Rachael McLoughlin (c.1818-1853), a house servant, was found guilty on 18 May 1840 at the Liverpool Quarter Sessions, Lancashire, of stealing £15.11.6 from her master. She had two prior offences — 12 months for stealing a carpet and two months for pledging a cloak. Sentenced to 10 years transportation for her third offence, McLoughlin arrived at Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) aboard the Navarino in January 1841. She was described as being single, she could read and write, and her trades were given as servant, laundress, and cook. Her age was given as 22, her height as 4 feet 11 inches (59 cms), and she had blue eyes, light brown hair, and a scar on her freckled forehead. The ship's surgeon described her conduct as 'orderly'.
Conduct Record at VDL
12 August 1842 — drunk and insolent — 6 days solitary confinement
25 April 1842 — disobedience of orders — 10 days solitary confinement
21 December 1842 — absent without leave all night and part of a day — 20 months hard labour ?? ?? ?? Launceston
8 June 1843 — misconduct in having a man in her bedroom — ???
27 December 1843 — ??? of orders — 24 hours of general confinement
18 October 1844 — drunk and chasing her master's children — ?? hard labour 7 days of which in solitary confinement
17 April 1849 — drunk — fined 5/-
25 April 1849 — drunk — fined 5/-
She was probably the Rachael McLoclan who died of dropsy at Launceston, aged 30, on 9 September 1853.
'McLoughlin, Rachael (c. 1818–1853)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/mcloughlin-rachael-31675/text39148, accessed 30 April 2025.
c.
1818
Dumfries,
Dumfriesshire,
Scotland
9 September,
1853
(aged ~ 35)
Launceston,
Tasmania,
Australia
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Crime: theft
Sentence: 10 years
Court: Lancashire
Trial Date: 18 May 1840
(1840)
Occupation: domestic servant