Source
Source for: Edward Mackey, ABT 1800 - 2 FEB 1840
Index
Name source: S260 Megan Tilley and others, WebSearches - LDS, RootsWeb, etc, Web/Internet, Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005.
Name source: S519Page: Database online.
Name source: S260Text: Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005 Megan Tilley and others, WebSearches - LDS, RootsWeb, etc, Web/Internet, Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005.
Name source: S831Page: Ancestry Family Trees
Name source: S519Page: Haworth Family Tree 2 - 2014-03-26
Text: Record for Anne Taylor http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=18566026622&indiv=try
Page: Horton Family Tree and Duce Family Tree 2015-03-10
Text: Record for Jane Graham http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=892583784&indiv=try
Page: Warner Family Tree 2015-07-11
Text: Record for Edward Mackey http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=6276283616&indiv=try
Name source: S568Page: Search Results Edward MACKEY (AFN: 1090-DWL) Pedigree Sex: M Family Event(s): Birth: 1816 Ireland Death: 1861/1871 Parents: Marriage(s): Spouse: Mary MCGRATH (AFN: 1090-DXS) Family Marriage: ---------- FamilySearch? International Genealogical Index v5.0 British Isles Family Group Record Search Results | Download Husband Edward Mackey Pedigree Birth: Christening: Marriage: Death: Burial: Wife Ann Taylor Mackey Pedigree Birth: Christening: Marriage: Death: Burial: Children 1. Mary Jane Mackey Smith Pedigree
Birth: 01 MAY 1826 , Monaghan, Ireland Christening: Death: 05 NOV 1889 Burial: 2. Sarah Pedigree Birth: About 1830 Of Frozepore,East, , , India Christening: Death: Burial: 3. Elizabeth Pedigree Birth: About 1832 Of Frozepore,East, , , India Christening: Death: Burial:
Page: Edward MACKEY (AFN: 1090-DWL)
Text: Individual Record FamilySearch? Ancestral File v4.19
Edward MACKEY (AFN: 1090-DWL) Pedigree
Sex: M
Birth: 1816
Ireland
Death: 1861/1871
Parents:
Marriage(s):
Spouse: Mary MCGRATH (AFN: 1090-DXS) Family
Marriage:
----------
FamilySearch? International Genealogical Index v5.0 British Isles
Family Group Record
Husband
Edward Mackey
Birth:
Christening:
Marriage:
Death:
Burial:
Wife Ann Taylor Mackey
Birth:
Christening:
Marriage:
Death:
Burial:
Children
1. Mary Jane Mackey Smith
Birth: 01 MAY 1826 , Monaghan, Ireland
Christening:
Death: 05 NOV 1889
Burial:
2. Sarah
Birth: About 1830 Of Frozepore,East, , , India
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
3. Elizabeth
Birth: About 1832 Of Frozepore,East, , , India
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Name source: S569
Page: The following from Ken Larbalestier [crossbows2@msn.com.au] via http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~garter1/63rdfoot.htm 63rd Regiment of Foot (The West Suffolk Regiment) 1827- 1835 In May of 1828 the 63rd Regiment of Foot was ordered to proceed to NSW, by detachments, as guards on board convict ships. The Headquarters of the Regiment arrived in Sydney on 18th February 1830 and after landing the convicts, sailed for Van Diemen's Land where the remainder of the Regiment was located, landing there on 22nd March. Major James Fairtlough commanded the Regiment on arrival in NSW but Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Logan arrived in November 1830 and assumed command of the Regiment at Hobart Town. On 19th December 1830 the commanding officer issued a Garrison Order announcing his warm approbation of the soldier like appearance of the 63rd Regiment at their half yearly inspection. He also expressed great satisfaction of their "great accuracy and celerity, their musketry, healthy appearance of the men and cleanliness of the Barracks". The Regiment received orders to proceed to Madras. On receiving these orders, Headquarters and five companies embarked from Hobart Town in February 1833 and the two remaining companies in March. Prior to the departure of Captain Erskine's company ,a complimentary address was presented to Captain Erskine by the principal inhabitants of the settlement for the conduct of the detachment during their service there. It set out that, but for their assistance, the colonists would have been much exposed to attacks from aborigines. The company joined the Regiment at Madras on 26th May 1833.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~garter1/63rdfoot.htm
Name source: S575
Page: Entry for Edward Mackey Mackey, Edward - OneGreatFamily #546567277
Page: Entry for Edward Mackey Mackey, Edward - OneGreatFamily #610436026
Birth source: S260
Megan Tilley and others, WebSearches - LDS, RootsWeb, etc, Web/Internet, Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005.
Birth source: S519
Page: Database online.
Page: Haworth Family Tree 2 - 2014-03-26
Text: Record for Anne Taylor http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=18566026622&indiv=try
Page: Horton Family Tree and Duce Family Tree 2015-03-10
Text: Record for Jane Graham http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=892583784&indiv=try
Page: Warner Family Tree 2015-07-11
Text: Record for Edward Mackey http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=6276283616&indiv=try
Event source: S123
Page: Emails between 2005-05-20 and 2010-07-05 concerning Pete's research at the National Archives, KEW during that period
Text: Pete Lawton
Attachments - 05/07/2010
Have been down to the Archives again and found out a bit more for you. Most of it really just puts detail on what you already knew.
Edward Mackay did indeed die in transit to England; this was on the 2nd February 1840. No details of what killed him, but I believe he was on board a ship called ‘Diamond’, which incidentally, was the ship John Cassidy went out to India on (very possibly on its return trip).
I’ve attached photos of:
Muster Roll WO12/7272: (runs from April 1839 to March 1841)
WO12/7272 shows him ‘Embarked for England’ in October and then ‘Died at Sea 2nd February’ (oddly this is in the November 1840 column – presumably when they arrived in England)
WO12/7272 (2) is at the end of the quarter section of the Muster Roll, here there is a separate listing for new recruits and those who have left the regiment – including those died. This has details of when he enlisted (8 September 1819); where he was born (looks like Currins – Currin is a civil parish in C. Monaghan – ref. www.irelandgenweb.com/monaghan/) and his job on enlistment (labourer).
WO25/1947 is the entry in the 63rd Casualty Return (1838 – 1842) – reiterates what was in WO12/7272. Unfortunately there are no other associated documents in the Casualty Roll (some men have details of will and possessions attached, but Edward isn’t one of them – bugger).
WO25/1947 (2) is just a close up of this.
Next time I’ll have a scout round to see if there is any more to be found, but I think that may be it. I asked about records of his family and they may be in one of the WO25 embarkation and disembarkation documents – will check these.
As for James Bird he did die at Guznee – but this was 1839, not 1837 as you thought. I couldn’t find him in the 1837 casualties, so I looked in the Muster Rolls and he was alive and well and on guard duty July/August 1837.
