By Irma Walter, 2022.
William Wagner (alias Curtis, aka Wegner, Wegener) (c1812 – 1882)
(Convict Reg. Nos. 5611 & 10118)
William Wagner was the leader of two gangs of forgers, one brought to an end by his trial and imprisonment in 1852, and the second in 1859, which resulted in his transportation to Western Australia. Both gangs involved a small group of carefully chosen individuals persuaded to participate in schemes designed to forge bank notes and share the spoils. The second group was more ambitious, also entering the field of counterfeiting coins.
The 1852 Gang of Forgers
William Wagner was born in Berlin around 1812, and at some stage he decided to go to England. In 1852 he was arrested along with three others on a charge of feloniously uttering a forged order for £340, to defraud businessman Joseph Esdaile.[1] Wagner’s co-conspirators were Phillip Kessler, Arnold Gerber and Solomon Krahcour (Krakhauer or Krakauer), all from Germany. At that time there was quite a large cohort of young well-educated Germans in England, some possibly there to avoid the compulsory call-up for military service in their homeland.
Wagner was in London at the time of the 1841 Census, listed as ‘William Wegner, teacher, foreign’, living at 15 Lisle Street in the St Ann Soho Westminster District, along with his wife Mary (20), and his daughter Emma.
At the time of the 1851 Census, William Wegner (37), general agent, born Prussia, Berlin, was still living in the St Ann District, at 4 Leicester Street, along with his wife Mary (32) born London, their daughter Agnes (5) born London, his mother-in-law Ann Saunders (68) born London, and an 18-year-old servant named Ann Shephard.
The following year Wagner, by this time described as a jewel dealer, had moved to a new lodging place at 85 Long-acre in London. A clever and ambitious individual, Wagner had devised a scheme for defrauding money from lending institutions. He kept a low profile, carefully selecting a small team capable of following instructions and each playing their parts independently. Fake notices regarding employment were placed in newspapers as a means of arranging a meeting place. If necessary, participants were provided with new clothes to lend an air of respectability when presenting themselves at various banks and business houses around London.
Wagner kept an eye out for likely targets among the London business fraternity, then acquired a copy of their signatures by a variety of ruses, such as writing fake business letters to them. Banks were aware that fraudulent transactions were occurring, but up until Wagner’s arrest, had no idea of who was behind the practice.
Careful police work eventually led to the arrest of Wagner and his gang. The case in question during their trial at the Central Criminal Court in February 1852 involved the acquisition of a bank cheque to the value of £8/6/-, which by means of careful copying and changing the amount to £340, the profit was then split equally between the four team members.
By the time the gang members faced the Court, the solidarity which had been a feature of their success was broken. Solomon Krakauer, a 35-year-old clerk, was persuaded that if he gave evidence against the others he would be given his freedom. Krakauer admitted in Court that he had been instructed by Wagner to find a suitable person to present the forged cheque at the Bank and had set up Arnold Gerber for this purpose, providing him with a new overcoat to give him an air of respectability.[2]
At the end of a lengthy trial, Wagner, Kessler and Gerber were all found guilty of forgery and were sentenced to ten years’ transportation. Initially the judgement was respited (overturned).[3] It was later revealed that the respite was offered in the hope that more information from the three might lead to solving a number of similar crimes which had been occurring against several banks. However this decision was overturned by Mr Justice Williams, who declared on 22 December 1852 that there was to be no interference and that their original sentences of ten years’ transportation should stand.[4]
William Wagner was taken from Bedford Gaol and was sent to the Warrior Hulk at Woolwich. He submitted a petition against his sentence on 1 June 1853, but this was dismissed.[5] For some reason he did not serve his full term of ten years, but was discharged after four years on a Ticket of Leave license, on 20 May 1856.[6] [It was later said during his 1859 trial that Wagner had been released early due to the recommendations of the Prison Chaplain and Colonel Jebb, the Prison Inspector.[7]]
Phillip Kessler also served time on the Warrior prison hulk from 25 November 1852.[8] He was discharged on license on 8 October 1855.[9] [Another record shows Kessler discharged on license on 17 March 1856.[10]]
Arnold Gerber (Reg. No. 3465)
Arnold Gerber for some reason was the only gang member transported to Western Australia, as Convict Reg. No. 3465. He was the man who presented the forged cheque at the London and Westminster Bank in St James’s Square, after being thoroughly checked out by other gang members, a ‘fall guy’ in other words.
Following a conviction of forgery, he spent a month in Millbank, then served time in Pentonville Prison from August 1852, before being sent to the Warrior Hulk at Woolwich. Gerber was transported to WA on the Adelaide,[11]
Upon arrival at Fremantle on 18 July 1855 he was issued his Ticket of Leave and by 1857 was self-employed as a turner. Arnold employed two ticket-of-leave men in 1857 and 1859.[12] He received his Conditional Pardon on 30 November 1858.
In spite of his efforts to re-establish his reputation in the Colony, Arnold’s life in WA was not without difficulties. In 1856 he informed the police that a stolen metal seal had been shown to him, and this led to the thief being arrested.[13] In 1857 Gerber advertised a £20 reward for evidence that a Mrs Bonner had entered into a compact with two others to bring a charge of assault against him.[14] Then in April that year Gerber was fined for riding along the footpath.[15]
In 1859 Arnold Gerber married Mary Ann McCann.[16] That year Gerber and his wife were living near the Colonial Hospital in Perth when a row broke out amongst the rowdy neighbours near his workshop. He saw that they were maltreating a man they had on the ground, so he went out into his yard carrying a small axe as a weapon, and helped the victim escape from their clutches. Gerber claimed that he was taunted with terms such as ‘Jew Thief’ and ‘German Jew Boy.’ Mrs Cousins, the wife of the tenant, was fined for assault for hitting Gerber over the head with a broom and using foul language.[17] The judge described the event as simply a dispute among neighbours.
On 3 April 1864 Arnold Gerber was a single passenger on the Kestral bound for Sydney.[18] He may have disembarked in Melbourne. Whether his wife Mary Ann followed him is not known. No more is known of him until 1883, when it was reported that Arnold Gerber, an inmate of the Benevolent Asylum in Melbourne, had made a second attempt at suicide.[19] In 1885 as a former inmate, he gave evidence at an inquiry of harsh treatment at the institution.[20]
Arnold Gerber, registered as the husband of Mary Ann, died in Victoria in 1885, aged 63.[21]
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The 1859 Gang of Forgers
William Wagner – This wily and calculating individual served only four years out of the
ten-year sentence given him in 1852, time well spent in keeping his head down, exhibiting exemplary good behaviour while refining his plans for life after his release.
He remained convinced that easy money could be made by cheating banks out of their clients’ money. After his discharge in 1856 he took his time in selecting a new team, having prospective members under careful scrutiny before being accepted. Over time, some members’ services were dispensed with, leading to several later giving evidence against the group.
William Wagner and his brother-in-law Horton Bateman, both with previous records, had established a law stationery office as a front, in the York Buildings, Adelphi. Due to both having previous records, the police kept a close eye on their comings and goings, suspecting that they were again involved in nefarious activities.
One of their associates, William Wynn Bramwell, said to come from a respectable family, was renting a house for £100, from which he ran a private furniture business. When police broke into his premises, they found base coins and up-to-date counterfeiting equipment.[22]
It was estimated that the gang had obtained around £8000 over a short period, and plans were afoot to make three times that amount. It was also suspected that they intended producing counterfeit stamps.[23]
Police arrested an associate named William Whitehead Chandler, who was seen behaving suspiciously, and charged him with deception and forgery. He was persuaded to give evidence against the others. During cross-examination Chandler admitted that he had been involved in more than 20 forgeries, and gave evidence against the rest of the gang –
WILLIAM WHITEHEAD CHANDLER (47), was charged, upon 4 indictments, with feloniously uttering 2 forged cheques for the sums of 440l. and 250l.[pound]), and for uttering 2 forged bank notes for 10l. each, with intent to defraud, to all of which he PLEADED GUILTY.— Judgment respited.[24]
Chandler’s admission led to a recommendation that his sentence should be respited, but although his evidence was instrumental in bringing one of the most extensive gangs of forgers and counterfeiters ever seen in London to justice, he still had to serve 12 months in prison.[25]
At the time of his arrest in 1859 the rest of the gang consisted of William Wagner (or Wegener, alias ‘Curtis’), described as a law stationer, Horton Bateman, stationer, Frederick (or Robert) Humphreys, a jeweller and engraver, William Wynne Bramwell (alias Brown), a furniture dealer, and Andrew Foster, the go-between man and recruiter.
