veale.com.au/genealogy
• Home • My Ancestors • e-Reports • Stories •		• phd • genealogy • personal •

My 3rd Great Grandfather Thomas is the first link of my Kentish Raines family in Australia.  The following is an account of his journey to Australia as a convict for stealing sheep.

Thank you to Kathy Myles, a RAINES cousin, for sending me this information on 10 August 1999.

Thomas RAINES, convict, transported from England to Australia on the Forfarshire, June 27, 1843.

Thomas Raines appears in sick list for week September 24- October 1 with "catarrhus". Forfarshire sailed from Spithead on the 27th June, 1843 arriving in Hobart on 12th October, 1843; Master, John Symons; Surgeon J. O. McWilliam. The A1 class ship Forfarshire, 614 tons, was built at Moulmein, Burma in 1840. 240 convicts embarked; one convict and a corporal of the guard died during the 107-day voyage.

From Surgeon's report: The Ship Forfarshire having on board two hundred and fifty male convicts and a guard consisting of two officers and fifty men of the 99th Regtn. sailed from Spithead for Van Diemen's Land on the 27th June 1843.

The Island of Madeira was passed on the 10th of 10 July and San Antonio in the Cape de Verde Group on the 16th of the same month. About this period there were a few cases of diarrhoea and some of slight fever among convicts depending seemingly upon gastro derangement on getting into a warmer climate. They all got soon well, general bloodletting and other active measures having been required in only a few instances.

On the 4th August the Equator was crossed and the weather was in general fine until about the middle of the month when it became cold and rainy so as made it necessary to supply the prisoners with warm clothing. The wind continued to blow perversely from the southward up to the early part of September; after this we had fine easterly and north easterly breezes with occasional changes, and arrived at Hobart town, Van Diemen's Land on the evening of the 12th of October. With regard to disease, I have already mentioned that there were some slight febile cases early in the voyage; there were also some catarrha and bowel complaints on our getting into the cold latitudes to the southward, which might I imagine have been in great measure been obviated had there two fannel shirts instead of one supplied to each convict.

Two cases of death occurd, one a prisoner and the other a lance Corporal of the Guard. The prisoner disease was an old pleuritic case; and that of the soldier pulmonary phthisis terminating fatally in Peritonitis with lymphatic disturbance of the abdomen. Of scurvy there were three cases. One was placed on the sick list on the 10th September. It is to be remarked that in this case the time on It is to be remarked that in this case the lime juice had the cortemp effect of nauseating the man (a prisoner) and he could never swallow it without vomiting, until scorbutic symptoms appeared, when it remained upon the stomach. The patient was an old worn out man, but he had nearly recovered when we reached Van Diemen's Land.

The other two cases were sailors belonging to the ship who had no allowance of lime juice. Both were stout men, and the disease first appeared in them early in October. One was treated with the citric acid which was given to the amount of about three drams daily, and the other with the nitrate of Portups of which a quarter an ounce was given each day in divided doses. One dram of the acid, and on dram and a half of the nitie were commenced with in the effected cases, and the doses were gradually increased to theceteat mentioned. I can form no opinion as to the relative seciatory influence of the two remedies from these cases beyond stating that both of them improved gradually under their use; but as the ship soon afterwards arrived at Hobart town where vegetables were abundantly supplied, I had no opportunity of judging what the effects of these remedies are when tried alone.

One link in the chain of corroborative evidence in favour of the acid is obtained; namely that the disease in the three cases was the result of the absence of the lime juice, as it occurred in non one who took this prophylactic regularly. The prison was holy-stoned or sprinkled and scrubbed every morning and all hands were mustered clean daily. The whole of the convicts were on the deck throughout the entire day when the weather was at all fine. Dancing and other wholesome exercises were encouraged in the evenings and all of them went quietly to bed at nine pm when days were long and 8pm when they became shorter. At the inspection by the Governor at Hobart a finer looking and healthier set of men were nowhere to be seen". Cause of the two deaths: 1 neuritis; 1 phsisis.