Robert Sidaway
Encyclopedia
Robert Sidaway a convict of the First Fleet
, was transported to Australia
for stealing in 1788. Robert is known for being baker for the British
Marines
of Sydney
and opening the first theatre in Sydney in 1796.
, London
, England
.
On 11 September 1782 Sidaway was indicted at the Old Bailey
for stealing on the 22d of June last, a deal box, value 1s; a cloth coat, value 12s; a waistcoat value 5s; a pair of breeches, value 5s; a linen waistcoat, value 2s; one pair of silk stockings, value 2s; and one pair of shoes, value 3s; the goods of different persons. Sentence was brought down as transportation for seven years to America.
In 1782 at the age of 24, Sidaway was indicted for having been convicted of grand larceny at the last sessions, and ordered by the Court to be sent and transported to America for the term of seven years, was afterwards on the 18th day of September last found at large within this realm of Great Britain, without any lawful cause, before the expiration of the said term of seven years, for which he had been so transported, against the form of the statute. Sidaway was sentenced to Death, but like many sentences of death, death sentences were not carried out, and was instead transported to Australia for life.
Robert was transported in the First Fleet, on the transport ship Friendship
, arriving in New South Wales
26 January 1788. On the Journey out to Australia Ralph Clark noted in his diary on two separate occasions that Sidaway was put in leg irons
.
Sidaway received a conditional pardon on 29 November 1792, an absolute pardon on 27 September 1794, and was given a contract as baker for the troops. These pardons were issued by Francis Grose
.
In 1796 Sidaway, opened a 120-seat theatre in Bell Row, (now Bligh Street), Sydney.
30 July 1796, by permission of His Excellency, John Hunter
, the play Jane Shore, (written by the English playwright and poet laureate Nicholas Rowe
in 1714), was put on for the benefit of J. Butler and W. Bryant. Entry was gained by paying for front boxes 3s.6d. Pit 2s.6d. Gallery 1s., or the equivalent in flour, meat or spirits. By 1800 Sidaway presented Shakespeare and other contemporary English pieces. Sometime in 1800 the theatre was closed as a corrupting influence by the authorities.
, on which he grew 43 acre (0.17401498 km²) of maize and wheat. The land was granted July 1795 by William Paterson
.
Sidaway also had a shared 30 acre (0.1214058 km²) of property with James Roberts at Mulgrave Place
in the Hawkesbury District
. 11 acre (0.04451546 km²) of which was used for the growing of wheat. Livestock held on the property was 2 boars and 6 swines. The Muster of 1800 - 1802
states there were 2 males off government stores, 1 Female on government stores and 2 free servants off government stores on the property.
Hunter permitted Sidaway to buy goods at moderate prices from the Convict vessel Minerva when it arrived on 11 January 1800. He kept a public house
and in 1805 obtained a wine and spirit licence. July 1806, Sidaway received issue of beer at Sydney. The Sydney Gazette
, dated 26 February 1809 has Sidaway on list of persons granted a renewal of licence to sell wine and spirits.
, after he was pardoned in 1794.
Sidaway cared for an orphan named Elizabeth Mann, until her death in October 1806;
On 4 June 1809 Sidaway was on list of persons donating to the fund to enclose a burial ground. A donation of ₤1 1s. was made to this subscription.
. Sidaway died on 13 October 1809, described by the Sydney Gazette
as a philanthropist
and a respected member of society. Mary Marshall was granted administratrix of all of Sidaway's land and effects. As Sidaway's residuary legatee, she sent Governor Macquarie
a memorial applying for a renewal of the lease on Sidaway's property in Sydney, but this was refused. She continued in Sydney as a publican
.
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
, was transported to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for stealing in 1788. Robert is known for being baker for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and opening the first theatre in Sydney in 1796.
Life
Born to parents, John & Elizabeth Sidaway of Horse Shoe Alley, Robert was baptised 5 February at St Leonards, ShoreditchShoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
On 11 September 1782 Sidaway was indicted at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
for stealing on the 22d of June last, a deal box, value 1s; a cloth coat, value 12s; a waistcoat value 5s; a pair of breeches, value 5s; a linen waistcoat, value 2s; one pair of silk stockings, value 2s; and one pair of shoes, value 3s; the goods of different persons. Sentence was brought down as transportation for seven years to America.
In 1782 at the age of 24, Sidaway was indicted for having been convicted of grand larceny at the last sessions, and ordered by the Court to be sent and transported to America for the term of seven years, was afterwards on the 18th day of September last found at large within this realm of Great Britain, without any lawful cause, before the expiration of the said term of seven years, for which he had been so transported, against the form of the statute. Sidaway was sentenced to Death, but like many sentences of death, death sentences were not carried out, and was instead transported to Australia for life.
Robert was transported in the First Fleet, on the transport ship Friendship
Friendship (ship)
Friendship was an Australian First Fleet transport ship, built in Scarborough, England, in 1784.A brig of 278 tons, she was among the smallest of the transports. Her master was Francis Walton and surgeon Thomas Arndell. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying seventy-six male and twenty-one...