By the time I’d got him it was closing time (what is it with your relatives, they only leap out of the pages when the place is about to shut)
Anyway he’s in:
WO12/2046: Muster Roll for 2nd Foot (Queen's Royal) 1839 – 1840. He’s sick at Guznee in the July Muster and died in the August Muster (died on 31st July)
WO12/2046 (2) is at the end of the quarter section of the Muster and shows him just as ‘Died’, those either side of him are marked as ‘Died of Wounds’, so I’m assuming that he didn’t die of wounds from battle. I’ll go back and check out the WO25/1514 (2nd Casualty Return) next time, unfortunately when I looked at this earlier in the day I was looking at 1837, not 1839. I’ll also see if I can trace when he joined which may show where he enlisted/was born.
Anyway that’s it for now, will be in touch. As I say, this really just confirms what you know, but hope it’s of use.
Event source: S895
Page: In a covering letter to John Parker, wherein Dr Flack gives John permission to quote from the unpublished manuscript in John's history of his part of the family, Dr Flack writes:
Text: "You may be interested in the following additional information about your forbear "Sergeant Edward Mackie". The original hand-written quarterly Muster Roll of the 63rd Regiment of Foot for the period ending 31 December 1831 lists in the section reserved for Sergeants "143 Edward Mackay, 92 days pay, "On guard" at Hobart Town". A search of the records of European graves in British India, failed to reveal any record of either Edward Mackie [or Mackay] or Anne Mackie [or Mackay]."
Event source: S896
Page: Year 1839
Text: Edward Mackie is not named specifically, but a number of men die of cholera in 1942 on the ship from Burma (Moulamein) back to Madras
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
Event source: S519
Page: Horton Family Tree and Duce Family Tree 2015-03-10
Text: Record for Jane Graham http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=892583784&indiv=try
Event source: S123
Page: Emails between 2005-05-20 and 2010-07-05 concerning Pete's research at the National Archives, KEW during that period
Text: Pete Lawton
Attachments - 05/07/2010
Have been down to the Archives again and found out a bit more for you. Most of it really just puts detail on what you already knew.
Edward Mackay did indeed die in transit to England; this was on the 2nd February 1840. No details of what killed him, but I believe he was on board a ship called ‘Diamond’, which incidentally, was the ship John Cassidy went out to India on (very possibly on its return trip).
I’ve attached photos of:
Muster Roll WO12/7272: (runs from April 1839 to March 1841)
WO12/7272 shows him ‘Embarked for England’ in October and then ‘Died at Sea 2nd February’ (oddly this is in the November 1840 column – presumably when they arrived in England)
WO12/7272 (2) is at the end of the quarter section of the Muster Roll, here there is a separate listing for new recruits and those who have left the regiment – including those died. This has details of when he enlisted (8 September 1819); where he was born (looks like Currins – Currin is a civil parish in C. Monaghan – ref. www.irelandgenweb.com/monaghan/) and his job on enlistment (labourer).
WO25/1947 is the entry in the 63rd Casualty Return (1838 – 1842) – reiterates what was in WO12/7272. Unfortunately there are no other associated documents in the Casualty Roll (some men have details of will and possessions attached, but Edward isn’t one of them – bugger).
WO25/1947 (2) is just a close up of this.
Next time I’ll have a scout round to see if there is any more to be found, but I think that may be it. I asked about records of his family and they may be in one of the WO25 embarkation and disembarkation documents – will check these.
As for James Bird he did die at Guznee – but this was 1839, not 1837 as you thought. I couldn’t find him in the 1837 casualties, so I looked in the Muster Rolls and he was alive and well and on guard duty July/August 1837.
By the time I’d got him it was closing time (what is it with your relatives, they only leap out of the pages when the place is about to shut)
Anyway he’s in:
WO12/2046: Muster Roll for 2nd Foot (Queen's Royal) 1839 – 1840. He’s sick at Guznee in the July Muster and died in the August Muster (died on 31st July)
WO12/2046 (2) is at the end of the quarter section of the Muster and shows him just as ‘Died’, those either side of him are marked as ‘Died of Wounds’, so I’m assuming that he didn’t die of wounds from battle. I’ll go back and check out the WO25/1514 (2nd Casualty Return) next time, unfortunately when I looked at this earlier in the day I was looking at 1837, not 1839. I’ll also see if I can trace when he joined which may show where he enlisted/was born.
Anyway that’s it for now, will be in touch. As I say, this really just confirms what you know, but hope it’s of use.
Death source: S519
Page: Horton Family Tree and Duce Family Tree 2015-03-10
Text: Record for Jane Graham http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=892583784&indiv=try
Page: Haworth Family Tree 2 - 2014-03-26
Text: Record for Anne Taylor http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=18566026622&indiv=try
Page: Warner Family Tree 2015-07-11
Text: Record for Edward Mackey http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=6276283616&indiv=try
Death source: S157
Page: 63rd Foot 1st Battalion - WO 12 - Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: General Muster Books and Pay Lists Reference:WO 12/7272 Description: 63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date: 1840-1841 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record Closure status:Open Document, Open Description WO 12 7272 - Mackay, Edward
Text: WO12/7272 shows Edward Mackay ‘Embarked for England’ in October and then ‘Died at Sea 2nd February’ (oddly this is in the November 1840 column – presumably when they arrived in England)
Note: @N2512@ http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2467109
Death source: S560
Page: Edward Mackey: Buried at Sea on 02 February 1840: W0 12/7272 National Archives Muster Rolls: Embarked for discharge: Left Burma
Text: Cheryl McKell Frome quoted the W0 12/7272 National Archives Muster Rolls entry by saying:
(my abbreviation of the attached image)
Edward...needed to be discharged from the Army Regimental Depot at Madras - he never made it, dying and being buried at sea
This, I think, contradicts my interpretation that while the Regiment was on active duty in Burma, the dependants remained at the Depot in Madras. The 3 girls would not be on board the ship from Burma, but would be on the ship going to England. https://familysearch.org/photos/documents/20266295
Event source: S260
Megan Tilley and others, WebSearches - LDS, RootsWeb, etc, Web/Internet, Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005.
Event source: S62
Event source: S80
Sarah Island (Name: Internet Document;), http://www.roundearth.com.au/sarah.htm
Event source: S63
Event source: S262
Page: Baptism - 1831/1756, 7 March 1831, MACKEY Elizabeth
Event source: S260
Text: Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005 Megan Tilley and others, WebSearches - LDS, RootsWeb, etc, Web/Internet, Date of Import: 27 Nov 2005.
Event source: S560
Page: Traveling with the 63rd Regiment of foot: Edward and Ann Taylor Mackey with children Mary Jane, Sarah Emelia and Elizabeth Cheryl Kay Fromm 2014
Text: Traveling with the 63rd Regiment of foot: Edward and Ann Taylor Mackey with children Mary Jane, Sarah Emelia and Elizabeth
Contributed By cherylkayfromm1 · 7 November 2014 · 0 Comments
Edward Mackey was a sergeant in the 63rd (West Sufflok) Regiment a foot nicknamed the bloodsuckers.
Edward and Ann Taylor Mackey, along with their children: Mary Jane, Elizabeth and Sarah Emelia traveled with the Regiment. The girls were actually born into the British 63rd Regiment a foot. The family traveled and was stationed with the Regiment at Macquarie Harbour, Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania) Australia, Madras, India and Moulmein, Burma.
