William Buckley (convict)
| William Buckley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1780 Cheshire, England |
| Died |
30 January 1856 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Cause of death | Falling out of his gig |
| Occupation | bricklayer, soldier |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Eager |
| Parent(s) | Eliza Buckley |
William Buckley (1780 – 30 January 1856) was an English convict who was transported to Australia, escaped, was given up for dead and lived in an Aboriginal community for many years.
Buckley was born in Marton, Cheshire, England, to Eliza Buckley, Buckley had two sisters and one brother. Around the age of six he was brought up by his mother's father in Macclesfield. In the book The life and adventures of William Buckley, his place of birth is however given as Macclesfield.
He was apprenticed to a bricklayer, Mr. Robert Wyatt, but left to enlist in the King's Foot Regiment. He was soon transferred to the King's Own Regiment. In 1799, his regiment went to the Netherlands to fight against Napoleon, under the command of the Duke of York where he injured his hand. Later, in London, Buckley was convicted of knowingly receiving a bolt of stolen cloth; he insisted he was carrying it for a woman and did not know it was stolen. He was sentenced to transportation to New South Wales for 14 years.
Descriptions of the adult Buckley vary. According to John Helder Wedge, who met him in 1835, 'with his long, matted hair, he was a most awfully savage-looking fellow, standing 6 ft 5-7/8 in in height without shoes, erect in person, and well proportioned'. When Buckley appeared at their camp, James Gumm out of curiosity measured him as 6' 7" or 6' 8". Buckley himself records his height at 6' 5". John Fawkner who was also at Sullivan Bay when he was 11 years old states that Buckley's height is 6' 4-1/3". According to George Russell who met him near the Yarra River in 1836, Buckley stood 6' 4" tall, but numerous other heights are reported, ranging from 6' 3" to 6' 7". According to Russell, Buckley "was a tall, ungainly man ... and altogether his looks were not in his favour; he had a shaggy head of black hair, a low forehead with overhanging eyebrows nearly concealing his small eyes, a short snub nose, a face very much marked by smallpox, and was just such a man as one would suppose fit to commit burglary or murder".
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