The name of Nicholas Kerp, another German from Cologne, was mentioned at the trial as the one who had counterfeited many of the forged signatures, but he had disappeared off the scene as soon as the arrests began. Kerp was an elderly man and had form as far back as 1850.[26] It was said that he had two hiding places for his documents. One was a metal bucket with a false bottom soldered on, and the other a hollowed out rolling pin, found at Wagner’s premises. [Kerp was supposed to have previously been an accomplice of the notorious James Townsend Saward, known as ‘Jim (Jem) the Penman’.[27]]
Wagner, who ostensibly made a living as a clerk producing legal documents, was adept at copying bank cheques, on which the acquired signature was copied. Shortly before his arrest, he moved into a lodging house with a woman he called his wife, identifying themselves as Mr and Mrs West. He had been keeping a low profile for several weeks, wearing black-framed spectacles, a black cloth around his ears, and a black hat.
[It has been difficult to track down details of Wagner’s arrival in England from Germany, the date or place of his marriage, or the birth of his children. If the claim that Horton Bateman was his brother-in-law is accurate, then it is possible that Wagner’s wife’s surname was Bouchette, as Horton Victor Bateman in 1850 had married an Adelaide Bouchette, who died on 2 November 1852, aged only 18. She was the daughter of a military man John Francis Bouchette and Mary Frances Baines. At the time of his trial at the Old Bailey there was no mention of William Wagner living with a wife and family. He had a live-in housekeeper named Miss Fairburn.]
Once the arrests began, some of his confederates believed that Wagner was considering giving evidence against them, in an attempt to avoid a long term in prison. Their suspicions were confirmed on 9 May 1859, when it was revealed at the Central Criminal Court that Wagner had written a letter to the Prosecuting Council, proposing that he would be prepared to leave England with his family, provided that he and Bateman were absolved of all responsibility for the crimes and that he received £1000 as payment for his secret knowledge. He guaranteed that in exchange he would provide information about those responsible for 90% of the forgeries that had been committed around London over the past 15 years.[28]
Wagner’s proposal was rejected and he was found guilty of feloniously uttering a forged order for the payment of money.
With his previous record taken into consideration, and evidence that he had passed counterfeit coins, Wagner was sentenced to transportation for life. Bateman also received a life sentence, while Humphreys, considered to be heavily involved, was sentenced to 20 years. Bramwell and Foster received lesser terms of 10 years.
When sentencing, the Judge commented that ‘Wagner had been gaoled in 1852 for a similar offence, and in some way or other had been released in 1856. Since then he had reverted to his old ways and engaged in forgeries, exercising such ingenuity that he himself was never seen personally involved in the transactions.’[29]
Transported to Western Australia
Wagner was taken from Chatham Prison and was placed onboard the Palmerston, bound for Western Australia, along with Horton Bateman, William Wynn Bramwell, Andrew Foster and Frederick Humphreys. Their reputations had preceded them, in a lengthy article entitled ‘The Wagner Gang’, originally published in the Times newspaper in London on 18 May 1859 during their trials, and re-printed in the Perth Inquirer and other Australian newspapers in July that year. Another summary of their exploits, published in the London Daily News, was re-published in the Perth Gazette in September that year –
Antecedents of the Wagner Gang of Forgers.
The Daily News [London] gives the following interesting circumstantial account of the personnel of this notorious gang: –
No intimation has yet been given as to the extent of commutation of punishment that is to be granted to the approver Chandler, who gave such important evidence against the Wagner gang of forgers at the late trial at the Central Criminal Court, but it is understood that whatever the nominal sentence may be that is passed upon him, measures will be taken for his removal from this country. This prisoner, it appears, is very respectably connected, and he at one time, it is said, realised an income of £2000 a year as a discount agent, but his habits of life were so extravagant, that he spent nearly double that sum, and of course speedily got into difficulties, and he then, it appears, adopted the expedient of appropriating the bills that were entrusted to him for discount to his own use. He used them to advertise as a money lender, and obtained possession of bills to a large amount, and he was known to the police as one of the gang of bill stealers that existed a few years ago, This means of a livelihood being at length put a stop to, it seems that Chandler very soon afterwards became acquainted with Wagner, and Bateman, his brother-in-law, and there appears to be very little doubt that the systematic plan of forgery upon bankers which was subsequently carried out was concocted by these three prisoners, and that the others, Humphreys, Foster, and Bramwell, were merely subordinate agents, although they rendered active assistance in carrying out the plans of their confederates.
The public will remember that about 3 years ago a man named Saward, who was known among his fraternity as ‘Barrister Saward,’ he having been at an early period of his life called to the bar, and also as ‘Jem the Penman,’ and who was the head of a gang of forgers who had victimised the bankers of the metropolis to a very large amount, was tried at the Central Criminal Court with some of his companions and sentenced to transportation for life. It has been ascertained that the Wagner gang were all acquainted with this man Saward; and it would seem that when he was removed the leadership of the gang was taken by Wagner, who was principally occupied in giving directions and obtaining genuine signatures for the purpose of their being afterwards copied and applied to forged cheques. After the conviction of Saward, the bankers of the metropolis appear to have had a respite from any systematic plan of forgery, but very soon after the release of Wagner and his brother-in-law Bateman in 1856, it became evident that another confederation similar to that of Saward and his associates had been established, and that a more than ordinary amount of tact and ingenuity was displayed by the members of the gang to carry out their scheme of plunder successfully, and at the same time to avoid detection.
Every exertion by the police to discover the guilty parties was for many months completely fruitless. If a forgery was discovered, the party who presented it appeared by the documents furnished to him so completely to be an innocent agent, and the dupe of the really guilty, that there did not seem to be the slightest ground for detaining him, and the only caution that was requisite afterwards was that the same person should not be employed a second time to present a forged instrument. Having, however, become mixed up with his guilty confederates, he was, of course, in their power, and he was generally employed in some other way to further the objects of the association. It is rather a curious fact that the prisoner Bramwell would, in all probability, not have been taken into custody, if he had not had the imprudence to go to the office of Mr Mullens, the solicitor for the prosecution, to ask for remuneration for the time he had lost in looking after the person who, as he alleged, had sent him to Drummond’s bank on the 21st January with a forged cheque for £275, when he was recognised by Watkins as the man who had employed him in the first instance to present a cheque ‘on the cross,’ as he expressed it, and was given in charge, the evidence clearly showing his complicity in the scheme.
It is calculated that during the two or three years the gang have been carrying on their operations they have succeeded in obtaining from different bankers, by means of forged cheques, no less a sum than £10,000, and this large amount was the result of comparatively few operations, as the cheques were mostly drawn for large sums. Wagner and Kerp, the old man who was principally engaged in copying signatures to be placed upon forged cheques, are both Germans, and the latter is said to have been an extremely clever penman, and to possess a peculiar facility in copying different handwritings. The police have made a strict search after him since the disclosures that have taken place, but no clue whatever has been obtained to his whereabouts, and it is believed that the moment he heard that Chandler was apprehended, and that the gang would be broken up, he left this country. There appears to be no doubt that Wagner, although he was the prime mover in the whole guilty transaction, was very anxious at the last to get himself out of the scrape by selling the whole of his companions, and it is consolatory to the public to find how slight a hold persons of this class have upon each other, and how ready they are to betray their companions at the first symptom of danger. The whole of the prisoners will shortly be removed from Newgate to the Millbank Penitentiary.[30]
[Note: The name of ‘Jem the Penman’ (James Townsend Saward) became famous through newspaper reports, and his story was dramatised in a stage production which proved popular with audiences. Over the years misleading information appeared in Australian newspapers, one reporting that someone had met and spoken with Saward in Western Australia, and another stating that he had met his death by stabbing just a year after his arrival in WA, while employed in a work gang in the bush.[31] The truth is that Saward was never transported, but served out his time in British prisons as an aging invalid. He was finally released on license and at the time of the 1871 Census he was living as a 72-year-old with his wife Maria and his unmarried daughter Henrietta, at Lambert, St Peter Walworth in Newington. In 1875 Saward died aged 75, and was buried in the Southwark Cemetery in London.]
Convicts Wagner, Bramwell, Bateman and Foster arrived in WA on 11 February 1861, onboard the Palmerston. [On that same day there was a mutiny back at Chatham Prison, one of several which occurred that year. The prisoners, who were taken daily from the prison hulk to their work-place on St Mary’s Island to break up rocks, protested about the cold soup they were served for dinner on a snowy winter’s day and attacked the guards. Extra Civil Guards were sent in with bayonets to quell the riots, and 34 men who refused orders to return to their cells were sentenced to 36 lashes, to be inflicted upon them by the troops.[32] It was said that their cries could be heard from some distance away. Sympathy came from some quarters for these ‘lifers’, who had nothing to lose by their attempted escape from the terrible conditions within the prison.]
