There was one frustrating absence from all the convict documents digitised and available through the Libraries Tasmania site that directly pertain to the convict James Dyson. The link to the General Correspondence File of the Colonial Secretary’s Office (CSO1) tells you what it is, but not what it contains.
Much as I would dearly love to visit Tasmania again and wallow amongst the microfilm, that’s not going to be possible any time soon. Then, thanks to a lead not affiliated with any of the “official” sources of knowledge, I learnt that a certain religious sect have in their possession the entire lot on microfilm and offer it free on their web site.
These images are catalogued on familysearch, but give no searchable clue what these scans contain. The Tasmanian Archive’s site gives you slightly more than a clue but refuses to connect to the scans the Mormons have published. Or even let you know this source exists at all!
5 November 2024 Update:
Beware of the Leopard
The scanned CSO documents are on the Library Tasmania web portal. Its possible they may always have been, but were so difficult to find they may as well not have been.
The Convict Ship Moffatt arrived in Hobart Town on 9 May 1834 carrying convict James Dyson. I’ve managed to piece together a pretty detailed narrative of the voyage by piecing together contemporary newspaper articles, The Surgeon-Superintendent’s report (translated from the Latin), the way the voyage was supposed to proceed (according to Thomas Braidwood Wilson’s book and Lieutenant Governor Arthur’s evidence to a parliamentary committee), and what actually happened (according to the diary of a private passenger onboard ship.)
The hitherto un-transcribed dossier of letters from the Colonial Secretary’s Office have proved to all be about the arrival of the Moffatt at Hobart and I’m relieved to find that I seemed to have got most of the facts straight — working it out the hard way. You, the potential reader of Dyson’s Swamp will have to endure many fewer “possibly’s” or “probably’s” when I review this chapter.
What makes me happiest is that it confirms to me that Thomas Braidwood Wilson (R.N) Esquire, Surgeon Superintendent in charge of the welfare of every Convict on board the Moffatt was as full of shit as I always suspected him to be.
I am also delighted to discover Captain William Moriarty plays an additional role in James Dyson’s history – it turns out he was the first new face he ever saw in Van Diemen’s Land.
Sir I have the honor to acquaint you that agreeably to your request I have inspected the Transport Ship Moffatt arrived in this Port on the 9th Instant and have mustered the Convicts on board of her. The appearance of the vessel was creditable and cleanly, and that of the men healthy. I individually interrogated them as to the treatment they met with during the passage, and they expressed themselves perfectly satisfied thencewith, in regard to their provisions and in every other respect. Four Hundred Prisoners were embarked on board this Vessel five of whom have died during the passage, one drowned, and one absconded since his embarkation * I do myself the honor of forwarding herewith the papers called for by your instructions A. the Surgeons Superintendent with the exception of No. 4 which as Dr Wilson had [not?] closed his Accounts was not yet ready and Which he has promised to forward on Monday the 12th Inst
I have the honor to be Sir Your very Obedient Servant Wm Morriarty Port Officer
Jno Burnett Esq Colonial Secretary
CSO1/1/719 Page 15674 no 39, 40
* Then there was this glorious annotation to the report by the Colonial Secretary obviously on the behalf of an incensed Colonel Arthur:
Prepare a letter to Dr Wilson R N The Surgeon Supt requesting him to state the particulars of this man’s escape & where & when it took place
CSO1/1/719 Page 15674 no 40
Wilson’s reply from onboard Moffatt proves once and for all that a medical man’s handwriting is always borderline unreadable (at least it was not in Latin this time). My interpretation of this scrawl is underneath the image (I’m not quite that much of a bastard). —
N.B. the original scans on a certain web site are of a much higher resolution.
