Thomas William Parr
| Thomas William Parr | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1740 |
| Other names | William Parr |
| 💼 Occupation | Clerk, swindler, thief, farmer, sketch artist |
| Known for | Natural history drawings |
Thomas William Parr arrived in the colony of New South Wales as a convict in 1788, on the Alexander, a ship of the First Fleet.[1] He is shown on the list of convicts of the First Fleet as William Parr, aged 47 years on embarkation.[2][3]
Background
Parr had a prior reputation as a swindler when, in 1786, he was charged with cheating a storekeeper. On conviction, he was sentenced to transportation for seven years.[1]
Marriage
Soon after arrival in the colony he married Mary McCormack, a convict who had travelled on the Friendship, another ship of the First Fleet.[1][3]
Employment and offences
Despite his reputation for criminal behaviour, Parr was employed in the government store where spirits were issued, probably due to his ability as a clerk. In May 1788 he was flogged for misusing his position, and again in 1790 for theft.[1]
Grant of land
By 1791 he had been granted 50 acres (20 ha) of land, and had made improvements as required by the terms of the grant. He was visited on the land by Watkin Tench, a government official and author, who found him to be a hard worker but not satisfied with farming work.[1] A research paper by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANSOG) in 2017 reported that by 1793 he and his wife had saved enough money to buy a passage to England.[4]
Work as a sketch artist
It is believed by his unnamed biographer that Parr was employed as a sketch artist by John White, the Surgeon-General, to produce natural history drawings. It is also known that he did art work on commission for other customers. In 1814 he sued a publisher named Absalom West for £40 which he claimed West owed him for making four commissioned drawings of Sydney. While the quantity and quality of his work is unknown, and was criticised by some of his fellow artists, he is now accepted by Design and Art Australia Online as a member of the colonial art profession.[1]
Confusion with another William Parr
A convict named William Parr, aged 39 years, arrived in the colony on the Fortune in 1813. He was a land surveyor and draughtsman by profession, and was employed on arrival as a mineral surveyor. In 1817 he took part in two separate journeys of exploration.[5][6][7]
In some sources these activities have been incorrectly credited to the older Parr (who would have been about 76 years of age in 1817).
See also
List of convicts on the First Fleet
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Parr, Thomas William". Trove. Design and Art Australia Online. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ↑ "Full list of convicts transported on the First Fleet". First Fleet Fellowship Victoria Inc. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The First Fleet Register". firstfleet.thruhere.net. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ↑ "NSW offered earliest convicts the chance to lift their status". anzsog.edu.au/resource-library/news-media. The Australian. 11 Jan 2017. Retrieved 11 Jun 2020.
- ↑ "Convicts on the transport ship Fortune - 1813". History Australia. 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ↑ "Journey from Windsor to the north by a 'gentleman' convict". NSW State Archives. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ↑ "William Parr's Route to the North". The Convict Trail Project. 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
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