Mary Wade (17 December 1775 – 17 December 1859) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
teenager and
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 ...
who was transported to Australia when she was 13 years old. She was the youngest convict aboard , part of the
Second Fleet. Her family grew to include five generations and over 300 descendants in her own lifetime.
Early years in London
Researchers in the 1980s believed that Wade was born on 5 October 1777 at
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, London, to Mary English and George Wade, and was christened on 21 December 1777 at Saint Olave,
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, England however, a later group of researchers, with access to records not previously available, now believe that Wade was born on 17 December 1775, in the parish of
Westminster St Margaret and St John, Middlesex,
to Lawrence Wade (died August 1794, Perkins Rents, Westminster) and Mary Smith (died November 1836, 5 New Court, Westminster), and was baptised on 7 January 1776, at
St Margaret's, Westminster
The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...
.
Evidence for her revised date of birth and parents includes:
- Her mother stated during the trial that her daughter was born in December.
- Mary Wade was living in St Margaret's parish in Westminster at the time of her arrest.
- Her death certificate records that she was born in Westminster.
* Lawrence Wade died at Perkins Rents in 1794 - Mary was living there at the time of her trial in 1789.
If the new research is accurate, Mary had at least three siblings: Elizabeth Ann Wade (born 5 February 1778 and baptised 1 March 1778 at St Margaret's Westminster),
Henrietta (born 17 November 1780 and baptised 10 December 1780 at St Margaret's Westminster), and Henry (born 1 August 1786, baptised 20 August 1786, died April 1793 and buried 24 April 1793, at St Margaret's.
Wade spent her days sweeping the streets of London, as a means of begging. On 5 January 1789, Mary, with another child, Jane Whiting, 14 years old, stole clothes (one cotton frock, one linen
tippet
A tippet is a piece of clothing worn over the shoulders in the shape of a scarf or cape. Tippets evolved in the 1300–1400 in fashion, fourteenth century from long sleeves and typically had one end hanging down to the knees. A tippet (or tapp ...
, one linen cap) from Mary Phillips, an 8-year-old, who at the time was collecting water in a bottle at a
privy. They then sold the frock to a
pawnbroker
A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as Collateral (finance), collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typic ...
. Mary was reported to an Officer of the Law by another child who later found the tippet in Mary's room, whereupon she was arrested and placed in
Bridewell
Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI in 1553 as Bridewell Hospital for use as a ...
Prison. Her trial was held on 14 January 1789 at the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
, where she was found guilty and sentenced to
death by hanging.
Penal transportation
On 11 March 1789,
King George III was proclaimed cured of an unnamed madness; it is assumed that he suffered from
porphyria
Porphyria ( or ) is a group of disorders in which substances called porphyrins build up in the body, adversely affecting the skin or nervous system. The types that affect the nervous system are also known as Porphyria#Acute porphyrias, acute p ...
, a degenerative mental disease. A month later, in the spirit of celebration, all the women on death row, including Mary Wade, had their sentences commuted 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 Australia. Wade spent 93 days in the
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...
before being transported to Australia on the , which was the first
convict ship
A convict ship was any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.
Description
A convict ship, as used to convey convicts to the British colo ...
to carry only women and children. After an 11-month voyage, the ship arrived in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
on 3 June 1790. Wade was sent on 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 ...
aboard the ''Lady Juliana'', arriving on 7 August 1790.
Life in Australia
Wade had 3 children on
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 ...
: Sarah in 1793, Edward (born c1795 died c1796) and William (born 1795). When they arrived back in Sydney, Mary lived with Teague Harrigan, with whom she had another two children: Edward (born c1800 died 1803) and Edward (born 1803), in their tent on the banks of the
Tank Stream
The Tank Stream is a heritage-listed former fresh water tributary of Sydney Cove and now tunnel and watercourse located in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The Ta ...
in Sydney. Teague left to go on a whaling expedition in 1806 and, by 1817, he was living in
Port Dalrymple, Tasmania. He was granted land near the
Tamar River
The Tamar River, officially kanamaluka / River Tamar, is a estuary located in northern Tasmania, Australia. Despite being named a river, the waterway is a brackish and tidal estuary over its entire length.