1819 to 1826- STATIONED IN IRELAND
The 63rd Regiment was deployed to Ireland. Edward enlisted in the 63rd Regiment on 08 September 1819. His muster roll entries show he was a labourer and born in Currin, Monaghan, Ireland. His regimental number was 143. By the time he was station in Van Diemen' Land he was a Sergeant. He earned a schiliing (10 cents) a day. The Regiment was stationed in Ireland until 1826.
1826-1828- STATIONED IN PORTUGAL
In 1826 the 63rd Regiment was stationed at Windsor. In February of 1826, the Regiment received a warning order that it would shortly leave for New South Wales, but tensions between Spain and Portugal caused the War Office to change its' mind. In December 1826 the Regiment left Portsmouth aboard H.M.S "Melville", "Gloucester" and "Warspite" bound for Lisbon, Portugal. On 1st January 1827 the Regiment took up quarters at the Convent de Grazer under the command of Sir William Clinton. The 63rd formed into a brigade with the 11th and 43rd under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot. The Regiments tour of Portugal was short: Stationed in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in Apirl, Santarem in July and Belem in September where it remained until it embarked for England on April 1828. The mission of the Regiment was described as "part of the army of occupation" and "to take part in the raid of Portugal". The 63rd's time in Portugal was mild as the suspected trouble did not happen, in large part due to the presence of the British Army. In April 1828 the Regiment returned to England. Mary Jane was born while her father was in Portugal. She was born on 01 May 1827 at Glen, Monaghan, Ireland.
1829-1833- STATIONED AT MACQUARIE HARBOUR, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND, (TASMANIA) AUSTRALIA. THE GARRISON ERA. (THE FAMILY BEGINS TRAVELING WITH THE 63RD REGIMENT)
The 63rd Regiment was deployed to Australia to replace the 40th Regiment for Garrison Duty. The 63rd Regiment served as guards for the convict ships traveling to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land and had garrison duty for the convicts in the prison system. Edward Mackey served as a Sergeant at Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land. Tasmania is the island state of Australia located just below Australia. Tasmania's capital and Regiment headquarter's are at Hobart. This why records family records come out of Hobart. He was stationed at the legendary Sarah Island. This prison had a reputation as one of the harshest prison settlement. The 63rd was involved in the "Blackline"- the movement of the aborigines from the central plains to the east coast of Tasmania. In 1830 the battalion was also involved in internal security duties on the Van Diemen Land to prevent incidents by the native aborigines. Both daughters Sarah Emelia (1829) and Elizabeth (07 March 1831) were born at Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen.s Land.
(Birth, baptism records, assisted immigration records -1850 and death records state).
1833-1837- STATIONED AT FORT ST. GEORGE, MADRAS, INDIA.
The 63rd was deployed to Madras India in February of 1833. Five companies left in February and the other two companies left in March. Mary Jane was six years old, Sarah Emelia was 4 years old and Elizabeth was 2 years old. On 07 Sept 1836, Ann Taylor Mackey passes away. She was buried in the courtyard of St. Mary's Church located at Fort St. George. She was 36 years old. (Burial record-St Mary's Church Madras). The girls were 9,7 and 5 years old.
1838-1840 DEPLOYED TO MOULMEIN, BURMA. DETACHMENTS WERE BASED AT TAVOY AND MERGUI, BURMA.
After serving in Burma for a time, Edward decides to leave the British Military and be discharged. But Edward dies while traveling away from Burma to the Regimental Depot in Madras. At the Regimental Depot he could officially be discharged and then on to England. The girls experience him being buried at sea on 02 February 1840. The muster rolls for October-December show all the other soldiers traveling to the Regimental Depot in Madras were all discharged on the 30th of May 1840. So he must have died very early in the voyage and had stops along the way. The girls are in Madras, India now at the Regimental Depot. The girls are then "reared and trained" in the British Military Female Orphan Asylum at Madras. The girls received an excellent education. This is a large benefit and rarity for a female to be educated in the 1830-1840's alone plus being an orphan. Their Uncle and Aunt are caretakers at the orphanage. The girls called the orphanage "Castle Comorin". The orphanage is a large structure and located near Cape Comorin.
There is a surprise ending contained in the Military Records for Edward Mackey. It is discovered within "The Chatham Depot Casualty Returns ". It states: At the time of is death, he was still a Sergeant with the 63rd Regiment AND his final credit was sent to his son, Francis of Currin, Monaghan, Ireland. https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/11416864
_MIL S519
Page: Horton Family Tree and Duce Family Tree 2015-03-10
Text: Record for Jane Graham http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=892583784&indiv=try
Page: Warner Family Tree 2015-07-11
Text: Record for Edward Mackey http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=6276283616&indiv=try
_MIL S123
Page: Emails between 2005-05-20 and 2010-07-05 concerning Pete's research at the National Archives, KEW during that period
Text: Pete Lawton
Attachments - 05/07/2010
Have been down to the Archives again and found out a bit more for you. Most of it really just puts detail on what you already knew.
Edward Mackay did indeed die in transit to England; this was on the 2nd February 1840. No details of what killed him, but I believe he was on board a ship called ‘Diamond’, which incidentally, was the ship John Cassidy went out to India on (very possibly on its return trip).
I’ve attached photos of:
Muster Roll WO12/7272: (runs from April 1839 to March 1841)
WO12/7272 shows him ‘Embarked for England’ in October and then ‘Died at Sea 2nd February’ (oddly this is in the November 1840 column – presumably when they arrived in England)
WO12/7272 (2) is at the end of the quarter section of the Muster Roll, here there is a separate listing for new recruits and those who have left the regiment – including those died. This has details of when he enlisted (8 September 1819); where he was born (looks like Currins – Currin is a civil parish in C. Monaghan – ref. www.irelandgenweb.com/monaghan/) and his job on enlistment (labourer).
WO25/1947 is the entry in the 63rd Casualty Return (1838 – 1842) – reiterates what was in WO12/7272. Unfortunately there are no other associated documents in the Casualty Roll (some men have details of will and possessions attached, but Edward isn’t one of them – bugger).
WO25/1947 (2) is just a close up of this.
Next time I’ll have a scout round to see if there is any more to be found, but I think that may be it. I asked about records of his family and they may be in one of the WO25 embarkation and disembarkation documents – will check these.
As for James Bird he did die at Guznee – but this was 1839, not 1837 as you thought. I couldn’t find him in the 1837 casualties, so I looked in the Muster Rolls and he was alive and well and on guard duty July/August 1837.
By the time I’d got him it was closing time (what is it with your relatives, they only leap out of the pages when the place is about to shut)
Anyway he’s in:
WO12/2046: Muster Roll for 2nd Foot (Queen's Royal) 1839 – 1840. He’s sick at Guznee in the July Muster and died in the August Muster (died on 31st July)
WO12/2046 (2) is at the end of the quarter section of the Muster and shows him just as ‘Died’, those either side of him are marked as ‘Died of Wounds’, so I’m assuming that he didn’t die of wounds from battle. I’ll go back and check out the WO25/1514 (2nd Casualty Return) next time, unfortunately when I looked at this earlier in the day I was looking at 1837, not 1839. I’ll also see if I can trace when he joined which may show where he enlisted/was born.
