Researchers who have claimed this convict
There are currently 2 researchers who have claimed Eliza Barrett
- Researcher (2819)
- Researcher (18617)
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Biographies
The extraordinary life of Eliza Olive Barrett is one of the most compelling and dramatic escape stories in Australian colonial history. According to Convict Records and Historical convict indents thoroughly substantiate her defiance of the colonial system. [1, 2]
Early Life and Conviction
Eliza Olive Barrett was born on 1 January 1814, in Peckham Rye, London. Working as a nursery maid and needlewoman, her life changed forever at the age of 18. On 9 April 1832, she was convicted of "man robbery"—specifically stealing £7 worth of gold and silver. Sentenced to 7 years of transportation, she was placed aboard the female convict ship Fanny (historically tracked as the Fanny II), which weathered a severe cholera outbreak before landing at Port Jackson on 2 February 1833.
Marriage and the Great Escape
Upon arrival, Eliza was assigned to the colony, where she quickly met George Sherar (incorrect spelt in Parramatta Female marriage register) . George was a free settler, a skilled block maker, and a mariner from Caithness, Scotland, who had arrived on the Betsy. The two were wed on 15 November 1833 (church registers note 25 November) at the Scots Church in Sydney. George made the first Bagpipes in Australia submitting one set to the Great Exhibition in 1879 and are now housed in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Domestic life, however, did not hold Eliza back. On 18 April 1835, she executed a daring escape. Slipping away from Sydney, she stowed away on the ship Palmer. She was accompanied by another stowaway, James Paterson (or Patteson), though their exact relationship remains unknown to history.
A Global Maritime Capture
The voyage did not go as planned. Discovered by the ship's captain while at sea, Eliza and James were handed over to British authorities at the remote island outpost of St Helena in September 1835. Eliza was heavily pregnant. On 8 December 1835, she gave birth to a daughter, Eliza Frances, on the island.
The British authorities transferred the young mother and child from St Helena to the Cape of Good Hope aboard the ship Briton. Held in custody there for 20 months, they were finally placed on the Henry Wellesley to be sent back to Sydney as a captured runaway, arriving on 22 December 1837.
The Legal Loophole and 50 Lashes
Upon her return to Sydney, Eliza was thrown into a police cell for four months while colonial magistrates scrambled to figure out how to punish her. In a stunning turn of events, legal clerks discovered a massive loophole: the statutory law regarding felony extensions for escaping transportation applied strictly to males.
Because there was no precedent or law to extend a female convict's sentence for absconding, the authorities resorted to physical and penal coercion. She was sentenced to 50 lashes—making her a rare case of a female receiving corporate punishment for an escape—alongside two months of confinement at the Parramatta Female Factory, ultimately serving out a 12-month restrictive class sentence.
Tragedy, Reunion, and Freedom
Amidst this legal battles and punishments, tragedy struck. On 23 January 1838, while Eliza was facing the colonial justice system, little baby Eliza Frances died at just two years old in the General Hospital Sydney. She was laid to rest in the Devonshire St Cemetery in Sydney.
Despite the chaos of her escape, Eliza was remarkably reunited with her husband, George Sherar. The couple went on to have four more children in the colony, including a son, George John Sherar, who became a notable local amateur bagpipe player and music retailer.
Having survived a global voyage of escape, prison cells, and corporal punishment, Eliza's compliance paid off. On 21 March 1842, she was officially granted her Certificate of Freedom (No. 42/442), formally recognized as the lawful wife of George Sheerer. Eliza lived out the rest of her days in New South Wales as a free woman, passing away at a resilient age from senile decay on 4 September 1885.
Submitted by Researcher (18617) on 25 September 2026
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Disclaimer: The information has not been verified by Claim a Convict. As this information is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the data to verify its accuracy. Research notes
There are currently no research notes attached to this convict. Sources
- The National Archives (TNA) : HO 11/8, p.369
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