William Hilt (c.1769- ) was found guilty on 18 July 1785 at Exeter, Devon, of breaking into a house, and stealing a silk purse containing nine guineas. His death sentence was commuted to 7 years transportation on 10 August 1785. He was sent to the Dunkirk hulk, where he remained until he embarked for New South Wales on the Charlotte in March 1787, arriving in Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Hilt is recorded as having arrived at Port Jackson but there are no further records.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 175
'Hilt, William (c. 1769–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/hilt-william-31286/text38673, accessed 30 April 2025.