David Hitchin, one of 330 convicts transported on the Lord Lynedoch [Lord Lyndoch], 30 May 1833
Known aliases: none
Convicted at: York, West Riding Quarter Session for a term of 7 years on 18 October 1832.
Sentence term: 7 years
Ship name: Lord Lynedoch
Departure date: 30th May, 1833
Place of arrival: New South Wales
Source: Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 90, Class and Piece Number HO11/9, Page Number 135 (69)
http://www.convictrecords.com.au/convicts/hitchin/david/6094
Lord Lyndoch 1833
“Lord Lyndoch” was built in Calcutta in 1815 and was of AE1 class. It weighed 638 tons.
Source: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/25491/20020625-0000/members.iinet.net.au/_perthdps/convicts/con188.htm
Lord Lyndoch – departed 30th May, 1833 for New South Wales Average sentence 9 Years, Life Sentences on board = 103, Convicts on board= 330.
http://www.convictrecords.com.au/convicts/ship-name/lord-lynedoch
Master William Johnston
The Lord Lyndoch departed from Sheerness on 4th June 1833 and sailed via Rio, arriving in Port Jackson on Friday 18th October 1833.
The Guard consisted of the Head Quarters and Band of the 21st Regiment – Lieutenant-Colonel Leahy, Lieutenant C.W. Lamotte, Lieutenant A. Mundy and 33 rank and file of the 21st regiment, 5 women and 3 children.
David Watson was employed as Surgeon Superintendent. He kept a Medical and Surgical Journal from 15 May to 11 November 1833. He recorded that the number of male convicts received on board the Lord Lyndoch in May 1833 were from the Justitia hulk at Woolwich, 100; Retribution hulk at Chatham, 50; Cumberland hulk at Chatham, 130 (total 280 men); and from Euryalus hulk, 50 (lads).
Convicts mentioned in the surgeon’s Journal who died included Mark Lukeman on 23 July; Benjamin Hallowell 30 September; Benjamin Skinner 17 October;
David Watson was also employed as surgeon on the Lloyds in 1837
The Lord Lyndoch departed Sydney for Madras via Hobart with troops in December 1833. The Australian reported that the detachment of the 21st Scotch Fusiliers embarked on Saturday morning 30th November. They were preceded by their piper, he was dressed in his best, in honour of the saint of Scotland, it being Saint Andrew’s day; and animated his comrades by playing several national airs on the pibroch.
Of the convicts who arrived on the Lord Lyndoch in 1833, ninety-eight have been identified as later residing in the Hunter Region. Among those was Charles Kilminster who was executed after being found guilty of taking part in the Myall Creek Massacre in December 1838.
http://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ships_l.htm#Lord%20Lyndoch33
About the Lord Lynedoch Voyages
The Lord Lynedoch set sail in 1831 and 1833.
Date of Departure Place of Arrival Average Sentence Life Sentences Convicts Transported
20th July, 1831 Van Diemen’s Land 10 Years 114 266
30th May, 1833 New South Wales 9 Years 103 330
http://www.convictrecords.com.au/convicts/ship-name/lord-lynedoch
Robert Mackay Campbell
David Hitchen was immediately assigned to Robert Mackay Campbell to work on his properties as Convict labour.
Robert Mackey Campbell became a Magistrate at Liverpool.
Figure 1 – sketch drawn by RM Campbell of his Wingello property – 1835
Robert was the son of Captain William Campbell, a buccaneering seaman who skippered the ship Harrington on many voyages around the world. In 1804 he even captured three Spanish ships off the coast of South America and brought them to Australia, claiming that England was at war with Spain. But Governor King confined the captain to his ship and began an investigation into the situation. The lengthy communication process meant it took almost three years to settle the case, in which time his son was born. It is possible he returned home while the case was being settled.
Finally it was discovered that there was no state of war but that the Spanish had taken some British ships, so ‘they had better cry quits”. The ships were sold to the government and one was then commanded by Lt Oxley (whose son later married Rev Thomas Hassall’s daughter, Harriet).
Captain Campbell went back to sea, but when the Indian company that owned the Harrington went broke, he “connected himself to Mr John Macarthur as sole owner of the brig”, procured a valuable cargo and then waited while Macarthur engineered the deposition of Governor Bligh before bringing the cargo into Sydney for the profit of himself and Macarthur. With the profit from that enterprise, Capt Campbell was able to officially buy his ship for 2251 pounds, but just 11 days later it was pirated by 50 escaped convicts who sailed from Sydney Cove to the Philippines, where it was driven ashore and burnt to the ground.
