Carter, William
DESCRIPTION
NameCarter, WilliamPlace of ResidenceShellharbour VillageBiographyWilliam Carter was about 30 years old when he was transported to Australia aboard the 'Eleanor', for 'machine breaking' in 1831.
He was described as protestant, married with one child, from Berkshire, a bricklayer and baker by trade, florid and freckled with dark brown to grey eyes, with a small diagonal scar in the centre of his lower lip.
William's wife in Berkshire may have been Ann Pontin (married 26 Sep 1826), and his child may have been Charles, baptised at Kintbury in 1828.
In his book 'Berkshire to Botany Bay' Norman Fox described William Carter as one of the 'Kintbury Men' who were charged with taking part in the Berkshire threshing machine riots of 1830.
William was assigned to the Marshall Mount Estate of Henry Osborne. His sentenced had been commuted from death to seven years transportation. Carter received hi Ticket of Leave in 1836, and his Certificate of Freedom in 1838.
In 1841 William Carter and John Millar if Wollongong were indicted for receiving two gallons of brandy the property of Hugh Kennedy, knowing the same to have been stolen. He was found not guilty and discharged. (The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser 14 May 1841)
In 1845, Kennedy attempted to rob Carter on his way over Bulli Pass.
Ten years later in 1855, it was reported in December 1855 that ‘an “enterprising townsman”, Mr. Carter, pitched his tent under the shade of an enormous fig tree at the harbour at Shellharbour, and there opened the ‘Bendigo Store’.
In 1856 William Carter was agent for the steamer Illawarra and provided storage for grain and took care of pigs and calves’.
William leased some two acres of land from Thomas Alexander Reddall in 1855 - lots 1 and 2 of section B3, bounded on the south by Addison and west by Wentworth Street Shellharbour, for a period of 14 years at a yearly rent of £4 sterling per annum.
The lease stated a yearly rent of £4 sterling per annum payable 1st July 1855 and first January each and every year with a special clause ‘It is understood that the said William Carter do fence the whole of the above piece of ground with a good substantial three railed hard wood fence’. (ref. lease agreement research Tongarra Heritage Society records).
A notice in the Illawarra Mercury 25 February 1856 by Mr. T.A. Reddall from whom Carter leased, stated 'whereas I have been informed that William Carter of Shellharbour, Storekeeper, who holds a lease from me, is desirous of selling the same, now this is to give notice that such proposed sale is without my consent, and that I shall decline to sanction any such sale, or any transfer of lease.'
10 September 1861 the 'Illawarra Mercury' reported an account of a fire at William Carter’s property. Shellharbour - 'On Wednesday last the premises occupied by Mr. Wm. Carter in this township were entirely destroyed by fire. Fortunately but little loss was entailed by the fire, the premises being by no means valuable and nearly empty.' The District News Shellharbour reporter also commented on the depressing bad times much felt in Shellharbour, with trade almost at a standstill, storekeepers daily adding to their list of bad debts and tenants behind with their rents.
William Carter served time in Darlinghurst Goal 1862/1862 for insolvency.
It is unclear what happened to William after his goal time. No definitive death record can be found.
External LinkSupreme Court Criminal Side 1841News From the Interior - Kennedy - Carter 1845Attempted Robbery Carter 1845Central Criminal Court Kennedy - Carter 1846John Kennedy Convicted 1848William Carter Lease 1856Steam for Shellharbour 1856Shellharbour 'Illawarra' Steam Packet Stores 1856Carter's Store Robbed 1857Fire Irons Found - Carter's Store 1857Notice - Liquidation 1857Notice 1857William Carter Stolen Horse Reward 1858Shellharbour - Serious Affray 1860Police Court - Mercer & CarterSale Butchering Business 1860Disposed of Business 1860Notice - Trespass 1860Bracegirdle VS Brown 1860Shellharbour 1860William Carter Premises Fire 1861In the Insolvent Estate of William Carter 1861In the Insolvent Case of William Carter 1861Insolvent Estate 1861Insolvency Court 1862Wollongong Quarter Sessions 1862Small Debts Court 1864Carter's Cellar 1930The Story of the Kennedy Brothers - Looking Back with Mick Roberts Est Online 2000South Coast Chapter Fellowship of First Fleeters - Convicts and Convict Systems IllawarraSouthern Coast Districts Rescur 1858
He was described as protestant, married with one child, from Berkshire, a bricklayer and baker by trade, florid and freckled with dark brown to grey eyes, with a small diagonal scar in the centre of his lower lip.