On arrival Wagner was described as an agent, married, aged 45, able to read and write well, his conduct good.[33] A later description has him aged 49, married with two children, religion Church of England, 5’9” tall, with brown hair, grey eyes, a long face, sallow complexion, of stout build, with no distinguishing marks.[34]
Wagner’s personal belongings were listed as prayer and hymn books, letters, 1 pair spectacles and case, toothbrush, knife and tweezers. More items (added and later sent to York) were a Freemason’s apron and ticket, 6 pairs socks, 5 shirts, 3 pairs drawers, 1 photograph (broken), an eye-glass (broken), one book and one toothbrush.[35]
Wagner’s Record in WA
16/1/63 – Discharged from hospital.[36]
4/1/64 – Issued his Ticket of Leave, sent from the Perth Road gang to the Resident Magistrate in York.
9/2/64 – Absent from his lodgings – out all night & immoral conduct – seven days in York lock-up. His Ticket of Leave was revoked for three months. Received at Fremantle Prison on 20 February 1864.
18/8/64 – Discharged again to Ticket of Leave.[37] Working on his own account in Fremantle.[38]
11/12/65 – Self-employed at Fremantle.
20/4/66 – Transferred from Fremantle to Champion Bay.
30/6/66 – Schoolmaster on own account, £5 per month, in Victoria District.
31/12/66 – Schoolmaster, £5 per month, in Victoria District, employed by F Waldeck at Greenough, in the Victoria District.
30/6/67 – Self-employed as a tutor, £5 per month, Victoria District.
31/12/67 – Ditto.
30/6/68 – Ditto.
31/12/68 – Tutor, £5 per month, Victoria District, employed by W Waldeck.
30/6/69 – Ditto.
31/12/69 – Tutor, £5 per month, Victoria District, employed by J Perejuan.
30/6/70 – Ditto.
31/12/70 – Tutor, £5 per month, Victoria District, self-employed.
28/3/71 – Conditional Pardon postponed. Case to be considered on 16 August 1861, provided he behaves himself well.
30/6/71 – Watchmaker, self-employed, £7 per month.[39]
4/9/71 – Received his Conditional Pardon at Champion Bay. (2580/3)
Early in 1873 Wagner was declared bankrupt. This caused difficulties for his brother-in-law Horton Bateman, who had provided him with accommodation, and out of some feelings of loyalty he had allowed Wagner to conduct some trading of goods from Bateman’s Fremantle premises. In exchange Wagner occasionally looked after the shop when Bateman was away on business. The Trustee of Wagner’s bankrupt estate declared that the two men were in a partnership and took possession of Bateman’s business premises for several months. Bateman was able to prove in Court that a partnership did not exist.[40]
In financial difficulties, it is not surprising that William Wagner would at some stage revert to his old trick of forging cheques. In July 1873 he needed some clothing and persuaded a woman named Julia Lillis to present two cheques on his behalf, for which service she was paid half a crown.[41] Charged for forgery as ‘William Wegener’ (Colonial Convict 10118), he showed no loyalty towards his brother-in-law Horton Bateman, who had recently departed for Shark Bay. At his trial Wegener sought to name Bateman as the source of the forged cheques, while at the same time bemoaning the fact that he had been deserted by his old friends.[42] He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[43]
By this time Wagner was an elderly man of 63 years, described as 5’8½” tall, with his brown hair turning grey, a long face, grey eyes, and a fair complexion. He was of stout build, had lost most of his upper teeth and several in his lower jaw, a clerk, widowed, with nine (?) children.[44]
His past was not forgotten. Following his conviction, the highly publicized crimes of four Americans led by a man named MacDonnell, who were charged in 1873 with forgery in London and sentenced to transportation for life, brought back comparisons in the Perth Gazette with the earlier crimes of Wegener (Wagner) and his gang back in London in 1859 –
….But William Wegener (the individual convicted at the last criminal sittings of the Supreme Court in Perth, for forging a cheque purporting to have been drawn by Mr. George Thompson, of Fremantle and sentenced to 12 years penal servitude), who with his gang was convicted for forgery at the Old Bailey in 1859, and condemned, with one of his accomplices, to penal servitude for life, was in his own line, perhaps, as skilful an artist as MacDonnell. He did not present forged bills, but forged cheques, and the genius of the man was displayed in the perfect organisation of his gang, the wonderful delicacy and complication of his system of checks and counter-checks, and the exquisite ingenuity of the devices adopted in order that cheques might be cashed without detection of the agent. “Wegener and his confederates,” said a writer at the time, “elevated forgery to the dignity of a science, and pressed into its service all the fine arts that could aid in its advancement. Imitative penmanship, engraving, the sinking, personation of the finest acting, and little romances flowing from imagination always fruitful, and composed with the most minute attention to social probabilities and to the unity of time and place, were all lavished upon the design of doing one false act in the face of day, before the practised eyes of men trained to examine that act, and to invest it and leave no track behind it. It is a great fact in the progress of civilisation.” Wegener did not fall by such a mere slip as destroyed the scheme of MacDonnell. It was by the deliberate treachery of an accomplice that the police were enabled to track and snare him. Even then it was no easy matter to get him into the net, for his system embraced an elaborate watching of his agents, and not even his accomplices knew more about him than he chose. He carried on his plot far longer than MacDonnell, but in the issue he, too, was sent to the lingering death of life-long penal servitude.[45]
No record has been found of a marriage for Wagner in Western Australia.
His prison record from 1873 is as follows –
30/6/75 – Remarks on his failed Petition – “I decline to forward this petition for the remarks of the late Acting Chief Justice.”
21/9/75 – Passing 5/- to another prisoner – one day’s bread and water.
13/1/77 – Earned three months’ remission.
16/4/77 – Answer to his letter – “Looking to the fact that barely three months’ since Wegener was granted three months’ remission for his services as writer in the C/Wks Office I am not at present able to offer anything more. He is a constable and thereby gains 10 days a month from 1 March 1877.”[46]
16/11/78 – Ticket of Leave.[47]
31/11/79 – Fremantle Prison, seven days.[48]
3/11/79 – Out after hours in Fremantle.
18/11/79 – Released.[49]
21/12/79 – Discharged to Ticket of Leave.[50]
William Wagner (or Wegener) died of heart disease at York, Western Australia, on 16 May 1882.[51]
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Horton Victor Bateman (1832 – 1884) (Reg. No. 5610)
“A well-educated man and one of the wiliest and most dangerous thief [sic] in the Colony, now living in Fremantle among a nest of thieves, and forgers and utterers, also well-known to the police.” [52]
The above quote from a WA Convict Register indicates that police were keeping a close eye on the members of the gang of forgers who arrived together on the convict ship Palmerston in 1861. Horton Bateman was living with his brother-in-law William Wagner, with whom he had an on/off relationship over the years. Also living with them for a while was another of the forgers, Frederick Humphreys [aka Robert Humphries], whose dealings with him proved the old saying that there is no honour amongst thieves –
WA Times, 21 July 1864.
Horton Bateman was born 4 July 1832 and christened at St Stephen Walbrook in London on 23 June 1833, registered to parents John Bedlow Bateman and Mary Ann (née Ledger).[53] The death of his father John Bateman, a stationer, was recorded the same year, leaving Mary in a desperate situation. Horton was aged eight at the time of the 1841 Census, a pupil inmate of Bancroft’s Hospital School and Alms Houses, at Mile End Old Town in Stepney.
He was a clever character who became a career criminal. In 1849 at 17 years of age he was sent to gaol for nine months. [No details found.] On his release he married Adelaide Bouchette, aged 17, in April 1850, at Kensington in London.[54] Sadly, Adelaide died later that year on 5 November, aged 18, leaving Horton a widower at an early age,
He had been given a good basic education, and by the time of the 1851 Census, Horton Bateman, aged 18, widower, was a law stationer, listed as a visitor at the house of Charles Phillips, (32), also a law stationer, at 70 Brunswick Court, Shoreditch in Middlesex. Horton came from Woodford in Essex.
In June 1851 Horton Bateman appeared in the Central Criminal Court, convicted of breaking into the home of an elderly couple and stealing three coats and other articles, plus 20 sovereigns from a trunk.[55] He was gaoled for another nine months. [It is of interest that the prisoner’s brother, Henry Bateman, calling himself a policeman of the G division, gave evidence in the Court as to Horton’s good character, but Inspector Brannan of the G division stated that Henry Bateman had been dismissed from the police force eight or ten days earlier, after having been tried and convicted. As a result Henry was committed for contempt of Court.[56]]
From Newgate Prison, Horton was transferred to Millbank, where he spent 11 days in Separate Confinement before being transferred to Pentonville, where he served a further 12 months and 15 days in similar conditions.[57]
Shortly after his release Horton showed his devious nature when he was back in the Courts, charged with obtaining money under false pretences, having approached the wife of a man that he claimed to have recently shared a cell with at Newgate Prison, telling her that her husband was having difficulty with the food provided there, and offering to take him some chocolate if she gave him money to pay for it. She handed over 4/-, and was then told that Horton could bribe a guard to allow her to visit her husband every Wednesday if she gave him another sovereign, but she refused. She later found that the chocolate had not been delivered and informed the police. Horton Bateman was sentenced in April 1852 to ten years’ transportation.[58] [Coincidentally, this was three months after three Germans, including his future brother-in-law William Wagner, along with Kessler and Gerber, received similar sentences at the Old Bailey. Bateman and Wagner probably met in Chatham prison. Their family connection has not been found.]
