George Atkinson

George Atkinson (1764 – 20 June 1834), also known as George Atkins, was an English convict sent to Australia aboard a ship of the First Fleet. He was a chimney sweeper.

Convicted for the theft of clothing and a book from a London boarding-house in 1783, he was sentenced to seven years' transportation and sent to the Australian penal colony of New South Wales where he was put to work on a Norfolk Island farm. On expiry of his sentence Atkinson married and took up careers in farming, law enforcement and as a mariner. In 1811 he purchased a half-share in a seagoing sloop, becoming one of the colony's earliest ship owners.

Bankrupted within three years, Atkinson resumed to work as a police constable, night watch and labourer. He died in 1834 and was buried near St James' Church, Sydney.

Life in England Atkinson was born in 1764, the son of Henry and Alice Atkinson in London. His baptism was recorded at St Andrew's, Holborn on 26 August 1764.

On 3 March 1784, the nineteen-year-old Atkinson was caught leaving a boarding house at 40 Shoe Lane in London, carrying a bundle of clothing. An inspection of the bundle revealed it contained a cloth coat, two waistcoats, four pairs of breeches, four shirts, a pair of shoes and stockings, two handkerchiefs and a book, each identified as the property of William Smith, a lodger in the house. Atkinson was held in Newgate Prison until 21 April, when he was brought to trial at the Old Bailey.

According to evidence at the trial, the house at Shoe Lane was owned by Joshua Cook, who lived there with his wife Mary and their servant Susannah Watkins. The garret room was rented to Smith, who had been at home on the day of 3 March 1784. On that day Mr and Mrs Cook, and Susannah Watkins, had all seen Atkinson climbing down from the garret with the bundle of clothing. Not knowing who he was they had challenged him as he descended the stairs and prevented him from leaving the building. Atkinson had claimed he had entered the house seeking a "Mrs Johnson [as] he had a bundle of linen shirts to wash", but none of the witnesses believed this story and he was held until he could be turned over to local authorities.

Penal transportation to the Americas having effectively ceased as a result of the American Revolutionary War, Atkinson spent the next three years confined aboard the prison hulk Censor.

Life as a settler Atkinson's imprisonment expired in 1791, but he remained in Norfolk Island as a farm labourer. Cockran remained on the Island until at least 1800 when her sentence expired, and thereafter returned to Port Jackson to be with her husband. The farm was a success, and by January 1793 it produced a surplus of grain which Atkinson sold back to the colonial administration.

In March 1793 Atkinson obtained passage to Port Jackson, where he sought work as a seaman. His wife Mary was left behind on Norfolk Island as her fourteen-year sentence had not yet expired.