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Thomas Turner (c. 1739–1788)

Thomas Turner (c.1739-1788) was found guilty on 6 March 1782 at Oxford of a highway robbery that netted him a silver watch, a gold coin and three shillings in other money. His death sentence was commuted to 7 years transportation to America on 9 March 1784. Tuner 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.

Thomas Turner was buried at Port Jackson on 18 March 1788.

* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), pp 362-63

Citation details

'Turner, Thomas (c. 1739–1788)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/turner-thomas-30853/text38204, accessed 14 September 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

c. 1739
Berkshire, England

Death

17 March, 1788 (aged ~ 49)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

unknown

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
Key Events
Groups
Key Places
Convict Record

Crime: theft
Sentence: 7 years