The Founders of Australia

There has been much written about the founders of modern Australia from Captain Cook to Matthew Flinders, who first circumnavigated the continent, but the real story of modern Australia belongs to those who literally built it over 200 years ago.

Consider the situation of life in 18thC Britain.?A benign climate, thanks to agricultural innovations a booming population, comparative politically stability within a developing democratic framework, and though the economy had its peaks and troughs brought about through the rapid pace of the industrial revolution, it was perhaps the best place to live in Enlightenment Europe.?So why would any sane individual want to emigrate, and least of all why would they want to emigrate to the far side of the globe, to an island continent where it would seem that the most poisonous and deadly variety of every conceivable animal lived – not to mention the long and hazardous sea voyage.?Added to which, New Holland or Australia as it would become was a place where some of the indigenous population had a taste for human flesh.?And that was a problem that had long been realised by the English elite from at least the mid 1600s.?A protestant England with more powerful and catholic continental neighbours faced the long term prospects of economic blockade and physical inhalation if it did not at least match the imperial designs of France and Spain. In order to populate these new and dark forbidding realms some of the British populace would have to be encouraged to go, willingly or otherwise.?And thus the policy of transportation was born.

My interest in the birth of Australia began with my own family history researches in the records of 18thC Wiltshire.?I chanced upon the tale of a distant relative who had got into some trouble with the law. It seems that on 11 July, 1784 a 21 year old William Earl Jr, having newly completed his indentures as a carpenter had gone out to celebrate.?Having got drunk and fallen into bad company, he was found with a not inconsiderable hangover in a local barn with the vicar’s silverware [one pint silver cup, one half pint ditto, five tablespoons, etc] about his person.?

Salisbury Journal 19 July 1784 - Committal to Fisherton Goal on suspicion of burglary "William Earl junior a carpenter of Keevil near Seend Head... The prisoner is quite a youth and it may be a warning to others...?[that he was] in abandoned company the night of the robbery. His father and mother are very honest industrious people and almost distracted at his disgraceful departure from a village where he had hitherto lived in credit."

Calendar for Prisoners, County Jail at Fisherton Anger Marlborough Sessions, 5 October 1784.?William Earl - Committed [for trial] Auguft 23, by J. Awdry Efq. On fufpicion of burglary entering the dwelling-house of James Banifter, clerk, and feloniously carrying away a quantity of plate, his property at Seend.??

Salisbury Journal 24 March 1785. William Earl is in a list of persons capitally convicted at the Assizes (i.e. crimes with the death sentence).

18thC England had a one size fits all, economical, environmentally friendly and sustainable judicial solution for some 220 crimes – the hangman’s noose.?From 1770 to 1830 there were over 35,000 felons hung for, from shoplifting and poaching to armed robbery and murder.?And for good measure, they’d stake your body through the heart and bury you at an isolated crossroads, such that your spirit couldn’t rise to bother the living further. (And yes, this same policy did continue up to 1828).?Such were the prospects for poor William as they took him back down to the cells in March of 1785.?But bigger wheels were turning in London and a plan was afoot that would see William freed – well, sort of…

In London, Thomas Townshend, aka Viscount Sydney, then Home Secretary, with the Lords that the Admiralty had established a plan to develop the newly discovered lands of Australia. Their plan involved sending a well equipped and substantive expedition to found a settlement at Botany Bay. They had no-doubt a list requirements for such an enterprise, and key amongst them would be willing, physically fit skilled labour, of which young William now met all the perquisite requirements. Indeed, so ideally qualified for this proposed future new career as an emigree, one has to wonder - was he stitched-up? After all this was the age of the 'press-gang'.

Having been made to sweat and consider the errors of his ways under the shadow of the gallows, William Earl was ‘reprieved’ to 7 years transportation confirmed by his trial judge at New Sarum on 5 April 1785.?He was sent down by wagon to the prison hulk ‘Ceres’, which no doubt served a holding pen for his fellow would be travellers.?Almost 2 years later he was delivered to the ‘Alexander’ at Portsmouth on 27 February 1787.

