Arthur Dawe

The ship 'William Bryan' was one of the first to arrive in the settlement of New Plymouth in Taranaki, New Zealand, on 1 April 1841. On board was widow Ann Phillips (nee Cocks) and her adult children. Also on board was Arthur Dawe, who Ann would marry a few months later. Ann was born Ann Cocks in Cornwall, England, in around 1801. Her parents were likely John Cock and Ann Cock (nee Hockin) who married in Gwithian, Cornwall, on 10 November 1794. On 19 April 1819, when Ann was around 18 years of age, she married John Phillips at Saint Teath in Cornwall. Their first child, Jane, was born in 1821. Ann and John would have six children together, the last born in 1832. Life was probably fairly tough for the family, and was about to get tougher when John was caught stealing geese. He spent three months in Bodmin Goal, a prison built in 1779 in Bodmin, on the edge of Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. He wasn’t the only one though! Ann was also convicted and spent time in Bodmin Goal, but escaped further punishment. John’s co-accused, William Button, turned Queen’s evidence which helped to convict John, as well as the evidence of police constable Christopher Lane. The geese stolen were from a Mr. Grose, apparently in a series of midnight plunders. On 29 January 1838, John was sentenced to seven years transportation. From Bodmin, John, was transferred to the HMS York, a former Royal Navy ship built in 1807, but converted into a prison hulk in 1819. HMS York was moored at Gosport, on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour in Hampshire. John’s prison transfer record notes that he is aged 52 and married with six children. His given age is in keeping with his baptism at St Kew in Cornwall on 10 June 1787, his unmarried parents recorded as William Goodman and Ann Phillips. Conditions on board prison hulks were appalling and hygiene so poor that disease spread quickly. The sick received little, if any, medical attention, and were not separated from the healthy. The death rate of prisoners on board the hulks was around 30%. It’s no wonder then, that on 19 October 1838, John succumbed to illness whilst awaiting transportation. Three years later, Ann and her children decided to emigrate to New Zealand on board the ship ‘William Bryan’. Chartered by the New Zealand Company, the first of the New Plymouth's settlers arrived in Taranaki on board the 'William Bryan' under Captain Alexander McLean. The ship anchored off the New Zealand coast on 31 March 1841, having sailed from Plymouth in England on 18 November 1840. In steerage were 21 married couples, 22 single adults and 70 children. Almost a four-month journey, during which Ann must have met fellow passenger Arthur Dawe. Little is known about Arthur. His occupation is given as Agricultural Labourer, and he was said to be unmarried and 45 years of age. Ann and Arthur married in New Plymouth on 6 July 1841, almost four months after their arrival in New Zealand. From this point on, no record has been found of Arthur or when he died. Two possible death dates have been given for Ann, 1842 or 1880. As yet, no record has been found that confirms either date, but the Phillips children went on to marry and have many children in New Zealand and the dates for Ann and Arthur will be uncovered given time. Biography rewritten by Debbie McCauley (1 May 2020) using these sources:

• Amber Clarke research https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cox-4868
• Ancestry.com Alison Algate nee Collins Family Tree
• New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages Online
• FamilySearch https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LCZ2-K53/ann-cock-1801-1880