Post 83, published two weeks ago, describes, in some detail, the early life of James Davis, and his long, and enforced voyage to Australia. James, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, was 16 years old when he was accused of stealing “half a crown”, and was sentenced to “transportation”, for a period of fourteen years. Along with 120 other convicts, he was sent to Australia on the convict ship “Minstrel”, which arrived in Port Jackson on 22 August 1825, after a voyage of 4 months.
Today’s post covers the next episode in James’ long and adventurous life. It gives us a picture of his early life in Australia, following his arrival in New South Wales, and, later, it outlines his dreaded transfer to the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, from which he escaped and fled to the freshwater lagoons around Sandgate.
This outline of the incredible story of James Davis’ life is based on information obtained from a variety of sources, including the 1895 publication, “Geographic History dedicated to the Queensland People”, by Archibald Meston.
When James first set foot on land in Port Jackson, on 25 August 1825, three days after the arrival of the Minstrel (and three weeks after he had “celebrated” his 18th birthday) he and the other prisoners were lined up in the prison yard and were addressed by Lieutenant Governor Stewart. The Sydney Gazette had reported at the time that Stewart had “addressed the men in the usual encouraging way”, and that they had appeared to be “in the best of health”. The Governor of the colony at that time was Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was away on a tour of the interior.
It is most likely that the above address took place on a mild and pleasant day, because August was right at the tail end of the Australian winter. It is also likely that James would have looked around, happy to be off the ship, but worried about his immediate future and, of course, he would have been wondering where he would be sent to next. Having had some training as an apprentice blacksmith, he would probably not have had to wait for very long before being assigned to a “master” and being recorded in an “assignment register”. For blacksmiths, there would have been plenty of work available in the Port Jackson area, as well as elsewhere in the colony, and I would guess that he would have been employed almost immediately.
During the next three years James was moved to other parts of the colony of New South Wales. It is possible, although there is no information to confirm this, that, at times, he would have been forced to have his ankles chained together, especially when he was outside the prison or being transferred from place to place. Such moves would have been extremely painful for him. “Chain gangs” are said to have been a colonial innovation, introduced in 1826, around the time of James’ arrival. Perhaps he was spared this punishment, although the records show that he did get himself into more trouble.
Three years later, when he still had ten years to serve, he was accused and “convicted of housebreaking, or at least of possessing the proceeds thereof”. He made his court appearance at “Patrick’s Plains” (which is now Singleton, in the Hunter Valley), approximately 200 km north of Sydney. As he would then have been officially classified as a “doubly convicted felon”, it is no surprise that he was sentenced, in January 1829, to serve 3 years in prison at the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, which was situated about 900 km to the north of Sydney.
At the time of his sentencing, virtually all of that vast expanse which is now known as Queensland had not yet been explored by the British. The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was the first European settlement there.
James was transported to Moreton Bay on a small sailing ship (the brig “Governor Phillip”), arriving there in February 1829. The ship had a crew of 18 and carried passengers, soldiers, convicts and supplies. In the list of prisoners on board, James was described as “James Davis, native place – Glasgow, Age – 19, 5ft 4 ¼, Freckled pock-pitted Complexion, Sandy Hair, Grey Eyes.” His age was, however, not 19. He was 21 years old, having been baptised in Scotland on 2 August 1807.
The Morton Bay Penal Settlement was a place which was dreaded by all convicts. The records show that, in the year before James’ arrival, over 11,000 lashes were inflicted there, on 200 convicts. They also show that the punishments were so extreme that some prisoners were said to have committed murder “with the intention of getting themselves hanged, preferring death to further lashing”.
One of the newspaper reports about this penal settlement concerned a man who was imprisoned there, who was hanged in April 1929, not long after James’ arrival. Before he died, he had claimed to be innocent and had warned the other prisoners:
“If you go to Moreton Bay (said the culprit), you are ruined beyond redemption. You are either flogged to death or worked to death. I have known many bright men murdered – completely murdered by the ill-usage of overseers, constables, and those above them. Take warning by me – take warning – never run from your road gangs or iron gangs. It may perhaps send you to Moreton Bay, and then you are a lost man. The last time I was flogged was for stealing a few grains of wheat. I received a hundred severe lashes. Oh, fellow prisoners, avoid Moreton Bay.”
When James did arrive there, towards the end of the summer, the prison was under the command of Patrick Logan, a man with a brutal reputation. As there had been very little rain that year, the lagoon, which provided the main fresh water supply, had stagnated in the heat. That, together with poor rations and heat exhaustion, caused an outbreak of dysentery and soaring rates of hospitalisation and death. On the day of his arrival, there were 113 prisoners in the Convict Hospital.
James was put to work in the lumber yard of the convict barracks, as assistant to the blacksmith. After witnessing the floggings, as well as other punishments, and experiencing the awful conditions, it would not have taken him long to decide to attempt to get away from this hellish environment. So, on 30 March 1829, just six weeks after his arrival in Moreton Bay, he and another convict, believed to be a man named John Downie, attempted and successfully executed an escape from the prison.
It appears that the escapees made their way north from the settlement and happened to come into contact with the Turrbal people, who lived near the freshwater lagoons in what is now called Sandgate. I have previously written about the Turrbal people, in June 2024 (Post 45 – “The Lost Tribe”). James and John Downie are believed to have stayed with them for 12 months, before “being passed on to other tribes”.
When I started writing this story, I did not know that Sandgate, or the Turrbal people, would feature in it. Sandgate is where I now live, so I have no difficulty in visualising the bushland environment where James would have spent his first year of freedom. One of Sandgate’s freshwater lagoons is in fact situated in the park opposite our house.
One of the sources for the next instalment, which will focus on James’ 13 years of living with First Nations people, is an article which appeared in “Truth” newspaper on 30 July 1905, written by a man who met James in Brisbane in 1870. It is a fascinating story. It describes why, and how, James connected with the tribal leaders, and why and how he was adopted as a son by one of them.
O.P.
P.S. If you enjoyed this story and would like to receive an email every other Sunday with new stories, please fill in your details on the Join Us page. The next instalment will be available on Sunday morning, 9 November, and is titled “James Davis – Duramboi”.