Joseph Lucas Horrocks (1803–1865) was born in

Anderton, Lancashire Anderton is a civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is now a suburb of Adlington, northwest of Bolton. Within its boundaries are the Rivington Reservoirs. Grimeford village is in the parish. In 2001, the parish had ...

, near

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, on 18 November 1803, the first son of William Horrocks, a corn merchant, and Jane Smith. As a convict he was

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she wou ...

to Western Australia in 1851, becoming a prominent early pioneer of the town of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. Little is known of his early life, except that he was educated, and that at some point he worked as a sick bay attendant in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. In the 1850s he was carrying on business as a merchant and

drysalter Drysalters were dealers in a range of chemical products, including glue, varnish, dye and colourings. They might supply salt or chemicals for preserving food and sometimes also sold pickles, dried meat or related items. The name ''drysalter'' or '' ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, trading as ''Horrocks, Schaer, and Co'', and in London, in partnership with Gustav Kober, as ''Gustav Kober and Co''. He was declared bankrupt on 21 March 1851 at Manchester. His secured creditors received 3/10 (£0.19) in the pound. The

UK Census Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 (during the Second World War), Ireland in 1921/Northern Ireland in 1931,https://www.nisra.gov. ...

of 31 March 1851 showed Horrocks to be resident at London's

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

. On 9 April 1851 he pleaded guilty at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in London to forging and uttering three

bills of exchange A negotiable instrument is a document guaranteeing the payment of a specific amount of money, either on demand, or at a set time, whose payer is usually named on the document. More specifically, it is a document contemplated by or consisting of a ...

totaling £1,247/0/2 (£1,247.01) and was sentenced to fourteen years transportation. Horrocks departed Woolwich on 23 October 1851 and Portland on 2 November 1851 on board the ''Marion'', arriving at Fremantle on 31 January 1852. In 1852 Horrocks worked in the medical section of the

Convict Establishment Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. He was granted a

ticket of leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Jurisdictions ...

in June 1853. The scarcity of medical officers led him to apply for the post of medical attendant at the Convict Hiring Depot at Lynton, seven miles from

Port Gregory Gregory (Port Gregory until 1967) is a small town and fishing port located northwest of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Gregory had a population of 64 in 83 dwellings. Most of the ...

, a position that he accepted at a reduced salary of £20 a year because of his limited qualifications. In September 1853 he left Fremantle in the brig ''Hero''. At Lynton his duties were to attend the medical needs of all officers of the civil establishment, ticket-of-leave men and sick natives in the area. He became the depot's unofficial medical superintendent and was referred to locally as Dr Horrocks. He also, against regulations, treated and dispensed to the settlers of the area, which eventually saw him reprimanded and in 1854 he resigned. Horrocks received a conditional pardon on 19 April 1856, and set up as a storekeeper and postmaster at Wanerenooka (Northampton), while continuing to provide for the community's medical needs, free of charge. Although he was married, his wife does not appear to have joined him in Western Australia. In 1859, Horrocks took up a of land, and, with the help of

George Shenton Sr George Shenton (2 January 1811 – 25 March 1867) was a pharmacist, merchant, banker and philanthropist in colonial Perth, Western Australia. Biography Early life George Shenton was born in Winchester, England on 2 January 1811. He was the ...

, began to develop a copper mine which he named "Gwalla". Between 1862 and 1856, he employed sixty ticket-of-leave men on the mine. He had a road surveyed, along which he built stone cottages which he leased to the married miners at low rent. He encouraged agriculture, experimenting with various crops. In 1861 he began construction of the colony's first interdenominational church, which was opened in October 1864. In November 1863 he applied to the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

for an acre of land for a schoolhouse and garden. The school was completed in 1866. Horrocks died on 7 October 1865 at Wanerenooka. The town of "Gwalla" became

References

Further reading