Convict Ship Ocean 1818

Convict Ship Ocean II (1) - 1818

Embarked: 182 men
Voyage: 142 days
Deaths: 2
Surgeon's Journal: yes
Tons: 437
Previous vessel: Larkins arrived 22 November 1817
Next vessel: Friendship arrived 14 January 1818
Captain Samuel Remmington
Surgeon George Fairfowl
Passengers and convicts of the Ocean identified in the Hunter Valley

The Ocean II was built at Whitby in 1808. [4]

This was the first voyage of the Ocean bringing convicts to New South Wales. Prisoners from counties in England, Scotland and Wales were transported on the Ocean. - London, Derby, Middlesex, Essex, Somerset, Bristol, Warwick, York, Stafford, Surrey, Northampton, Hertford, Lancaster, Leicester, Gloucester, Chester, Berks, Oxford, Hereford, Kent, Southampton, Norfolk, Cornwall, Suffolk, Dorset, Rutland, Inverness, Aberdeen, Perth, Edinburgh, Pembroke, Radnor, Monmouth. There were also those who had been court-martialled at Halifax CM and Trincomalee CM.

The convicts mentioned in The Times on 9 August 1817 may have been those destined for transportation on the Ocean - On Wednesday night, between 7 and 8 o'clock, 22 convicts were put into an open wagon in the Old Bailey yard, which soon afterwards drove off on their way to Portsmouth for embarkation to Botany Bay.

The early hour attracted a greater crowd than usual outside; and a curious incident occurred. Several persons climbed up, as usual on the outside wall, to take a view of the convicts.

One of them was imprudent enough openly to claim acquaintance with one or two of the most hardened; when the officers in attendance, suspecting him to be an old offender, rushed out at the gate, and took him into custody. He was lodged in Newgate with some difficulty [1].

Departure

The Ocean sailed from Spithead on 21st August 1817 and called at St. Helena on 31st October where she remained a week. [5]

Surgeon George Fairfowl

This was George Fairfowl's first voyage as Surgeon Superintendent of a convict ship. He was later employed as Surgeon on the convict ships Dromedary in 1820,Woodman in 1823, Royal Charlotte in 1825, Asia 1827 (VDL) Sovereign in 1829, Andromeda in 1830, Clyde in 1832 and the Hive in 1834.

George Fairfowl kept a Medical Journal which commenced on the 24th June 1817. It is a detailed journal of the particular cases however not as informative as to the conditions on the vessel as his later journals.

His first case was that of free passenger Edmund Shackley who took ill in July after bathing his feet in cold water. [4]

Port Jackson

The Ocean arrived at Port Jackson on 10 January 1818 and anchored in Sydney Cove in the afternoon. Two male prisoners died on the voyage .... Augustus Golding and William Tarry who both died of consumption. One prisoners was discharged and sent home from St. Helena. [6] The other prisoners arrived in general good health, though several had been afflicted with inflammation of the lungs which was cured during the voyage.

Military Guard

The Guard was a Detachment of the 48th. Regt. under the Command of Lieut. Campbell of the same Corps. [6]

Convict ship bringing detachments of the 48th regiment included the Pilot, Caledonia, Dorothy, Larkins, Lady Castlereagh, Agamemnon, Minerva, Guildford, Isabella, Prince Regent and
Baring

Convict Assignment

On arrival the men were distributed for service at Parramatta, Windsor and Liverpool. J.T. Campbell, Colonial Secretary informed Rev. Marsden, in correspondence dated 16 January 1818:

Rev. Sir,
I herewith transmit you a list of the names of convicts landed from the transport ship Ocean, Remmington Master, of whom are ordered by His Excellency the Governor for General Distribution among the settlers within the District where you preside as a Magistrate in the usual way - And to those to whom His Excellency has already assigned them and whose names appear in the accompanying list, you will please to furnish me with a list of the names of the Settlers to whom you shall assign any of those convicts specifying therein the names of the convicts so assigned. These men are now sent forward to Parramatta by water and you are to distribute them according to the list herewith - You will also receive a general list of those now forwarded as well for Windsor and Liverpool as for Parramatta for your guidance in the forwarding of them.
Revd. Samuel Marsden, J.P Parramatta William Cox, Rev. Robert Cartwright, James Mileham - Windsor Thomas Moore - Liverpool
Following is a List of Convicts disembarked form the Ocean and forwarded to Parramatta, Windsor and Liverpool 16 January 1818:

Parramatta: Sent to Mr. Bayley - Francis Green, Joseph Davis, Solomon Ford, William Haydon Sent to Captain Brabyn - Samuel Hurst, Joseph Evenden, Thomas Cox, Hartley Emmett For General Distribution: Samuel Wolfe, William Bolton, John Brynes, Charles Haddon, William Hawkins, John Brown, Charles Buckmaster, Daniel Burke, Thomas Reynolds, John Wilkins William Jones, James Johnston, George Jackson, John Shelmardine, Jeremiah Desmond, John Whyte,

Windsor: Mr. Cox - James Allen For General distribution: James Cole, Philip Potts, William Huxforth, John Mitchell, Peter Johnston, William Webb, Thomas Bottomly, John Davis, John Abrahams, James Cotton, James Hill, John Olston, C. Brown, Timothy Geary, John Browman, Thomas Ball, John Moore, Joseph Capewell, Michael De Courcy, Thomas Cope, Joseph Josephs, John Cooper, John Clarke 1st, John Hyatt, James Watson, John Clarke 2nd, John Cully, Daniel Beswick, Elijah Chatham, Thomas Thomas.

Liverpool: For Dr. Townson - John Sumner, James Luker, James Baird, Thomas Jacobs For J.T. Campbell - John Williams, William Lane, Edward Brittle, Joseph Belo, William Luff, Robert Long, James Charles Thomas Merritt for Mr. Meehan Signed Mr. Hutchinson, Principal Superintendent of Convicts. [2]

Departure from the Colony

The Ocean departed Port Jackson for Batavia on 15th February 1818. Passenger for England - Surgeon Edward Foord Bromley

The Ocean returned to New South Wales with convicts in 1823.

Notes and Links

1). Passengers and convicts of the Ocean identified in the Hunter Valley

2). Return of Convicts of the Ocean assigned between 1st January 1832 and 31st March 1832 (Sydney Gazette 5 July 1832).....
John Olston - Seaman assigned to John Thomson at Wollombi

References

[1] The Times [London, England] 9 Aug. 1817: The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

[2] Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Copies of Letters Sent Within The Colony, 1814 - 1827. NRS 937; Reel or Fiche Numbers: Reels 6004-6016 (Ancestry)

[3] Medical Journal of George Fairfowl on the voyage of the Ocean. Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857 The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey.

[4] Bateson, Charles, Library of Australian History (1983). The convict ships, 1787-1868 (Australian ed). Library of Australian History, Sydney : pp.340-341, 382

[5] Sydney Gazette 17 January 1818

[6] Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie Archive

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