Tumblr: What did you do in the Great War?

My brother has been live blogging Australia's experience of the first World War on a human scale for the last couple of years as 1stAIF, his Tumblr What Did You Do in the Great War? is a combination of bits and pieces like articles, cartoons and advertising notices gathered from Trove's digitised newspapers, diaries, bits of ephemera, diary entries, and so on. Each day he posts something from exactly 100 years ago.

An Australian soldier writes a letter home from his billet on the Somme front, 1916.

Trial of Peter Maguire at the Mullingar Assizes

Peter Maguire was born about 1806 or 1807 in County Westmeath, Ireland, and was transported to Australia via the Guildford(8) in 1829 for 'Attacking a house.' His convict indent describes him as a farm worker of ruddy complexion with brown hair and grey eyes, 5 feet 6 3/4 inches tall. Peter was assigned to a Mr Stephens in Saint Vincent County, an area which went from the Shoalhaven River to the Deua River in the south, and included Braidwood.

Peter Maguire's papers indicate that he was tried in October of 1828, but I have been unable to find any reports in the British Newspaper Archive which match him for that date. It seems likely to me that his original trial date was in July, and perhaps his sentence was commuted to transportation in October or there was a confusion at some point. He was not able to read and write, and later in life his name was recorded as Peter McGuire.

Westmeath Journal 31 Jul 1828

Mullingar Assizes
Monday, July 28

Probate notice for John Suffolk

Joseph Suffolk (later a resident of Tomerong) is believed to be the son of John Suffolk, convict, who was transported via the Lord Sidmouth(1) in 1819. This notice in the NSW Government Gazette 9 August 1853 seems to support this:

Trial of John Suffolk, Cheesemonger

John Suffolk was transported to NSW in 1819 via the Lord Sidmouth(1).

The  Windsor and Eton Express gives a description of his crime as follows:

Windsor and Eton Express - Sunday 12 July 1818 p. 3-4
County Assizes

Berkshire. - These assizes commenced at Abingdon on Monday last. ...

Mary Sims, aged 23, single woman, charged with feloniously stealing, on the 24th of June, at the parish of Thatcham, 37 promissory notes, of the value of £73, the property of Joseph May. - Two years imprisonment to hard labour.

John Suffolk, aged 35, cheesemonger, charged with having, on the 25th day of June, at the parish of Thatcham, received and had the same promissory notes, knowing the same to have been so feloniously stolen by the said Mary Sims. - Transported for 14 years.(Retrieved from http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/)

It's interesting the receiving of stolen goods had a harsher penalty than stealing the promissory notes, but hard labour wouldn't have been a picnic either and John seems to have done alright in the colony.