Sir I have received your letter of this day’s date requesting me to state for His Excellency’s information, the particulars relative to the escape of a prisoner from this ship. On the 3rd Jany about 6 A.M. it was reported to me that a prisoner named J. Davies was missing. This man was one of a party who assisted in getting water from the hold & consequently was always on deck at daylight. On the morning of the above mentioned date, the prisoner went into the drop[!] on pretence of being unwell, the next person who had occasion to go there found the prisoners apparel & half of his chains near the privy. A boat with a non commissioned officer & party of the guard was immediately depart south to search all the Vessels in the sound & another to examine the lee Shore. Information was given to the proper authorities at Plymouth. & I also wrote to the Home office on the Subject & I enclose Mr Cappers answer No fault can be attributed to the guard nor to any other person
I have the honor to be Sir your most Obedient Servant [Mostly Illegible signature]
CSO1/1/719 Page 15674 no 41
So this is it. Probably the last post of 2022. A year I discovered this site still banned on Western Australian government filtered servers for reasons of … pornography. I am guessing this is down to my use of a certain … word. When I discovered this some years ago I removed what I thought was the offending word on a certain page. As I seem to be permanently on a black list with no obvious way of appealing the ban or even finding out on what grounds my domain was banned in the first place, I may as well use what words I feel like without filtering myself.
The names of all the convicts are known, and the record of one particular convict on this voyage called James Dyson reports that he was in good heath and his conduct was “good”.
In neither of the additional accounts now uncovered, is Dyson mentioned at all. This was not unexpected. Neither narrative was ever going to mention the name of a common sailor, servant, or soldier on board ship, much less the name of convict — unless they had done something dramatic, criminal or terminal — preferably all three.
Of these two primary sources, the first is the Medical and Surgical Journal kept by T. B. Wilson, M.D., Ship’s surgeon and Superintendent of the convicts on this voyage. Both the medical notes he took, and the summary of the entire journey for his masters back in England, he recorded in Latin — apparently for no other reason that he was a pretentious wanker. An extremely rough translation of the “General Remarks” part of this report reinforces my opinion of his character — an opinion increasingly shared by the author of the other detailed account of the voyage — G.T.W.B. Boyes.
from Boyes’ journal
Boyes was a bureaucrat returning to his office in VDL. Apparently he had known Wilson well when they had last been in the Colony together and had even been friends. However they may not have been confined on the same ship before, and Boyes may never have seen Wilson in action in his role as Superintendent. Boyes’ day by day journal records his increasing misgivings as to how Wilson performed his duties. At the beginning of the voyage he refers to the activity of “Wilson,” by the end, he he just referred to as “the Surgeon”.
Boyes records events that are barely touched upon in Wilson’s journal, such as the unofficial trial conducted by the convicts when one of their number was caught stealing food — they had no faith justice would be done if they reported it to the superintendent— nor were the brawls among the convicts in the days afterwards. Six convicts did not survive the passage to Van Diemen’s Land. Not mentioned in the official account is that one of those drowned after falling overboard. Whether it was an accident, suicide, or he was given a push remains an open question. A seventh prisoner is sometimes referred to in other documents as having been “unloaded” before the voyage began. This is cute way of saying he jumped overboard, then either swam to shore or to an awaiting boat near Plymouth. Either way, he was not bound for Van Diemen’s Land.
The sections of Boyes’ handwritten diary concerned with the voyage of the Moffatt between 22 October 1833 ’til 9 May 1834 now exist in the form of a transcription produced by me. I would reproduce it here on this site in its entirety so others need not re-invent the wheel next time, but the copyright notice on the blurry PDF scans of the diary so far made publicly available clearly states:—
You may not develop a derivative version of the material.
In regards to the Surgeon’s Journal, a transcription has been made of the five pages of the “General Remarks” that conclude the report, and these have been transcribed into Latin. A crude machine translation of this text into English is laughably bad, but enough of the gist of it is comprehensible, in that specific events referred to, can be cross referenced with Boyes’ diary entries, and that Wilson is using ridiculously grandiose language to describe both himself and his actions.
