Palmerston Convicts, Enrolled Pensioner Guards, Prison Warders and Other Passengers 1861

This 978-ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1853. It was employed as a convict transport for Western Australia and left Portland, England on November 10, 1860, bound for the Swan River Colony. She carried the twenty third of 37 shipments of male convicts destined for Western Australia. The voyage took 93 days and the Palmerston arrived in Fremantle on February 11, 1861, with 106 passengers and 293 convicts [Erickson]. J.N. Seagrove and A. Watson were the captain and surgeon respectively. Of the 106 passengers, 99 were pensioner guards and their families, the number being made up of 30 pensioner guards, 20 wives, 30 sons and 19 daughters. The other 7 passengers have not been accounted for but were possibly cabin passengers or regular soldiers.