John Cadman worked as a publican in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, before becoming a convict

Convict

A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...

 and being transported to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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Outline of life

On December 9, 1797, Cadman was sentenced to transportation for life at the Worcester

Worcester

The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...

 assizes, after being arrested at Bewdley

Bewdley

Bewdley is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, along the Severn Valley a few miles to the west of Kidderminster...

 on the charge of stealing a horse. Cadman was transported aboard the Barwell, which left Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

, 7 November 1797 and reached Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, 18 May 1798.

In 1809, Cadman became the coxswain

Coxswain

The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...

 of a government boat. Whilst in the service of the Government as a coxswain, he lost an eye. Cadman received a conditional pardon from Governor Lachlan Macquarie

Lachlan Macquarie

Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...

 in 1814 and a free pardon in 1821. Cadman became the master of the Cutter "Mars" in 1825, which took 25 prisoners to Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

. He was then promoted to the position of Superintendent of Government Boats at Sydney in 1827 on a salary of £91, until he retired in 1845. When that position of office was abolished in 1845, Governor Sir George Gipps

George Gipps

Sir George Gipps was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this...

 recommended 'his great respectability' and arranged for him to be paid a retiring gratuity of £182.

Since 1816 Cadman had occupied a rough stone cottage at The Rocks

The Rocks, New South Wales

The Rocks is an urban locality, tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney's city centre, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, immediately north-west of the Sydney central business district...

. Cadmans Cottage still stands today and is Australia's oldest surviving house within the city of Sydney. 5,6 Jan 1818, Cadman received government permission to marry at Sydney. On 26 October 1830 John married Elizabeth Mortimer.

Cadman died on 12 November 1848 and was survived by Elizabeth Mortimer and her two daughters from a previous alliance. Cadman was buried in the old Devonshire Street Cemetery

Devonshire Street Cemetery

The Devonshire Street Cemetery was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers and Devonshire Streets, in Sydney, Australia. It was consecrated in 1820. The Jewish section was used from 1832...

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