The emigrant ship 'Simon Taylor' cleared customs on April 29, 1842 and sailed from Gravesend, London, England on April 30. She was under the command of Thomas Brown and arrived at Fremantle in the Swan River Colony 111 days later on August 20, 1842, without stopping along the way.

She weighed 431 & 1/94 tons, was 114 feet long, and was registered in London. She was built in 1824 at the Blackwall Shipyard on Thames for Meek & Co. of London and after 1839 she was owned by Thompson & Co.

There were 242 passengers aboard when she arrived in Fremantle - the largest number to arrive in the colony in a single vessel up until that date. The passage cost four pounds, eighteen shillings and 219 of the passengers were assisted migrants. Many of them had been indentured to people who were already living in the colony. Of the remaining passengers, 18 were 'Parkhurst boys' and five were cabin passengers.

The passengers included a number of families from the neighbouring villages of Creaton and Guilsborough in Northamptonshire and more details are given on another Perth DPS web page.

While returning to England from a voyage to Jamaica, the 'Simon Taylor' was driven ashore on the Shingles off the south coast of England on June 7, 1849, and subsequently broke up.

The Parkhurst boys were juvenile prisoners from the Isle of Wight who were to be apprenticed to local masters. They were the first group of a total of 334 such boys to arrive in Western Australia between 1842 and 1852.

Jenny Brandis has created two web pages which present a more detailed account of the voyage and a timeline of the life of the 'Simon Taylor'.

A page also covers the 18 boys sent out under conditional pardon from Parkhurst Prison. It explains how the 13-16 year-old lads were treated as ordinary passengers and put under the care of Samuel Caporn, a migrant who was travelling with his own extended family.

Paul Buddee's book, 'Fate of the Artful Dodger', describes the Parkhurst era in more detail.

Surname       Christian Name(s)  Term   Age       Trial Place        Day Mth Year                Offence               Occupation                 Comments

Bolton         Henry               7y   11   Central Criminal Court   26 11 1838   Larceny                             Tailor       aka [BOULTON]
Dixon          Charles             7y   12   Westminster              01 12 1838   Larceny                             Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Dougherty      George             10y   12   Worcester                31 12 1839   Highway robbery                     Shoemaker    ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Harwood        Joshua              7y   13   Central Criminal Court   04 02 1839   Larceny                             Tailor       aka [HAYWARD, Frederick; HAREWOOD]
Hasler         Benjamin            7y   11   Central Criminal Court   20 11 1838   Larceny                             Tailor       aka [HALLER; HAYTOR; HAZLER]
Lane           John Edward         7y   13   Dover                    05 04 1839   Felony                              Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Mortimer       James               7y   14   Central Criminal Court   17 09 1838   Obtaining goods by false pretences  Tailor       aka [John]
Murphy         Jeremiah            7y   10   Central Criminal Court   24 10 1836   Larceny                             Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Murrill        John                7y   13   Central Criminal Court   26 02 1838   Larceny                             Tailor       aka [MORRELL; MURRELL]
Neale          James               7y   16   Central Criminal Court   26 11 1838   Larceny                             Tailor       aka [Samuel]; Absconded while in Launceston
Nimmo          James               7y   15   Edinburgh                14 07 1837   Larceny                             Mariner      Reported to be 'more trouble than all the rest put together'; Indentured for 5 years.
Norton         John                7y   12   Central Criminal Court   20 08 1838   Obtaining money by false pretences  Shoemaker    Later sent to Rottnest Island; Deserted in South Australia from schooner 'Champion' in May 1846
Organ          Samuel             10y   13   Bristol                  06 01 1840   Stealing money                      Tailor       aka [HOGAN]; Later returned to England	
Strickland     Robert              7y   10   Worcester                30 08 1838   Stealing bread                      Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Taylor         Samuel              7y   13   Ipswich                  03 08 1839   Felony                              Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Towton         Henry               7y   13   Plymouth                 10 04 1838   Stealing money                      Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....
Tyne           John                7y   10   Central Criminal Court   11 12 1839   Larceny                             Tailor       Reconvicted many times; Absconded in Albany in American whale boat	
Wilson         Henry               7y   14   North Allerton           08 04 1839   Receiving stolen boots & shoes      Tailor       ....    ....    ....    ....    ....