The convict ships, 1787-1868 (Australian ed). Library of Australian History, Sydney : pp.352-353, 388