Charles/Patrick Gray (c.1751-1821) was found guilty on 16 February 1785 at the Southwark Quarter Sessions, Surrey, of a felony. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, he was sent to the Censor hulk on 24 October 1785 and was discharged to the Alexander in January 1787. He arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Gray was sentenced to 500 lashes on 2 August 1788 for stealing some pork from William Roberts; he also had to repay the pork and work at the hardest labour in irons for six months. On 18 June 1789 he was among those who were reprimanded for making a noise in the camp at an improper hour. He received 100 lashes on 27 October 1789 for insolence.
Gray was sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius in March 1790 and absconded into the woods. He was declared outlawed if he did not return by 28 August. He was still missing on 4 September. On 27 October 1791 he received 100 lashes for neglect of orders.
His sentence having expired, Gray returned to Port Jackson on the Atlantic in September 1792. He was sentenced to a further 100 lashes in 1792 after stealing 33 guineas from the NSW Corps drummer who employed him to get wood and water.
Gray was recorded as living on charity in 1814. He died on 2 April 1821; his age was given as 84 but was probably less.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 148
'Gray, Charles (c. 1751–1821)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/gray-charles-31196/text38585, accessed 5 December 2024.
c. 1751
2 April,
1821
(aged ~ 70)
Hawkesbury,
New South Wales,
Australia