James Henry Shaw
James Henry Shaw was born in London in 1824. He arrived in Australia as a convict in 1844 on the ship Lord Auckland. The proceedings from London's Central Criminal Court are shown here . He was sentenced to 15 years transportation.
All the convict records that are available for James Shaw per Lord Auckland are here.
James Shaw spent time at Impression Bay which is known now as Premaydena. Other than what is included on the conduct record, there is not much else available in the way of records for the convict stations. There are some books that give a good overview of the Impression Bay Station. These ones are available at the State Library .
Images of Impression Bay available can be seen here and here
His first marriage was to Sophia Neate. A marriage registration (1852) for James Shaw and Sophia Neate can be found here: RGD37/1/11 no 433 . They were married at St George's Church, Battery Point.
Sophia Neate’s father Thomas Neate (aka John Robinson) was also a convict and the family of wife Ann, daughters Sophia and Frances immigrated to join him in 1851 on the barque Ann Thomson .
James and Sophia had three children.
| James Frederick Shaw | born 1853, died 1901 (Nelson, New Zealand) |
| Eliza Ann Shaw | born 1854, died 1918 (Hobart) |
| Alfred Henery Shaw | born 1857, died 1925 (Hobart). |
James Shaw was a skilled guilder, picture framer and cabinet-maker. A table attributed to James Shaw (1855-1859) is a part of the George Burrows Collection of Huon Pine Furniture which was donated to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) in 2006.
James Shaw left Hobart in 1860 with a new partner (Julia Meyers nee Lazarus) and his eldest son to move to New Zealand, leaving his wife and two other children behind. My great-grandfather was the youngest of the two children left behind. He was baptised Alfred Henery Shaw but was known as Frederick Shaw.
Julia Meyers (nee Lazarus) and her brother Joseph Lazarus were licensees of the Waterloo Hotel and Tap on the corner of Murray and Davey Streets from 1856-1859 according to Pubs in Hobart from 1807, by David Bryce, p.173. The approval for their licence to sell liquor appeared in The Hobart Town Gazette for 11 November 1856, 13 January 1857, 5 January 1858, and 1 February 1859. The building is now occupied by the law firm Butler, McIntyre and Butler.
On reaching New Zealand, James changed his name from Shaw to Sharland. It is understood he changed his name to avoid supporting the wife and two children left behind in Hobart. His son James Frederick Shaw became known as James Frederick Sharland. An account of the new life in New Zealand written by Ellen Sharland, a great great grand-daughter of James Frederick Sharland can be found here!
James and Julia had a son in 1860 who was named George Cornelius Sharland. When George married in 1881, George decided to change his name to Shaw. He obtained a letter from his father that explained that the original name change was '.....in consequence of family reasons'.
Sophia Shaw died on February 22, 1862, aged 30 years.
Eliza Ann Shaw married Henry Smith on August 7, 1873. They had seven children. Eliza died in January 1918 and was buried at Cornelian Bay Cemetery on January 26, 1918.
Alfred Henery Shaw aka Frederick Shaw married Eliza Esther Verrell. They had four children.
| Clara Esther Shaw | born 1892, died 1893 (Hobart). | Hilda Elizabeth Shaw | born 1894, died 1966 (Hobart) | Albert Frederick Shaw | born 1898, died 1899 (Hobart) |
| Ethel Muriel Shaw | born 1900, died 1986 (Hobart) |
Eliza died in March 1902 and Frederick died in November 1925.
Original convict documents are not held at Port Arthur, they are held at the Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office (TAHO) in Hobart. Most records have now been digitised by TAHO and are available online. Check the Tasmanian Names database here .
James Henry Shaw died in Nelson, New Zealand in 1901.