, arriving in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
26 January 1788. On the Journey out to Australia Ralph Clark noted in his diary on two separate occasions that Sidaway was put in leg irons
Fetters
Legcuffs, shackles, footcuffs, fetters or leg irons are a kind of physical restraint used on the feet or ankles to allow walking but prevent running and kicking. The term "fetter" shares a root with the word "foot"....
.
14 December 1787. Put Robt. Sidaway in a pair of Leg irons for being impertinent to Mr. Faddy
20 January 1788. Robt. Sidaway was put out of Irons this day
Sidaway received a conditional pardon on 29 November 1792, an absolute pardon on 27 September 1794, and was given a contract as baker for the troops. These pardons were issued by Francis Grose
Francis Grose (Lieutenant-Governor)
Lieutenant-General Francis Grose was a soldier and Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales.-Early life:Grose was born in Greenland, Middlesex, England around 1758. He was the eldest son of Francis Grose the well-known English antiquary, and Catherine Jordan...
.
Theatre
30 July 1796, by permission of His Excellency, John Hunter
John Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
, the play Jane Shore, (written by the English playwright and poet laureate Nicholas Rowe
Nicholas Rowe (dramatist)
Nicholas Rowe , English dramatist, poet and miscellaneous writer, was appointed Poet Laureate in 1715.-Life:...
in 1714), was put on for the benefit of J. Butler and W. Bryant. Entry was gained by paying for front boxes 3s.6d. Pit 2s.6d. Gallery 1s., or the equivalent in flour, meat or spirits. By 1800 Sidaway presented Shakespeare and other contemporary English pieces. Sometime in 1800 the theatre was closed as a corrupting influence by the authorities.
Land
Sidaway held 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) of land at the Field of MarsField of Mars Reserve, New South Wales
Field of Mars Reserve is a remnant of bushland between the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers in New South Wales, Australia. It is within the suburb of East Ryde and near Gladesville, Hunters Hill and Ryde, to the northwest of Sydney....
, on which he grew 43 acre (0.17401498 km²) of maize and wheat. The land was granted July 1795 by William Paterson
William Paterson (explorer)
Colonel William Paterson, FRS was a Scottish soldier, explorer, Lieutenant governor and botanist best known for leading early settlement in Tasmania. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Paterson when citing a botanical name.-Early years:A native of Montrose, Scotland, Paterson was...
.
Sidaway also had a shared 30 acre (0.1214058 km²) of property with James Roberts at Mulgrave Place
Mulgrave, New South Wales
Mulgrave is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.Mulgrave's population is 238 ....
in the Hawkesbury District
City of Hawkesbury
The City of Hawkesbury is a Local Government Area of New South Wales, Australia, part of which is at the fringe of the Sydney metropolitan area, about 50 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district...
. 11 acre (0.04451546 km²) of which was used for the growing of wheat. Livestock held on the property was 2 boars and 6 swines. The Muster of 1800 - 1802
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
states there were 2 males off government stores, 1 Female on government stores and 2 free servants off government stores on the property.
Hunter permitted Sidaway to buy goods at moderate prices from the Convict vessel Minerva when it arrived on 11 January 1800. He kept a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
and in 1805 obtained a wine and spirit licence. July 1806, Sidaway received issue of beer at Sydney. The Sydney Gazette
Sydney Gazette
The Sydney Gazette was the first newspaper in Australia. Governor King authorised the publication of what was initially called 'The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1803. Subsequently the first edition was published 5 March...
, dated 26 February 1809 has Sidaway on list of persons granted a renewal of licence to sell wine and spirits.
Philanthropist
Sidaway was known for being a philanthropistPhilanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, after he was pardoned in 1794.
Sidaway cared for an orphan named Elizabeth Mann, until her death in October 1806;
Same day died at the house of Mr. Robert Sidaway, Elizabeth Mann, an orphan aged 17 years, during the latter 5 of which she had laboured under the joint afflictions of insanity and a severe paralytic affection by which she was deprived of speech, and rendered perfectly helpless. Her long protracted sufferings have been subject of grievous contemplation to many, who but six years since remembered her no less remarkable for her vivacity and placid disposition than for her subsequent excessive toils upon the bed of anguish: And yet Providence did not totally relinquish its protection to an unfortunate daughter of adversity: in the benevolence of a friend she found an asylum, a careful guardian, and an ample ministration to her necessities, until it was the will of Heaven to terminate her sufferings.
Death
Sidaway had a de facto spouse, by the name of Mary Marshall (d. 1849). Marshall had been sentenced to transportation for life at the Old Bailey on 23 February 1785 and had arrived in the First Fleet in the Lady PenrhynLady Penrhyn (ship)
The Lady Penrhyn was a First Fleet transport ship of 333 tons, built on the River Thames in 1786. Her master, William Compton Sever, was part-owner. Nicholas anstis was second in command....
. Sidaway died on 13 October 1809, described by the Sydney Gazette
Sydney Gazette
The Sydney Gazette was the first newspaper in Australia. Governor King authorised the publication of what was initially called 'The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1803. Subsequently the first edition was published 5 March...
as a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and a respected member of society. Mary Marshall was granted administratrix of all of Sidaway's land and effects. As Sidaway's residuary legatee, she sent Governor Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
a memorial applying for a renewal of the lease on Sidaway's property in Sydney, but this was refused. She continued in Sydney as a publican
Publican
In antiquity, publicans were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects...
.