Octavius Ryland

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Octavius Ryland (c. June 24, 1800–May 8, 1886) was a convict transported to Western Australia, who later became one of the colony's ex-convict school teachers.

Born in London in 1800 and baptised on June 24 of that year, Octavius Ryland was the eight son of Richard Ryland and Harriet Croft, daughter of Sir Archer Croft, baronet. Ryland married Mary Ann Muggeridge on September 27, 1826. By 1850, he was widowed with two children, and working either as a corn or coin dealer; these are alternative transcriptions of the handwritten records. That year, he was tried at the Old Bailey for an unknown crime, and on June 10 was sentenced to 15 year's penal servitude. He spent two years at the Newgate Jail, including nine months of solitary confinement. He was then transported to Western Australia, arriving at Fremantle on board the William Jardine on August 1, 1852. He gained his ticket of leave on October 4, 1854, and received a conditional pardon on January 21, 1860. He then became a schoolteacher, teaching at Upper Swan in 1864, then Upper (South) Greenough until 1869. After a short stint in Dongara, he taught at Serpentine from 1870 to 1880, and again in 1884. He was also postmaster of the district from 1870 to 1885. Erickson (1983) writes "he had a reputation of being a bitter man, harsh with his pupils". He spent the final years of his life at the Mount Eliza Depot, a home for "old or incapable paupers", dying there on May 8, 1886.

[edit] References

• Erickson, Rica (1983). "Schoolmasters", in Erickson, Rica (ed): The Brand on His Coat. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0-85564-223-8. 
• Walter Ryland (2002). Octavius Ryland, 1800–1886. Ancestry Message Boards. Retrieved on 26 February 2006.

Persondata
NAME	Octavius Ryland
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	convict
DATE OF BIRTH	c. June 24, 1800
PLACE OF BIRTH	London
DATE OF DEATH	May 8, 1886
PLACE OF DEATH	Perth, Western Australia