Patrick John Dunne

By Patrick Dunne

My great-grandfather, Patrick John Dunne, was born in Dublin on 17 March 1815.  The only information which has survived about Patrick’s early life is that his father’s name was Simon Peter Dunne and his occupation was recorded as ‘Imperial Army’.

From the details recorded at the muster on his arrival at Sydney, Patrick John Dunne had two convictions.  For the first, he received a sentence of one year.  For the second offence—stealing clothes—Patrick John Dunne was sentenced at Dublin on 10 June 1835 to transportation for seven years.

Patrick John Dunne arrived in Sydney on 30 October 1835 on the Lady McNaughton.  Again from his muster at Sydney, we have a physical description of Patrick John Dunne: he had a scar in the middle of his forehead, a mole under his left ear, and a scar on the forefinger of his left hand.  He was 5’8¼” tall, with a ‘ruddy’ complexion.  His hair was ‘light brown’ and the colour of his eyes was described as ‘blueish’.  His occupation was shown in the muster records as ‘boat boy’ but, in later records, it was recorded as ‘labourer’, ‘builder’, and ‘carpenter’.  He could neither read nor write.

On 3 June 1840, Patrick John Dunne was granted a ticket-of-leave.

On 16 November 1840, Patrick married a free settler, Jane Murphy, at Yass, New South Wales.  However, by the time of the birth of his daughter, Julia, on 20 May 1853, he must have moved to Sydney as his address was recorded as Botany Road.

Patrick John Dunne died on 16 September 1897 in Newcastle, New South Wales.  At the time of his death, seven of his children were living, and ten had pre-deceased him.

One of Patrick John Dunne’s sons, Edmund, named a son after his father.  Patrick John Dunne, son of Edmund Charles and his second wife, Anne, was born in Bowen, Queensland in September 1908.

This story was originally published in 2004 by the Writers Group of the Hobart Branch of the TFHS Inc. in the publication PROS and Cons of Transportation A collection of convict stories.

Not only does this publication celebrate the cessation of transportation of convicts to Van Diemens Land, it also celebrates the work of the Family History Writers Group. This group was formed in 2003 to assist members who wanted to write their family histories. The monthly meetings stimulated great interest and enthusiasm.

The original introduction may be found here.