Talk:Ex-convict school teachers in Western Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Ex-convict school teachers in Western Australia article.
Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~). Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Ask questions, get answers. This is not a forum for general discussion about the article's subject.	Be polite Assume good faith No personal attacks Be welcoming	Article policies No original research Neutral point of view Verifiability

Portal	Ex-convict school teachers in Western Australia is within the scope of WikiProject Australia, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Australia and Australia-related topics. If you would like to participate, visit the project page.
Start	This article has been rated as Start-class on the quality scale.
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the importance scale.
	This article is supported by WikiProject Western Australia.
Assessment comments This article has been rated for quality and/or importance but has no comments yet. If appropriate, please review the article and then leave comments here to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article and what work it will need.

The following discussion moved from User talk:Karipatta and User talk:Snottygobble:

Why do you keep changing the entry for James Waterson Johnston in Ex-convict school teachers in Western Australia? I checked into this after your first (anonymous) edit, and the references clearly support my version. Please provide a reference for your change or leave the article alone. Snottygobble 02:37, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I am related to James Waterson Johnston Ex-convict school teacher. He is Convict Number 5793. I have researched the records extensively over a period of 16 years.

I have edited the entry because the details given are incorrect and confuse the Ex-convict teacher James Johnston with another convict of the same name, ie Johnson, James Convict Number 9479. I have a copy of Convict number 5793, James Johnston's trial - Ref: Scottish record Office Reference: JC4/64. He was sentenced to 10 years transportation, for robbery (NOT rape), in 1858.

You claim he was sentenced to eight years' penal servitude for rape in 1865. The Superintendent Order Books (AN 358, Acc 1156, SO7), held in the Battye Library Archives, clearly state on page 451 that James Johnston, Convict 5793, lithographer (lithographic printer), was received in the colony on February 15th 1861. Page 472 clearly states convict Number 5793, James Johnston lithographer, was transferred to Champion Bay (Geraldton/Dongara area) per schooner 'Favourite', on March 28, 1861. Note: This is four years before James Johnston, rapist, was sentenced, and six years before he arrived in the colony on the Norwood.

The other details I have changed are also correct (ie date of arrival, convict ship, years of teaching at Dongara, etc):

References include:

• Battye Library: R Series 4 Accession 1156
• Battye Library: Acc 128/38
• Battye Library: Acc1914 p.25
• Battye Library: R Series 21B Acc 1156
• Rikkers, J: Western Australian Schools 1830-1980 / John Rikkers, (1984)- Western Australian Schools 1830-1980 / John Rikkers, (1984)
• Erickson, Rica and O'Mara, Gillian. The Bicentennial dictionary of Western Australians. V. 9. Convicts in Western Australia, 1850-1887. Nedlands, W.A. : University of Western Australia, 1987-[1997]. ISBN 1875560440. [Revision of Dictionary of Western Australians Vol. 2 Bond 1850-1868. Alphabetical listing of convicts and short biography of each]

• I am also confident that Rica Erikson, in her book The Brand on His Coat, does not identify the ex-convict teacher as the James Johnston who arrived on the Norwood. I will confirm this when I have a chance to view the book again.

Karipatta 05:41, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the response. I accept your version as sound.

I don't have a copy of Erickson available at the moment, but like I said I checked Erickson after the first time you made the change, so I am certain that the confusion has been caused by an error in Erickson.

My apologies for the reverts.

Snottygobble 06:19, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your response. It isn't the first time that the several, and various convicts with the name James Johns(t)on(e), have been confused.

Karipatta 07:07, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reference confusion

With respect to the references provided here and on other pages, it would be preferable to ensure that the Battye Library and State Records Office of Western Australia references are not confused. The Battye Library contains records of private individuals and companies, while the SRO contains State and Local Government unpublished records. The references provided here - AN 358, Acc 1156, Acc 128 and Acc. 1914 are all SRO references. Battye accessions have an A suffix.

202.14.152.205 03:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for that; fixed. Hesperian 04:03, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

And thank you too. Do you think it might be better as SROWA? I'd have a stab myself but the reference pages keep hiding from me.

[edit] link to Thomas Duggan points to wrong page

The link to Thomas Duggan points to an American sports promoter who was obviously not the Western Australian convict mentioned in this article. What are the biographical details of the convict? Graham87 12:06, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, I left that one as a red link because he is most certainly notable enough to warrant an article... but I never got back to it, and I no longer have access to The Brand on his Coat. :-( Hesperian 12:10, 6 May 2007 (UTC).