Trial record for James Smith, describing him as “a deaf and dumb boy”. He was convicted of stealing a pocket handkerchief and sentenced to 14 years transportation. It seems he had an interpreter at his trial, as the record states ‘the evidence was communicated to the prisoner by signs’.

This was the list of all the convicts on the ship (the ‘Prince Regent’), and their details. But there are not many details for James Smith – instead of his age, religion, family details, native place, trade and offence, the clerk has just written ‘Deaf and Dumb’. He clearly had difficulty communicating with James! But he has written some descriptive comments about his appearance on the second page – we can compare this with his appearance at the end of his sentence.

James Smith absconded in 1835. He would have been caught, punished, and returned to Hyde Park Barracks.

At the end of his 14 year sentence, James Smith received a Certificate of Freedom. They still couldn’t communicate with him – check out the information about his ‘Native place’ and ‘Year of Birth’! There is a detailed description of his appearance under ‘General Remarks’, which shows what a rough life he had during his sentence.  

A transcript of the description: “Nose thick [probably broken]  Lost two front upper teeth  Scar left side of upper lip  Mark of a burn back of left jaw  Scar left side of forehead  [The following are tattoos] Crucifix and two human figures on upper  Sun half moon seven stars Square and Compass Man and Woman on lower right arm  J.T. and heart on upper Mermaid and several letters lower left arm.”