William's wife in Berkshire may have been Ann Pontin (married 26 Sep 1826), and his child may have been Charles, baptised at Kintbury in 1828.
In his book 'Berkshire to Botany Bay' Norman Fox described William Carter as one of the 'Kintbury Men' who were charged with taking part in the Berkshire threshing machine riots of 1830.
William was assigned to the Marshall Mount Estate of Henry Osborne. His sentenced had been commuted from death to seven years transportation. Carter received hi Ticket of Leave in 1836, and his Certificate of Freedom in 1838.
In 1841 William Carter and John Millar if Wollongong were indicted for receiving two gallons of brandy the property of Hugh Kennedy, knowing the same to have been stolen. He was found not guilty and discharged. (The Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser 14 May 1841)
In 1845, Kennedy attempted to rob Carter on his way over Bulli Pass.
Ten years later in 1855, it was reported in December 1855 that ‘an “enterprising townsman”, Mr. Carter, pitched his tent under the shade of an enormous fig tree at the harbour at Shellharbour, and there opened the ‘Bendigo Store’.
In 1856 William Carter was agent for the steamer Illawarra and provided storage for grain and took care of pigs and calves’.
William leased some two acres of land from Thomas Alexander Reddall in 1855 - lots 1 and 2 of section B3, bounded on the south by Addison and west by Wentworth Street Shellharbour, for a period of 14 years at a yearly rent of £4 sterling per annum.
The lease stated a yearly rent of £4 sterling per annum payable 1st July 1855 and first January each and every year with a special clause ‘It is understood that the said William Carter do fence the whole of the above piece of ground with a good substantial three railed hard wood fence’. (ref. lease agreement research Tongarra Heritage Society records).
A notice in the Illawarra Mercury 25 February 1856 by Mr. T.A. Reddall from whom Carter leased, stated 'whereas I have been informed that William Carter of Shellharbour, Storekeeper, who holds a lease from me, is desirous of selling the same, now this is to give notice that such proposed sale is without my consent, and that I shall decline to sanction any such sale, or any transfer of lease.'
10 September 1861 the 'Illawarra Mercury' reported an account of a fire at William Carter’s property. Shellharbour - 'On Wednesday last the premises occupied by Mr. Wm. Carter in this township were entirely destroyed by fire. Fortunately but little loss was entailed by the fire, the premises being by no means valuable and nearly empty.' The District News Shellharbour reporter also commented on the depressing bad times much felt in Shellharbour, with trade almost at a standstill, storekeepers daily adding to their list of bad debts and tenants behind with their rents.
William Carter served time in Darlinghurst Goal 1862/1862 for insolvency.
It is unclear what happened to William after his goal time. No definitive death record can be found.
External LinkSupreme Court Criminal Side 1841News From the Interior - Kennedy - Carter 1845Attempted Robbery Carter 1845Central Criminal Court Kennedy - Carter 1846John Kennedy Convicted 1848William Carter Lease 1856Steam for Shellharbour 1856Shellharbour 'Illawarra' Steam Packet Stores 1856Carter's Store Robbed 1857Fire Irons Found - Carter's Store 1857Notice - Liquidation 1857Notice 1857William Carter Stolen Horse Reward 1858Shellharbour - Serious Affray 1860Police Court - Mercer & CarterSale Butchering Business 1860Disposed of Business 1860Notice - Trespass 1860Bracegirdle VS Brown 1860Shellharbour 1860William Carter Premises Fire 1861In the Insolvent Estate of William Carter 1861In the Insolvent Case of William Carter 1861Insolvent Estate 1861Insolvency Court 1862Wollongong Quarter Sessions 1862Small Debts Court 1864Carter's Cellar 1930The Story of the Kennedy Brothers - Looking Back with Mick Roberts Est Online 2000South Coast Chapter Fellowship of First Fleeters - Convicts and Convict Systems IllawarraSouthern Coast Districts Rescur 1858
CONNECTIONS
Carter, William. Shellharbour City Council, accessed 16/12/2025, https://discover.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/522