Anyway that’s it for now, will be in touch. As I say, this really just confirms what you know, but hope it’s of use.
_MIL S570
Page: http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/history/unit.asp?unitID=4586 (2012-03-08) 63rd Regiment Dates: 1758 - 1783 Later to be Retitled to 63rd West Suffolk Regiment in 1783. In 1804 a 2nd Battalion was formed but in 1814 was disbanded. The 63rs West Suffolk Regiment was Restyled into 1st Manchester Regiment in 1881, and in 1900 both the 3rd and 4th Line Battalions were formed but later (1900) disbanded. 1942 saw the Battalion captured in Singapore and the 6th (TA) Battalion was reconstituted as 1st Battalion. in 1948 the 1st and 2nd Battalions amalgamated to form 1st Battalion the Manchester Regiment(LXIII/XCVI).
http://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/history/unit.asp?unitID=4586
_MIL S569
Page: 1758.....63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~garter1/63rdfoot.htm 1st / 63rd Foot (West Suffolk) Regiment 1829 - 1833 The Regiment Known as (nickname)- " The Blood Suckers" Facings - DEEP GREEN Braided Lace - Silver Service in Australia - Tasmania & Sydney . Commanding Officer - Lieut. Colonel J. Logan
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~garter1/63rdfoot.htm
Page: The only trace found to date (30/1/2007) is reference in the Regiment information on Ken Larbelester's pages: http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~garter1/m63rd.htm The Soldiers listed below a represent the soldiers who were in Australia on Garrison Duty. Some may have settled, some may have not. When it has been confirmed they settled in Australia they will receive their own page. If it is confirmed the men settled in Australia, they will not appear on this page,they will appear on the surname page. If they are listed on this page, then this is all we know of them . Back To Surnames of the 63rd Regiment's Soldiers who stayed * MACKEY Edward ", .
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~garter1/m63rd.htm
_MIL S190
Page: 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot The 63rd Regiment of Foot known as "The Bloodsuckers", was a British Army regiment in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Text: The Garrison years In 1820, the 63rd were deployed to Ireland, a deployment that would last until 1824. In 1826, the 63rd was involved in an expedition to Portugal due to fears of impending insurrection in the country, landing in the country in 1827. The rebel cause largely subsided, thanks largely in part due to the expedition made by the British. In 1829, the 63rd began providing escorts for convict ships traveling to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). The rest of the regiment became garrison troops in the latter colony. A detachment of the regiment was present at the foundation ceremony of Perth in 1829, and had arrived in Western Australia that same year, on the warship HMS Sulphur. The officer commanding the detachment of the 63rd at the ceremony Captain Frederick Chidley Irwin, would later have two stints as administrator of Western Australia. In 1830 the battalion was involved in internal security duties in Van Diemen's Land, in order to prevent further incidents by the native Aborigines there. Such duties later expanded to the rest of Australia. The regiment left Australia in 1833 and in 1834 was based in India. In 1838, the 63rd deployed to Burma, a deployment that proved uneventful, the returning to India in 1842. They returned to Britain in 1847.
(From Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/63rd_Foot - copied 2008-02-26) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/63rd_(West_Suffolk)_Regiment_of_Foot
_MIL S573
Page: Page 115: 63rd Regiment of Foot (Siege of Charleston)
Text: 63rd Regiment of Foot (Siege of Charleston)
History
1758: Raised as the 63rd Regiment of Foot
1782: The 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot
1881: The Manchester Regiment
1958: The King's Regiment (Manchester and Liverpool)
1969: The King's Regiment
Current Title: The King's Regiment
Revolutionary War Service
Disembarked at Boston in 1775 and fought in the northern theater until 1780 when it moved south to Charleston. Fought throughout the southern campaign of 1780-1781, in part as mounted infantry, but was not part of Cornwallis's army. Embarked from Charleston for Jamaica in the spring of 1782.
Address of Museum
Museum of the Manchesters
Ashtown Town Hall
Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyme
United Kingdom,
OL6 6DL
Note that this museum covers the history of the 63rd, later Manchester Regiment, until 1958 when it amalgamated with the Liverpool Regiment to form The King's Regiment.
Published Histories
James Slack, The History of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment. (London: The Army and Navy Co-Operative Society, 1886).
A.C. Wylly, History of The Manchester Regiment (late the 63rd and 96th Foot).
(London: 2 volumes, Forster Groom & Co, 1923-1925). http://www.nps.gov/revwar/educational_resources/southern_campaigns_research/sc_revwar_phasei.pdf
_MIL S574
Page: McKay - Elizabeth, arriving 1820 per JOHN KNOX - parents Edward & Ann
Text: Email from Cheryl Mongan [camelm@ozemail.com.au] 2008-06-03
Hi Megan,
Today I came across your listing on the Tasmania Convict message board and hope that we might be able to assist each other.
I have an interest in your three greats grandfather as well but more particularly in his daughter Elizabeth born at Macquarie Harbour c1831 and whom I suspect you are descended from.
You are probably aware of the reputation of the Macquarie Harbour penal settlement variously known as Sarah Island, Settlement Island and Headquarters Island. I visited the island just 10 days ago and it must have been an extremely unpleasant place to have been stationed - very small and exposed to the elements as well as the unsavoury conditions that accompanied a crowded penal establishment in the most isolated place imaginable. It would have been an awful place for women and children. There were only 13 convict women on the island during its 11 year existence and usually military detachments were restricted to taking only something like 4 wives. For over a decade I have been researching, writing and lecturing on various aspects of the immigration and social conditions of the 4,114 Irish female orphans who migrated to Australian between 1848 and 1850 as the result of the Great Famine.
Yesterday I was intrigued to find the shipping entry on the orphan ship "John Knox" which arrived in Sydney on 29 April 1850 for Elizabeth McKay, born at Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land, aged 19 years, daughter of Edward and Ann (both dead), C of E, and stated to have 'an aunt, a cousin, Ann Gilroy, living in Sydney'. Up until Elizabeth's departure from Ireland she had been living in an Irish workhouse, very obviously without the support of parents and relatives who could care for her.
Given the extreme unlikelihood that she was the daughter of convicts I concluded that her father was an Irish soldier in a detachment of the 63rd Regiment which was stationed at Macquarie Harbour at the time of her birth - this brought me to your listing.
It was common practice for Irish men to enlist in the British Army particularly in the winter months when work and food was scarce. It seems that the 63rd was deployed to Ireland from 1820 to 1824 and this is possibly the time that Edward enlisted. His pay - the princely sum of a shilling (10 cents) a day From 1829 the regiment sent detachments as escorts on convict ships to NSW and Tasmania. They also establised a garrison in Tasmania in July 1829. A detachment (64 officers and men, 22 women and 19 children) was sent to the Swan River settlement in Western Australia in 1829. The regiment left Australia in 1833-34 for the Madras Presidency, India; served temporarily at Moulmein, Burma in 1838 and returned to Madras in 1842. The regiment served at Poonamalee, Bellary and Secunderabad until it returned to Britain in 1847.
