Robert Hobbs (c. 1764–1839)
Robert Hobbs was found found guilty on 20 October 1790 of stealing 38 pieces of calico, containing 760 yards, valued at £60. Sentenced to seven years transportation he arrived in Sydney in 1791 aboard the Active as part of the Third Fleet. On 9 January 1792, he was sentenced to 150 lashes for stealing a pair of shoes and a hat belonging to Edward Conroy and Thomas Regan.
By 1800 he was renting a farm at Mulgrave Place. He married Bridget Heslin in 1801 and a year later purchased land at Mulgrave Place; he was granted a further 60 acres in 1803. In 1806 he was granted 60 acres at Hawkesbury Lagoon. In the 1814 Muster he was described as an 'invalid' and was assigned convicts to assist with farm work.
* information from Wikitree https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hobbs-225
Additional Resources and Scholarship
- his brother John left him his English estate valued at 2 million pounds; it is now worth 6 million pounds; Robert's heirs are to claim it, Arrow (Sydney), 8 January 1932, p 4
- proceedings of trial, Old Bailey, London, 20 October 1790 (pdf)
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Hobbs, Bridget (wife)
- McKenzie, Mary (daughter)
- Turner, Elizabeth (daughter)
- Rose, Harriet (daughter)
- Jones, Catherine (daughter)
- Smallwood, Sarah (daughter)
- Hobbs, Robert (son)
- Hobbs, Edward (son)
- Hobbs, Joseph (son)
- Hobbs, James Herbert (son)
- Hobbs, John (son)
- Hobbs, Sarah (daughter-in-law)
- Hobbs, Margaret (daughter-in-law)
- McKenzie, John (son-in-law)
- Rose, John (son-in-law)
- Turner, William (son-in-law)
- Jones, William (son-in-law)
- Myers, Abraham (son-in-law)
- Wilbow, Sarah (granddaughter)
- Hobbs, Susan (granddaughter)
- Kilpatrick, Elizabeth (granddaughter)
- Hartley, Catherine (granddaughter)
- Dowden, Mary (granddaughter)
- Smallwood, Sarah (granddaughter)
- Hobbs, Harriet (granddaughter)
- Wilbow, Susan (granddaughter)
- Baker, Jane (granddaughter)
- McKenzie, John (grandson)
- McKenzie, William (grandson)
- Hobbs, Joseph (grandson)
- Hobbs, Robert (grandson)
- Hobbs, John (grandson)
- Hobbs, Edward John (grandson)
- Smallwood, George (grandson)
- Smallwood, Isaac (grandson)
- Smallwood, Joseph (grandson)
Citation details
'Hobbs, Robert (c. 1764–1839)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/hobbs-robert-27306/text34791, accessed 8 February 2025.
Life Summary [details]
Birth
c.
1764
London,
Middlesex,
England
Death
26 February,
1839
(aged ~ 75)
Pitt Town, Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Passenger Ship
Occupation or Descriptor
Key Events
Social Issues
Convict Record
Crime: theft
Sentence: 7 years
Court: Old Bailey, London
Trial Date: 20 October 1790
(1790)
Pre-transportation
Occupation: weaver