My translation into English shall never be published while I still live. A representative paragraph is reproduced below to demonstrate WHY this shal be so:—
Although during the course of time, some people human beings are now and again tempted by disease, still ship health first name until the twelfth of May, when Scurvy he provided himself as a companion; and at once made an ambush among the exiles. It is known that the scurvy fall into other prone diseases else; for this reason various diseases of the various diseases rushed forward; among whom diarrhea has been cured he rejoiced.”
Google Translate
However, my transcription IN LATIN of the Surgeon’s general remarks can be read below, or downloaded here (PDF). I cannot read or write Latin, but I make this available for anyone else who would like to try themselves.—
GENERAL REMARKS
Page 1
Hiqus navis quadringentos exulum ab oris Anglicae pro legibus fractis, as Tasmanian usque deportatinuae decimo quinto kalendas Novembra, Chirungus Constitutus sum. Pridie Nonas qustem Mensis illam in fluno Tamesi prope “Deptford” jacentem conscende – Pridicque Idiis Militum trigintor, e legione qurm quorg es unmor exuled Custoditun navin conscenderment.
Decmo quanto Kalendus Decembras, Omnibus ad Navxgationem long ano peratis iter inceptum est, et sub vesperam ejusdem dieu, juxta Navale apund “Woolwich”, in situ idoneo, naevim posuimus ; ibmque tridunum in ueupiendis contum et octogenta exulum Moratin sumns. – Eo facto iter fluvratile capiamus, ad portum prope Insulam Tolapionis (vernacule “Sheerness” appellatum) centurn et quinguajuta exulum ibi loci recepturn. —
Quarto Kalendas Decembras, Exulibus conscensis, anchor soluta est, et veha fecimus, solliciti portum Damnonium, Plymouth Anglice nurcupatum, attingeie uti septuagenta exulum navim conscendere designate, adventurm nostriuan expectabantum. — attamen, ob ventis infaustis stationem adversnus Cantinm promontorium, “Margate” anglice dictam, non sine multo bidum detenti sumus. —
Pridie Kalend. Decembris –procella nonmihie sedata iter factum est, ad stationem Downs anglica dictam, ibique loci, situ commado, ut ventus ex occidente perflaret, anchor os jeeimuus —
Quarto Nones Decembras, qucamuis caelum minunre serenum est nee ventus secundus, tamin pertasi morae anchor as solvimes below venbus exparte adversis dedimuius, vrannguim anchor tem lentammus. Sed, tridnd consumpto in bane contentione cum procellis adversis, portum numis fistinantir ielictum repetere coacti sumus. Atque illic
page 2
sex dus ingratiis ad anchor as statum est.—
Pridie Idus Decembra Vento pacato et ealo aspectu propiore, cequor undosum iteravimus ; et cursum obliguamus per fictum Anglicanum, atque post aliguot dies nune or as galliae nunc Angliae legents, justatique spumantubus equries undis, Vindelim attiginus ; yinsque portu potiri strenui nitebumur ; sed non comotes voti, turbine inimica, vi magna saevunte. Quin der causir et non potentes cum mari irato dintinus certare, utio Dravigamus ad sepugium petemdum in stationem, inter insulam Victim et Hautoniam sitam, Nomine Spithead longi latique Notam ; im quam brevi, belis plenis, deferimur.—