Taking a long shot I searched the Familysearch (Morman) website and found the death at sea (between 1836 and 1840) of Edward Mackey/MacKey born 1800, Monaghan, Ireland, parents John Mackey (b c1750 Monaghan, d 1820) and Jane Mackey - maiden name not given (b c1755 Monaghan, d c1820). Edward's wife is given as Ann Taylor (b1800 Glen, Monaghan, date of death not given) she was the daughter of Francis Taylor (b c1780, Monaghan d c1820) and Mary Taylor - maiden name not given (b c1755 Monaghan d c1820).
Interestingly around 40 girls on the "John Knox" came from the Carrickmacross and Clones workhouses both of which are in Co Monaghan Clones being the closest to the county town of Monaghan.
My guess is that Edward was lost at sea during the 63rd's India/Burma period of service. A possibility is that Ann remarried - Army wives were never widowed for long as they were in very much sought after by the deceased's fellow soldiers, and started a new life. Or she may have gone back to Monaghan - according to the above both Edward and her parents were deceased in c1820 but if Elizabeth's statement that she had an aunt and cousin in Sydney is accurate, Ann may well have had at least one sister. Either way Elizabeth ended up in a union workhouse and according to her shipping information Ann was dead when she embarked in December 1849. If Ann died in Ireland during the famine period 1845-1850 there may very well be no record of her death.
My day job is military history but the British regiments are not my area of expertise. I will check with my colleagues regarding sources for the 63rd.
It really would be appreciated if you could let me know if any of the above ties in with what you know of your family.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Mongan Yass NSW PS If the above are Elizabeth's family you may have some interesting USA connections. The people who contributed the entries to the Morman indexes were
Judd WARNER 264 West 2350 South Bountiful, Utah 84010
JOSEPH OWEN EVANS 2061 EAST 4800 SOUTH SALT LAKE CITY UT USA 84117
JULIA ANN PACE C/O 320 E 5TH AVE #4 SLC UT (Salt Lake City Utah??)
CYNTHIA E. SOWER 821 - 39TH PLACE BELLINGHAM WA USA 98226
Name source: S908
Page: Hi Pete, Once again, thank you so much for your kind offer I hesitated to give you all the information, fearing it would overwhelm you. But, in the end, I decided to go the "whole hog" and give you everything so you have an idea of where the connection occured between my Sergeant and the regiment. I have attached a Word 2003 document, which hopefully you will be able to open. It contains all the data I have, and my suppositions. I would be grateful for anything you might be able to find about my Sgt Edward. My Questions a. Birth date of Sgt Edward Mackie (also spelling of his name in the records) b. Enlistment date of Sgt Edward c. Death record of Sgt Edward d. Service Record of Sgt Edward e. Any reference to death of wife ANN Items C and D are the most important to me. I do appreciate your offer, please let me know if there is any Australian research I can do for you?
Event source: S687
Page: WO12/7256 - 63rd Regiment of Foot Muster Book for 1819 showing the enlistment of Edward MACKAY (not McKee as others have reported)
Text: WO12/7256 - 63rd Regiment of Foot Muster Book for 1819 showing the enlistment of Edward MACKAY (not McKee as others have reported)
Event source: S960
Page: WO 12/7256 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819 recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
_MIL S687
Page: Research on Military Records for Edward Mackey
Text: The 1829 Discharge Book-63rd of 1839 does not show any reference to Edward Mackay.
The 1829 Discharge Book-63rd of 1841 does not show any reference to Edward Mackay.
There does not appear to be a 1840 book with reference to Discharges for the 63rd at Kew.
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1820-Mar 1821 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1821-Jun 1821 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun1821-Sep1821 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec1821-Mar1822 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Record - 63rd - Mar1822-Jun1822 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun 1822-Sep 1822 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1822-Dec 1822 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1823-May 1823 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1822-Mar 1823 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1823-May 1823 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - May 1823-Jun 1823 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1823-Dec 1823 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jan 1824-Mar 1824 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1824-Jun 1824 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun 1824-Sep 1824 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1824-Dec 1824 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1824-Mar 1825 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1825-Jun 1825 - Edward Mackay
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
_MIL S687
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1825-Jun 1825 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun 1825-Sep 1825 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1825-Dec 1825 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1825-Mar 1826 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1826-Jun 1826 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun 1826-Sep 1826 - Edward Mackay
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S687
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1826-Dec 1826 - Edward Mackay
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Oct – 1826 Dec Alemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay 4 days on march
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S687
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1826-Mar 1827 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1827-Jun 1827 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Mar 1827-Jun 1827 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun 1827-Sep 1827 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1827-Dec 1827 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1827-Apr 1828 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Apr 1828-Jun 1828 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jun 1828-Sep 1828 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1828-Dec 1828 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Apr 1837-Jun 1837 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jul 1837-Sep 1837 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Oct 1837-Dec 1837 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Oct 1837-Dec 1837 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jan 1838-Mar 1838 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Apr 1838-Jun 1838 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jul 1838-Sep 1838 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Oct 1838-Dec 1838 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Apr 1839-Jun 1839 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jul 1839-Sep 1839 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Oct 1839-Dec 1839 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Jan 1840-Mar 1840 - Edward Mackay
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Sep 1819-Dec 1819 - Edward Mackay
Text: Entry for October 1819 shows Edward Mackey in Company 10.
_MIL S567
Page: Edward Mackay - writeup in FamilySearch.org by Cheryl Evans Fromm
Text: Traveling with the 63rd Regiment a foot: Edward and Ann Taylor Mackey with children Mary Jane, Sarah Emelia and Elizabeth
· 7 November 2014 · 0 Comments
Edward Mackey was a sergeant in the 63rd (West Sufflok) Regiment a foot nicknamed the bloodsuckers.
Edward and Ann Taylor Mackey, along with their children: Mary Jane, Elizabeth and Sarah Emelia traveled with the Regiment. The girls were actually born into the British 63rd Regiment a foot. The family traveled and was stationed with the Regiment at Macquarie Harbour, Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania) Australia, Madras, India and Moulmein, Burma.
1819 to 1826- STATIONED IN IRELAND
The 63rd Regiment was deployed to Ireland. Edward enlisted in the 63rd Regiment on 08 September 1819. His muster roll entries show he was a labourer and born in Currin, Monaghan, Ireland. His regimental number was 143. By the time he was station in Van Diemen' Land he was a Sergeant. He earned a schiliing (10 cents) a day. The Regiment was stationed in Ireland until 1826.
1826-1828- STATIONED IN PORTUGAL
In 1826 the 63rd Regiment was stationed at Windsor. In February of 1826, the Regiment received a warning order that it would shortly leave for New South Wales, but tensions between Spain and Portugal caused the War Office to change its' mind. In December 1826 the Regiment left Portsmouth aboard H.M.S "Melville", "Gloucester" and "Warspite" bound for Lisbon, Portugal. On 1st January 1827 the Regiment took up quarters at the Convent de Grazer under the command of Sir William Clinton. The 63rd formed into a brigade with the 11th and 43rd under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot. The Regiments tour of Portugal was short: Stationed in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in Apirl, Santarem in July and Belem in September where it remained until it embarked for England on April 1828. The mission of the Regiment was described as "part of the army of occupation" and "to take part in the raid of Portugal". The 63rd's time in Portugal was mild as the suspected trouble did not happen, in large part due to the presence of the British Army. In April 1828 the Regiment returned to England. Mary Jane was born while her father was in Portugal. She was born on 01 May 1827 at Glen, Monaghan, Ireland.
