Hello Anne Very interesting and helpful. Thanks. As I see it now, Minchan and Hartnett both arrived on the Java 18.11.1833. Both were teachers and the authorities decided to send them to Port Macquarie. For some reason Port Macquarie wasn't quite ready for them, so they were held somewhere in Sydney, probably at Hyde Park Barracks. By coincidence, in early December nine convicts from the Hunter were brought to Sydney to act as witnesses in the trial Hitchcock V Rex (the Castle Forbes Trial). I think the process was that the convicts were sent to, or recorded at Hyde Park Barracks and then transferred to the prison hulk Phoenix. Anyway they were admited to the Phoenix on 6 December. Minchan and Harnett were transferred to the Phoenix the same day. The trial was on the 9th and 10th of December. On the first day the Judge ruled that the expected witnesses could not give evidence. So on the 10th all the witnesses and Minchan were released from the Phoenix. All the witnesses were returned to the Hunter. Minchan seems to have been taken with them. However Hartnett remained on the Phoenix until the 7th of January 1834, when he was transferred to Port Macquarie. He seems to have been assigned to The Port Macquarie Specials - whatever that was. I have some more checking to do on this, but you may already know more than I do, so I would welcome any comment or information. Regards Ken From: Kristy Willoughby <[email protected]> Hi Ken, Michael Minchan per "Java"was assigned to Port Macquarie on arrival. He had a life sentence. He received a Pardon in 1846, but is not on any of the Musters in between. There is however a Michael Tincham per Java 1833 in the 1837 Muster, assigned to N Mobbs at Parramatta. Bye Anne