People Australia

Edward Robinson, a servant of a local theatre owner in York, England, and a compulsive petty thief, was convicted of 14 counts of stealing and sentenced to life transportation. He arrived in Sydney in 1791 aboard the Admiral Barrington as part of the Third Fleet.

Robinson became a property owner at Windsor, grazing sheep. In 1794 he was granted 30 acres of land on the river at Mulgrave Place. In 1802 he was granted a further 100 acres at a lagoon nearby, which was called Robinson’s Lagoon. The name later changed to Bushell’s Lagoon. By 1805, he had a flock of around '200 big framed mutton producers', and told Governor King he would like to experiment with merino sheep. On 28th September 1809 he received a further grant to lease 1¾ acres 25 rods in Sydney Town for 21 years. Edward also owned a tavern, ‘Sign of the York Roses’ for which he was granted beer and spirits licences from 1809 through to 1815. In 1809 Robinson was granted 80 acres at Upper Nelson. This grant was also in the name of his daughter Elizabeth Robinson.