Elizabeth Thackery (1767 – 7 August 1856) is the last known survivor of the

First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...

, male or female, and was generally known throughout her long lifetime as the first female convict to land in Australia. Her husband, Samuel King, is thought to be the last male survivor of the First Fleet. She was from

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She was tried on 4 May 1786, and sentenced to seven years'

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

for the theft of two black silk handkerchiefs and three white handkerchiefs, with a total value of one

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

. She left England on the convict transport ''

Friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

'' in May 1787, aged 21 at the time. She and six other women were transferred from the ship ''Friendship'' to the ship '' Charlotte'' at 1 pm on Sunday 28 October 1787 to make way for livestock that were loaded there at Cape Town in South Africa. She was placed in irons a number of times during the voyage. On 28 January 1788, two days after arrival in Australia, 17 marines' wives were landed from the ship ''

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

'' to the northern side of the harbour. On Tuesday, 5 February 1788, five female convicts were landed from the ship ''Prince of Wales'' near the Governors' eastern side of the harbour. They had been selected for subsequent transport to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

ten days later on 15 February 1788. The next day, on Wednesday 6 February 1788 by 6 am, during the bulk unloading of the women convicts, Betty Thackery left the ship ''Charlotte'' and excitedly jumped from her longboat to the beach before anyone else on the western side of the harbour at The Rocks in New South Wales. This made her the first and most widely known of the convict girls to run up the beach in Australia amidst much cheering from the crowd of waiting male convicts and guards. On 14 July 1791, she received 25 lashes for coming in from her settlement without permission. She lived for a while with James Dodding and subsequently made her way to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

) on the ''

Porpoise Porpoises () are small Oceanic dolphin, dolphin-like cetaceans classified under the family Phocoenidae. Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and Beluga whale, belugas than to the Oceanic dolphi ...

''. On 28 January 1810, the Reverend Robert Knopwood married Betty to Samuel King, a marine private who had arrived aboard the ship ''

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

'' of the First Fleet. They settled in the Derwent Valley. They were married for 46 years. Betty King died 7 August 1856 at the age of 89, according to the Convict Records Office. She is buried next to her husband in the Methodist Chapel churchyard in Lavitta Road,

Magra, Tasmania Magra is a rural residential locality in the local government areas (LGA) of Brighton (7%), Southern Midlands (9%) and Derwent Valley (84%) in the Hobart, Central and South-east LGA regions of Tasmania. The locality is about west of the tow ...

( nurth of

New Norfolk New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackery, Elizabeth 1767 births 1856 deaths Criminals from Manchester British emigrants to Australia Van Diemen's Land people Convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet