Thomas Bates
| Town/City | Hervey Bay |
|---|---|
| First name | Thomas |
| Last name | Bates |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | c1772 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1790 |
| Submitted by | Mary Mannings |
Story
THOMAS BATES
Our second ancestor to arrive in Australia was sent here as a convict. His name was Thomas Bates and his crime was stealing two left boots valued at 10 shillings from the counter of a Mr Bell shoe maker near London. He was arrested and charged and sentenced to seven years in Sydney Cove, at the Old Bailey in London on 7th may 1788. Thomas was unlucky to be embarked on the ‘Neptune’, in 1790, under the command of the notorious Captain Traill. The convicts on this ship were treated so badly that 147 men and 11 women died during the voyage and many more died after they arrived having suffered from malnutrition and fevers. Captain Traill was charged with neglect and cruelty but was acquitted at a farcical trial lasting only three hours.
We don\’t know what Thomas did during the next ten years; but we do know that he married Ann Griffin, (born 4th August 1784 in Gloucester, daughter of Michael Griffin and Mary Amos) on 12th May 1800 at St Philips Church Sydney. Ann\’s father Michael was a soldier and brought his family with him to Australia on the ‘Britannia’ in 1791. Thomas enlisted in the NSW Corp on 23 August 1800. Their first child Lydia was born in 1806 in Sydney, Maria (our gr gr grandmother) was born 1808 at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania and baptised in 1810 in Sydney. So Thomas and Ann spent two to four years in Tasmania. He was granted land at Back Row off Sussex St, Sydney in 1810. In 1817 Thomas retired from the army as his regiment was being sent to India and he wanted to remain in Australia.
In 1828 Census Thomas & Ann were living in Bates Lane, Sussex St, they had six children living with them Maria, William, Ann, Nathaniel, Martha and Sarah. Lydia was married and James was apprenticed to a carpenter. Thomas was now a boat builder and maybe fairly well off as he not only had six children living at home but also Mary Kelly was a lodger. He also had a horse and seven cattle. He died 20 December 1836 aged 64 years.
Ann carried on the boat building business with son William. Lydia married John Stewart, Maria married George Green a boat builder, William (a boat builder) married Mary Ann Green (George\’s sister), Nathaniel went to the South Island of New Zealand and had three partners and many children, Ann married Jonathon Piper (a boat builder), Martha and Sarah married brothers Joseph and George Clayton.