1829-1833- STATIONED AT MACQUARIE HARBOUR, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND, (TASMANIA) AUSTRALIA. THE GARRISON ERA. (THE FAMILY BEGINS TRAVELING WITH THE 63RD REGIMENT)
The 63rd Regiment was deployed to Australia to replace the 40th Regiment for Garrison Duty. The 63rd Regiment served as guards for the convict ships traveling to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land and had garrison duty for the convicts in the prison system. Edward Mackey served as a Sergeant at Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen's Land. Tasmania is the island state of Australia located just below Australia. Tasmania's capital and Regiment headquarter's are at Hobart. This why records family records come out of Hobart. He was stationed at the legendary Sarah Island. This prison had a reputation as one of the harshest prison settlement. The 63rd was involved in the "Blackline"- the movement of the aborigines from the central plains to the east coast of Tasmania. In 1830 the battalion was also involved in internal security duties on the Van Diemen Land to prevent incidents by the native aborigines. Both daughters Sarah Emelia (1829) and Elizabeth (07 March 1831) were born at Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen.s Land.
(Birth, baptism records, assisted immigration records -1850 and death records state).
1833-1837- STATIONED AT FORT ST. GEORGE, MADRAS, INDIA.
The 63rd was deployed to Madras India in February of 1833. Five companies left in February and the other two companies left in March. Mary Jane was six years old, Sarah Emelia was 4 years old and Elizabeth was 2 years old. On 07 Sept 1836, Ann Taylor Mackey passes away. She was buried in the courtyard of St. Mary's Church located at Fort St. George. She was 36 years old. (Burial record-St Mary's Church Madras). The girls were 9,7 and 5 years old.
1838-1840 DEPLOYED TO MOULMEIN, BURMA. DETACHMENTS WERE BASED AT TAVOY AND MERGUI, BURMA.
After serving in Burma for a time, Edward decides to leave the British Military and be discharged. But Edward dies while traveling away from Burma to the Regimental Depot in Madras. At the Regimental Depot he could officially be discharged and then on to England. The girls experience him being buried at sea on 02 February 1840. The muster rolls for October-December show all the other soldiers traveling to the Regimental Depot in Madras were all discharged on the 30th of May 1840. So he must have died very early in the voyage and had stops along the way. The girls are in Madras, India now at the Regimental Depot. The girls are then "reared and trained" in the British Military Female Orphan Asylum at Madras. The girls received an excellent education. This is a large benefit and rarity for a female to be educated in the 1830-1840's alone plus being an orphan. Their Uncle and Aunt are caretakers at the orphanage. The girls called the orphanage "Castle Comorin". The orphanage is a large structure and located near Cape Comorin.
There is a surprise ending contained in the Military Records for Edward Mackey. It is discovered within "The Chatham Depot Casualty Returns ". It states: At the time of is death, he was still a Sergeant with the 63rd Regiment AND his final credit was sent to his son, Francis of Currin, Monaghan, Ireland. https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/11416864
_MIL S687
Page: Mackay - 1840 Adjutant's Roll Apr-Jun 63rd Regt.JPG
Page: WO12-7272 - Muster Book - 63rd - Oct-Dec 1840 - Edward Mackay died at sea - WO12-7272
Event source: S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7263 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1831 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7263 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1831 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7264 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1832-1833 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7264 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1832-1833 Held by:The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7264 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1832-1833 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7263 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1831 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7264 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1832-1833 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7263 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1831 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7265 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1833-1834 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7266 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1834-1835 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7265 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1833-1834 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7265 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1833-1834 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
_MIL S519
Page: Database online.
_MIL S571
Page: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers. After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force. Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
Text: Macquarie Harbour Penal Station Index of case studies
Introduction Macquarie harbour case study location map
Macquarie Harbour penal station was a site of secondary punishment established in 1822 on Tasmania's west coast. It was one of a number of coercive regimes set up in south-east Australia according to the recommendations of the Bigge report of 1819. The station was abandoned in November 1833 and the remaining convict population transferred to the new penal station at Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. During the 11 years of Macquarie Harbour's operation approximately 1,150 male and 30 female prisoners served time there. They were employed in a variety of tasks ranging from ganged labour in irons to highly skilled tasks managed through a reward system. Their main activities focussed on the exploitation of local timber resources, especially Huon pine. Over 120 vessels, ranging from dinghies to three masted barques, were constructed. Other prisoners were employed in boat crews, as blacksmiths, carpenters watchmen, constables and overseers. The small number of female prisoners worked as hospital orderlies, laundresses, and servants to officers.
After the publication of Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life in 1884, Macquarie Harbour attained widespread notoriety as one of the worst sites of punishment in the British Empire. This attitude continues to affect popular perceptions so that Macquarie Harbour is widely seen as a place where the hardened sweepings of the convict colonies of eastern Australia were subjected to a regime of terrifying violence. Yet recent assessments of Macquarie Harbour challenge many of these assumptions. For instance, in many cases the crimes were relatively minor, ranging from theft, absconding from their place of employment, insubordination, mutinous conduct on the voyage to Australia or, in some cases, as 'volunteers' to work in the boat crews or shipyards. In addition, analysis of punishment records reveal that, while levels of punishment were extreme in the early years of the settlement, they diminished over time. After January 1829, the regime was benign compared to other locations. One possible reason for this is that, as the station developed its industrial functions, the balance of work shifted from the employment of ganged labour in land clearance and reclamation, to more skilled tasks managed by reward instead of the use of force.
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station is a site of considerable significance with its landscape little affected by subsequent development. Although many of the remaining structures were partially demolished to obtain building materials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeological deposits appear to have been largely undisturbed. The Department of Parks, Tourism, Heritage and Arts (DPTHA) have recorded over 100 features associated with the former penal station, many of which are located within the World Heritage Area. Much of the original paperwork survives in Australian and British archives. Several journals, diaries and narratives written by officials, convicts, and visitors to the settlement have also been preserved. As well as being one of the best documented penal stations, at least 20 nineteenth century images of the settlement are held in various Australian public collections.
The site makes a major contribution to our understanding of society and culture. Convict ancestry has become a source of pride making transportation an important element in Tasmanian (and the wider Australian) identity. Even so the penal station's terrible reputation has coloured Tasmanian perceptions of the wilderness as a hostile environment (e.g. A Terrible Beauty: History of the Gordon River Country 1985 by Richard Flanagan). The site is an early, well-documented example of the modern bureaucratic state in action which demonstrates, by its remote location, the global reach of British capitalism. Its selection, accessible only by sea, and with numerous islands, emphasises British competence and confidence as seafarers, an essential component of imperial power. The cultural landscape, along with the built, manufactured, pictorial, and written heritage of the penal station make an important contribution, not only to an understanding of Tasmania's convict past, but to the processes of colonisation in Australia.
