the Ceres Hulk in the River Thames and be committed to the Charge of Mr Duncan Campbell overseer of the Convicts in the said River,(11)

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1 WILLIAM DRING William and his partner in crime Joseph Robinson were first tried in Kingston-upon- Hull in 28th August William was described as a Mariner, being a Tidesman or Tideswaiter. (12) Joseph s occupation was not mentioned but my research suggests that he may have been a blacksmith who left a wife and three children behind. (Whilst marriage and birth documents have been found to support this, proof that it is the same Joseph Robinson has not been found.) They stole 2 pairs of trousers, 1 pair of red leather boots, 3 blue and white striped shirts, and six bottles of brandy. Further research has found the following further items to be added to the list, one canvas bag, two pairs of yarn stockings, one pair of worsted stockings, 3 empty glass bottles and 4 books. The four books were, The Seaman s Complete Daily Assistant by John Hamilton-Moor, Complete Treastise of Practical Navigation by Archibald Patoun, New Pocket Companion for Oxford a Guide through the University, and a Common Pray Book. All were the property of Joseph Mitchinson.(1) They were also accused of stealing two jackets, one pair of drawers, one pair of trousers and a knife the goods of Morris Wall.(2) One pair of boots the goods of James Walker and a brown jacket the goods of Thomas Topping. All of these men were sailors. They had another accomplice John Hastings of Stainforth in county of York a Keelman.(1) (No information has been forthcoming on James). All were tried before a Traverse Jury and sentenced on the 7th October, William and Joseph plead 1 - ing guilty (perhaps in the hope of being given clemency) and James pleading not guilty this being upheld William and Joseph being found guilty to be transported across the seas for seven years.(2) According to Mollie Gillen, the goods had also passed through the hands of two other sailors, James Walker and Thomas Topping but they were not charged as they had left the port escaping out to sea. Further research found that court documents, stated that James Walker was to have appeared as a prosecuting witness.(3) He did not appear and so forfeited his 20 pound surety. William was immediately sent to Hull Gaol where for 6 months his family and friends would have been able to see him, proving some comforts and food. Perhaps, while ever he was in gaol in Hull, his family may have felt that there was always a chance they could have prevented his transportation. But on the 15th April 1785 by order to King George III; Lord Sydney sent a letter to the Sheriffs of Hull, that William Dring Joseph Robinson and one Robert Nettleton were to be transferred to 1 In trials, a group of people who are selected and sworn to inquire into matters of fact and to reach a verdict on the basis of the evidence presented to them.

2 the Ceres Hulk in the River Thames and be committed to the Charge of Mr Duncan Campbell overseer of the Convicts in the said River,(11) It was at this time that the letters of clemency previously mentioned may have been requested of William Chaytor. However, they were not sent until December 1785 and March 1786 when it had become very obvious that William s transportation was going to go ahead. The family were obviously grasping at straws to at least keep him in Hull. Two letters of clemency were written, by William Chaytor, Member of Parliament for North Yorkshire to Lord Sydney(5). However, only one survives, (he makes mention of the first in the second) saying that he had written previously in December The second letter of March 1786 states that he was writing on the persuasion of his constituents in Hedon' (Williams family), and that William was born to the sea and Captain Taylor being of good character would employ him for the term of his sentence. William Chaytor also comments that William had claimed that two other persons were equally concerned with him in the Felony and that both had escaped (4) As mentioned above. Lord Sydney, after receiving the letter of clemency from William Chaytor, wrote on the 22nd March 1786 to the Justices of the Peace at Kingston-upon-Hull, who had tried William asking for an account of the case against him and asking how far he may be an object of the Royal Mercy.(6) The response by Mayor Etherington of Hull on 29th March 1786 was against mercy and proclaiming William to be a man of general bad character (9). William therefore remained languishing on the Hulk Ceres. On the 7th of December 1786 an order for a list to be made of all convicts convicted of any offences and who have been in consequence thereof sent on board the Hulks on the River Thames.(8) This list was to be sent to the Commissioner with names, crimes and date of conviction.(8) The Clerk of the Peace in Hull Carleton Monkton responded on the 30th December 1786 by confirming that William, Joseph and Robert s fate was convicted by a jury and the sentence was sealed as required by two aldermen,who are Justices of the Peace from this town & County, and who were present at the Conviction of the said Convicts (13) So, after 2 long years of working on the dredging barges on the Thames in chains, William was forthwith transferred to the Alexander on 6th January 1787 his name appearing within the document on page 5(14). He sailed for Botany Bay on the 13th May 1767 arriving in January 1788 along with some 778 other unfortunate souls.

