Ann Rumsby

Ann Rumsby (1803–1850) was a female convict involved in a scandal in 1820s New South Wales.

Biography

She was transported to Australia on the convict ship Mary Ann. She was assigned to a Dr Douglass. Samuel Marsden used this to discredit Dr Douglass, who was accused of seducing Ann.[1] Ann denied it, was convicted of perjury, and sent to Port Macquarie. The case was reviewed and overruled and Ann was pardoned. It was a major defeat for Marsden.[2][3][4]

As Marsden was anti-emancipist, it is said this contributed to the emergence of democracy in New South Wales.[2][5][6][7]

Rumsby's story was dramatised in an episode of the television series Behind the Legend.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Marsden a target". The Canberra Times. Vol. 47, no. 13, 242. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 September 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b "Convict belle started a legal brawl". The Sun. No. 2342. New South Wales, Australia. 29 February 1948. p. 6 (Color Magazine). Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Conclusion of the Rev. Mr. Marsden's Pamphlet From the Gazette of Monday Last". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XXVI, no. 1507. New South Wales, Australia. 23 May 1828. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Wilton, C. Pleydell N. (1828), "ART. VI.—Statement, including a correspondence between the Commissioners of the Court of Enquiry, and the Reverend Samuel Marsden, relative to a charge of Illegal Punishment, preferred against Doctor Douglass, held at Parramatta in July 1825, By order of Lord Bathurst, together with some observations on the Bill of Indemnity. Sydney, R. Howe, 1828", The Australian Quarterly Journal of Theology, Literature & Science., 4 (July 1828), Sydney: A. Hill, nla.obj-633829415, retrieved 21 June 2023 – via Trove
  5. ^ "What Convict Girl Did". The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate. No. 4447. New South Wales, Australia. 26 October 1938. p. 45. Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Hungerford, Brian (2022). The Trials of Ann Rumsby. Ginninderra Press.
  7. ^ "Ladies in Revolt". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 42, no. 2, 120. South Australia. 24 January 1953. p. 2 (Sunday Magazine). Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.