From sheep stealing to sheep farming - the convict journey of Owen Maloney
By Lyn Blaikie
TFHS Inc. Member No. 7191
1788 was an historically significant year. Captain Arthur Phillip arrived from Britain with the First Fleet, to establish a penal colony in NSW. It was also the probable birth year of my Irish ancestor Owen Maloney, destined, at 23 years old, to be transported to that same penal colony, never to return.
From his age on various records, Owen Maloney was born around 1788 in Ireland.
Nothing has been discovered of Owen's early life, until his name appeared in the March 1811 trial records of the Kent Assizes, Maidstone, England.1 Unluckily, Owen was caught stealing - 'feloniously in the Parish of Brabourne where he stole one ewe sheep valued at twenty shillings' and he was sentenced to death.2 The record attests that five men including Owen were convicted of sheep stealing in Maidstone that day.
Owen and the other four men were imprisoned in Maidstone Gaol for several weeks before their sentences were commuted to transportation for life. 3 In May 1811 they were removed to the appropriately named hulk Retribution, moored at Woolwich on the Thames River.4
Retribution was one of the largest and longest-serving hulks with up to 450 men kept shackled below deck, and the death rate on board was particularly high, as were the number of escapes. 5
The convicts laboured in the Woolwich Warren, on the south shore of the Thames, an area long-used for ship-building and military arms manufacture. Convict labour was used to construct and maintain the river harbour - dredging, pile driving and digging canals.
James Hardy Vaux in his memoir described life aboard the Retribution in 1810 when he was awaiting transportation to NSW - the brutal physical labour, the meagre and foul diet, the cramped and unhealthy accommodation below decks which he likened as descending into hell, and the guards, 'wretches devoid of feeling; ignorant, brutal..., tyrannical and cruel ..'.5 This was the dire situation into which Owen was sent a year later.
Another observer, a journalist for Scots Magazine, described the convicts he witnessed in 1777 at Woolwich as '... objects, who have fetters on each leg, with a chain between, that ties variously, some round their middle, others upright to the throat. Some are chained two and two; and others, whose crimes have been enormous, with heavy fetters. "" Surely only the very resilient would have survived such brutal treatment.
In August 1811 Owen and his four companions were transported to Australia on the Guildford, its maiden voyage under Master Magnus Johnson. Of 196 passengers, 130 had life sentences.8 This time, Owen's luck improved - in eight voyages, the Guildford brought over 1500 convicts to Australia, with only about twelve deaths in total, a remarkably good record for the times. 9
The Guildford arrived in NSW in January 1812, where Governor Macquarie was busily creating order, building infrastructure and initiating the gradual change from an open-air prison to a free settlement. The Convict Indent lists Owen as 'John', an error possibly due to misunderstanding Owen's Irish accent. 10 In the NSW Convict Muster Rolls for 1812 he is correctly identified as Owen, and his four travelling companions are still listed with him. 11
Owen was assigned to government service, and spent over 5 years in NSW, before being relocated to Van Diemen's Land in September 1817 aboard the Pilot, with Captain Paxton12
From his Van Diemen's Land Conduct Record it appears he was rather recalcitrant.13 Within three days of arrival in Hobart, he was charged with stealing and received 100 lashes, the maximum sentence. The judgement was delivered by A.W.H. Humphrey, Chief Magistrate, who had earlier arrived with Collins to found the Hobart colony.14 Several months later, Owen was absent from his lodgings at night and sentenced to work for 14 days for the Government in his own time and be confined at night.15 Generally, convicts were allowed to work for their own benefit, or for others for payment, in their free time, so Owen forfeited that privilege for the specified period.
