John Munday
- private marine - 18th (Plymouth) Company - New South Wales - First Fleet - Port Jackson - Captain Shea - Norfolk Island - 1788 -
John Munday was a private marine in the 18th (Plymouth) Company who came to New South Wales on the First Fleet, bringing with him his wife Ann and son Edward.
John was a cloth worker from Berkeley, Gloucestershire, before joining
the Marine Corps at Plymouth. It is uncertain which ship he sailed on to New
South Wales, where he served at Port Jackson in the company of Captain Shea.
His wife Ann had a daughter Elizabeth at Port Jackson, baptized on 22nd June
1788 and a son John baptized on 14th November 1790. Their eldest son Edward was
born at Stonehouse, Plymouth and was probably a five year old when he made the
voyage to NSW with his parents.
On 26th October 1791 the family sailed to Norfolk Island aboard ‘Atlantic’ and there they farmed a 60 acre land grant. In 1802 Edward joined the NSW Corps at Norfolk Island, then in 1810 transferred to the 73rd regiment and appears to have gone to Ceylon with the regiment in 1814.
His brother John settled in Tasmania around 1818 and it is thought Edward joined him at Clarence Plains around 1826.
The fate of Ann and her husband John is not documented, both had disappeared from the records on Norfolk Island by 1805.
Reference: Mollie Gillen. ‘The Founders of Australia, A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet.’