Octavo Kalendar Januarius. Nucti ventum idoncums, Anchoris solutis, atgue carbasis expansis Aquiloni, sine mora “liqurmus portum pelagoque volannus.” — Postridie antem refugunm petre in sinum dictum Torbay, coacti sumus ; quppe “horrida tempertas calum contraxit”, et procella adversa magno furore fieniebatur.— tandem, die nempe quanto Kal. Jans. post conamina iterata, et caelo, et vento et mairn invitus, descoleratum portum attigimus.—
Kalendis Januarius, Septuagenta exerlum im havim reciptc sunt ; nune igitum recepta sunt ; sed, ob ventis adversis saevintibus, cum vati procellosi fatigati posuere, et Aquilo leniter spiravit; Re ita se habente, nos male tolerantes morans, anchoris solintis uclisque pansis, “Rovehimun portu tenæque urbesgre vecdent”
Vix autem a covspectu Darnmoniorius telluris deccsseranmus, quurm nubes pluviouxce calum obduceic inipicbant, et Ventus unfauste spiraie nihilominus, nollintibus cursum retio tenere gnavitei pugmatum est; et littoribus periculosis Cassiteri Sum ivitatis necnor, haus sune quadane diffecnbtate præternavigatis, Oceano Atlantico potiti surmis — Yandentesqure, ad plagas Austrinas liguidum iter prosequimur; pancisque in dicbus, regionibus procellarum pluvi amroque relictus mare acceptum legebamus. —
Decimo quarto Kelendas Marties Tropicum Canceri — Quinto Nonas Sincam Æqunoctiaem — Decimo Sexto Kalendas Aprilis,
page 3
Tropicum Capricorni — Sexto Kalend. longites dinem Grenovre in — Prideque honas gusdem Mensis, Promontorumn Bonae Sper ventis plerumque secundis — pace terivinmus. Demque Nonis nenper Maiis, hora octava matuterna Neptunis arvis immensis aratis, Sublimica tellu, is Tasmaniæ in Conspectum venicbant bidneque decinde exacto, via long a feliciter, celeriterque peracta, Portum intravimus læti optaturm.—
Hoc de itinere : nune quædam dicere de morbis qui sub ejus decursu obviam iverrnmut, transcundurm est.—
Imprimus mentioneni faceie oportet, tantos exerluim navim unam numquam antehac conscendisse; ob camque causam Calum serenum et Venti secumdi maxime desiderander; quirppe que ad Aortim æquam experimento præbendamus hand parum prodessent. Res autem lonhe aliter sise habueriment, ut suprascriptis comperturm sit Igiturque Land mirermdum nonmublos Nautaruns et militurn, plunimosque epulumn, Objectos ex rei necessitate din siutuis qune, Aeri mutabilis, procellis hybernis, pluvusque frigidis morbis acuties, præsertum pulmonum Corripimsse;— Lumat autem scire, Morbos istas omnes (duobus exceptis, quorum historiæ in ephemeride scriptæ sunt) remedus adhibitis succubuisse.—
Brevi post decessionem ab oris Angliæ, Ventum est, in regiones et salutiferas et Amænas; eodemgue tempore, Cohors morborum, ex causis Jam Memoratis Ortæ, in fingam se Vertebat, et socirtate Hygcia suavi inter oras longum Mansura refecti Sumus et accreati
Etsi inter decursum vice, Nonnulli hominum, nunc et iterum morbo tentarentur, tamen Navis salubus appelleretum ad usque duodecimumus Kalendarum Maii, quum Scorbutus comitem se præbebat; atque extemplo, inter exules insidiosw grassabatur.—
Notum est, Scorbuticos incidere in alias morbos proclivos else; ob eam rem, varii morbi in medium sese proferebaut; inter quos Diarrhoea sanatum obifficimes prima acii gaudebat.
