John Hudson (c.1774- ) a 9-year-old chimney-sweep who had no parents, was found guilty on 10 December 1783 at the Old Bailey, London, of breaking into a house at night and stealing clothing and a pistol. Sentenced to 7 years transportation to America, he was among the prisoners who mutinied on the convict transport Mercury in April 1784. Recaptured, he was sent to the Dunkirk hulk in June 1784. He was discharged to the Friendship in March 1787 and arrived in Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet. Hudson was probably the youngest male convict (when sentenced) to be sent to New South Wales.
Hudson was sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius in March 1790. He received 50 lashes for 'been out of his hutt after nine cClock' on 15 February 1791. He returned to Port Jackson prior to 1792. There is a John Hudson marked off stores at Port Jackson on 24 October 1795. If this is him it is the last record that has been found for him in the colony.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), pp 181-82 and HMS Sirius 1796-1790 https://hmssirius.com.au/john-hudson-convict-friendship-1788/ — accessed 9 August 2020
'Hudson, John (c. 1774–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/hudson-john-30815/text38165, accessed 19 April 2024.
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