In December 1823, while on assignment to Mr Loane, Owen was found drunk and disorderly on Christmas Day, however he was only reprimanded by the Reverend Robert Knopwood, which illustrates Knopwood's reputation for being fair and reasonable. Owen's further transgressions included neglect of duty and being found in a 'disorderly house' on a Sunday evening.16
His assignment to Loane ceased in July 1825 when he was returned to Police Barracks, possibly due to another misdemeanour, and he was still assigned to public works in the 1826 Muster records.17 By 1830, he was again assigned, this time to Mr York. 18
His Convict Records indicate he was granted a Ticket of Leave in 1832, and a Conditional Pardon in 1834.19 He was granted a Free Pardon 'granted on the late King's birthday' in 1837 after 20 years in Van Diemen's Land. Curiously, the Government Notice of his Free Pardon was advertised much later in January 1840. 21 In total, Owen had spent over 25 years in the penal system before obtaining his freedom.
In 1840, aged 52 years, he married Elizabeth McShane, daughter of Irish convict Hugh McShane.22 Together they raised six children, including my great great grandmother Bridget. Owen could not read or write, as evidenced by signing his mark on his daughter Bridget's birth record.23
By the mid 1840s, when Ireland was in the grip of the disastrous potato famine and its population was being decimated by death and emigration, Owen was farming at Black Brush, near Broadmarsh in the Jordan River Valley, Van Diemen's Land. His 700 acres of land, originally granted to Thomas Fenton in 1841, adjoined land granted to Elizabeth's uncle, Michael McShane.24 At some point the ownership of the land changed, and Owen was listed as the occupier and proprietor by May 1858. 25 His life must have been immeasurably better than if he had remained in Ireland.
He died in 1864, at the remarkable age of 77 years, and was buried at St John's Catholic Church, Richmond, where his very weathered headstone is still leaning drunkenly on the hilltop.26
1 Criminal Register entry for Owen Maloney, England and Wales, Criminal Registers 1791-1892, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England, HO 27/7, p.108, Criminal Registers, England & Wales, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
2 Rex Testro, The Testro Story 1811-1970, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, 1970, p2.
3 Prison hulk register entry for Owen Maloney, Retribution, 1811, Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England, HO 9/7, UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
4 UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849.
5 Transported Convicts to Australia, Item 3, 'The Prison Hulks',http://www.sites.google.com/site/transportedconvictstoaustralia/home/convicts-c,accessed 19 May 2021.
6 Noel Mclachlan, ed., 'The Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, including his Vocabulary of the Flash Language', p.199, Heinemann Ltd, London, 1964.
7 Royal Arsenal History, A Journey into the Past, 'Prison Hulks and Convicts', https://www.royal-arsenal-history.com/prison-hulks.html, accessed 20 May 2021.
8 Transportation register entry for Owen Maloney, Guildford, 1817, Australian Convict Transportation Registers, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO 11/2, Australian Convict Transportation Registers - Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
9 Patricia Stone, 'A Pardon for Mr Robertson', National Library of Australia News, March 2003, p 20, HAA007: Convict Ancestors, Module 5, Chapter 3, accessed 3 June 2021.
10 John Malony [Owen Maloney] Guildford, 1812, Convict Indents, Bound Indentures 1801-1814, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12188, Item 4/4004, Microfiche: 633, New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
11 Muster Roll record for Owen Malony [Maloney], New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records,1790-1849, State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, NSW, Australia, Musters and Other Papers relating to Convict Ships, Series CGS 1155, Reels 2417-2428, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 20 May 2021.
12 Convict indents, Owen Malony [Maloney], Pilot, 1817, Indents 1810-1819, Tasmanian Archives, CON13-1-1, Index No 47536, Record ID 1414212, https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1414212, accessed 16 May.
13 Owen Maloney, Pilot, 1817, Conduct Record, Conduct Registers of Male Convicts arriving in the Period of the Assignment system, Tasmanian Archives, CON31/1/29, p. 18, https://stors.tas.gov.au/ CON31-1-29 p18, accessed 16 May 2021.
14 G.H. Stancombe, 'Adolarius William Henry Humphrey (1782-1829)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 1, MUP, 1966, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/humphrey-adolarius-william-henry-2212, accessed 30 May 2021.
