Billy Blue or William Blue (c.1767 - 1834) was an Australian convict. Although Billy Blue’s place and date of birth are uncertain, convict records suggest he was born in Jamaica around 1767.
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By 1796 he was living at Deptford, London, and working as a chocolate-maker and also labouring on ships on the Thames.
On 4 October 1796 he was convicted, at Maidstone, in Kent, of stealing raw sugar and sentenced to seven years transportation. After serving over four years in the convict hulks (ships used for housing criminals), he was transported to Botany Bay, Australia, in the convict ship Minorca. He was described in the ship’s records as 'a Jamaican Negro sailor', aged 29 in 1796.
In 1818, tolerance of his practices temporarily waned. Billy was found to be carrying liquor on his boat, and was accused of smuggling. Billy protested that he had found the liquor floating in the harbour and was simply bringing it to shore. It seems his story was vaguely believable because he was stripped of his right to be a bailiff, but was still allowed to operate his ferry service.
He arrived in Sydney in 1801 and served out the remaining part of his sentence. In 1804, records show him living in ‘the Rocks’, then a very tough part of the city. There he met Elizabeth Williams, a 30-year-old convict from Hampshire, England, who had arrived in June 1804. On 27 April 1805, they were married at the old St. Philip's Anglican church in Sydney, where 5 of their 6 children were later christened.[1]
He became a boatman that ferried passengers across Sydney Harbour. He was also made a water bailiff and watched boat traffic on Port Jackson from a special tower. Despite being a bailiff, it seems Billy didn't do everything by the book. It was said that his law infringements were frequent, but due to his colourful personality, they were looked upon with a "benevolent air" by the authorities.
Aside from providing a valued service to the colony, Billy's eccentric nature helped him attain the status of what could be defined as Australia’s first celebrity. Billy was a very popular member of the community. Governor Macquarie once remarked jokingly: "I shall have to make you the Commodore". For the rest of his life, he was referred to as “the Commodore." In tribute to his legacy, many streets, landmarks, hotels and businesses in Nth Sydney have been named in his honour. These include Blues Point, William Street, Blues Point Road, The Commodore Hotel, and the Billy Blue Design School.[2]