Frederick Carter (born , date of death unknown) was a

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

transported to colonial Western Australia, later to become one of the

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

's ex-convict school teachers.

Early life and transportation

Frederick Carter was born in about 1835. A

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

by trade, he had a lifelong interest in

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s, especially

horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

, and he was an outstanding rider and trainer of horses. In 1865, Carter was found guilty of a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

by the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

courts, and sentenced to ten years'

penal servitude Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

. The following year, he was

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...

to Western Australia aboard , arriving in December 1866.

Career in Australia

After receiving his

ticket of leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in United Kingdom, Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. ...

, Carter was employed as a servant of another ex-convict, Theodore Richards. Richards was a school teacher at Katrine school, and Carter was sometimes asked to assist with teaching. In 1870, Carter took a teaching post at Seven Springs, near Newcastle, but attendance was poor and this affected his salary. The following year he accepted a teaching appointment at Bejoording, where there was a regular attendance of around 25 pupils. He remained there until 1874. During that time he rode to Newcastle (now Toodyay) every weekend to help in a racing stables. He also had a servant, and employed other ex-convicts to cut

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

. Erickson (1983) writes that he was also an impressive hurdler: "Not for him the tedium of dismounting to let down the sliprails. He hurdled every gate and fence across his path". In 1875, Carter accepted an appointment as school master at Gwalla (now

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

). The following year he moved again to

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

General references

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Frederick 1830s births Convicts transported to Western Australia Settlers of Western Australia Australian schoolteachers Year of death unknown