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William Cable (?–?)

William Cable was a marine in the 33rd (Plymouth) Company when he arrived in Sydney in January 1788 aboard the Scarborough as part of the First Fleet. He served in Captain Watkin Tench's company in the colony. In March 1790 he was sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius. He married Margaret Stewart in a mass wedding ceremony on the island in November 1791; they had no children.

William was discharged from the marines in December 1791 in Sydney, returning to Norfolk Island on the Queen in January 1792 as a settler. By May 1792 he was settled on 60 acres at Creswell Bay. He sold his land in November 1794 and returned alone to Port Jackson on the Daedalus. He was granted 100 acres in the Eastern Farms District in 1795; which he sold in November 1799. This is the last known record of William Cable in the colony.

Margaret returned to Sydney aboard the Reliance in June 1797. She is most likely the Margaret Steward who was buried 5 November 1797 at the Old Sydney Burial Ground. 

* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), pp 62-63 and HMS Sirius 1786-1790 website https://hmssirius.com.au/william-cable-private-marine-33rd-plymouth-company-friendship-1788/ accessed 23 June 2020

Citation details

'Cable, William (?–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/cable-william-30494/text37809, accessed 29 March 2024.

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