William Singleton Dwyer
| Town/City | Devon Hills |
|---|---|
| First name | William Singleton |
| Last name | Dwyer |
| Country of Origin | Ireland |
| Date of Birth | c1820 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1840 |
| Submitted by | Lance Dwyer |
Story
William Dwyer was tried in the Newcastle-on-Tyne Quarter Sessions in 1840 with the murder of John Mooney by throwing him through an open window three stories high, by reason of which he received a mortal fracture in his right thigh of which he died on the 3rd. October 1839. Dwyer and his accomplices pleaded not guilty. William was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years Transportation.
William was held on the the “Justitia” Hulk at Woolwich awaiting Transportation. The following is an extract from the book “Old Convict Days” by William Derricourt (aka Day). William Dwyer would have been on the “Justitia” at the same time and transported on the “Asia 5” on the same voyage.
“Before going onboard, the prisoner’s were stripped to the skin and scrubbed with a hard scrubbing brush, something like a stiff birch broom, and plenty of soft soap, while the hair was clipped from their heads as close as scissors could go. This scrubbing was endured until they looked like boiled lobsters, and the blood was drawn in many places. They were then supplied with new prisoner’s suits, one side yellow and the other side black or blue. After donning these clothes they were marched off to the blacksmith, who rivetted on the ankle chains, which were made of iron and weighed 12 pounds. In this rig they were transferred to the Hulk, where they received their number, for no names were used.”
William was Transported, leaving from Sheerness, London on the ship “Asia” on 27/4/1840 and arriving in Van Diemens Land on the 6/8/1840, a voyage of 101 days.
After serving his 15 years as a convict in areas around and in Hobart Town including Port Arthur, William married Eliza Rosa Tremwell and worked his way up the East Coast of Tasmania as a blacksmith in coal mines, having at least five children but losing two. William and Eliza settled at St.Helens where more children were born. They eventually had a total of thirteen children. Late in life William and Eliza moved to Launceston, where they both died.
Eliza a Tasmanian by birth, was also a convict, having been sentenced to two months imprisonment in Launceston in 1884 for “feloniously receiving”.
Inserted by great grandson Lance Dwyer