Quadraginstæ hominum auplusque scmel et sinme male se habuerment;— Eo tempore, ut facile credatun, sategi rcrum; Nihilo tamen secius, præmumun mihi pergratum est, Methodum Medendi plurimun belinsses;
page 4
omnesque ita affectas (uno excepto) salutem aut recuperifse aut ucuperaturas efse, quo tempore in portum Tasmania vernicbamus.— atque summo officirbar gaudio, homines tantas, tamdum tot us valetudini Secundæ ininuicas pass os (tribus ex toto numero as hosoconupion Missis) san os et, ubus supra dictis Cognitis atgue spectatis validos terram tetegisse; quod. accidit decimo septo Kalendarum Maii.—
Quad attinet ad nationem Æportantes tractan Si, — ex ephemieridemetipsu, in qua omnes casus lethaliter finientes narrare curavi, discendum est.—
Hæ de morbis, — nune non alienum sit perpansa, de more meo solito, us gestuendi in navim exules vehentem dicere; qupope que (rerum scilicet administratio) etsi non duecti ad onedice officium spectet, tamen, ut ad morbos præfutum, nee sine jure, sibi vindicat.—
Haud ita multo post conscensionem exulem, quam commodissune distribute sunt atique in locis statutis collocati. Nonnulli, bene moratis, quibus quadam Auctontas ad alios intuendos concedenden selectisent;—hone securitas, Inpundities et decentia morum, facilius consererentus.—
Quod attinet ad cibum eorum et potum; — ambobus liberie suppedit antum, et semper curaturm est, ut cibana bene cocta sint, et idoneis temporibus distributa. Sex libræ interque legiones tropicas Congius Agnæ, sime ullen deductione, quotidie, unicuique conceduntum. etiamque omnis exul fubet, singulis diebus, by orthum vini, succi limonumun, et Saecham a in 3 cum libra Aquæ Mixton — Ciyius portus salutiferi et grati, partem demodtatum, hors undecimis ante mundum altheramque horis quartis post meudiem coramne presente vice sua quisque bibit. Hoe in modo omnes exulum bis undu sigillatim, sub menm Conspectum benuent us Land levis Momenti natione facile perspicienda.—
Inter toturn itineris cursum, attentio summer ad muniditiem et corporusm et vestimentorum exulum, etiamque as vertilationem navis idoneum, quesque pumficatronerm, semper perseduli adhibetur —
Cursu pelago inito, terraque relietea, exullum omines e catenis liberare consuctus sum ; illisque bene se germtibus, ad libitum, forum superiorem perambulare, ab orient solis ad occasuns usque, libertatem Concedeie; talique libertate concesson exiles abesos afer numguamn obsirn ern, e contrauio, est anihi voluptati profan,
page 5
necessitindinem quern quam unum pumende nun quam ortam ifse ; Etsi auten de ea re haud decet gloriari; tarnen, multitundine et genere hominum perpensis, liceat administrationem talem rerum, quadam laudes dignam else, arbitrari.
Hac sunt que scriptu necessarius opinatus sum,— hunc nihu nuhi restat, hisi aveie, mithodum meurn munus perficiendir Archiatro nostio approbatum iri.—
James Dyson (1810-1888), civic leader and businessman of Perth, Western Australia had also been a convicted criminal in a former life. Sentenced to seven years transportation beyond the seas in July 1833, he spent the first few weeks of his sentence imprisoned in York Castle, then four months on the prison hulk Justitia anchored off Woolwich near London on the river Thames.
Representative image of a hulk.
On 20 November 1833 he was bundled on to the merchantman Moffatt at Woolwich, but the formal date of sailing from England to Van Diemen’s Land was not until 6 January 1834. The port of departure was Plymouth. One hundred days later the Moffatt arrived at Hobart town in the convict colony. It was a record speed for a crossing and the vessel carried a record number of convicts within its Indian teak hull.
Of the four hundred prisoners loaded on board, 393 made it to their destination alive. Given that I would not be writing this if he had not made it — Dyson survived the voyage. Still, I would like to know more about this part of his life than what is regularly regurgitated in the standard sources.
Moffatt hauled convicts to Australia four times — Three to Van Diemen’s Land, and one to New South Wales. Convicts were categorised by which ship and voyage they arrived on, so James Dyson was linked to Moffatt (1).
This was the Moffatt’s first time as a convict transport. Prior to that, she was an East India Company ship (The British cartel that owned India for the moment) and her master for her last voyage for the EIC who also commanded her first as prison transport was a young man named James Cromarty (also spelt Cromartie). He was 28 when he became master of the Moffatt in 1832.