Etymology
The Tamar River was named ...
in
Launceston in 1825 and, presumably, never returned to the mainland.
Marriage and family
From 1809, Wade lived with Jonathan Brooker near the
Hawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...
. It was there that she raised a family which numbered 21 children (current researchers question this assertion), seven of whom lived to have their own children. Brooker was given a
certificate of freedom
A certificate of freedom was a government issued document given to a convict in one of the Australian penal colonies at the end of the convict's sentence. That stated that the ex-convict had been restored "to all the rights and privileges of free ...
in February 1811 and was granted of land by
Governor Lachlan Macquarie, at
Tarrawanna, New South Wales. Mary received her certificate of freedom on 1 September 1812. In 1816, the family settled on the property of Airds (comprising the modern suburbs of Airds, Bradbury, St Helens Park and Rosemeadow, among others) in
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...
.
Wade married Jonathan Brooker on 10 February 1817 at St Lukes,
Liverpool, New South Wales
Liverpool is a suburb of South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, south-west of the Sydney CBD. It is the administrative seat of the City of Liverpool and is in the Cumberland Plain.
History Indigenous
Before Bri ...
, and her husband owned 30 acres in 1822, but a bushfire burned out the property in 1823. Brooker's livelihood as a chair-maker ended because all his tools were destroyed. The family became destitute and pleaded to
Governor Thomas Brisbane for aid. They recovered, with Wade and Brooker owning of land in
Illawarra
The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...
by 1828. They lived there until Brookers' death on 14 March 1833. He was buried in the graveyard of St. Peter's Church, Campbelltown. Wade died in
Wollongong, New South Wales
Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
on 17 December 1859 (her birthday), at the age of 84. Her funeral service was the very first to be held in St Paul's Church of England,
Fairy Meadow, New South Wales
Fairy Meadow is a suburb in the City of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Located in the Illawarra region and only 4 km from the city centre, it is a mainly low-density residential area, with a large strip of commercial and industri ...
, with her son having donated the land on which the church was built.
Legacy
At the time of her death, Wade had over 300 living descendants and is considered one of the founding mothers of the early European settlement of Australia. Her descendants now number in the tens of thousands, including
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...
, former
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
. Wade's story is told in the book ''Mary Wade to Us'', published as a family tree, noted in the further reading below. That, and the stories of Rudd's other convict ancestors, has been collated into two leather-bound volumes by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
, and is kept in the
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
in Canberra.
In 2017, the
NSW Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...
named the
Mary Wade Correctional Centre, a remand centre for women, in her honour.
References
Further reading
* ''Mary Wade to Us, 1778–1986: a family history'', available at the
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
;
''Mary Wade to Us, 1778–1986: a family history'' – online ebook* ''Kevin Rudd – The Biography'' by
Robert Macklin,
Penguin Group
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...
;
* ''The Floating Brothel: The Extraordinary True Story of an Eighteenth-Century Ship and its Cargo of Female Convicts'' by
Siân Rees,
Hyperion (publisher)
Hachette Books, formerly Hyperion Books, is a general-interest book imprint of the Perseus Books Group, which is a division of Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette publishes general-intere ...
; ,
External links
The Mary Wade Family Association A community site for descendants of Mary Wade to preserve, share and extend the knowledge of their shared family history.Making the 'Floating Brothel', Timewatch, bbc.co.uk*
ttps://www.familysearch.org/en/memories/memory/213024715 Christening Record for Mary Ann Wadebr>
Mary Wade: Sentenced to Hang – Aged 10, Your Archives.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Mary
People from Southwark
Colony of New South Wales people
1775 births
1859 deaths
Convicts transported to Australia on the Second Fleet
British female criminals
Female
An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...