Richard Hawkes (c.1750-1832) was found guilty on 28 February 1785 at Reading, Berkshire, of stealing three pounds of hempen yarn. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, he was sent to the Ceres hulk, where he remained until he embarked for New South Wales on the Alexander in January 1787, arriving in Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Hawkes married Elizabeth Mason on 14 February 1790; both signing with a mark. He received a 50 acre grant of land at the Eastern Farms in May 1792.
In a return dating from mid 1800 his grant is shown as being at Kissing Point with eight acres sown in wheat and 12 acres ready for planting maize; he owned 13 hogs and three sheep or goats. He and his wife were off stores and two children were on stores. No baptisms are recorded for the couple and later returns show them as childless so the two children noted may have been in temporary care — or it may have been a clerical error.
Hawkes maintained his farm without difficulty through the years. In 1822 he was recorded with five acres sown in maize, ten hogs and 20 bushels of maize in hand. In 1826 he was shown as a tenant. He and his wife were still together on 50 acres of land in 1828, of which 40 was cleared.
Richard Hawkes died at Kissing Point on 14 February 1832; his age was given as 81. He was buried the next day at the Field of Mars.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 167
'Hawkes, Richard (1750–1832)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/hawkes-richard-31053/text38425, accessed 15 November 2024.
1832 (aged ~ 82)
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