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

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

, 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, Lancashire, England. She was tried on 4 May 1786, and sentenced to seven years' transportation for the theft of two black silk handkerchiefs and three white handkerchiefs to a total value of one

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

. She left England on the convict transport '' Friendship'' in May 1787, aged 21 at the time. She and six other girls 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'' to the northern side of the harbour. On Tuesday, 5 February 1788, five of the more well-behaved 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 (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

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. 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 ( Tasmania) on the ''

Porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals an ...

''. On 28 January 1810, the reverend Robert Knopwood married Betty to Samuel King, a marine private who had arrived aboard the ship '' Sirius'' 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 Lawitta Road, Magra, Tasmania ( north of New Norfolk).Towns, Cities, Mountains & Lakes in Tasmania, Australia
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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