Convict Ship Marquis of Hastings
1827
Embarked: 168 men
Voyage: 102 days
Deaths: 0
Surgeon's Journal: yes
Previous vessel: Guildford arrived 25 July 1827
Next vessel: Princess Charlotte arrived 6 August 1827
Captain John Jeffrey Drake.
Surgeon Gilbert King
Gilbert King was born in Scotland c. 1791. He was employed as Surgeon Superintendent on five convict ship voyages to Australia. Later he was appointed Deputy Inspector of Hospitals and Fleets
This was the second of five voyages of the Marquis of Hastings bringing convicts to Australia.
The convicts of the Marquis of Hastings came from districts throughout England - Essex, Oxford, Surrey, Winchester, Warwick, Stafford, Bodmin, Manchester, York and London etc. Most had been held on the hulks and were transferred to the ship between 27th March and 9th April 1827.
Departure from Portsmouth
The Marquis of Hastings departed Portsmouth on 18th April 1827.[2]Gilbert King's Medical Journal
Surgeon-Superintendent Gilbert King was approximately thirty-six years of age in 1827. This was his second voyage as surgeon superintendent on a convict ship, the first being on the Medway to VDL in 1825.He kept a Medical Journal from 28 March to 16 August 1827. He was aware of the importance of guarding against scurvy. Several men suffered with this disease however there were no deaths except that of the ten month old son of a soldier. King had rejected a number of convicts before the ship sailed as he considered them too ill or infirm to survive the journey. The ship was kept clean, dry and well ventilated. Stoves were used against cold, one by the 'back yard' in the prison and another in the hospital. Although the voyage took only 102 days, a great part of this time was spent between 40 and 42 degrees south and during the winter months.
Despite this Gilbert King considered the general health of the convicts was good and, apart from two cases of rubeola, scarcely a man was confined to bed. [1]
The following cases were mentioned in his journal:
John James aged 24. Fever, cough
John Thompson aged 25. Hoarseness and difficulty swallowing, fever
David Jenkins age 18. Headache, pain in extremities
Thomas Kirby aged 27, soldier, tenesmus.
David Charlesworth aged 22, severe rigors
Michael Hayward aged 22. Scorbutic diathesis, dark bloated appearances flabby muscles, purple spots, swollen gums, indolent disposition
John Davidson aged 27. severe rigors with pain in the joints
John Siccar aged 47, weak, sad and despondent. Poor emaciated sickly looking old man, haggard, sallow, few remaining teeth
Michael Berns aged 21. Soldier. Languor and lassitude pains in the loins and weakness in joints as a result of being exposed to very heavy rain during watch.
Ralph Wood aged 21. Convict [3]
Perhaps the surgeon was called on to treat Mr. Fuller, steward of the ship, after he had been cruelly treated by Captain Drake. The Monitor later reported a court case Fuller v. Drake in which Fuller was awarded damages of 15 pounds........ Supreme Civil Court - Tuesday.- Fuller, v. Drake. The plaintiff was steward of a prison-ship, the Marquis of Hastings, of which defendant was master. The witnesses differed as to whether defendant was drunk on a certain day during the voyage to this Colony, but they agreed that he had by the orders of Captain Drake received thirty blows on the back with the end of a two-inch rope, which made him black and blue, and incapable of duty for three days. Defendant was not insolent to the Captain, but rather defied the boatswain who bastinadoed him. If the defendant was not drunk at the exact time he was beaten, it appeared he had been so just previously. He had received however a good character for civility from the passengers, and was now a tide-waiter in the harbour. The Chief Justice said, a Ship at sea was a little government, and the master stood in point of authority as a parent, a guardian, and a master of a large family. His authority was essential to the comfort and well-being of those in the ship, and the law supported him in the just exercise of his authority. But the undefined nature of his power, and the arbitrary use which might be made of it, required also the check of the law. Drunkenness was a dangerous offence, especially on board a prison-ship; but then a starting as it was called, was not a very legal punishment, and if the Jury thought it too severe, they would act accordingly. Verdict for Plaintiff. Damages: 15 pounds. The Monitor 17 December 1827
Passengers
Passengers included the Attorney-General Alexander Macduff BaxterAlexander Macduff Baxter and wife, with one male and one female servant and Mr. Foster.
