Convict turned constable

A recently donated letter, signed by the governor of NSW in 1832, offers a tangible connection to the story of Samuel Horne, a convict who rose to the rank of district chief constable in the NSW Police.

Convicts transported to NSW who demonstrated good behaviour could apply for a pardon to end their sentence. Some received a conditional pardon, which meant they could live and travel freely in the colony but were not allowed to leave. Others were granted an absolute pardon, enabling them to return to Britain if they wished.

Convicts were issued with a physical copy of the pardon, usually in the form of a certificate, as evidence in case they were questioned by government authorities. Recorded on the reverse side of the pardon were the convict’s date and place of birth, sentence, name of the ship that transported them to the colony, any skills or trades, and distinguishing physical features such as hair and eye colour, complexion, scars and tattoos.

The letter above, signed by Governor Richard Bourke in 1832, contains a statement of absolute (or full) pardon for Samuel Henry Horn (more often known as Horne), a convict who transformed his life in the NSW colony. Originally sentenced to transportation for life in 1817, Horne went on to serve in the NSW Police for 37 years, starting as a convict constable and rising to the rank of district chief constable.

Documents such as this letter are useful sources for researchers interested in piecing together biographical information about people in the past. In this case, a convict police officer carving out a life for himself in the 19th century while navigating the bureaucratic processes of colonial NSW.

Pathway to freedom

Born in 1798, Horne was convicted of theft in Norfolk, eastern England, in 1816 and transported to NSW on the Lord Eldon the following year. As his letter of pardon notes, he was five feet four and three-quarter inches (1.64 metres) tall with black hair, dark grey eyes and a florid complexion. Upon arrival in Sydney, Horne was assigned to work as a labourer in a road gang. He was appointed an overseer of other convicts at Grose Farm (now the site of the University of Sydney) in 1817–18 and became principal overseer at the newly formed Emu Plains Agricultural Establishment in 1819. Indicating the privilege and status of this role, Horne was assigned a convict ‘to assist with his household and personal affairs.¹

After two years at Emu Plains, Horne applied for mitigation (reduction) of his sentence. His petition was endorsed by the principal superintendent of the agricultural establishment, Richard Fitzgerald, who attested that Horne had ‘conducted himself with great propriety’.² Horne’s application was successful; in October 1821, he was granted a conditional pardon.³

A new career

In 1824, Horne’s life took another significant turn when he married Elizabeth Evans, the daughter of former convicts. The couple had several children.⁴ In October of that year he was appointed as a police constable in the Parramatta district.⁵

According to the letter of pardon, now held in the Justice & Police Museum Collection, and the official record of Horne’s pardon in the Registers of Absolute Pardons, NSW State Archives Collection, Horne was extended ‘Royal Mercy’ in the form of an ‘absolute pardon’, with the remainder of his sentence remitted on 1 December 1830.⁹ In addition, Horne was granted 320 acres (129 hectares) of land north-west of Sydney (at today’s Normanhurst).¹⁰ He named the site Hornsby Place, from which the nearby suburb of Hornsby takes its name.¹¹

From convict to chief constable

Horne relocated to the Hunter Valley in central eastern NSW in 1839 to take up the position of chief constable of Patricks Plains (now Singleton), continuing in this role for the next 23 years. From 1846 to 1851, he was also bailiff at the Court of Petty Sessions and held various inspection officer roles in the district. Horne resigned from the police force in 1862 after more than 37 years of service.¹² His resignation coincided with significant reforms in NSW policing, with many officers rendered ineligible for ongoing employment, including those with past criminal convictions. Despite Horne’s convict past, he was entitled to the police pension, which he received until his death.¹³

Horne’s wife Elizabeth had died in 1841, aged 33.¹⁴ In 1845, Horne married Ellen Weston, with whom he had three more children.¹⁵ Ellen died in October 1885, aged 61, and Horne died the following year on 11 May 1886, aged 87. Both are buried at Whittingham Cemetery in Singleton.¹⁶

A historical anomaly

Both the letter of pardon and the copy of Horne’s official pardon in the State Archives Collection are endorsed by Governor Richard Bourke. This is curious, as Bourke did not become governor of NSW until 3 December 1831, a full year after Horne’s pardon was issued. A note on the outer side of the letter of pardon, which begins ‘I, Richard Bourke’, advises that the ‘Instrument of Remission’ for Samuel Horne has been ‘duly signified to me’ by an official dispatch dated 8 August 1831, which is prior to Bourke taking office. A further note ‘given under my hand at Sydney’ on 21 April 1832, bears Bourke’s signature. No reason is given for the delay in endorsing the paperwork. It is also unclear how Horne or others awaiting the governor’s sign-off managed without official documentation of their freedom. The many folds in Horne’s letter of pardon suggest that it was carried by Horne, perhaps in lieu of the official printed pardon certificate.

A thoughtful donation

The letter of pardon concerning Samuel Horne shows signs of age and wear: the ink has faded and the fragile paper bears deep creases from being folded into 24 rectangles. The more exposed areas have obvious discolouration and staining. According to Victor ‘Brendon’ Hyde and Lyndel Tressa Clare Coyne, who generously donated the letter to Museums of History NSW (MHNSW), it was acquired by their late father, Victor W Hyde in 1938. Victor Hyde was a recipient of the Queen’s Coronation Medal in 1953 for his services to teaching at the Sydney University Teachers College, and he took particular interest in colonial history. Now digitised for public access, the letter provides a tangible link to Horne’s convict past and policing career in colonial NSW.