Location
Although the main settlement at Macquarie Harbour penal station was located on Sarah Island (sometimes referred to as Headquarters Island or Settlement Island) the station itself encompassed a wide area (see Tas Maps: Cape Sorell 7913 and Franklin 8013). Other significant sites (with grid references) include:
Pilot's Station Kelly 3432 525 245 Phillips Island Cape Sorell 7913 72 117 Grummet Island/ Small Island Cape Sorell 7913 73 062 Farm Cove Cape Sorell 758 095 Hallidays Island Cape Sorell 7913 724 041 Soldiers Island Philips 3631 762 104 Pine was cut from Kellys, Brisbane, and Wrights Basins as well as from Birches Inlet and the Gordon-below-Franklin River. Places named after people who were at the penal station indicate the extent of its reach. Hells Gates Cape Sorell 7913 525 251 Liberty Point Cape Sorell 7913 612 17 Lucas Creek Cape Sorell 7913 625 111(named after the settlement pilot James Lucas) Schofield Creek Cape Sorell 7913 63 105 (Revd William Schofield Wesleyan missionary) Butler Creek Cape Sorell 7813 659 087 (Commandant Butler) Baylee Creek Cape Sorell 7913 686 074 (Commandant Baylee) Richardsons Bay Cape Sorell 7913 698 069 (probably named after the place at which Constable Richardson was murdered) Briggs Creek Cape Sorell 7913 699 042 (Commandant Briggs) Cuthbertson Creek Cape Sorell 7913 728 989 (Commandant Cuthbertson) Commandant Creek Cape Sorell 7913 732 976 Kinghorn Creek Cape Sorell 7913 (master of the brig Waterloo) Butler Rivulet Spence River In an effort to assess cultural heritage protection priorities for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station a strategic and systematic process was applied. The first stage of the process involves 'mapping' significant themes in Tasmania's history and identifying and assessing the condition and pressure of surviving expressions of these themes (heritage categories).
Strategic and systematic process for the integrated identification and assessment of cultural heritage protection priorities
The condition of each heritage category is scored based on category specific criteria. To assess pressure, a score for both threat and rarity is given as an indication of the necessity for management action. Further information is available in the Cultural Heritage Chapter.
Condition
Cultural landscape
The cultural landscape is a result of the interaction between the inhabitants of the penal colony and the unfamiliar environment in which they were placed. It is invested, not only with the meanings they gave it, but those of subsequent generations. Unlike the prior occupants and owners of the land-the Aboriginal people, whose meanings and economic usage of the land were determined by it-the colonists tried to impose an economy and system of values derived from Britain, linked to the development of capitalism and industrialisation. Essentially they sought to exploit the resources rather than work with them. As a result the landscape underwent more rapid changes than at any other time in its history. Some of these: building, farming, land reclamation, quarrying, and mining, are still evident, others less so. In particular, although timber was cut for boat building, and to clear land for farming, most of the area is now covered with regrowth. The introduction of new species and the economic exploitation of existing plants, animals, and habitats also had a considerable impact on local flora and fauna. There are still European roses and hawthorn growing in the area.
The tangible evidence of cultural practice, the loss of Huon pine, the creation of farm land, and the existence of sub-strata footing with some ruins gives the site a score of between 28% and 32%. Since it is in a World Heritage Area and managed by the DPTHA the score belongs at the higher end of the range: Score: 31 to 32%. Places and features
Sarah Island, small, tree covered, and located at the southern end of Macquarie Harbour, was the most drastically altered by the convict presence. As the administrative centre, it was heavily built, with over 100 features extant. Farm Cove, a wind sheltered peninsula, consisted of 80-100 acres of land cleared for farming, principally growing potatoes and rearing pigs. The other farm site was Philip Island, about one kilometre west of the mouth of the Braddon River, on the north-east shore of the harbour. Apart from the farm (1826-33), there was little intervention. Macquarie Harbour was the first place in Tasmania (and only the second in Australia) to be mined for coal. However, the mining at Coal Head-an exposed cliff face of 50 metres with seams of ignite-shows little evidence of workings. These were probably limited to picking up coal from the beach.
These places indicate the types of economic activities carried out at Macquarie Harbour. Essentially it was designed for production, with farming supposed to provide the nutritional requirements of the convict work force. Potatoes were chosen (as in other parts of the Empire, most notoriously Ireland) as an easily grown crop which freed workers from subsistence agriculture for economically productive activities. Sarah Island provides built evidence (in microcosm) of British principles of administration, that of a centre controlling a periphery.
There are about 100 features which have survived from Macquarie Harbour's convict past. They indicate the resourcefulness, and technological ability of the nineteenth century British and how it was used in an unfamiliar environment. They provide spatial evidence of the social hi http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/casestudy/10/index.php
_MIL S939
Page: Mackay, Edward Reference:WO 12/7265 Description:63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date:1833-1834 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record(s) Closure status:Open Document, Open Description
Death source: S519
Page: Horton Family Tree and Duce Family Tree 2015-03-10
Text: Record for Jane Graham http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=892583784&indiv=try
Page: Haworth Family Tree 2 - 2014-03-26
Text: Record for Anne Taylor http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=18566026622&indiv=try
Page: Warner Family Tree 2015-07-11
Text: Record for Edward Mackey http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=6276283616&indiv=try
Death source: S157
Page: 63rd Foot 1st Battalion - WO 12 - Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: General Muster Books and Pay Lists Reference:WO 12/7272 Description: 63rd Foot 1st Battalion Date: 1840-1841 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status:Public Record Closure status:Open Document, Open Description WO 12 7272 - Mackay, Edward
Text: WO12/7272 shows Edward Mackay ‘Embarked for England’ in October and then ‘Died at Sea 2nd February’ (oddly this is in the November 1840 column – presumably when they arrived in England)
Note: @N2512@ http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2467109
Death source: S560
Page: Edward Mackey: Buried at Sea on 02 February 1840: W0 12/7272 National Archives Muster Rolls: Embarked for discharge: Left Burma
Text: Cheryl McKell Frome quoted the W0 12/7272 National Archives Muster Rolls entry by saying:
(my abbreviation of the attached image)
Edward...needed to be discharged from the Army Regimental Depot at Madras - he never made it, dying and being buried at sea
This, I think, contradicts my interpretation that while the Regiment was on active duty in Burma, the dependants remained at the Depot in Madras. The 3 girls would not be on board the ship from Burma, but would be on the ship going to England. https://familysearch.org/photos/documents/20266295
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Nov – 1826 Dec Chatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackay to No.4 Company
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S687
Page: Muster Book - 63rd - Dec 1826-Mar 1827 - Edward Mackay
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1826 Dec – 1827 Mar Thomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackey January on duty for provisions
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S961
Page: 1827 Apr – Jun Thomar, Portugal Sergeant Edward Mackey to Private 9th June June on escort duty to Belem Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service. Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S961
Page: 1827 Apr – Jun Thomar, Portugal Sergeant Edward Mackey to Private 9th June June on escort duty to Belem Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service. Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S961
Page: 1827 Apr – Jun Thomar, Portugal Sergeant Edward Mackey to Private 9th June June on escort duty to Belem Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service. Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)
_MIL S960
Page: WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
Text: 1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
_MIL S959
Page: Letter recieved 2017-09-22 regarding the research into Edward COMBER in the 50th Regiment of Foot, Edward MACKEY in the 63rd Regiment of Foot and Mary Jane MACKEY & Robert SMYTH marriage
Text: I think I found a whole family of Combers in the 50th Foot 1st Battalion
To summarise;
I found what I believe is probably Edward’s father, James Comber, listed as a private, enlisted in 1826 and discharged in 1836; stationed at Illawarra [1835] and Windsor [1836] NSW; originally a silk weaver, born in London.
