Sarah Weatherstone Part 2 Life Onboard the Planter

Sarah spent  4 months at sea onboard the HMS Planter. Captain F B Manning's journal showed life on the ship to be almost idyllic. Unlike many other journeys, there were no deaths on board. There was also one birth.Throughout the voyage the prisoners were kept on deck when the weather permitted from 7 o'clock in the morning until sunset. On the voyage schools were strictly attended. According to the surgeon a great many learned to read and write that could not previously do coming on board. Sarah's records mostly indicate she is illiterate, and can only sign her name with a mark. However, her gaol entrance record for 1846 states she can read and write.

Most of the convicts had been employed as housemaids, kitchen maids, cooks, dairymaids, children's maids, laundresses, dressmakers and needlewomen and like Sarah, their crimes were nearly all various forms of stealing.On board, needlework and dancing generally occupied most of the day.

The women were in good health when they embarked however the surgeon remarked that when they neared the Cape of Good Hope, the aged females showed symptoms of debility and there was a general despondency running through the ship arising from the long passage. They put into Simon's Bay for refreshment and a change of scene.

The surgeon treated an average of about five women per day for various complaints including pneumonia, catarrh (head colds) and diarrhoea. Most of the cases of pneumonia and catarrh were in England or between the Cape and Sydney when the weather was cold and wet. Sarah seems to have had a strong disposition as I have not been able to find any entries for her amongst the surgeon's journal.

 

On March 9th, 1839 Planter sailed through the heads of Port Jackson.  Sarah waited another 4 days before she was able to take her first steps on her new home soil. For many of the convicts it gave hope for a chance to redeem themselves. Was Sarah's life influenced by what had happened onboard the Planter? She was 17 years old but ahead of her was a life entwined with prison sentences and public humiliation via the newspapers.