Mary Turner (Wilkes) & David Batty: A First Fleet Woman and the Man Who Helped Build a Life With Her

Mary Turner (Wilkes) & David Batty: A First Fleet Woman and the Man Who Helped Build a Life With Her

When we talk about Australia’s beginnings, we often picture ships, governors, and grand events. But the real story of the colony was written by ordinary people who endured extraordinary circumstances. Among them were Mary Turner, a young woman transported with the First Fleet, Mary always used the name Mary Wilkes in Australia, and David Batty, a Third Fleet convict whose life became inseparable from hers. Their partnership—formed in hardship, sustained through resilience—left a legacy that still echoes through their descendants today.

A Young Woman Sent Across the World

In March 1785, at the Worcester Assizes, a young Englishwoman named Mary Turner stood before the court accused of stealing clothing worth only a few pounds. Like so many women of her time, poverty and circumstance shaped her fate more than criminal intent. She was sentenced to seven years’ transportation, a punishment that would uproot her life and send her across the world.

In 1787 she boarded the Lady Penrhyn, one of the eleven ships of the First Fleet. The voyage was long and brutal, but Mary survived, stepping ashore at Sydney Cove on 22 January 1788—one of the first European women to set foot on the continent.

Life in the infant settlement was harsh. Food was scarce, shelter was basic, and the colony was still learning how to survive. Mary appears in early records for minor offences and as a witness in trials, showing she was deeply woven into the daily life of the struggling settlement.

Norfolk Island: A Harder Chapter

In 1790, Mary was sent to Norfolk Island, a place feared for its isolation but valued for its fertile soil. She lived there for three years, enduring the island’s strict regime and unpredictable conditions. She returned to Sydney in 1793 aboard the Kitty, stepping back into a colony that had grown but was still far from stable.

This return marked the beginning of a new chapter—one that would define the rest of her life.

A Third Fleet Convict Enters the Story

In October 1791, the Third Fleet arrived in Sydney. Among its convicts was David Batty, transported aboard the Albemarle. Born in England around 1762–1767, David had been convicted at the Westminster Quarter Sessions in 1787 and sentenced to seven years’ transportation.

The Third Fleet was notorious for overcrowding and poor conditions, but David survived the voyage and quickly adapted to colonial life. Over the years he worked as a hatmaker, gamekeeper, fowler, and eventually a farmer, receiving land in the St George area. By 1803 he had earned a full pardon—an impressive achievement for a man who arrived in chains.

A Partnership Forged in the Early Colony

By 1794, Mary Turner and David Batty were living together as partners. They never formally married—many convict couples didn’t—but their relationship was stable, enduring, and recognised by the community.

Together they had four children:

• David Batty (1794)
• Richard Batty (1797–1799)
• Ann Batty (1800)
• Thomas Batty (1802–1870)

These children were among the first generation of European Australians born in the colony—children of convicts, yet pioneers in their own right.

Their partnership is historically significant: a First Fleet woman and a Third Fleet man, two streams of early settlement merging into one family line.

Loss, Legacy, and the Old Sydney Burial Ground

Mary’s life was short but full. She died on 21 January 1808, aged about 42, and was buried in the Old Sydney Burial Ground, the colony’s first cemetery. She was recorded under the name Mary Wilks, an alias she had used for many years.

David lived another decade, dying in 1818 at around 56 years of age. He too was buried in the Old Sydney Burial Ground, close to Mary and their infant son Richard.

Today, that burial ground lies beneath Sydney Town Hall—a reminder that the city’s foundations quite literally rest on the lives of people like Mary and David.

Why Their Story Matters

Mary Turner and David Batty were not famous. They didn’t command ships or shape policy. But they helped build something far more enduring: a family, a foothold in a new land, and a legacy carried forward by generations.

Their story is a testament to resilience. To survival. To the quiet strength of ordinary people who became the backbone of a new society.

And for their descendants, it is a reminder that Australia’s earliest history is not just a national story—it is a family story.