Stephen WILLIAMS

Story

Stephen WILLIAMS was born 29/4/1810, in Midgham, Berkshire, England, to parents Richard WILLIAMS and Hannah TUBB. His occupation was described as a spadesman, reaper, and milker. He was a single man and uneducated. His physical description being, 5’6″, brown hair, blue eyes, and mildly freckled. He had a long slight perpendicular scar on a small pox pitted left check, and a small scar in the centre of his forehead. He wore a ring on his right middle finger.

In 1830, Stephen was living in the village of Midgham, Berkshire, working on a farm. It was at this time that he became involved in the “Swing Riots” occuring in the south-east of England. The name was taken from the swing (moving part) of the flail used to thrash grain from harvested cereal crops.The mythical leader of the rioters was “Captain Swing”. The rioters were mainly farm labourers and ploughmen, traditionally employed as thrashers, however, that work was now increasingly performed by horse or steam powered thrashing machines. In an attempt to save their livelihood the rioters broke these machines, hence the name “Machine Breakers”.

It was on the 19/11/1830 that Stephen WILLIAMS joined a local mob of rioters demanding money and alcohol, damaging machines, and assaulting townsfolk. Stephen was armed with with a stick with an iron ball on the end. In December, 1830, Stephen appeared with numerous other rioters at Reading Azzizes.They were convicted on 27/12/1830, WILLIAMS being sentenced to 14 years Transportation and sailed for New South Wales on board the convict ship “Eleanor” on 19/2/1831 from Portsmouth. In all, there were a total of 457 prisoners transported at the time from the “Swing Riots”.

The “Eleanor”, was a 301 ton barque, built in 1821, in Calcutta. The ship’s master was Robert COCK, and the ship’s surgeon was John STEPHENSON, who was making his second voyage to Port Jackson. After 126 sailing days, Stephen arrived in Sydney on 25/6/1831. Of the 140 male convicts, 133 survived the voyage, with 7 having re-landed enroute. On his arrival Stephen WILLIAMS was assigned to Lt.HASSALL, at his property “Matavai” at Cobbitty in July, 1831. In 1836 James HASSELL crossed the Bolong River, and took up land bordering Phil’s Creek, near Boorowa. Stephen and many of HASSELL’s other farm hands went with him.

In all, Stephen WILLIAMS fathered 10 children. The first born 1842 to Elizabeth BROWNING, whom he had married on 25/2/1842 in St.Saviour, Goulburn. She may have died a few years into the marriage. Stephen then met up with Marianne WALKER (nee McCREADY), she being the daughter of convict parents. Stephen and Marianne never married, but had 9 children together.

Stephen mainly worked as a farm labourer, and was given a Crown Grant of two roods of land which consisted of allotments 11 & 12 of Section in the town of Boorowa. On 21/9/1861 he was able to raise 20 pounds to buy twenty seven acres on the Boorowa River. On 23/11/1869 he sold forty acres at Hovells Creek, near Boorowa for 100 pounds.

In 1872, Stephen was a squatter in the Young District. He owned allotment 12, Section 17 in Court Street, Burrowa. Around early May that year, he contracted Typhoid Fever, and was admitted to Burrangong Hospital. He died at the hospital from the fever on 12/6/1872, and buried the following day in Young Cemetery.

After his death, it appears that Mariane kept the family together, and a further 40 acres were purchased in 1880, however, by 1883, it had been sold. This land is now known as the Cullinga Mines, with gold still being mined.

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