Hull, The First Fleet and Australia, Part 1

In this first of a two-part blog, we recount the story of three Hull men who set out with the First Fleet to Australia to serve their sentence of seven years transportation. Part 2 will look at life recalled by later Hull people who settled Australia as free men and women in the 19th century.

On this day (13th May 1787) a party of eleven ships, their crews, men, women, children, marines, and convicts left Portsmouth for Australia. Under the command of Captain Arthur Philip, they were to establish a new settlement. The journey of over 15,000 miles took upwards of around 8 months, finally arriving in Sydney Cove from 18 January 1788.

Two and a half years earlier on October 7, 1784, William Dring, a Hull boy believed to be no more than 14 years old pleaded guilty to petty larceny at the Hull Quarter Sessions. In return he was ‘sentenced to be transported beyond the seas for seven years’. Dring was not alone. Also pleading guilty alongside him was Joseph Robinson. He too received seven years transportation. A third individual also implicated, was John Hastings. Hastings however denied the charges. Tried by jury, he was later found not guilty.

Court case, William Dring - accused, 7 Oct1784
[Ref: C CBQ/60/19]

The offence, or in the case of Hastings the alleged offence took place five weeks earlier on 24 August, when it was said Dring, Robinson and Hastings stole and made away with a pair of trousers and several other things which were the goods and chattels of Joseph Mitchinson, including bottles of brandy. Pleading guilty, Dring and Robinson were removed the Goal at the junction Market Place and Mytongate to await transportation to Australia.

Attempts were made for Dring to receive a lighter sentence and even a pardon, perhaps owing to his age or a reputed opportunity of employment in return for leniency. Despite such attempts, the sentence stood, and the shackles remained steadfast. At the same session, Robert Nettleton was sentenced to seven years transportation for a similar offence, while Mary Atkinson also sentenced to transportation ‘obtained his majesty’s free pardon’, though we are uncertain why this was.

Order for transportation, 1784
[Ref: C CQB/61/52a]

On 26 April 1785, William Dring, Joseph Robinson, and Robert Nettleton were transferred to the Hulks in the River Thames to await their voyage to Australia. These hulks were decommissioned vessels used as floating prisons. It would however be another two years before all three were sent to serve out their sentences on the other side of the world. What makes this story unique in Hull’s history is these Hull men were among the eleven ships of the First Fleet which set sail for Australia.

The First Fleet, under the command of Captain Philips was to establish a new (and first) British settlement. They were among over 1,400 who set out making the journey to the other side of the world, before their eventual arrival at Botany Bay (now modern-day Sydney) on 19 January 1788. The ship they sailed on was the Hull built vessel, Alexander.  

For those who sailed to Australia the voyage would be the first hurdle to overcome. Hull man George Benson in his account of transportation in 1840, described the voyage as fraught with misery. The First Fleet however did make the voyage largely unscathed. Of the 1420 persons that left, 1373 arrived at Botany Bay. The Second Fleet however which left for Australia just under two years later was notorious for its poor conditions whilst at sea. Many became ill, with a quarter dying before their arrival. Many arrived riddled in lice, while forty percent of those that arrived died within the first six months.

Early settlers and convicts had to deal with the harsh conditions. Those serving transportation sentences for example, worked from sunset to sunrise. They were not paid. Punishment was physical. Lashes to the back were common. Some were placed into chains and heavy irons to make their work harder. This, thrown in with the heat and conditions could be truly awful. Female convicts were punished with hard labour and solitary confinement on bread and water. Such punishments would have no doubt impacted their mental health and wellbeing.

For those that received seven- or fourteen-years transportation the options were to return home or see out their days in Australia. Of course, those transported for life, their stay was indefinite. Hull man, George Benson returned home to Hull after his sentence and published his account of the ‘Horrors of Transportation’. Others chose to remain, however. Those that left Hull aboard the vessel Tranby all remained in Australia. For example, father and son, John and Joseph Hardey were influential figures in the early development of the Belmont area of what is modern-day Perth. Tranby House, on the Swan River was built by John Hardey, one of those who left Hull onboard the Tranby for Western Australia.

Those who went out with the First Fleet looked upon the Australia’s Aboriginal people with curiosity but also suspicion. And naturally this was very much reciprocated by the Aboriginal people. It wasn’t long however until both sides clashed. Shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet conflict between the Cadigal but also the Bidjigal people broke out, despite official policy of the British Government for the colony to establish friendly relations. There are no accounts of any Hull settlers in direct conflict with Australia’s Aboriginals. Presumably Dring, Robinson and Nettleton would have witnessed or perhaps participated in these first conflicts between the two groups.

A Hull man who emigrated to Australia via Melbourne recalled how it was not uncommon for miners to carry firearms when travelling from Melbourne to the gold mines for protection. The most documented encounter recorded with native indigenous peoples by any individual is that of Hull’s John Jewitt, who was taken prisoner by the North American Nootka tribe in what is today Canada’s Pacific North-west. He was one of the first Europeans to spend time with indigenous North American’s and his account of one of the earliest of their life prior to western colonisation of North America. Click here to read more about John Jewitt.

Of those three Hull men who went out with the First Fleet, William Dring remained. He was however unable to stay out of trouble, perhaps he’d developed a reputation among his peers. He was sent to Norfolk Island. The reputation of Norfolk Island, set up as an off shoot by some from the First Fleet was notorious among convicts, particularly those deemed unruly or trouble causers. Dring was reputed to have started a fire on the Sirus. He is also reputed to have stolen potatoes. Joseph Robinson too fell into trouble, but like Dring, was this really his character? For example, it is said he killed pigeons that were reserved for those most in need. Certainly, taking George Benson’s account, one could argue Robinson and Dring, like others were in need given the conditions and their treatment they endured.