With the insurance money, Campbell invested in other ships, but in 1812 applied for a land grant and was granted 2000 acres near Camden. Governor Macquarie said he “bears an excellent character in this country and I have every reason to believe that he will be an acquisition to the colony as a settler”. He named his property Harrington Park – now a suburb – and built in stone a “pretentious two-storied residence” in 1827.
Records indicate that Robert Campbell did not come out to Australia until 1823, when he was aged 17, probably with his mother, who became Thomas Hassall’s organist at the Heber Chapel in Cobbitty.
The captain died in 1828 and his wife suddenly sold the property in 1933 (1833 ? jlm) without her son Robert’s knowledge and returned to England. She was probably shocked by the murder on the property of her nephew Murdoch Campbell earlier that year by an escaping convict, who was later hanged. Robert said that he had dreamed the exact circumstances of the murder the same night. Mrs Campbell died a year later and Robert said her last letter “breathes such a spirit of resignation”.
When they married in 1830, Robert and Ann moved to Wingello on the main road (the old Hume Highway) at Bungonia, which they built up into a property totalling some 7040 acres when it was put on the market in 1850. (The estate was insolvent and placed under a sequestration order on 27 April 1848 ) The homestead consisted of 580 acres fully fenced, including 10 paddocks. The 11 -room cottage was surrounded by 14 acres of garden and orchard, stables, coach-house, cool room, carpenter’s shop, servants’ cottages, fowl-house, piggery, other sheds and a huge barn.
Ann and Robert then moved to Anns Vale, which was said to be a Crown grant to her, and she lived there “for more than 40 years”. Robert died on 6 December 1885 at his daughter’s property, Jarvisfield, Picton, probably having gone there to be looked after. Ann died of influenza in November 1891 at Boorowa. She was buried at the Beverley homestead, where two of her grandchildren were also buried.
They had the following children: Elizabeth Ann born in 1830, Susannah Sinclair born in 1832, Jessie Hassall born in 1834, Robert James born in 1836, Mary born in 1838, Alexander Mackay born in 1840, William Shelley born in 1844, Catherine Alexa born in 1849, Ann Broughton born in 1849 and Rowland born in 1851
Jarvisfield, which included the village of Picton, was located in a valley under the shadow of the Razorback and was established by Major Antill. John, as the eldest son, inherited Jarvisfield in 1858 and in 1864 built a new homestead there for his family. Robert Mackay Campbell is buried on the Jarvisfield estate in the Antill family vault, built on a hill which became known as Vault Hill.
18 October 1833 – David Hitchen arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney) at age 41, and was quickly assigned to Robert Mackay Campbell’s new home and station at Wingello. In September 1837 David was granted a Ticket of Leave and on 7th April 1840 he was granted his ‘Certificate of Freedom’.
In 1843 he married Ann Jane Miller (in the Scotts Church Sydney) and in 1844 his daughter Susan was born at Wingello (on her death certificate, and on Susans daughter, Annie Millicent’s birth certificate)/Towrang and 1846 his second daughter, Sarah was born at Towrang?
The next event appears to be the sale of the property at Wingello in about 1850 when Robert Mackay Campbell was declared insolvent. David was 58 at this time. RM Campbell and his wife moved to Burrowa to his wife’s property Ann’s Vale.
In March 1862 it appears that David’s daughter, Susan Hitchen married John Thomas Porter Wilding at Goulburn (the marriage certificate says ‘in the house of David Hitchen, Goulburn) or Towrang (their daughter, Annie Millicents, birth certificate shows her parents were married at Towrang?)
In August 1863 David’s granddaughter (Annie Millicent) is shown as being born at Towrang, although her parents lived at Burrowa. It appears Susan Hitchen went back to her parents place for the birth of her child.
In 1872 David was recorded in the Grevilles Directory as living at Towrang and working as a labourer.
In July 1876 David died at Towrang at 84 years old, and one month later in June 1876 David’s wife Ann Jane aged 74, died also at Towrang, his daughter (Sarah Burgess) informed of the death and her address was also Towrang.
Another hint provides evidence that he may have worked at a property at Towrang as his witnesses at his funeral were a farmer Robert Kennedy, who worked at Towrang and an Alexander Lowry who in 1867 was a labourer at Tirranna. Tirranna was a very large property to the south of Goulburn.