Horton Bateman was released from prison in 1856 on a ticket-of-leave license. By then aged 24, Horton married Louisa Saunders (28), daughter of John Saunders, gentleman, on 30 August at Holyhead, Anglesea in Wales that year. Horton was described as a Clerk in Office, son of John Bateman, Law Stationer.[59]
He moved to London in 1858 and entered the service of Mr Rigby, builder and contractor, as a clerk. He didn’t stay there long, for by November he was in business with Wagner, ostensibly as law, parliamentary and general stationers, at 10 York-buildings, Adelphi. In reality this was the place where they were plotting major forgeries.[60]
Horton’s training as a transcriber of legal documents would have made him a good match for William Wagner, who was previously convicted of forgery in 1851 for defrauding financial institutions of their clients’ money. Horton’s profession placed him in a perfect position to gain access to the signatures of businessmen for copying. They were a well-matched pair of individuals, capable of seeing the flaws in the banking system and devising a system which directed large benefits towards themselves.
Horton Bateman and William Wagner were sentenced to transportation for life. They were transported to Western Australia on the Palmerston, along with two other members of their gang who had received lesser sentences.
The Palmerston left Portland on 10 November and arrived in WA on 11 February 1861. William Irwin, teacher and religious instructor, kept a journal of the voyage, describing events during the voyage and a description of Fremantle and its prison after arrival.[61] Horton Bateman also kept a hand-written record of the journey, entitled ‘Palmerston Weekly Journal’.
Bateman’s Record in WA
Horton Bateman was resourceful and energetic, demonstrating an ability to work in many fields after receiving his ticket of leave –
23/5/63 – Perth District – self-employed.
10/3/63 – Ticket of Leave.
10/5/63 – CE Fremantle.
10/10/63 – Out after hours – fined 5/-.
30/12/63 – Tobacco manufacturer, own account, Perth.
10/3/64 – Ticket of Leave.
30/6/64 – Tobacco manufacturer, own account, Perth, £8 per month.
12/7/64 – Convicted of larceny – two years.
12/7/64 – Sentence remitted.
14/12/65 – Carver, Public Work, C Marshall, Fremantle.
14/12/65 – CE Fremantle.
27/6/66 – Tobacconist, £4 per month, JW Young, Fremantle.
31/6/66 – Ditto, Henry Young.
8/1/67 – General servant, 40/- per month, William Marmion, Fremantle.
30/6/67 – Tobacconist, ditto.
31/12/67 – General dealer, ditto.
30/6/68 – Printer, 120/- per month, George Barrow, Fremantle.[62]
31/12/68 – Ditto, £6 per month.
23/1/69 – Bootmaker, £3 per month, J Capewell.
14/10/69 – Working on own account without permission – fined 10/- or seven days – paid.
18/10/69 – Printer, £6 per month, George Barrow, Fremantle.
31/12/69 – Ditto.
23/6/70 – Ticket of Leave, on own account approved.
30/6/70 – Lithographer, £5 per month, self.
31/12/70 – Ditto, £10 per month.[63]
20/6/71 – Conditional Pardon
Horton was still closely associated with his brother-in-law William Wagner. At times they shared accommodation, and at some stage they established themselves as tobacconists in Henry Street, Fremantle.[64] On 14 December 1867 Horton Bateman and Henry Wills Young, tobacconists and general dealers of Fremantle, were declared bankrupt.[65]
[A woman named Mary Ann Bateman (aged 44, maiden name unknown), is recorded as arriving in Western Australia on the Strathmore on 12 June 1864 with her two children, Matthew (10), and Emma (Emily?) (6), as assisted emigrants.[66] Whether Mary Ann had married Horton Bateman in England is not known.]
That same year he married Louisa Morrison in Perth.[67] They had at least one child, Arthur Edward (b.1864). [Louisa later became the wife of Joseph Spencer, respected pioneer settler of the Balgarrup area near Kojonup. No marriage date has been found. They had ten children. Their first child Josephine was born in 1867.[68]]
In 1874 Horton Bateman and Lucy Maria Carter were married at the Congregational Chapel in Fremantle. She was a widow, maiden name Nash. Their children were – George Albert (b. 1865), Caroline (b. 1867), Lily (b. 1869), Victor (b.1873), Frederick Walter (b.1875, d. young), Lucy Mary (b.1877) and Frederick William (b.1875).
A Variety of Businesses
Energetic and determined to take advantage of opportunities on offer, Horton spent most of his time in Perth and then Fremantle as a trader and agent, with some excursions to the North-west as a buyer of pearl-shells. From 1873 Bateman was advertising as a clerk and accountant in Fremantle up until 1884. From 1880 until 1884 he was also advertising as a painter and decorator, then in 1883-84 as an architect and builder.[69] There is no doubt that Horton Bateman was a talented draftsman and overseer. He was putting his penmanship to good use when contracted to design and erect several prominent buildings in Fremantle.
1863 – In August, Bateman imported a box from England.[70] [Probably tobacco].
1863 – CIGARS, TOBACCOS, and SNUFFS. WHOLESALE HOUSES and the Trade supplied on the very lowest terms with Cigars, Cheroots, Negrohead (or Twist), Cavendish, and cut Tobacco; scented and high-toast Snuffs. Holders of Leaf and Planters will effect a great saving by having it manufactured for themselves; weight for weight returned. Country orders punctually attended to, provided a P.O. Order or W. A. B. Notes are enclosed at the same time. Goods forwarded in fast-bound cases.
H. BATEMAN,
Wholesale Manufacturer of Cigars, and Snuffs,
HAY-STREET, PERTH.[71]
1872 – Eligible Premises at the Seaside TO LET, BEACH HOUSE, situated at the corner of the Cricket and Parade Ground, Mouat Street, Fremantle, suitable for a family residence, in a thorough state of repair, containing six rooms, together with fine cellarage and underground kitchen. Also, new detached kitchen, with paved back yard walled in, and use of half of grant adjoining, also walled in, for a family play-ground. Has back and front verandahs, the latter glazed in. Apply in the first instance to H. BATEMAN, Agent and Collector to L. A. Manning’s Estate. Fremantle, Dec. 13th, 1872.[72]
1873 – L. A. Manning’s Estate, FREMANTLE. TO LET, with immediate possession, those eligible Premises adjoining the Custom House, comprising the Stores, Warehouses, and Sheds, formerly in the occupation of the late C. A. Manning. Apply to H. BATEMAN, Agent and Collector to the Estate.[73]
1874 – Arrived at Fremantle from Shark’s Bay on the Seabird.[74] [Probably investigating the pearl-shell trade.]
1875 – H. BATEMAN, Sculptor and Carver. TABLETS in Marble, Stone, Bronze or Wood, Carved and Engraved in the best style. Wooden Tablets painted in striking imitation of Marble or Stone. All kinds of Facia Painting, Ornamental Lettering and Marbling executed. Fremantle, June 12th, 1875.[75]
1878 – H. BATEMAN, Cliff Street, Fremantle. HOUSE PAINTING and DECORATING in all its branches, Plumbing, Glazing and Paper-Hanging. FACIA and ORNAMENTAL LETTER PAINTER in Gold, Bronze and Varieties. Brass Letters cut and affixed to Glass. ALSO, Gilding on Glass. Work guaranteed sound, and warranted not to blister or crack from the effects of the sun. Oils, Colors and Paints made up and forwarded to any part of the colony. Monumental Brass, Seal and Plate Engraving, Stones, Slates, or Marbles out and engraved. Funeral Urns, Vases, Pillars and Tablets sculptured and cut. ESTABLISHED 1863.[76]
1882 – Sand and Gravel. ABOUT 1000 loads for immediate disposal. Apply to H. BATEMAN, Contractor, High Street Fremantle.[77]
Inquirer, 28 June 1882.