15 Owen Maloney, Conduct Record.
16 Owen Maloney, Conduct Record.
17 Convict Muster entry for Owen Maloney, Guildford, 1826, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO 10/46, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849, List of Convicts 1826, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 27 May 2021.
18 Owen Maloney, Conduct Record.
19 Owen Maloney, Conduct Record.
20 Schedule of Free Pardons, Owen Maloney, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO 10/31, NSW Pardons (Also Tasmania), Pardons 1834-1838, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 27 May 2021.
21 'Government Notice No 27', Hobart Town Courier and Van Diemen's Land Gazette, Hobart, 31 January 1840, p2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8747943, accessed 26 May 2021.
22 Marriage register entry of Owen Molong [Maloney] and Elizabeth McShane, married 27 April 1840, Parish of Hobart Town, Tasmanian Archives, RGD 37/1, 1840, no. 309.
23 Birth register entry of Mary Bridgett Malony [Maloney], born 17 November 1850, Brighton, Tasmanian Archives, RGD 33/1/28, 1850, no 603.
24 Record of Land Grant to Thomas Fenton, 1841, Tasmania, Australia, Deeds of Land Grants, 1804-1935, Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office, Tasmania, Australia, RGDl/1, Deeds of Land Grants, 1832-1935, Book 10, p 35, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 3 June 2021.
25 Transcribed copy of Property Register in Hobart Town Gazette, 28 May 1858, transcriber unknown, copy held by author.
26 Death register entry of Owen Moloney [Maloney], died 6 May 1864, Brighton, Tasmanian Archives, RGD35- 1-33, 1864 no 25, https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/1204787; Headstone for Owen Maloney, died 1864, St John's Catholic Church, Richmond, Tasmania, Australia, viewed by author.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Australian Convict Transportation Registers - Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
Conduct Registers of Male Convicts arriving in the Period of the Assignment System, Tasmanian Archives, accessed 16 May 2021.
Convict indents 1810-1819, Tasmanian Archives, accessed 16 May 2021.
Criminal Registers, England and Wales, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
Deeds of Land Grants, 1832-1935, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 3 June 2021.
Headstone for Owen Maloney, St John's Catholic Church, Richmond, Tasmania, Australia.
Hobart Town Courier and Van Diemen's Land Gazette, Hobart, 31 January 1840, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8747943
Musters and Other Papers relating to Convict Ships, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 20 May 2021.
New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 27 May 2021.
New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
New South Wales Pardons (Also Tasmania), Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 27 May 2021.
Registers of Births in Hobart, Launceston and Country Districts, Tasmanian Archives. Registers of Deaths in Hobart, Launceston and Country Districts, Tasmanian Archives. Registers of Marriages in Hobart, Launceston and Country Districts, Tasmanian Archives.
UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849, Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 19 May 2021.
Secondary Sources
Hobart Town Gazette, Transcript, 28 May 1858.
Noel McLachlan, ed., 'The Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, including his Vocabulary of the Flash Language', Heinemann Ltd, London, 1964.
Royal Arsenal History, 'Prison Hulks and Convicts', https://www.royal-arsenal-history.com/prison-hulks.html, accessed 20 May 2021.
Stancombe, G.H., 'Adolarius William Henry Humphrey (1782-1829)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 1, MUP, 1966, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/humphrey-adolarius-william-henry-2212, accessed 30 May 2021.
Stone, Patricia, 'A Pardon for Mr Robertson', National Library of Australia News, March 2003, HAA007: Convict Ancestors, Module 5, Chapter 3, accessed 3 June 2021.
Testro, Rex, 'The Testro Story 1811-1970', Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, 1970.
Transported Convicts to Australia, 'The Prison Hulks', https://www.sites.google.com/site/transportedconvictstoaustralia/home/convicts-c accessed 19 May 2021.
Related family names:
Maloney, McShaneFor more information:
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