Military Guard
The guard comprised a detachment (30 men) of the Royal Veteran Co., under orders of Lieut. Lane. Fourteen women and 13 children accompanied the troops. Thomas Budd was included in the military guard. He was accompanied on the ship by his wife Sophia and later became a Constable at Patterson's Plains.Arrival in Port Jackson
The Marquis of Hastings arrived at Port Jackson on 31 July 1827 with 168 male prisoners, none having died on the voyage, and 11,000 pounds in specie for the Treasury.Alexander McLeay
The prisoners were mustered on board by the Colonial Secretary Alexander McLeay on 4th August 1827. Particulars in the convict indents include Name, Age, Education, Religion, Marital status, Family, Native place, Occupation, Offence, When and Where tried, Previous convictions, Physical description and to whom assigned on arrival.
There is also occasional information regarding relatives already in the colony, tickets of leave, pardons, colonial crimes and punishment and deaths.
Robert Judd a native of Co. Tyrone was sent to the hospital on arrival.
Departure from Port Jackson
The Marquis of Hastings departed Port Jackson on Saturday 1st September 1827 bound for Canton.Convicts of the Marquis of Hastings identified in the Hunter Valley -
Atkins, William
Barry, William
Bartlett, Thomas
Bear, George
Billings, John
Brooks, Thomas
Brown, George
Budd, Thomas
Cushion, William
Cato, James
Davis, Obadiah
Dixon, George
Fairman, Henry
Field, George
Foster, Thomas
Frond, James
Grover, David
Handley, John
Hassell, William
Hodges, George
Horricks, Thomas
Hoy, James
James, John
Jenkins, David
Jones, John alias William Bryan or Herbert
Kaye, George
Kelsey, Richard
Lemon, Samuel
Lewis, John
Lightwing, James
Limmer, Henry
Lock, James
Lowe, Joseph
Maher, Alexander
Neale, George
Punchard, James
Perry, William
Phillips, William
Randall, Robert
Serjeant, Thomas
Smith, George
Stacey, Thomas
Taafe, John
Thomas, William
Thompson, John
Thorneycroft, John
Topping, Thomas
Walker, William
Wallace, Edward
West, Phillip
Williams, John
Notes and Links
1). William Jackson who was 13 years of age was sent to Carter's Barracks on arrival. Samuel Morton who was 16 years of age was privately assigned to a settler at Bathurst2). William Smith alias King from Suffolk was lost in the sloop Dove which was lost off Port Stephens north of Newcastle in 1828.
3). Gilbert King was also employed as surgeon on the convict ships Medway 1825 (VDL) Lord Lyndoch in 1831 (VDL) Eden in 1836 and the Moffatt in 1838 (VDL)
4). The Marquis of Hastings transported convicts to Australia in 1826 (NSW), 1827 (NSW), 1828 (NSW), 1839 (VDL) and 1842 (VDL).
5). Seventeen convict ships arrived in New South Wales in 1827 - Grenada, Brothers, (F) Albion, Midas, Mariner, Countess of Harcourt, Guildford, Marquis of Hastings, Princess Charlotte, Manlius, Cambridge, Harmony, Prince Regent, Champion, Eliza, John and the Louisa
6). Return of Convicts of the Marquis of Hastings assigned between 1st January 1832 and 31st March 1832 (Sydney Gazette 14 June 1832; 5 July 1832).....
William Atkins Pedlar. Assigned to James McDougall at Darlington
James Blake Tape weaver and labourer assigned to Michael Riley at Banks Town
William Cushion Carpenter assigned to Lieut. Colonel Dumaresq at St. Hiliers
Stephen Dark Shoemaker assigned to Joseph Sharpe at Bathurst
Benjamin Pollard Whitesmith and locksmith assigned to James Russell at Sydney
References
[1] Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857 Office of the Director General of the Medical Department of the Navy and predecessors: Medical Journals (ADM 101, 804 bundles and volumes). Records of Medical and Prisoner of War Departments. Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies. The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey.[2] Bateson, Charles Library of Australian History (1983). The convict ships, 1787-1868 (Australian ed). Library of Australian History, Sydney : pp.346-347, 385
[3] National Archives - Reference: AD3. National Archives - Reference: ADM 101/50/3 Description: Medical and surgical journal of His Majesty's Transport Marquis of Hastings convict ship, for 28 March to 16 August 1827 by Gilbert King, Surgeon, during which time the said ship was employed in making a passage from Portsmouth to New South Wales.