People Australia

Jane Fitzgerald (c.1757-1806), alias Jane Phillips, was found guilty on 4 April 1786 at Bristol, England, of a felony. Sentenced to 7 years transportation she was received on the Dunkirk hulk on 10 December 1785 and embarked on the Charlotte in March 1787, arriving in Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.

Fitzgerald had twin boys (the first twins born in the colony) with marine William Mitchell, who were born on 9 October 1788; one of the boys, James, was buried on 15 January 1789. She was sentenced to receive 25 lashes on 3 March 1789 for disobedience.

Fitzgerald, and her surviving son, were sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius in March 1790. She provided for herself and by February 1792 was independent of stores for meat. William Mitchell had been sent to Norfolk Island in March 1791. When he left in March 1793 on the Kitty, he took their remaining son, William, with him and returned to England with the child in 1810.

Fitzgerald left Norfolk Island in November 1795 for Port Jackson, returning to the island in October 1796. She left the island for a final time for Port Jackson on the Porpoise in January 1801. In 1806 she was recorded as self-employed, at Port Jackson, with no children.

Jane Fitzgerald was buried on 2 September 1806 at St Philip's Church, Sydney.

information from

• Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 128
• HMS Sirius 1786-1790, https://hmssirius.com.au/jane-fitzgerald-convict-charlotte-1788-and-william-fitzgerald-convict-child-hms-sirius-march-1790 — accessed 15 September 2020