Sir Henry Browne Hayes (1762–1832) was a landowner and
Sheriff of Cork City in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Convicted of the kidnap of a wealthy heiress in Cork, he was subject to
penal transportation
Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies bec ...
to
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in 1802 where he built
Vaucluse House near Sydney. He was pardoned in 1812 and returned to Ireland. Surviving a shipwreck at the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
on the return journey, he retired in Cork where he died in 1832.
Early life and family
Hayes was born in Ireland, the son of Attiwell Hayes (d.1799) a wealthy brewer and miller. Henry Browne Hayes was admitted a freeman of the city of
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
in November 1782 and married Elizabeth Smyth in 1783.
The couple had one son and three daughters.
He was one of Cork's
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
s in 1790 and was knighted in the same year.
Kidnapping and trial
Following the death of his wife, in 1794,
he became acquainted with Miss
Mary Pike, heiress to over £20,000. On 22 July 1797, he abducted her and took her to his house at
Vernon Mount
Vernon Mount (sometimes Vernon Mount House or Mount Vernon) is a ruined Georgian manor house in Cork, Ireland. It was built between the 1780s and early 1790s to designs attributed to Abraham Hargrave. Originally built for the merchant Hayes fam ...
near Douglas.
In spite of Miss Pike's protestations, a man dressed as a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
was brought in who went through a form of a marriage ceremony. Miss Pike refused to consider it a marriage, and was eventually rescued by some of her relatives. Hayes fled, and a reward of £1000 was offered for his apprehension.
Hayes was not found until two years later, when he walked into the shop of an old friend of the family who lived on Cork's
Grand Parade.
Hayes suggested that the family friend, a Mr. Coghlan, should claim the reward - which he reportedly did.
The trial which followed did not begin until April 1801. It created much interest being described as "one of the sensations of the day" and seeing Hayes accompanied by "numerous and influential friends".
The prosecution was led by
John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, and lawyer celebrated for his defence of civil and political liberty. He first won popular acclaim in 1780, as the only lawyer in his circuit willing to repr ...
. After one hour's deliberation, Hayes was found guilty and recommended to mercy.
At first condemned to death, his sentence was commuted to
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 life.
Penal transportation and life in Australia
Sailing to Australia on the ''Atlas'', Hayes arrived in New South Wales on 6 July 1802.
[ Hayes was not short of money and had lightened the privations of the voyage by paying the captain a considerable sum so that he might ]mess
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
with him. However, Hayes quarrelled with Surgeon Thomas Jamison who was on the same vessel,[ and when Hayes arrived he was sentenced to six months imprisonment "for his threatening and improper conduct".]Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', a meeting held by Hayes on 14 May 1803 is "regarded as the foundation day of Freemasonry in Australia".[
In 1803, he purchased a property near the city and called it "Vaucluse". Vaucluse House was later purchased by ]William Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...
. Hayes surrounded his property with turf
Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses.
In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...
from Ireland to keep out the snakes which were common in the area; the tactic appeared to work.[ When the troubles between the military and Governor William Bligh began, Hayes took the side of the governor and was sent to the coal mines at ]Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
.[ Bligh would have pardoned him if he could have obtained possession of the great seal and, after ]Lachlan Macquarie
Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
came, Hayes was pardoned in 1812.
Later life and legacy
Hayes sailed back to Europe in December 1812, surviving a shipwreck at the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
.[ The vessel on which he sailed, the ''Isabella'', also carried the United Irishman ]Joseph Holt
Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of the James Buchanan#Administration and Cabinet, Buchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the ...
and an account of their shipwreck can be found in the ''Memoirs of Joseph Holt''.
Hayes lived in retirement in Ireland for nearly 20 years, and died in Cork in April or May 1832 aged 70 years. He was buried in the crypt of Christ Church, Cork
Christ Church, also known as Triskel Christchurch, is an early 18th century neo-classical Georgian church on South Main Street in Cork, Ireland. Now used as an arts and cultural venue, the church and its graveyard are included in the Record of Pr ...
.[
A 2017 play, titled ''Sir Henry'', was based on the life of Hayes.]
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Henry Browne
1762 births
1832 deaths
Knights Bachelor
People from County Cork
18th-century Irish people
Convicts transported to Australia