Born 1794 Wooton By Bedford, England
Died 1859 Hobart, Tasmania.
In March 1823, William Hurst (alias Billy Goodman) was tried at Cambridgeshire Assizes for horse stealing. He had previously been in custody for poaching and was considered to be a bad character who had attempted to escape. He was sentenced to death, later commuted to transportation for life. William arrived in Tasmania, then called Van Damens Land, 19th January 1824, on the “ASIA”. In 1827 he successfully petitioned to have his wife and four children sent out to join him. They arrived on New Year’s day, 1830. When William’s original master died, he was assigned to his wife, a free settler.
He was later appointed to the Field Police and granted land rights in the Broadmarsh district of Hobart.
He received a conditional pardon in 1851 which allowed him freedom to travel to anywhere but the United Kingdom.
I am grateful to Caroline Moore, Port Stephens, Australia for the above summary.