The First Fleet left England on 13th May 1787.?It consisted of six convict ships, three store ships, two men-o-war ships with a total of 756 convicts (564 male, 192 female), 550 officers, marines, ships’ crew and their families.?The six convict ships were: The Alexander, The Charlotte, The Lady Penrhyn, The Friendship, The Prince of Wales and The Scarborough.?The fleet having arrived in Australia and finding Botany Bay limited in its water supply promptly relocated south along the coast to what would become Sydney harbour, establishing their first settlement near what is today Sydney Opera House. Between 1788 and 1850 the English sent over 162,000 convicts to Australia in 806 ships. The first eleven of these ships are today known as the First Fleet and contained the convicts and marines that are now acknowledged as the Founders of Australia. In the list of convicts was William Earl.?

We next hear of William at Sydney Cove, New South Wales on 2 June 1788 at the trial of Anthony Rope (bricklayer), his wife Elizabeth Pulley, James Price (carpenter) and Samuel Day (sawyer) for having stolen some goat flesh to make a sea-pye.?Now the English judicial system had but one recourse for such crimes, especially for those who had been previously reprieved from the gallows and living on license.?It was also especially pertinent in this case due to the precarious supply situation of the colony, the goat being vittles and for any theft of food there could only be one punishment – you guessed it, the rope…

Luckily, William Earl testified that it was he who had noticed the animal lying recently dead and advised the Ropes of its location.?Against such sworn testimony the magistrate had but one option, the accused were all acquitted.?The male accused and William Earl were of course known to each other, having been transported together on the Alexander, and it seems having been assigned to the same construction team.?I think it stands to reason that by this young William had learned not to abandon his mates.?As to the cause of the death of the goat, we can only conjecture, but I doubt it was natural causes.

A burglar with previous convictions, likely from the south Oxfordshire area, Elizabeth Pully (Pooley or Powley) by all accounts was a formidable woman, being regarded as a troublesome prisoner from the start for “having gotten through the bulkhead to the sailors before the fleet set sail”. Now I don’t know what your opinion of the state of English ships was in the late 18thC, especially one that had been made ready to sail around the world, but anyone who could have bust through even an interior oak bulkhead to ‘get at the crew’ (whatever that meant) deserves maximum respect if not a straight-jacket.??She was twice shackled or handcuffed during the voyage, which was an unusual occurrence for female prisoners at the time.?She had been such trouble to the crew that she had been transferred from the Friendship at the Cape of Good Hope, much to the relief of certain of its officers, and made to travel onward on the Prince of Wales - in the hold with on the cattle,

Whatever Elizabeth’s failings were, they weren’t being weak and fragile, and she can’t have been that bad looking as not long after landing, Anthone Rope and Elizabeth Pully were married at Port Jackson on 19 May 1788.?Both were illiterate, but in many ways, Elizabeth was quite literally the mother of Australia, and Anthony Rope did at least as much to build Australia as Lord Sydney. They were both forcibly thrown into a life that neither of them could have imagined or could have planned.?Irrespective of the course they had to follow, things seemed to turn out okay in the end. Having served a good part of their 7 years on the prison hulks, they were granted right to settle on 22 February 1792 and went on to become successful farmers in NSW. The couple had 8 children and lived well into their 70’s.?Elizabeth died 9 August 1837 and Anthony died in 1843, both at Evans NSW.?So If you’re named Rope and a hooker in the Evans 15 or a demon pace bowler in the local 11, now you know where you got the strength and stamina from…

James Price was originally from Somerset 5ft 6” tall, blue eyed with light brown hair and of thin build.?He was transferred to Norfolk Island where he joined the NSW Corps.?On returning to Sydney he married Diana Porter (widow) on 9 July 1810 and returned to his trade as a carpenter.?A pensioner of the 102nd Regiment he died at Liverpool NSW on 6 Feb 1832 his age given as 73.?

Samuel Day was also transferred to Norfolk Island where he married Mary Bishop, a hospital nurse.?They remained on Norfolk Island and became farmers.?He was constable at Port Dalrymple in 1818 but by 1827 he and his wife were reported as destitute without relatives in Launceston aged 79 and 69 respectively.

Each of the guests of the sea-pye (see-pie) dinner party had probably lived 10 to 20 years beyond their 'natural' life expectancy back in Georgian England.?As for William Earl, he was issued with a permit to leave the colony on 9 March 1806, at the height of the Napoleonic wars. No-doubt he was recalled due to the Navy’s critical demand for skilled carpenters. We can only hope he made it home.

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