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The
story of the Kable's arrival in Australia is remarkable, firstly because
they happened to arrive here at all and secondly because of the legal
precedents that were set because of them.
Their
story begins in 1783, when Susannah Holmes was sentenced to death after
being found guilty of theft from the home of one Jabez Taylor.
The judge who passed sentence then recommended that she be given a
reprieve, which was granted by the king.
She was then sentenced for transportation to the American colonies
for a term of 14 years.
In
1783, Henry Kable, along with his father Henry, was convicted of
housebreaking and they were both sentenced to death.
Once again the judge appealed for clemency and Henry was given a
reprieve, possibly because of his youth, and he too was sentenced for
transportation to America for a term of 7 years.
Henry's father however was not so lucky, he was hanged outside the
jail on April 5th, 1783.
Susannah
and Henry commenced a relationship whilst prisoners in Norwich Castle Jail
and on February 17th, 1786 Susannah Holmes gave birth to a son,
whom she called Henry. It
would be almost impossible for this sort of situation to arise today, but
in those days prisons were a lot more lax, prisoners could often come and
go as they pleased.
In
1786 it was decided by the government that because of extreme overcrowding
of the jails in England, and because transportation to America had more or
less stopped because of the American Revolution, that a fleet of ships be
sent to establish a colony at the place Captain Cook has discovered some
16 years before, Botany Bay.
Susannah
was one of the women chosen to be sent to Botany Bay, but Henry was denied
permission, despite requests to marry.
Susannah was then sent to the 'Dunkirk' at Plymouth on November 5th,
1786, but the captain refused to allow the baby Henry to board the ship
with his mother. Fortune took
a better turn for Susannah when a prison warden, outraged that the baby
was to be taken from its mother, approached Lord Sydney, the Home
Secretary, and pleaded Susannah’s case.
Lord Sydney eventually gave permission for the baby to travel with
his mother and at the same time granted Henry permission to travel to
Botany Bay.
Henry
and Susannah arrived in Sydney Harbour on January 26th, 1788,
aboard the ‘Friendship’. The
Anglican chaplain married them on February 10th, 1788, five
marriages were performed that day, Henry and Susannah’s marriage was
third on the register, therefore becoming one of the first couples to
marry in the new colony.
Their
troubles did not end however. Upon
arrival it was discovered that a parcel, which was sent to assist them in
their new beginnings had gone missing.
The parcel contained items that had been purchased by the English
public at the instigation of Lady Cadogan, who had heard of Susannah’s
plight and organised a public appeal to assist Susannah and Henry.
In
July 1788 a writ was taken out against the captain of the 'Alexander', the
ship carrying their parcel. The
resulting court case was the first ever sitting of a civil court in
Australia and the first civil case heard in Australia.
Susannah and Henry were awarded ₤15, the amount Henry stated
was the value of the missing goods. It
is truly remarkable that Henry and Susannah had their application heard by
the court. Convicts were regarded in England as 'dead people' and
therefore were without rights.
Luck
seemed to change for Henry and Susannah from this time, in a very short
period of time Henry became firstly a police constable, then chief
constable in 1794. Later he formed the first commercial enterprise
becoming a merchant ship owner in the whaling and sealing trade.
The
Kable’s continued to prosper, as did their 'born free' children, who
went on to marry into the elite of Australia’s new society.
View
the Kable Family Tree |