I also found a James Comber junior, who was a drummer from 1835, until he became a private in 1838. He did not appear in the later Musters [below] so must have left the army sometime between 1839 and 1845.
Drummer was a rank in the army at which you could enlist under the age of 18. At 18 one could be moved up into the ranks of the proper army.
Edward Comber himself enlisted in 1835, straight in as private. But he was demoted to drummer in 1837, presumably when they discovered his age He was promoted back to private in 1839.
(This implies that James and Edward were quite close in age; James presumably born in early 1820 and Edward born in early 1821. Edward was born in London, so they were still in England until at least 1821.)
Edward was stationed in and around Sydney 1835 to 1839.
Picking up the story in 1845, the regiment was in India, and involved in fighting.
Edward was discharged in 1845, and, it seems, just in time, as the Musters 1845/46 were recording a lot of casualties.
WO 12/6128. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1835 Jun – 1836 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 555 James ComberIllawarra
Drummer 992 James Comber
Private ___ Edward Comberrecruit enlisted 15 Oct 1835 at Headquarters
WO 12/6129. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1836 Apr – 1837 MarWindsor, NSW
Private 1105 Edward Comber
Private 555 James Comberdischarged 31 May 1836 paying £15
Born London, silk weaver, enlisted 24 Feb 1826, discharged Windsor, NSW, 31 May 1836
Drummer 992 James Comber
WO 12/6130. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1837 Apr – JunSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberhospital 13 days
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Jul – SepSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberto drummer 1 Aug 1837
Drummer 992 James Comber
1837 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comber
1838 Jan – Mar Sydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Drummer 992 James Comberto private 1 Mar 1838
WO 12/6131. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1838 Apr – JunSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comberhospital 19 days
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Jul – SepSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1838 Oct – DecSydney
Drummer 1105 Edward Comber
Private 992 James Comber
1839 Jan – MarSydney
Private 1105 Edward Comberpromoted from drummer to private 1 Mar 1839
Private 992 James Comberhospital 15 days
WO 12/6138. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1845 Mar – JunChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
1845 Jul – SepChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comber
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”.
1845 Oct – DecChinsurah & Loodianah
Private 1105 Edward Comberdischarged 3 Nov 1845
In this quarter a lot of soldiers were recorded “died”, and also a lot were recorded “killed” dated Dec 18, 21, and 22.
1846 Jan – MarChinsurah & Loodianah
In this quarter huge numbers were recorded as “killed in action” and “died of wounds”.
Searching for Edward’s discharge, I had also searched these Musters; of course, he was not there, being already discharged, but I noted the whereabouts of the Battalion;
WO 12/6139. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1846 Apr – JunLoodianah
1846 Jul – SepLoodianah
1846 Oct – DecKurnaul & on march
1847 Jan – MarKurnaul & on march
WO 12/6140. 50th Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll.
1847 Apr – JunKooluah on route to Calcutta
1847 Jul – SepCalcutta
1847 Oct – DecCalcutta
1848 Jan – Marat sea
The worldwide army index shows that Edward and James junior set sail to India in 1841;
British Army, Worldwide Index 1841
WO 12/6135 50th Foot 1841.
Private Edward Comber
Service number 1105
Private James Comber
Service number992
Location At Sea, Calcutta
Edward Mackey;
I rechecked the muster containing Edward Mackay’s enlistment, but there are no further details anywhere in this record additional to what you already have;
WO 12/7256 Muster Roll 63rd Foot 1st Battalion.
1819 Sep – DecMullingar
Edward Mackayenlisted 8 Sep 1819recruited by Lt. Thornton of Central District
19 days march
There are no extra notes concerning Edward Mackay in this muster volume.
Checking the two volumes which you requested 1824-1827;
WO 12/7259 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1824 Dec – 1825 MarNewry
Corporal Edward Mackay13 days on march
1825 Apr – 1825 JunNewry
Sergeant Edward Mackayfrom corporal 25 May
1825 Jul – 1825 SepCastlebar
Sergeant Edward MackaySeptember at Eskybridge
1825 Oct – 1825 DecCastlebar
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Jan – 1826 MarWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay11 days on march
1826 Apr – 1826 JuneWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay5 days on march; May at Cork
1826 Jul – 1826 SepWindsor
Sergeant Edward Mackay
1826 Oct – 1826 DecAlemquer, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackay4 days on march
Also;
1826 Nov – 1826 DecChatham Division
Sergeant Edward Mackayto No.4 Company
WO 12/7260 - 63rd Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion Muster Roll
1826 Dec – 1827 MarThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward MackeyJanuary on duty for provisions
1827 Apr – JunThomar, Portugal
Sergeant Edward Mackeyto Private 9th June
June on escort duty to Belem
Recorded that this is the first quarter for Edward Mackey to receive additional pay for 7 years’ service.
Reduced to Private at the same time as Sergeant Edward Flanders, for whom it was the first quarter for him to receive additional pay for 14 years’ service.
1827 Jul – SepBelem, Portugal
Private Edward MackeyJuly on command to Belem
1827 Oct – DecBelem, Portugal
Private Edward Mackey
As you see in the Musters above, Edward Mackey had another demotion from sergeant to private in 1827. There is no indication in the muster as to why.
One possible clue – he and Edward Flanders were just beginning long-service extra pay when they were demoted – could it be that the extra pay with the demotion still gave them the same pay they were having previously, so it all evened out?
Or it could be that, both times he was demoted, his battalion was on the move; maybe different ratios of privates and officers were needed in different places?
My reading of the Portuguese place names was different from yours; I found a history of the regiment online which confirms the places;
"The history of the late 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment"
1827. The regiment disembarked on the 1st January and took up its quarters in the Convent de Graza. While stationed there under the command of General Sir William Clinton, K.O.B., the brigades were formed, the second being composed of the 11th, 43rd, and 63rd Regiments, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. The regiment was in Lisbon in January, Alemquer in February, Thomar in April, Santarem in July, and Belem in September, where it remained until it embarked for England.
You asked me to find details of the Chatham marriage of Mary Jane Mackey;
Marriage Jun quarter 1845 Robert Smyth = Mary Jane Mackey Medway 5.478
Chatham St. Mary the Virgin. Marriage.
1845 May 5. Robert Smyth bachelor of full age, Corporal of the 62nd Regt., Barracks;
Father, Alexander Smyth, farmer.
Mary Jane Mackey spinster, a minor, of Middle Street;
Father, Edward Mackey, Sergeant 63rd Regt.
Banns. Witnesses Sam Hancock, Jane Midgemay/Ridgeway?? (signature unclear)