In 1882 the editor of the Inquirer newspaper praised Bateman’s workmanship in the construction of some prominent buildings in Fremantle, with some reservations about the chimney-pots –
Several new buildings have now been very nearly completed, and add considerably to the attractive appearance of the town. In High-street Mr. L. A. Manning has had three very handsome shops erected, each of which have large plate-glass windows that would not disgrace Collins-street, in Melbourne. Manning Hall, too, has now been thoroughly repaired by the same enterprising gentleman, who has sub-divided it into three completely separate private residences, which are now to let. They will form delightfully cool summer residences, and, as they command a magnificent view of both harbour and river, I anticipate that the proprietor will experience no difficulty in obtaining suitable tenants for them.
Next to Messrs. Pearse & Owston’s large warehouse, in High-street, Messrs. Sandover & Mayhew have erected an extensive store, which, though only one storey in height, and of no architectural pretensions, still serves to fill up a vacant lot, and, therefore, to improve the general appearance of the street. In Cliff-street, Mr. Shenton’s new warehouse has been nearly finished. This building is a very fine one, being two storeys in height, and presents a fine bold facade. Unfortunately the generally handsome appearance of this building is somewhat marred by the ugly plaster chimney-pots (some people call them “vases”) being placed on the top of the front elevation. These “vases” or “pots” are certainly not useful, and are decidedly the reverse of being ornamental, and it is to be hoped that they will be removed before the building is finally handed over to the owner. This fine store and Mr. Manning’s three shops in High-street have been designed and built by Mr. Horton Bateman. The work has been most faithfully done, and they reflect great credit on Mr. Bateman, who now takes his place among the premier builders in this colony.[78]
1883 – H. BATEMAN, Architect and Builder, High Street, Fremantle PLANS and SPECIFICATIONS prepared for every description of Architecture Buildings erected many parts of the colony. Sound work and fair charges guaranteed.[79]
Trouble in the Courts
1873 – Horton Bateman had cause to regret the loose business arrangements that existed between himself and Wagner over the years. Bateman found himself in difficulties with regards to Wagner’s bankruptcy in 1873, when John McGibbon, Trustee of Wagner’s estate, laid claim to the stock in Bateman’s store as part of that estate, in the belief that Wagner was a partner in Bateman’s business. Bateman was unable to carry on any business from his Fremantle store for the past four months, at premises rented from Wallace Bickley. As well as running his own trading post, Bateman was employed by LA Manning of Fremantle as a clerk, so was reliant on Wagner to mind his store for him while he was away. Bateman denied that Wagner was his business partner, while admitting that Wagner had been residing with him and that he had allowed him to deal in second-hand goods from his premises. The decision of the Court was that there was no partnership between the two men.[80]
1879 – Described as a mild-looking, middle-aged man of respectable appearance, Bateman was charged with attempting to poison his employer George Thompson with strychnine placed in a tumbler of porter on 11 June 1877. Bateman was acquitted and the whole saga remained a mystery. Bateman decided to take civil action for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, with a claim for damages of £1,000, but in 1879, on advice from the Judge of the Supreme Court, he withdrew the action.[81]
1878 – HORTON BATEMAN, c.p., Reg. No. 5610, charged at Fremantle, on the 3rd inst., and committed for trial; admitted to bail.[82] In October 1878, he faced Court, charged with stealing about £40 from the dwelling of a greengrocer named Weedon. Bateman represented himself in the Court. The claim by Weedon that he recognised a one pound note spent by Bateman that day as part of the stolen loot, due to a fold in it, was debunked by most observers, and the case was dismissed.[83] The editor of the Victorian Express ridiculed both cases as lacking in evidence, stating that they had been bungled from the start by the prosecuting officers. The newspaper claimed that Bateman, during his thirteen years as a trader in Fremantle, with occasional trips to the North-west, had never had any charge made against him during all those years and declared that from the beginning to the end, the case brought by Weedon was discreditable, very much a case of ‘fitting the man to the coat, rather than the coat to the man’.[84]
By the 1880s Horton Bateman had overcome the damage done to his reputation in the Courts, and was making a name for himself in the field of architecture and building design.
Unfortunately, he died suddenly of heart disease in May 1884, aged 52.[85]
A man named Horton Bateman, well known as an expert sign painter and draftsman, died somewhat suddenly on Friday evening last, at his residence. An inquest was subsequently held on the body, and the jury returned a verdict of “death from natural causes.” Dr. Barnett, in giving evidence, stated that he had been obliged to hold a post-mortem examination on the body at the Government dead-house, which place he described as being most inconveniently situated, and so faulty as regards light, air, and room, as to be almost useless for the purpose for which it was erected. Any person viewing this building from the outside, cannot fail to be struck with its miserable sentry-box appearance, and the wonder is that medical men have not complained about it before.[86]
Another newspaper published a brief tribute –
I regret to record the death of Mr. Horton Bateman, which occurred suddenly on Friday last. The deceased will, I am sure, be much missed. He was a very useful man in many ways. He leaves a wife and a family of eight.[87]
In 1894 Lucy Maria Bateman died aged 61 in Fremantle, in desperate straits –
On Monday morning the dead body of a woman named Carter was found lying on the verandah of Mr. Bradford’s house, in Swan-street, North Fremantle. There were several bruises on the neck and the face, but violence is not suspected. The woman has lately been of very dissolute habits. She formerly lived with a man named Horton Bateman, who died several years ago. She was about 60 years of age. It is thought that death was accelerated by exposure, as her clothing was soaked through with rain, and she had been wandering about in a vagrant state. At the inquest, held the same day, the jury recorded a verdict to the effect that death was due to exposure.
Daily News, 18 August 1894.
The younger orphans were granted poor relief in September 1884 after he and his 2nd (??) wife died.[88]
It has been difficult to find details of the exact number of children born to Horton Bateman’s various wives.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Robert Humphries (aka Frederick Humphreys) (Reg. No. 5615) (c1813 – 1883)
Listed as Robert Humphries on his arrival as a convict in Western Australia, British newspapers previously named him as ‘Frederick Humphreys’.[89] His British prison records also use the names ‘Frederick Humphreys’, ‘Robert Humphreys’ or alternately, ‘Robert Frederick Humphreys’[90].
He was a convicted member of the gang of forgers, along with William Wagner, Andrew Foster, Horton Bateman, William Wynn Bramwell and others, and was sentenced to 20 years’ penal servitude at the Central Criminal Court on 9 May 1859, for uttering a forged money order. Evidence was given of his close involvement with the group, and police had found him in possession of a forged die (stamp), as used by the Commissioner of Revenue, which was used on the cheques illegally presented at banks. It was similar to one used to stamp the cheque that they were found guilty of forging, and a letter that had been used to copy the signature of a client of the Bank of England was also found.[91] A newspaper article described him as a jeweller and engraver, found with a large amount of counterfeit coins in his possession.[92]
Their trial at the Central Criminal Court was widely reported in the British press.
Humphreys had no prior convictions. The Old Bailey Court lists him mostly as Frederick Humphreys but also as ‘Robert (alias Frederick) Humphreys’.[93] Like the other gang members, Humphreys spent time in Newgate Prison and on a prison hulk, probably the Warrior, before being sent to Chatham Prison. On 23 August 1860 he submitted a Petition to the Home Office, stating that ‘he is innocent and that the suspicious circumstances in his case are all susceptible of satisfactory explanation. He prays remission.’[94]
Arrival in Western Australia
Humphreys’ petition must have been refused. He arrived at Fremantle onboard the Palmerston, on 9 February 1861. He was described as aged 48, a jeweller, able to read and write well.[95] A married man with four children, his height was 5’ 4¼”, he had grey hair, hazel eyes, an oval face, a dark complexion and was of stout build, with a mole on the left side of his cheek.[96] [No more is known of his background. He was not living with his wife and children when arrested at a lodging house in Red Lion Square in Holborn, London.]
Red Lion Square, Holborn, London, dated 1800. Courtesy Alamy, Image ID:FD013Y, www.alamy.com
Humphreys’ possessions taken from him at Fremantle Prison were a Bible, hymn and prayer book, two books on chemistry, a lesson and part of a dictionary, a bundle of newspapers, spectacles and case, an eyeglass, telescope and letters. Later added to the list were a glaze travelling bag, with contents – 2 cotton kerchiefs, 3 cotton shirts, 2 flannel shirts, 2 pairs flannel drawers, and paper tobacco.[97]
Humphreys was well into middle-age at the time of his arrival, and due to health problems, he was unable to perform the strenuous physical work expected of the prisoners. His record in WA shows no sign of criminal activity. It appears that he was, however, back in the company of one of his criminal companions when the following crime was reported in 1864 –
Police Court, Perth
(Before G. W. Leake, Esq.)
On the 12th instant, Horton Bateman, t.l., was sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment for stealing a silver watch and guard from a t.l. named Humphreys, who was living with and working for Bateman. Humphreys missed his watch and guard, which was afterwards found in the possession of a man named Jackson, with whom Bateman had left it and drawn £2 on it, which fact was proved by Jackson.[98]
Humphreys’ WA Convict Record
11/5/61 – Received from Out Station.
