James Chard: Freedom at Last

Freedom at Last

The Big Question Given that James Chard and his father were both within the same prison system – though separated by age restrictions and probation conditions – did the father and son manage to reunite? Regarding the question posed to James Chard about how he arrived in Australia, the family legend goes something like this:– ‘Back in Devonshire, he had stolen some eggs, and the family decided to send him to relatives in Tasmania to avoid court and ending up with a black mark against his name’. So, when he first recounted this ‘story’ (likely to future employers or his wife in the late 1850s), James was aware that he had a family member in Tasmania – his father – who was also a convict. Perhaps looking at the known facts can help address the question. In 1845, when his son arrived, Thomas was working at Cartwright Farm in the Richmond district and was fortunate to be free rather than confined to a jail cell, considering his series of misdemeanours in the preceding months. Was he aware of his son’s arrival? Probably not. During his period of servitude, did James know that his father was in the colony? Possibly yes. Therefore, unless he harboured strong dislike for his father, human nature would imply that – if at all possible – the son would attempt to contact his father. Prison rules for Ticket of Leave holders would have prevented any reunion before November 30th, 1847, and records show James arrived on mainland Australia in early January 1848, leaving only December 1847 as a potential time for a meeting. Although Thomas received his Ticket of Leave on 12th October 1847, he was still confined to the Richmond district. Since James needed to pass through Richmond to leave the colony, did he stop to visit his father? Only God knows.

Anywhere but here – yet another adventure In early December 1847, James Chard belonged to a group of 170 inmates who were freed from the Port Arthur / Point Puer penal settlement. While gaining freedom from prison was significant, finding steady work as a former convict was a completely different challenge. Additionally, there was always the looming possibility of a quick return to custody due to any minor mistake or misinterpretation — whether justified or not. At that time, there were widespread rumours that the colonial settlement of Port Phillip required labourers, and those looking for work were not questioned. It appeared that as long as the ex-convicts conducted themselves properly, the local population did not mind their presence and showed little interest in arresting them for minor offenses.

Having his freedom formally acknowledged and his conditional pardon documents safely in hand, James, together with another Devonshire lad named John Williams who had journeyed with him on the HMS Stratheden in 1845, began seeking passage to the mainland. They particularly aimed for settlements farthest from any authority, with the remote west coast whaling communities of Portland Bay and Belfast (Port Fairy) widely recognised as the favoured locations for parolees. At this time of year, there were no sailings available from Hobart Town to either destination because of the adverse winds. Georgetown, located on the north coast, was their next potential point of departure, but once more, no passage could be arranged. Their final hope rested with Stanley, the most north-western and remote settlement and it was here that the pair arrived just in time to celebrate James' 18th birthday. In her book entitled Men of Yesterday [1] historian Margaret Kiddle tells us that:– “From as early as 1837 fleets of small ships, each carrying up to a thousand sheep at a time traded between the northern Tasmanian settlements of Georgetown (on the mouth of the Tamar River) and Stanley (Circular Head) and the mainland outposts at Port Phillip, Indented Head and Belfast (Port Fairy) with most of the stock being conveyed from January to the middle of May during the prevalence of the easterly winds in Bass Strait.” One of the smallest vessels to sail the trading routes of these treacherous waters was The Clarence.

Left: Sketch of the 67 ton two-masted wooden schooner The Clarence. Right: Shipping Intelligence was an integral part of community reporting in the days of the early settlers. James Chard (highlighted) and John Williams are listed with 13 others on The Clarence's passenger manifest. Sketch courtesy of the Victorian Heritage Database. The Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser, Monday January 17 1848.

The Clarence [2] had loaded around 130 sheep for its journey to Belfast, and Captain Campbell, the ship’s master, needed a shepherd and a butcher [3] for the livestock – positions for which both James and John were highly suited [4]. The journey, lasting seven or eight days, was famously perilous, and getting ashore was especially risky due to the reefs near the western district headlands – later famously called the shipwreck coast.

The treacherous “passage” at the mouth of the Moyne river, Belfast (Port Fairy). Sketch courtesy of the Mitchell Library by S. T. Gill and published by Sands and Kenny 1857.

So it was that on Thursday, 13th January 1848, James Atkins Chard and John Williams set foot on the free settlement of Belfast (Port Fairy). It remains unclear if their friendship endured beyond this moment, as tracking the progress of a John Williams through records from that period is nearly impossible. What is definitely known is that James Chard's “new life” was about to begin.

References Kiddle M. Men of Yesterday: A Social History of the Western District of Victoria 1834-1890. Melbourne University Press, 1961. The Clarence was a 67-ton, two-masted wooden schooner built from Australian eucalyptus gum on the Williams River in northern New South Wales during a period when Australian shipbuilding relied heavily on salvaged materials like rigging and fittings from shipwrecks. Primarily a trading vessel, it operated along the Australian coast, visiting settlements such as Twofold Bay in New South Wales and Port Albert in Victoria, and extended its trade routes across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand and the Treasury Islands in the Pacific. In September 1847, the Clarence was stranded near Lady Bay, Warrnambool, with accusations that Captain Alexander Ainslie had deliberately grounded the ship to claim insurance, though this was never proven. The vessel was salvaged and sold at auction. By the end of that year, under a new master named Campbell, it was refitted to carry passengers and up to 150 sheep. The Clarence resumed cargo service by early 1848. “Ship's masters found men to attend the sheep (during the voyage)” ... “the animals were hand-fed hay dipped in fresh water to prevent them from drinking from the brackish bilge. Sheep were purchased by the wealthy mainland squatters (the Hentys, the Manifolds and the Learmonths of the Western District) for 35 shillings each. The owners got 5 shillings for each sheep they landed alive, but a clause in the agreement stipulated that the owners lost 10 shillings per animal death on board ship during the crossing.” Extract from Men of Yesterday: A Social History of the Western District of Victoria 1834-1890. Kiddle M. Melbourne University Press, 1961. Convict Records.