Convicts sent to New Zealand...

were Convicts Really Sent to New Zealand?

Despite assurances from the British government that NO convicts would be sent to the fledgling colony of New Zealand, two ships transported groups of "Parkhurst apprentices" to New Zealand -- the St. George carrying 92 boys arrived at Auckland on 25 October 1842, and the Mandarin with a load of 31 boys on 14 November 1843. These Parkhurst apprentices were young boys, most between the ages of 12 and 16, who had been sentenced to Parkhurst, a prison for young male offenders located on the Isle of Wight. The Parkhurst apprentices, most of whom were convicted for minor crimes such as stealing, were rehabilitated at Parkhurst, with training in occupations such as carpentry, shoemaking and tailoring, and then exiled to serve out the remainder of their sentence. The Parkhurst boys chosen for transport to New Zealand were among the best of the group, classified as either "free emigrants" or "colonial apprentices," with the idea that while New Zealand would not accept convicts, they would gladly accept trained labor. This did not go over well with the inhabitants of Auckland, however, who requested that no further convicts be sent to the colony.

Despite their inauspicious beginning, many descendants of the Parkhurst Boy’s became distinguished citizens of New Zealand