13/5/61 – Diagnosed with Rupture.[99]
11/7/61 – Light Labour. Wants spectacles.[100]
13/7/61 – Transferred to Guildford.[101]
13/7/61 – Transferred to Guildford.[102]
30/9/63 – Ticket of Leave.
1864-1871 – Worked for self as jeweller.[103]
20/7/71 – Conditional Pardon.
11/5/72 – Received from Invalid Depot.[104] Treated for a strangulated hernia. Aged 57.[105]
7/1/73 – Sent to Invalid Depot.[106]
13/3/82 – Treated for Gastric Catarrh.[107]
11/6/83 – Admitted to hospital with Bronchitis.[108]
29/6/83 – Seriously ill in hospital.[109]
On 30 July 1883, Robert Humphreys died in the Fremantle Prison Hospital, recorded as R Humphries, aged 72.[110] [No burial place has been found.]
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Andrew Foster (c1829 – 1868?) (Reg. No. 5642)
Andrew Foster, aged 30, hatter, was one of the players in the gang of forgers arrested in London in 1859. He appears to have acted as an intermediary between the two top conspirators, Wagner and his brother-in-law Bateman, and the men they employed on a more casual basis to take the forged cheques to the banks.[111] Following his conviction in the Central Criminal Court for uttering a forged order for money, Andrew Foster, aged 30, was sentenced to 10 years’ transportation.[112] He served time at Newgate Prison before being sent to a convict hulk[113]. [This was probably the Warrior, where his co-conspirators were sent.]
Andrew Foster was received from Chatham Prison and taken onboard the Palmerston, bound for Western Australia, with other members of the gang of forgers. [114] He was described as aged 32, height 5’6”, with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, an oval face, fresh complexion, of stout build, a widower with two children and a hatter by trade.
The ship arrived at Fremantle on 11 February 1861.
Foster’s record in WA was brief –
5/12/62 – Received his Ticket of Leave at Fremantle.
15/12/62 – Fined 10/- at Fremantle for supplying P.P’s with liquor.
24/1/63 – Transferred to Perth from Swan District.[115]
23/5/63 – Self-employed as a shoemaker at Perth, earning 5/6d per day.
31/12/63 – Shoemaker, self-employed at Perth, uncertain earnings.
30/6/64 – Shoemaker at Perth, self, 40/- per week.
7/1/65 – Drunk and disorderly – 21 days in Perth Prison. Described as ‘a notorious drunkard, only kept in bounds by witholding Ticket of Leave. Vide 6977/4.’[116]
30/6/66 – Ditto, 30/- per week.[117]
14/12/66 – Received his Conditional Pardon at Perth.[118]
23/1/67 – Andrew Foster, bootmaker of Perth, was advertising for a girl to take care of a child.[119]
April ‘68 – (??) Andrew Foster died at Perth, aged 39.[120] He was buried 21 April 1868 in the Church of England section of the East Perth Pioneer Cemetery.[121]
NOTICE. (Advert. 1864)
IN returning sincere thanks for the liberal support received the last 12 months, begs most respectfully to assure his customers and others that none but the very best material shall be used. Style and workmanship warranted to give every satisfaction to the wearer. Repairs of every description done with neatness and dispatch. Store-keepers supplied on the usual terms. Country orders executed on the shortest notice. Ladies and Gentlemen waited on at their residences.
Address—A. FOSTER, BOOT MAKER, &c, King William Street, Perth.[122]
No details have yet been found regarding Andrew Foster’s early life, and there is some confusion regarding his marital status. In the entry below Erickson queries whether Andrew Foster’s wife followed him to Western Australia, yet his convict record on arrival in WA stated that he was a widower with two children –
FOSTER, Andrew, b. 1829, d. 2 1.4. 1868 (Perth) (expiree). arr. 11. 2.1861 per Palmerston ?wife followed. m. Mary Ann (nee Bird). Bootmaker. Perth (1865 nominated his wife’s 3 sisters as migrants). Employed 10 boot & shoemakers 1863-1867.[123]
No confirmation has been found regarding his marriage in Western Australia to a Mary Ann Bird.[124]
The death of an Andrew Foster, aged 39, was recorded in 1868.[125]
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William Wynne Bramwell (alias Brown), (1832-1883) (Reg. No. 5643)
William Wynne Bramwell came from a well-to-do family, born in Lancashire, the son of Edwin Bramwell and his wife Sarah (née Jones), later of Kensington House, London.
William foolishly became involved with the Wagner/Bateman gang of forgers, and was convicted at the Central Criminal Court on 9 May 1859, of feloniously forging and uttering on 23rd March an order for the payment of £265, with intent to defraud.[126] He was sentenced to 10 years’ penal servitude.[127]
He was described as a dealer in furniture, aged 25, married with no children, able to read and write well. He had no previous prosecutions. He served time at Newgate Prison and in convict Prison Hulks.[128] He later served time in Chatham Prison.
On arrival in Western Australia he was described as a clerk, aged 27, height 5’8”, with brown hair, hazel eyes, a round face, sallow complexion and of stout build. He had a small scar over his right eye, and one or two conspicuous marks on his left cheek. His character was described as ‘Very Good’.
He was employed by prominent citizens in the South-west and mostly kept out of trouble, apart from two minor drinking charges –
30/6/61 – Employed by WP Clifton at Bunbury as a labourer, 15/- per month.
19/8/62 – Laborer, 20/- per month, employed by G Eliot, Bunbury.
29/10/62 – Received his Ticket of Leave.
31/12/63 – Laborer, 20/- per month, employed by G Eliot, Bunbury.
25/1/64 – 3/6 per day, Wm Weir, Bunbury.
28/1/64 – Laborer, 30/- per month, EG Hester, Bunbury.
2/3/64 – Drunk and incapable, fined 2/6, R.M. Sussex.
2/4/64 – Laborer, 4/- per day, HW Brown, Busselton.
9/4/64 – General Servant, £ // per month, Yelverton, Timber Station.
11? /6/64 – Ditto, £1/15/- per month, G. Dawson, Busselton.
26/6/64 – Ditto.
2/8/64 – Ditto, 30/- per month, CL Molloy, Busselton.
31/12/64 – Ditto, JG Reynolds, Busselton.
30/6/65 – Ditto, J G Reynolds, Busselton.
15/7/65 – General Servant, contract, HW Brown, Busselton.
24/10/65 – Ditto, 30/- per month, G Layman, Wonnerup.
31/10/65 – Ditto.
Aug/65 – Drunk, R.M. Sussex.
31/12/65 – Ditto, 30/- per month, G Layman, Wonnerup.
30/6/66 – Laborer, ditto.
3/1/67 – Received his Conditional Pardon from the Resident Magistrate at Vasse.[129]
Determined to do well in the new colony, within a few years William had become a trusted part of the Busselton community. In 1871 he was appointed as one of the auditors of the Municipal Council.[130] In 1874 he was elected as a Councillor.[131]
He quickly saw opportunities for a trader in Busselton, and was looking for a partner – PARTNERSHIP WANTED a Partner to join the advertiser in the Storekeeping Business, with not less than £300 capital. Reference given and required. Address, W. W. BRAMWELL, Storekeeper, Vasse, 6th March, 1872.[132]
Whether William received financial backing is not known, but he was soon advertising widely –
W. W. BRAMWELL WILL return to the Vasse per “ARGO,” with a new selection of goods of every description; also to arrive per “WILD WAVE” a large assortment. W. W. BRAMWELL, Storekeeper, Commission Agent, Butcher and dealer in Colonial Wine, VASSE. Trap on Hire. Saddle Horses. Goods Carted and Wharehoused. Good Paddock for Cattle and Horses. – WINES FIRST CLASS, 1s. to 1s. 6d. per Bottle. Highest Price for Produce.[133]
The following year his marriage was announced to a younger woman, born c1857 –
1874 – MARRIAGE. BRAMWELL— SUNTER. On the 1st inst., at Christ Church, Vasse, Mr. W. W. BRAMWELL, second son of the late E. Bramwell, Esqr., Kensington House, London, to REBECCA, second daughter of Mr. W. J. Sunter of Vasse, Western Australia.[134]
It is possible to follow William’s transition from convict to respectable businessman through a series of advertisements and notices, which indicate a remarkably quick expansion into a variety of fields of commerce –
1873 – NOTICE. ALL debts and monies due to the undersigned are requested to pay the same at once without further notice, otherwise they will be placed in a solicitor’s hand. W. W. BRAMWELL. Vasse.[135]
1874 – HIDES! HIDES!! HIDES.!!! and SKINS of every description purchased for cash by W. W. W BRAMWELL, Vasse, August 8, 1874.[136]
1874 – NOTICE. W W. BRAMWELL, VASSE. HAVING engaged a FIRST CLASS MECHANIC is now prepared to execute Carpenter’s Work of every description. Wheelwrighting co., Funerals attended Vasse, August 8, 1874.