A brief biography of him here would be a lot more published about him than I have so far found written: — Cromarty was born on South Ronaldsay amid the Orkney islands north of the Scottish mainland. Up until the captaincy of the Moffatt for the EIC in 1832, I know nothing about him. It may have been his first command but researching this point has been inconclusive so far. Then, between 1836-1840, he captained the sailing ship James Pattison until she was lost at sea due to fire. He and all his crew were rescued. He was then master of the Chieftain (1841) and then the Equestrian (1844-1847). He married a Miss Charlotte Kelly in Sydney back in 1836. Their home was in London and they had at least two sons together. Charlotte Cromarty disappears from the record after 1847 and by census time 1851, James Cromarty has retired from the sea and taken up farming near his birthplace on South Ronaldsay. He dropped dead 13 July 1882. He was 78 years old.
Petrus Cornelis Weyts – ‘James Pattison of London’, reverse painting on glass, signed and dated 1837
Whether deliberately or by chance, Cromarty was master of many immigration voyages to the Australian colonies. Whether his passengers were free or unfree, one thing both types of voyage shared in common was the presence of a surgeon to ensure that as many of the cargo got to their destination alive as possible. After many years of trial (and mostly) error, the best way found to achieve this outcome was to ensure that neither of these parties got paid unless either gave the other a good report and the cargo arrived mostly intact. Convict ships had surgeons from the Royal Navy. On board the Moffatt during 1834, this was Thomas Braidwood Wilson, RN (1792-1843).
Unlike that for Captain Cromarty, Surgeon T. B. Wilson’s official log of the 1834 voyage of the Moffatt survives. Further more, images of the original pages are now easily available for study. Just one little problem — This tosser wrote most of his journal in Latin — a dead language only specialist scholars can now read.
You. berk.
Marvel at the handwriting in the Journal images on Trove
Unfortunately learning the language of the ancient Romans and the medieval church is somewhat outside my capabilities. There are some broad summaries of what the journal contains in the index of the archive where the originals are stored. The name of James Dyson is not mentioned, as far as I can decipher.
There are no convict diaries for the Moffatt. Those that I have perused date a few years earlier or later on different ships, and all describe very different conditions on every separate journey. It is very frustrating not even being able to generalise on the experience. I could not even be sure exactly what was the route the Moffatt took. However, the one useful bit I could glean from the journal was this table:—
This is actually useful.
From which I was able to generate the following map:—
Then I learnt a bit more about Surgeon T. B. Wilson. It turns out he had quite the career as an explorer — In Western Australia he named Mount Barker in the South West of the colony after his colleague Captain Collett Barker. In return, Wilson’s Inlet, near the town of Denmark on the south coast is named after him. Further more, this bastard who could not be bothered to write his official report in anything other than a language most — even then — could not read, then published a book of his travels in 1835.
Note the date: Narrative of a Voyage Round the World by T. B. Wilson was published in London only a year after he sailed on the Moffatt, and lo! There is an appendix to this tome intituled: —
Remarks on Transportation &c., &c.
AS the subject may not be unacceptable to some of my readers, I shall make a few observations relative to convict ships,—the management of prisoners during the voyage, and their disposal and treatment in New South Wales, and Van Dieman’s Land.
He then goes on to describe the same in meticulous detail, there is even a footnote in the manuscript relating to the troops guarding the prisoners on the voyage..
* Last year (1834), I had charge of 400 prisoners (the greatest number sent in one ship), without any additional guard.
So it turns out this dude was a diarist, and further more, his diaries have been transcribed and published — Oh wait, just Volume I: 1820-1832 — Thats… Oh bugger!
Fortunately for me, the rest of his oeuvre is available for download on the website of the University of Tasmania Library Special and Rare Materials Collection. The downside is that the dates I require have not been transcribed and the pdf that contains the images has been compressed almost beyond the borders of illegibility. However, now I have a complete account of sailing ship Moffatt’s 100 days at sea in 1834. All that remains for me now to translate G. T. W. B. Boyes’ thoroughly indifferent handwriting. However, at least its not in Latin.
Segment of a diary page by G. T. W. B. Boyes. Was this just a passing vessel or is it a portrait of the Moffat herself?
