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James Davis, convict Queenslander

Portrait of James Davis

James Davis

About the convict

His career included some of the strangest experiences that have ever fallen, perhaps, to any man in this colony, and are on a par with those of the once famous "Crusoe" of Victoria.

The Brisbane Courier, 9 May 1889

He was a great man to hunt for game, was always lucky in spearing kangaroo, and he was a good hand at spear and boomerang throwing.

Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of Early Queensland

Role: Shopkeeper and adopted tribesman
Born: 1808 in Broomielaw, Scotland
Convicted: 19 July 1824, Surrey Quarter Sessions
Sentence: Transportation for life
Ship: Norfolk
Transported: Arrived in New South Wales on 18 August 1825
Died: 7 May 1889 in Brisbane. Buried in Toowong Cemetery
Notes: Sent to Moreton Bay 6 February 1829

Further reading