1874 – NOTICE – BROUGHT in by Mr. J. Abbey, off his run and now in my paddock at Broadwater, one BAY MARE, with white face; foal by her side; mare branded BT near side under saddle. If not claimed within time allowed by law will be sold to defray expenses. W. W. BRAMWELL, Vasse, August 8, 1874.[137]
1879 – EDUCATIONAL. WANTED, a MALE TEACHER, for the Ludlow Government Provisional School. Testimonials required. Average attendance about 14 daily. Apply to W. W. BRAMWELL, Hon. Secretary, V. D. S. Board. Vasse, March 15th, 1879.
1879 – Auction, Busselton – May 10. By W. W. BRAMWELL, on the premises, Vasse, at 11 o’clock. Farming Implements.[138]
1879 – VASSE. SALE BY AUCTION. W. W. BRAMWELL WILL sell on the premises, 10th MAY, 1879, at 11 a.m. sharp A FIVE ton Boat Cutter “Fly” with Mast, Sails, Wire Rigging, two Anchors and Chains, Hatches, all complete for the pearling ground. 2 Whims, 1 Trap and Harness, 8 Steers (to break in), 1 16-Repeater, 1 Magic Lantern, 1 Bullock Dray, 1 Cart Body, 1 Swing Plough, 100 Bushels Rye, &c., &c., &c.[139]
1880 – NOTICE. W W. BRAMWELL Store-keeper, Vasse, in returning his most sincere thanks to the inhabitants of the Vasse District for their kind support during the last 9 years, begs to announce that in consequence of so much produce being imported into the Colony that in future produce will only be taken on sale and returns accounts faithfully rendered. Stock replenished from first class Houses. FLOUR 30s. BAG, CASH. Vasse, 26th July, 1880.[140]
William’s good luck ended in March 1882, when he suffered a major health crisis –
March 1882 – One of our storekeepers, Mr. W. Bramwell, had a very severe paralytic attack last week, losing the use of his left side. Hopes are, however, entertained of his ultimate recovery.[141]
A decision was made to sell the large unfinished building in Busselton’s main street –
March 1882 – House and Cottage, Busselton. Mr. Arthur Rosselloty has received instructions from Mr. W. W. Bramwell to offer for sale by auction on the premises at noon on Saturday, the let April next, THAT commodious eight roomed house and outbuildings situate in Prince’s Street, Busselton, now in the occupation of Mr. Bramwell, together with the Northern Moiety of Busselton Town Lots 109 and 110. The Southern Moiety of said Lots together with the two roomed Cottage thereon. Also the cutter “Fly” of 4 tons. Also do. “Queen of the Vasse” of 3 tons. And 10 head of cattle. Possession of the said House and cottage will be given on the 7th June. For further information as to the above land and for conditions of sale apply to: PARKER & PARKER, Solicitors, Perth.[142]
A minor court case had to be deferred a couple of times –
April 1882 – A case of some interest was to have been heard in the local court last Thursday, but owing to the sudden illness of the defendant, Mr. W. Bramwell, the case was postponed for a month. It appears that Mr. Bramwell was in the enjoyment of his usual health up to about nine o’clock that morning when he sat down to write, it is reported, his defence to the action brought against him, when he was seized with a severe attack of paralysis causing him to lose the use of his limbs, he is I am sorry to say still very ill.[143]
August 1882 – Despite his failing health, it was announced that William’s new store and house had been completed. Whether it was still up for sale is not known –
Two new buildings have been roofed in lately in our small town, one an eight-roomed house belonging to Mr. W. W. Bramwell, intended for a store; the other a five-roomed cottage, with hall thoroughout, owned by Mr. J. Bovell. The latter will be the best house of its class in the district, the rooms being all of a good size and lofty, a great thing in our semi-tropical district.[144]
The cutter ‘Fly’ was still in his ownership in November 1882 –
….During the gale the Paragon, belonging to Messrs. Rosselloty & Co. went on shore, but has sustained little damage. The Fly, belonging to Mr. W W. Bramwell, was not so fortunate, however, and is fast breaking up.[145]
Perhaps by this time William’s wife Rebecca had persuaded him that he was no longer capable of running a trading business, so an alternative was being considered –
November 1882 – The Wines, Beer, and Spirits Sales Act. To the Worshipful the Justices of’ the Peace in and for the Sussex District, in the colony of Western Australia. I WILLIAM WYNNE BRAMWELL, married, do hereby give notice that it is my intention to apply at the next Licensing Meeting to be holden for this District for a Boarding and Lodging House License, in the house and premises I now occupy, situate in Princes Street, Busselton. I have never held a Boarding House License before. Given under my hand at Busselton this 11th day of November, 1882. W. W. BRAMWELL.[146]
Whether this eventuated is not known. The death of William Wynn Bramwell was announced early in the following year –
January 1883 – DISTRICT NEWS, VASSE.
The morning of the 28th ult., the day appointed for our annual show, was one of mourning as well as rejoicing, as at 8 o’clock the late Mr. W. Bramwell was buried. He died very early on the morning of the 27th instant. The funeral took place early, but there was a pretty good muster at the mournful procession, the deceased being very widely respected.[147]
Rebecca was left with three children –
Walter Henry Bramwell (born 1874, died 1915)
Eveline Mary Bramwell (born 1876, married Edward Gifford Parker 1896.)
Watkin Wynn Bramwell (born 1881, died 1923)
As administrator of her husband’s estate, the following notice should have borne his wife Rebecca’s name –
1884 – THE undersigned being about to leave the Colony, requests that all claims be sent in by the 31st April, and all outstanding accounts must be settled by that date, or they will be placed in the hands of a Solicitor for collection. WILLIAM BRAMWELL, Busselton, 1st March 1884.[148]
1884 – HOUSE TO LET. A SUBSTANTIALLY BUILT STONE HOUSE, situate in the centre of Queen street, Busselton. The house contains 7 rooms and large store, and is admirably suited for a store or any other, business in this thriving township. For full particulars as to terms &c., apply to the proprietors on the premises.
REBECCA BRAMWELL.
Busselton May21.[149]
In 1888 Rebecca was still chasing debts – Rebecca Greening, Executrix Estate of the late W. W. Bramwell v. Mary Hickey. Claim £11 18s. 1d. balance store account. Judgment for plaintiff for £5 15s. 7d. and costs.[150]
It appears that Rebecca Bramwell, widow, went to New Zealand, probably to visit her late husband’s brother William. She married Joseph Greening there in 1885.[151] (Whether her children went with her is not known.) They returned to WA, where in 1887 Joseph was listed in the WA Almanac as a storekeeper in Busselton, then as a laborer for the next two years.[152] Rebecca went on to have five more children, all born in WA –
Frances Rebecca, born Busselton 1886.
Alfred James, born Busselton 1888.
Herbert Arthur, born Albany 1891.
Ernest George, born York, 1893.
Maud Augusta, born York, 1895.
[A bereavement notice of interest was published in the West Australian in 1912, this time for William’s brother in New Zealand –
BRAMWELL.— On July 16, 1912, Henry Bramwell, died at New Zealand, late of South Africa and New Zealand, son of Edwin Bramwell, late of Kensington House, London, and brother of William Wynne Bramwell, late of Busselton, W.A., and brother of Mrs. Greening, 18 Cecil-street, Highgate Hill, Perth, W.A., aged 81 years.[153]]
Rebecca Greening died in Perth WA in 1927.[154]
………………………………………………………………………………………….
[1] Newgate Prison Calendar, Series HO77, Piece No. 59
[2] Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 23 February 1852, Ref. No. t18520223-322
[3] Newgate Prison Calendar, Series HO77, Piece No. 59
[4] Correspondence and Warrants, Series HO13, Piece No.433
[5] Home Office Register of Criminal Petitions, Series HO19, Piece No.12
[6] Newgate Prison Calendar, Series HO77, Piece No.59
[7] Inquirer, 27 July 1859.
[8] Newgate Prison Calendar, Series HO77, Piece No.59
[9] Quarterly Prison Record, Warrior Hulk, Series HO8, Piece No.126
[10] Prisoner Records, Warrior Hulk Woolwich, Series HO8, Piece No.115
[11] Convict Hulks, Prison Registers, HO8, Piece No.124
[12] Rica Erickson, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, p.1175, http://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/
[13] Inquirer, 9 January 1856.
[14] Perth Gazette, 23 January 1853.
