1792–1796 Norfolk Island Victualling Book
Did you know that nearly 65% of the First Fleet Civil, Marines and Convicts at some stage lived on Norfolk Island 1788 to 1814. Plus, some of the first Fleet seaman too.
Historian Cathy Dunn’s publication, HMS Sirius Babies and Love Children, provides information on the previously unknown child John Ovelton and an unaccounted child (Sarah Forbes) who travelled on the Sirius’s maiden voyage to Norfolk Island in Mar 1790. Both children were born to First Fleet female convicts. This research for HMS Sirius Babies and Love Children also revealed further irregularities in the 1792–1796 Norfolk Island Victualling Book (NIVB).
The 1792 – 1796 NIVB is often described as a register of ALL individuals arriving at Norfolk Island; however, it is less comprehensive compared to shipping records from 1792-1796. The NIVB generally classifies individuals by their status and date of arrival, documenting changes such as removal from provisions, status modifications, departures, or deaths. Although victualling details are not recorded from 1796 onwards, movements on and off the island, including some births and deaths, are noted. The 1792 – 1796 NIVB does not include all individuals from Norfolk Island 1792 – 176.
Although it often includes the name of the arrival ship, inaccuracies may occur. To gain a proper understanding of the context, these anomalies must be considered when researching your family history from Norfolk Island. The NIVB is not a population record but a Victualling List. It likely started in late 1792, with earlier entries copied from a lost book and subject to errors. Rations were typically provided weekly, usually on Saturdays.
Norfolk Island Victualling Book 1792–1796, ML A1958 is digitised and available online at State Library NSW, https://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110332210
In the NIVB, some convict children are listed as births on Norfolk Island rather than arrivals. For example, William Springham was baptised as William Hamly on 15 Jan 1790, at St Philip’s Sydney. He was the son of William Hambly, a ship carpenter of HMS Sirius, and Mary Springham, convict Lady Penrhyn 1788. He arrived on Norfolk Island with his mother in Mar 1790. Springham (the child) is recorded as going onto the stores in May 1790 from his birth on half rations, which is often misinterpreted as his birthdate due to the wording in the Victualling book.
Children of convicts were typically recorded using their mother’s conviction name, regardless of her marital status or spouse. Conversely, children of both free parents were usually recorded under their father’s surname.
The NIVB cannot be relied upon as a sole document to confirm the identities and movements of all individuals on the island or to produce a complete list of ship arrivals and departures. This is due to some individuals being off the record, along with various errors and omissions. Many of these errors are found in retrospective entries copied from the previous non-surviving VB. The book’s entries end in Oct 1796, coinciding with Phillip Gidley King’s departure from the island.
Just some historical errors in the NIVB regarding First Fleeters and their families:
- Children Esther and George Abrahams were clearly added into the book much later, possibly by historian Thomas Mutch and are only pencilled in. There are no departures recorded prior to Sep 1792, e.g. Esther Abrahams, arrived Mar 1790 HMAT Supply, departed 13 May 1791 per HMAT Supply (added later).
- George Guest: Settlers and Free persons recorded arriving on Norfolk Island per HMS Sirius Mar 1790, but he arrived aboard HMAT Supply Jan 1790
- Thomas Heddington – Eddington, Settlers and Free persons recorded arriving on Norfolk Island per HMS Sirius Mar 1790, but he arrived per HMAT Supply Mar 1790.
- Joseph Trimby: convict recorded arriving on Norfolk Island per HMS Sirius but actually arrived aboard Surprize Aug 1790.
- Mary Dixon, arrived per HMS Sirius Mar 1790, does not appear in the 1792-96 VB, and hence there is no indication of whether she died or departed the Island.
- William Frost – Peck, child born 1792 Norfolk Island who departed per Chesterfield Mar 1793 is not recorded at all.
- Mary Ann Roberts, child born Norfolk Island who departed per Chesterfield Mar 1793 is not recorded at all.
The NIVB is not a comprehensive population record but a list of victualing provisions, leading to various errors and omissions, such as mis recorded names, shipping and births, which complicate family history research
Further readings
Cathy Dunn, HMS Sirius Babies and Love Children
Cathy Dunn, Webinar, Using the 1792 to 1796 Victualling Book Norfolk Island as a research tool