People Australia

John Limeburner (c.1755-1847) was found guilty on 9 July 1785 at New Sarum (Salisbury, Wiltshire) of breaking into a house one morning and stealing a cloth coat and waistcoat, a linen shirt, and two pairs of worsted stockings. His death sentence was commuted to 7 years transportation on 10 August 1785. Sent to the Dunkirk hulk on 18 August 1785 he was dispatched to the Charlotte in March 1787 and arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.

Limeburner married Elizabeth Ireland on 26 September 1790; no record of any children has been found. The couple were settled on a 50 acre land grant at Prospect by August 1792. The 1801 Muster recorded Limeburner with 30 acres cleared; 26½ acres were sown in grain and he owned 36 hogs. He assigned 30 acres to John Fenton in August 1802 and in February 1805 was working as a self-employed labourer. He then became a shopkeeper and baker and by 1809 had leased a town lot in Chapel Row (Castlereagh St), Sydney. He was still living in that residence in 1828.

John Limeburner died at Ashfield on 2 September 1847 and was buried at St John's churchyard. His age was given as 104 but was probably overestimated. 

* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 221