3 The Alexander was in the advance party and he was perhaps one of the first to come ashore. His work in the colony would have included erecting tents which would have included the large tent for Governor Phillip and clearing land for gardens and if he had made his skills with boats known he may have spent time rowing between the shore and the ships at anchor in the Sydney Cove. In October 1788 he left for Norfolk Island on the Golden Grove with a small party in the charge of Lieutenant Phillip Gidley King. His time on Norfolk Island was an uneasy time, he spent much of it bucking the system. He received three dozen lashes for absenting himself from the settlement without permission in On March 22nd 1790 he volunteered to swim out to the wreck of the Sirius and jettison livestock and stores but he and his fellow volunteer James Brannigan found casks of rum and decided to help themselves to as much as they could, before being found, and whether purposely or by accident set two fires on the deck. James Arscott of the NSW Corp swam out and persuaded them to come ashore, and for his trouble William received six weeks in the guard house with further time in irons within his own hut. On the 15th May 1791 he was in strife again after stealing potatoes from the gardens with Charles McLaughlin and Henry Barnet and for this was sent to Nepean Island for 6 weeks with 2 weeks rations. Surviving this shows he was a man of very strong character; giving an insight into a man of deep resolve. Mollie Gillen states `all three were brought back in June, and one very ill, Dring remained under confinement. However Captain Ralph Clark of the NSW Marines, called William the greatest rascal living. This may well have been because Clark arrived on the ill fated journey of the Sirius and lost most of his belongings when the Sirius was wrecked. It is quite fair to say that he blamed William. A transcript from the University of Sydney Library on Clarks journals and letters suggests Judging by his journal and letters Clark appears to have been an unhappy man, not given to the kind of riotous living one often associates with servicemen. When his comrades sat up late at night enjoying themselves, Ralph Clark either complained of the noise they made or joined them but drank only lemonade. He also stated that he hated the convicts and was most disliked by all, By the end of 1792 William seems to have settled down and was selling grain to the stores. He was literate as he signed his receipt for payment of his grain. Being a mariner it is interesting that he had learned to grow food but I suspect this may have been more the doing of Ann Forbes whom he had married in November 1791.

4 In December 1793 in the words of Phillip Gidley King William had become a well behaved and very useful freeman. Marriage and becoming a father may have helped to settle him down. William and Ann s daughter Ann was born in November Things changed however, after the arrival of the soldiers of the NSW Corp, who began enticing the women of both convicts and emancipist, away from their men. We must remember that most of the relationships were not love matches but arranged marriages through assignment. This appears to have been the case with Ann and William as they were married in a mass ceremony presided over by Reverend Johnson on the 5th November The problems came from a certain Charles Windsor, a private of the NSW Corp. He delighted, as did many of the Corp did in trying to entice Ann away from William she was found in his company on more than one occasion, between October and December William became very angry when he found them in the street together, hitting them both and was fined 20 shillings. William Balmain makes reference to treating injuries to both Windsor and Ann after this event. Phillip Gidley King blamed Charles Windsor and his fellow Corp soldiers, Cardell, Baker and Downey for starting the rebellion on 26th December 1793 and it was after this rebellion that a group of Corp soldiers including Charles Windsor, Cardell and Downey were court-martialed and returned to Sydney in February William, Ann and their two daughters Ann born and Elizabeth born in 1794 returned to Sydney Cove on the Daeldus in November The reason they returned was that Governor Gross refused to pay them for their crop as promised by Captain Arthur Philip. Many settlers returned to Sydney at this time. Their daughter Ann died in January 1795 and a son Charles born in August 1796 but as there is no 'proof of life' thereafter it is believed that he died in infancy. William is still thought to have been in the colony at this time. However, could it be, that when Ann called the baby Charles, William wondered if the child was his. William just disappeared and is thought to have either died or left the colony somewhere between 1796 and Ann was then assigned to Thomas Huxley and their first child, a daughter Jane was born in that same year. A growing number of whaling ships were sailing to and from Sydney by It is possible that he may have joined the crew of one of them. Or just any boat leaving Sydney for greener pastures. Charles s, dalliance with Ann can certainly be confirmed as he married in 1802 and remained in the Colony until the NSW Corp disbanded in However, had Ann perhaps smitten by him though was Charles his son? This assumption is only made on the fact that Ann named her son Charles and not William. One must wonder if this was the cause of the break down of the marriage.

5 There is a probate packet for a William Dring off the Will Watch in For this to have been him though he would have to have been 78 years old. I believe too old to still be at sea. There is also another William Dring aged 29 in our Gaol records in 1836.(10) but it can neither be proven nor disproven that this is the William Dring from the Will Watch. There is not enough evidence for a conclusion to be made. This is an ongoing project for me with much work still to be done. Scources:- (1) Hull History Centre Archives No. CQB/60/44 (2) Ibid; CQB/60/45 (3) Ibid; CQB/60/19 (4) Letter of clemency written by William Chaytor Member of Parliament for North Yorkshire, Hull History Centre Archives No CQB/6/52b (5) Ibid. (6) Hull History Centre Archives No. CQB/61/52a (7) Ibid; CQB/6/52b (8) Ibid; CQB/61/51c (9) National Archives of the UK Item reference HO 47/5/73 (10) Colonial gaol records - Colonial Secretaries Records. (11) UK Archives England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, HO/ 47 (12)Hull History Centre Archive No. CQB/59/5 (13) Hull History Centre Archive CQB/62/33 (14) UK Archives England and Wales, Crime, Prisons and Punishment ) HO 47