John Ball was found guilty, on 20 March 1786 at Exeter, of stealing a live ewe sheep. His death sentence was commuted to seven years transportation. He was sent to the Dunkirk hulk and arrived in Sydney in January 1788 aboard the Charlotte as part of the First Fleet. After spending several months in hospital he was buried at Sydney Cove on 2 October 1788.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 21
'Ball, John (c. 1734–1788)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/ball-john-30082/text37328, accessed 19 April 2024.
1 October,
1788
(aged ~ 54)
Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.