[15] Perth Gazette, 18 April 1856.
[16] WA Department of Justice, Reg. No. 1311.
[17] Perth Gazette, 26 August 1859.
[18] Perth Gazette, 11 November 1864.
[19] Argus, 1 June 1883.
[20] Argus, 16 July 1879.
[21] Victorian Death Records, Reg. No. 1861/1885
[22] Renfrewshire Independent, 9 April 1859.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Old Bailey Records , 4 April 1859 , Ref. No. t18590404-387
[25] John Bull, 18 June 1859.
[26] Register of Prisoners on the Stirling Hulk, Series PCOM2, Piece No.134
[27] Stamford Mercury, 20 May 1859.
[28] Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, t18590509-497.
[29] Kentish Mercury, 21 May 1859.
[30] Perth Gazette, 9 September 1859
[31] Daily News, 2 November 1907.
[32] Weymouth Telegram, 14 February 1861.
[33] Convict Department Registers, (128/38-39)
[34] Convict Department Registers, General Register (Rd3-Rd4)
[35] Convict Establishment, Miscellaneous, Prisoners’ Property Book (V14)
[36] Convict Establishment Medical, Daily Medical Journals (1861-64)
[37] Convict Department Registers, General Register (Rd3-Rd4)
[38] Convict Department Registers, General Register (Rd3-Rd4)
[39] Ibid.
[40] Express, Perth, 14 April 1873.
[41] Herald, 12 July 1873.
[42] Herald, 4 October 1873.
[43] Inquirer, 8 October 1873.
[44] Convict Department, Estimates and Convict Lists (128/1-32)
[45] Perth Gazette, 23 October 1873.
[46] Convict Establishment, Miscellaneous, Superintendent’s Register of Prisoners (V10)
[47] Fremantle Prison Correspondence, Register of Prisoners (F2b)
[48] Convict Establishment, Receipts & Discharges (Rd5-Rd7)
[49] Fremantle Prison Correspondence Registers (F2b)
[50] Ibid.
[51] Rica Erickson, Dictionary of Western Australians, Vol.2, Bond, 1850 – 1868, p.550.
[52] Vide 6977/4, Convict Department General Registers (R3-R4)
[53] England Births & Christenings, https:www.ancestry.com
[54] UK Marriage Index, Vol.3, Page 320.
[55] London Evening Standard, 4 June 1851.
[56] Old Bailey Proceedings Online, June 1851 (t18510616-1336)
[57] Portland Prison Records, UK Prison Commission Records, at https://www.ancestry.co.uk
[58] Newgate Calendar of Prisoners, Piece 59:1852, at https://www.ancestry.co.uk
[59] Anglican Marriages Holyhead, https://www.ancestry.com.uk
[60] Dunstable Chronicle, 7 May 1859.
[61] State Library WA, Call No.365.34IRW
[62] Note: ‘On Monday last the Era, edited and published by Mr. George Barrow made its appearance. We believe it is the only known Lithographic Journal ever attempted. As a work of art it is highly creditable, and much time and pains have been taken for its getting up – we hope it may prove remunerative.’ (Herald, 18 July 1868.)
George Barrow (Reg. No. 6817) was another stationer convicted of forgery, employed by Lionel Samson & Co. as an accountant, and asked by him to start the first newspaper in Fremantle. Called The Era, it was all handwritten in a free copperplate hand, on the backs of old discarded invoices and printed in the lithographic manner. Only limited numbers were produced, selling for 6d per issue. (See Pioneers of the Press, Swan & Canning Leader, 19 September 1930.)
[63] Convict Department, General Registers (Rd3-Rd4)
[64] Sunday Times, 11 June 1911.
[65] Perth Gazette, 20 December 1867.
[66] Convict Records, Passenger Lists of Assisted Emigrants (1851-1868)
[67] WA Department of Justice, Reg. No. 2097.
[68] Public Member Trees, https://www.ancestry.com.au/
[69] WA Directory, Carnamah Historical Society website, https://www.carnamah.com.au
[70] Inquirer, 5 August 1863.
[71] WA Times, 3 December 1863.
[72] Inquirer, 18 December 1872.
[73] Herald, 21 June 1873.
[74] Herald, 17 January 1874.
[75] Herald, 31 July 1875.
[76] Herald, 9 November 1878.
[77] Herald, 15 July 1882.
[78] Inquirer, 20 December 1882.
[79] Daily News, 22 January 1883.
[80] Express, Perth, 14 April 1873.
[81] Inquirer, 19 March 1879.
[82] WA Police Gazette, 7 August 1878.
[83] Inquirer, 9 October 1878.
[84] Victorian Express, 6 November 1878.
[85] Victorian Express, 7 May 1884.
[86] West Australian, 8 May 1884.
[87] Inquirer, 7 May 1884.
[88] Rica Erickson, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australia, www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org, p.160.
[89] Chatham Prison, Register of Prisoners, Series PCOM2, Piece No 2
[90] Convict hulks, Quarterly Returns of Prisoners, Series HO8, Piece No 144
[91] Proceedings of the Old Bailey, Ref. No. t18590509-497
[92] Lloyd’s Weekly, 3 April 1859.
[93] Records of the Old Bailey, Series CRIM9, Piece No. 5
[94] Prison Registers, Newgate Prison, PCOM2, Piece No 214.
[95] Convict Department Registers, Probationers Prison Register (R7)
[96] Convict Department, Estimates and Convict Lists (128/1-32)
[97] Convict Establishment, Miscellaneous, Prisoners’ Property Book (V14)
[98] West Australian Times, 21 July 1864.
[99] Convict Establishment, Casual Sick Registers (Cs6 – Cs8)
[100] Convict Establishment, Fremantle Casual Sick Registers (Cs6-Cs8)
[101] Convict Establishment, Receipts and Discharges, (Rd3 – Rd4)
[102] Ibid.
[103] Rica Erickson, Dictionary of Western Australians, 1829-1814, Vol.2, Bond, 1850-1868, UWA Press, Nedlands, p.275.
[104] Ibid, (Rd5-Rd7)
[105] Convict Establishment, Medical Registers By Patient (M9-M9a)
[106] Convict Establishment, Receipts & Discharges, (RD5-Rd7)
[107] Convict Establishment, Medical Registers By Patient (M9-M9a)
[108] Convict Establishment, Daily Medical Journals (M21a – M22)
[109] Ibid.
[110] Convict Department General Registers (R21b)
[111] Old Bailey Proceedings Online, May 1859, (t18590509-497), www.oldbailey online.org
[112] Chatham Prison, Register of Prisoners, Series HO23, Piece No.6
[113] UK National Archives, Convict Hulks, Quarterly Returns of Prisoners, Series HO8, Piece No.143
[114] Register of Prisoners, Chatham Prison, Kent, Series PCOM2, Piece No. 7
[115] Miscellaneous, Tickets of Leave Swan District.
[116] Convict Department Registers, General Register (R3-R4)
[117] Ibid.
[118] Ibid.
[119] Inquirer, 23 January 1867.
[120] WA Department of Justice, Reg. No. 3862.
[121] East Perth Pioneer Cemetery, https://www.eastperthcemeteries.com.au/
[122] West Australian, 4 April 1864.
[123] Rica Erickson, Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, p.1102, http://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/
[124] Marriage Records, WA Department of Justice, https://www.bdm.justice.wa.gov.au/
[125] WA Department of Justice Records, Death Reg. No. 3862.
[126] Records of the Old Bailey, http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/images.jsp?doc=185905090050
[127] Records of the Old Bailey, Series HO27, Piece No.123.
[128] Quarterly Returns of Prisoners, Series HO8, Piece No.123
[129] Convict Department, General Register (R3-R4)
[130] Inquirer, 13 December 1871.
[131] Herald, 10 January 1874.
[132] Herald, 9 March 1872.
[133] Herald, 26 July 1873.
[134] Herald, 17 January 1874.
[135] Herald, 27 September 1873.
[136] Herald, 3 October 1874.
[137] Herald, 5 September 1874.
[138] Herald, 3 May 1879.
[139] Herald, 12 April 1879.
[140] Herald, 14 August 1880.
[141] West Australian, 21 March 1882.
[142] Herald, 25 March 1882.
[143] Herald, 1 April 1882.
[144] West Australian, 15 August 1882.
[145] West Australian, 3 November 1882.
[146] Daily News, 23 November 1882.
[147] Herald, 20 January 1883.
[148] Herald, 8 March 1884.
[149] West Australian, 3 June 1884.
[150] Southern Times, 25 September 1888.
[151] New Zealand marriage records, Folio No. 1629.
[152] People of Western Australia 1863-1897 (carnamah.com.au)
[153] West Australian, 26 August 1912.
[154] Sunday Times, 14 August 1927.