Free Settler or Felon
Convict and Colonial History




Convict Ship Clyde - 1830


Embarked: 216 men
Voyage: 110 days
Deaths: 0
Surgeon's Journal: yes
Captain Dan N. Munro
Surgeon Morgan Price
Descendant Contribution

The Clyde was built at Greenock in 1819.[1]

Convicts were transported to Australia on this first voyage in 1830 to Van Diemen's Land and in 1832 and 1838 to New South Wales

Free Passengers

Passengers included Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Sarson.

Military Guard

The Guard consists of Lieut. D. Cooper, Quarter Master John Sarson, 2 Serjeants, 1 drummer and 39 rank and file of the 17th regiment with 2 boys, 7 women and 7 children.[4]

Departure

The Clyde departed Portsmouth on 30 August 1830.

Surgeon Morgan Price

Morgan Price kept a Medical Journal from 20 August to 27 December 1830. In his notes at the end of the Journal he reported that it had been a healthy voyage:

{Extract}

The few cases recorded in this journal there occurred nothing requiring very particular observation and although the crowded state of the ship as having 313 individuals on board for upwards of 134 days and many of the convicts upwards of 50 years of age, yet the healthy state of the whole of the prisoners were such during the voyage with the exception of a few old chronicle ulcers, few were admitted to hospital.

The fatal case marked asthma was sent from Chatham as one of the military guard with but little hopes of his recovery, his constitution was worn out, having been long habituated to ardent spirits

I, in a great measure attribute the continuance and healthy state during the voyage to the particular attention paid in keeping the prison and between decks as dry as possible and having the prisoners and Guard daily on deck when the weather admitted in order to have a free circulation and pure atmosphere through the ship
.[2]

Some of those mentioned in the Journal included:

Phillip Oblett, aged 20, convict, taken ill at Spithead; sick or hurt, contusion, fell from the main deck to the hold received a severe contusion on the back and head;

Edward Jones, aged 32, soldier

McBrierty, aged 29, soldier,

William Young, aged 26, soldier.

Timothy Daly, aged 35, corporal 17th regiment, taken ill at sea; sick or hurt, asthma; put on sick list 16 September 1830, died 29 October 1830

John Roberts, aged 32, soldier, taken ill at sea; sick or hurt, accident, fell against an empty cask, the integuments over the left tibia lacerated and laid bare exposed about three inches [3]

A Callison, aged 21, convict

Mark Joel, aged 59, convict

Samuel Pratt, aged 28, convict

George Barnett, aged 20, convict

Van Diemen's Land

The Clyde arrived in Van Diemen's Land on 18 December 1830 with 215 male convicts. [4]

Notes and Links

1). Descendant Contribution - Contact Descendant Clive Hobbs

Thomas Hobbs was born at Hambleden Bucks in 1795. He was tried at Abingdon Summer Assizes in July 1829 and found guilty of Stealing Pigs. Thomas Hobbs was sentenced to 7 years transportation. On arrival in Van Diemen's Land he was assigned to George Hull. He was granted a Certificate of Freedom in 1836 Campbell town and settled at Cut Paw Paw on the Saltwater River where he purchased land at Werribee on the River Exe. He married Eliza McNamara in 1847 RC St Francis Melbourne 1st Son: Thomas born Dec.1842 born Williamstown 2nd Son: Patrick George b. 1848 Saltwater Cove. Thomas Hobbs died July 1851 and was buried under the Queen Victoria Markets Melbourne.

References

[1] Bateson, Charles Library of Australian History (1983). The convict ships, 1787-1868 (Australian ed). Library of Australian History, Sydney : pp.360-361

[2] Ancestry.com. UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857. Medical Journal of Morgan Price on the voyage of the Clyde in 1830. The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey.

[3] National Archives - Reference: ADM 101/17/6 Description: Medical journal of the Clyde convict ship, from 20 August to 27 December 1830, by Morgan Price, surgeon and superintendent, during which time the said ship was employed in convict service.

[4] The Tasmanian (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1827 - 1839) Fri 24 Dec 1830 Page 2 Shipping