Edward Hunt sentenced to seven years transportation

Date1853

Object number00018288

NameDocument

MediumPrinted text and ink on vellum.

DimensionsOverall: 191 x 343 mm
Sheet: 191 x 343 mm
Display dimensions: 193 x 343 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionEdward Hunt, a labourer from Manchester, England, pleads guilty to stealing "one tame and reclaimed fowl called a hen" from Daniel Foxwell on 10 January 1853. His previous conviction for felony on 3 July 1948 is also recorded. His sentance of 7 years transportation is handwritten at the bottom of the document.HistoryFor eighty years after the establishment of a penal settlement in Australia, the Transportation of British criminals was integrally bound up with the political and economic development of Australia. Transportation became an essential element of British colonial policy and part of its criminal justice system in 1619 when James I enacted the first Transportation Act. America was the favoured destination for the majority of those criminal transported but The American War of Independence in 1776 forced a review of government policy. In 1784, TheTransportation and Penitentiaries Act (an update of previous legislation) allowed for the transportation of felons and other offenders to colonies overseas. Amongst the crimes designated as felonies and punishable by Transportation was the stealing of items of less than one shilling, although the punishment was usually reserved for multiple offenders. In January, 1853, Edward Hunt was convicted of theft of a hen, this was Hunt's second offence and allowed him to be Transported (for seven years) under the 1784 Act. It was unfortunate for Hunt that he did not commit his offence after September 1853, when the Penal Servitude Act, which greatly decreased the number of convicts transported overseas, was passed. Although the document does not state to what colony (West Australia, Gibraltar and Bermuda were all receiving convicts in 1852) Hunt was Transported to, Western Australia became the only British Colony receiving convicts after 1853. SignificanceBetween 1788 and 1868, over 160,000 convicts were Transported to Australia forming the basis of the British colonies. Providing labour for economic sustainability and growth, most convicts chose to stay once their sentence had expired diversifying into other professions and regions across Australia.