Stephen Daft Smith

Convicted of Highway Robbery - Nottingham 13 March 1788. Sentenced to death but later reprieved and transported for 7 years to Australia. Sailed from Portsmouth, England on ship 'Surpris‎(z)‎e I' on 19 Jan 1790 - arrived Sydney Cove 26 June 1790 aged 23 years. Became a soldier in NSW Corps and later the 102nd regiment. Buried 27 Dec 1811 at St Matthews C of E Windsor, NSW

Penrith City Records: Stephen Smith (c1760-1811) Smith was sentenced to death on 13 March, 1788 at the Nottingham Assizes for highway robbery. His sentence was transmuted to Transportation to NSW. He arrived on the Surprize on 26 June, 1790.
On 1 August, 1791 he was sent to Norfolk Island on the Mary Ann. In 1794 he enlisted in the NSW Corps and returned to Sydney. .
He formed a relationship with Mary Nash (Lady Juliana, 1790) on Norfolk Island and she followed Smith back to Sydney.
In 1795 he was granted 25 acres in the Hawkesbury district which he sold to William Baker, storekeeper at Windsor.
He was discharged from the Corps in March 1803 and in June was granted 100 acres at Castlereagh. Smith and Nash lived on their grant and suffered great losses in the 1806 floods.
Smith was killed by James Hunt in December 1811. Hunt was convicted of his manslaughter. At the time of his death Smith was indebted to Samuel Terry who applied for the administration of his estate. Mary Nash continued to live in the district and worked for the Collitts family. She died at Castlereagh in 1833.

Norfolk Island

If the residents of Port Arthur were bad, then new adjectives need to be invented for those who were sent to Norfolk Island. This tiny speck in the Pacific was reserved for the very worst and they were dispatched on the understanding that they'd never be coming back.

It was deemed a punishment only one step down from death, though conditions were so bad that convicts often expressed joy when told that they were going to be executed. Fighting, murders and inhumane treatment were rife and escape was impossible — there was nowhere to run to.

In recent years, there have been efforts to preserve the remnants of the gruesome convict experience on Norfolk Island. Tours of the New Gaol, including the cramped solitary confinement cells, are particularly chilling.

CHILDREN
Name Place of Birth Date of Birth/Baptism Notes
Smith, Stephen Norfolk Island 9 November 1793
Smith, Mary Norfolk Island 26 November 1794 died in infancy
Smith, Mary Sydney, NSW 6 June 1796

NOTES:
August 1791 - Sent to Norfolk Island on board the transport ship ‘Mary Ann’ July 1794 - Enlisted in the NSW Corps. He sailed for Port Jackson in the same month.
Mary and his child joined him in Sydney in November of the same year 1795 - Received a grant of 25 acres in the Hawkesbury area. He sold this grant almost immediately. March 1803 - Discharged from the NSW Corps June 1803 - Received a grant of 100 acres in the Evan district near the Nepean River 1806 – The family suffered considerable losses in the 1806 floods