1805- Born in Ireland
William Broggy was an Irish Catholic and was born in approximately 1804/5 as he was placed before the judicial system in 1828 at the age of 24 years and this brought about his being transported to the Colony of New South Wales.
1828 – Tried in Limerick
Records show William’s native place was Limerick and that his trade was that of seaman and also a farm hand. [Records taken from Indents of the convict ship ‘Governor Ready’.]
Life was hard in Ireland and famine was a way of life and it appears that William fell victim to the judicial system for stealing a pig at 24 years of age and therefore sent before the bench and tried in Limerick on the 13 March 1828 and sentenced to seven years servitude.
William’s servitude was to be carried out in the colony of New South Wales and he would make the journey upon the ‘Governor Ready’, which sailed from Cork on the 21 September 1828, under the Captaincy of John Young and reached Sydney on the 16 January 1829.
His name at this time was listed on the ship’s indents under Broggy. William was five feet two and a half inches [1.59 meters] and had dark brown hair. The record shows him assigned to an Elizabeth Pitt of Richmond in Cumberland County.
The Governor of Australia at the time of William’s arrival in the colony of New South Wales was Governor Ralph Darling [left], who served from 1825 to 1831. Governor Darling was having trouble with squatters moving outside the settled districts taking up land and squatting.
These included runaway convicts and emancipists and others who ‘squatted’ illegally in the bush, erecting bark huts and trying to eke out a living from farming, distilling sly grog and sometimes even making raids on neighboring herds and flocks.
In 1929 Governor Darling defined the limits of occupation beyond which no one could go. A boundary line was drawn on a map around Sydney and divided into nineteen counties. Darling’s term as Governor General finished in 1831 and Patrick Lindesay became the acting Governor until Richard Bourke took up office in 1831 and remained there until 1837.
In earlier years the idea of a joint stock adventure was recommended to develop fine wool growing in New South Wales and encourage settlers to open up new country. This finally led to the development of the Australian Agricultural Company and exploration to find suitable country to establish such ventures. By 1832 three estates had been established which included one within the boundaries of the nineteen counties and two outside on unsettled land in the Liverpool Plains.
By 1836 many squatters occupied land outside the nineteen counties and Governor Bourke [rght] had to address himself to the problem. He realized that it was impossible to stop squatting, but had to control it. The Crown Lands Occupation Act was passed through the Legislative Council. Under the act, squatters, who were of good character, could purchase a license for ten pounds per year, which would allow them to graze over as much land as they needed.
1835 – Certificate of Freedom
William had been assigned to an Elizabeth Pitt, who was the daughter of Captain Thomas and Hannah Laycock. She would marry Thomas Matcham Pitt in 1813 and bore him four children. Thomas died in 1821 leaving her three properties. Nelson Farm of some [100 acres] in the district of Mulgrave, Hawwkesbury River, Neslon and Bronte Farm [300 acres] on the western branch of South Creek, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River and Trafalgar [100 acres] at Richmond Hill. After Thomas’ death Elizabeth ran the properties and lived in a defacto relationship with her Overseer William Scott and bore him four children as well until her death in 1835.
Elizabeth employed several convicts and William was obviously one of them. William obtained a Ticket of Leave in 1833, but was finally granted a Certificate of Freedom in September of 1835.
I have not been able to find what happened to William Broggy.
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| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1805 | |
