The University of Queensland

Books and other items on history make up a large part of the Hayes collection. Father Hayes was interested in all history, but Australian history is particularly well represented.

Manuscripts on Australian history in the Hayes collection go back to the convict days. One example is this ticket of leave, issued on 12 June 1869 to Joseph Wilkes.

Tickets of leave granted convicts the right to live and work within a particular district in the colony, and were granted for good behaviour before their sentence expired or they were pardoned.

They could be self–employed or hire themselves out, rather than working for the government, and could also own property, unlike ordinary convicts.

The tickets provide a wealth of detail about that particular convict ­ in this case, it shows that Wilkes was granted the ticket for good behaviour while serving a sentence for murder after being convicted by the Supreme Court in Sydney in 1858, and that he arrived on the ship Dromedary in 1820.

Rather than granting him leave to work for himself or someone else, this ticket specifies that he must work for the Government Asylum in the district of Port Macquarie.

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The back of the ticket shows that Wilkes was a native of Birmingham, England and a silversmith by trade, as well as giving his year of birth as 1794 and a physical description which is quite detailed ­ it describes the initials and anchor tattooed on the inside of his lower right arm ­ the anchor was a symbol of hope and constancy and as in this case was attached to the initials of loved ones.

Further research shows that The Dromedary sailed from England in September 1819, arriving 139 days later in January 1820. 370 male convicts (no female convicts sailed on this ship) embarked in England, 22 disembarking in Sydney and 347 in Hobart. Captain Richard Skinner, RN, commanded the ship, and George Fairfowl acted as surgeon.

A record in the database of the State Archives of New South Wales shows that a Joseph Wilkes was convicted for murdering his daughter in 1853 and his wife and sons in 1855. The date range of the records makes it likely that he went to trial for the murders in 1858, which would match the date given on the ticket of leave, and the charge of murder would have been heard in the Supreme Court due to its severity. We cannot be sure that this is the same Joseph Wilkes without researching the original documents, but given the dates it seems likely.

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