Extract from Quarter Sessions (1784) at Hull the recording the sentences of Dring, Robinson, Nettleton and Mary Atkinson
[Ref: C CQB/61/51a] 

Nettleton and Robison eventually left presumably free men after serving their sentences. Attempted escapes were not uncommon, and in some cases, some were successful. A Liverpool man transported for seven years tried on several occasions to escape from Australia. He manged to stow away on one ship but was found. On another occasion he escaped from the penal colony on Tasmania, only to be again found as a stowaway and returned, while on another occasion he along with a small group managed to escape, before the group were eventually discovered by the authorities. Not to be deterred, he finally made good his escape and returned to England. It was whilst in his hometown of Liverpool that he was picked up, presumably after being recognised. Despite pleas recounting the horrors (even judge sympathising and recognising the misery he suffered) the judge had little option than re-impose the sentence of transportation, but this time for the term of his natural life.

William Dring remained indefinitely even after his sentence expired. In 1792 he married Ann Forbes. Together, they had a daughter, Elizabeth (b.1794) and Charles (b.1796) and settled in New South Wales. It is not known what happened to William Dring. Dring may have died by 1798. Another theory is he’d left Australia altogether with one suggestion William died in 1845 after drowning at sea. However, we will never really know what happened to William Dring.

Look out for part 2 coming soon...

Neil Chadwick

Librarian/Archivist

Unlocking the Treasures: The Horrors of Transportation by a Hull Man

In March of 1828 a young Hull man, George Benson, was convicted of robbery. His sentence was 14 years transportation. George served his time and returned to his native Kingston upon Hull to tell of his life as a convict. Here is George Benson’s story on the horrors of transportation.

Front page of  'The Horrors of Transportation' [L.920 BEN]

George was born around 1811. He had a virtuous upbringing and at around aged 14 he was apprenticed to a shopkeeper in Lowgate, of which he served three years. Unfortunately, George fell into bad company, which in his own words ‘commenced his ruin’. He became acquainted with lewd women and stayed out all night. His downfall came when George chose to help himself to his master’s till. George was possibly looked on favourably by his master, who decided not to prosecute. However, he was dismissed from his employment.

From this point George’s behaviour became more immoral and he was eventually reduced to poverty. Destitute, George along with four others resorted to housebreaking. All five were caught and committed to the Assizes. In the March of 1828 George and his accomplices were sentenced to 14 years transportation. For George, the initial impression was that transportation was not a severe form of punishment. In his own words, George believed transportation was 'not full of misery'. However, George was to be sadly mistaken.

The only insight to his voyage is the military type rule aboard the transportation ships, which George alludes too. However, like many of the convict ships, there is little reason to believe the voyage was not also one of misery. For example, in 1789 the Second Fleet was notorious for its poor conditions. Those onboard were said to have been riddled with lice upon their arrival, while many became ill due to the conditions. Time on deck would have been limited and most convicts would have been kept below deck. A quarter of those transported with the second fleet died during the voyage, and nearly half died within six months of their arrival. For George, such conditions would not have been too dissimilar and wrought with all the dangers of previous voyages, which may have taken up to six months. For more information about the voyage to Australia in the 19th century why not read the History Centre's blog about the Tranby and the settlement of the Swan River.

George arrived in New South Wales that same year. The four young men who were transported with George (quite possibly his accomplices in the robbery), were sent to Norfolk Island. Some 900 miles east of Australia, Norfolk Island had a reputation among convicts for its harsh and brutal conditions. Convicts were sent to work in the mercury mines for 18 hours a day on their knees and up to their waists in water. They saw day light only once a week. Such conditions brought much illness. It was here that George’s four accomplices met their end, said to have been massacred by the islands natives trying to escape.

Those sentenced to transportation were property of their masters. They worked from sunrise to sunset. Convicts earned no wages. Those in chain gangs were locked up in square boxes of 18 in a space less than two-feet each. George describes how convicts were regularly punished with lashes to the back. Some were placed in chains with heavy irons attached to their heels and made to work in the hot dust until flesh was burnt to a copper and hair scorched yellow in colour.

For others the Penal Settlement was a sentence worse than that of death. In 1836 one third of convicts sent to Botany Bay were undergoing one or more punishments. Many were transported for the duration of their life. Between 1836 and 1842, 402 criminals were executed, with many preferring this fate than that of Norfolk Island, declaring it [their execution] the happiest day since they left their native shore.

Women too were transported to Australia. However, for many it was not long until they went to the factory or house of correction and punished with hard labour or solitary confinement on bread and water.

The plight of convicts did not go unnoticed. One Norfolk Island convict was said to have brought the eyes of a judge to tears, when exclaiming 'let a man be what he will when he comes here, he is soon made bad as any, a man's heart is taken from him, and a beast's given him, in lieu of it'. In reality, a great many were at the mercy of their masters. According to George many were sent to the Penal Colonies simply because of tyranny and ignorance of bullies, who were afraid that anyone who has ability is likely to be promoted through good conduct. While those accused of offences during their transportation had no witnesses to speak in their favour.

George returned to Hull after 14 years. Transportation had such a profound effect on George that he wrote of its horrors. We do not know what happened to George after his return. From his account, however, he was determined to prevent others from suffering a fate he endured for 14 years.

A poem from 'The Horrors of Transportation' [L.920 BEN]

You can read the account of the Horrors of Transportation contained in the life and sufferings of George Benson at the Hull History Centre. The account can be found within the Local Studies reference collections at L.920 BEN.

Neil Chadwick, Project Officer, Unlocking the Treasures