Peter Haley (1824 - 1859)

Born 1824 in Symons Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

Died 16 Feb 1859 at about age 35 in Tasmania, Australia

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• Africans convicted in South Africa and transported to Australia
• Bushrangers of African Ancestry

Biography

Peter Haley was an Australian Bushranger

Peter Haley has African ancestry.

Peter Haley was a convict after the Third Fleet.

Peter Haley known as "Black Peter" was an African convict who came to Tasmania before he was executed there in 1857. Black Peter was a Bushranger, described here by the author Cassandra Pybus

”Other African convicts were the indigenous Khoi (called Hottentots by the British) of the Cape Colony who were mostly convicted of banditry and cattle stealing, though their real crime was resistance to colonial rule. One of Tasmania’s last convict bushrangers was Peter Haley, a Khoi man from the Cape Colony, executed in 1859 ….”. ^{[1] [2]}

The Convict Records of Peter states the following information:
He had originally come to Sydney in 1839 free. Travelled overland from Sydney to Adelaide.

The Star and Working Man's Guardian (Parramatta, NSW : 1844 - 1845) reported on Black Peter's apprehension on 2nd November 1844.

A man of colour, known as "Black Peter", and who has been illegally at large from Hobart Town, since 1837, was apprehended on Sunday last ^[3]

Peter Haly/Haley or Heddy was convicted at Adelaide, South Australia, Supreme Court 25 Nov 1850 for horse stealing - stealing a horse from Mr. Buchanan at Mr. Bagot’s Mines, Adelaide. 10yr sentence. Transported to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) per the ‘Antares’ ^[4] arriving 2 Jan 1851.

Aged 24yrs;
single; groom;
Presbyterian; 5’6”;
dark complexion (copper tone);
black hair (woolly);
brown eyes.
Native place - Symons Bay.
A native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Father - Peter

15mths Probation period.
Cascades (south Hobart)
3 Mar 1852: at New Norfolk - horse stealing. Fully committed for trial, at New Norfolk. Guilty. Further transportation sentence - Life sentence - 4 yrs Probation Period at Cascades.
20 Apr 1855: Abscond.
21 Apr 1855: Being absent - 14 days solitary.
15 Apr 1856: Abscond. Became a bushranger.
25 Jan 1859: Hobart S.C. - shooting. Guilty. To be executed.
16 Feb 1859: Executed at Hobart Town.
Known as bushranger “Black Peter”.
(article in the Hobart Courier 16 Feb 1859) ^[5]

One newspaper article describes the notoriety of Peter Haley - Black Peter
The Hobart Town, Daily Mercury, page 5, 10th July 1858 - "The Month"
Bushrangers ^[6]

The capture of Peter Haley was viewed as spectacular in that initially it involved a woman alone with a child. He had considerable arsenal on his person at the time. It was reported on 15th May 1858 in The Adelaide Observer - page 2 ^[7]

An article dated 31st July 1858 - COLONIAL NEWS - The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser (page 3) reports on a financial reward that was given by the government for capture of "Black Peter" "in his hut". ^[8]

A newspaper report on 14th March 1859 from page 3 of
The Hobart Daily Mercury in Tasmania reports the news of the execution of Peter Haley - Black Peter ^[9]

Research Notes

Image The headshot image (creative commons from Wikimedia ^[10] on this profile is not an official likeness of "Black Peter" but one of an "Khoikoi" from South Western Africa , who as a member of this people group Black Peter may have resembled. ^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ University of Tasmania, Companion to Tasmanian History, Black Convicts, by Cassandra Pybus, [1]
2. ↑ Beyond the Pale, Immigrants to Van Diemen's Land before 1900 [2]
3. ↑ 1844 'Multum in Parvo.', The Star and Working Man's Guardian (Parramatta, NSW : 1844 - 1845), 2 November, p. 2. , viewed 20 Mar 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228132547
4. ↑ Convict ship - Antares (1850) [3]
5. ↑ Convict Records of Peter Haley (Haly) [4]
6. ↑ The Hobart Town, Daily Mercury, page 5, 10 July 1858 - "The Month" - BUSHRANGERS [5]
7. ↑ Adelaide Observer - page 2 - 15th May 1858 [6]
8. ↑ The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser (page 3) 31st July 1858 [7]
9. ↑ The Hobart Daily Mercury, Tasmania - 14th March 1859 - page 3 THE MONTH [8]
10. ↑ Commons.wikimedia - Hombre Khoikhoi (Khokhoe) [9]
11. ↑ Wikipedia - Khokhoe [10]

See also:

• University of Tasmania, Companion to Tasmanian History, Bushranging [11]
• A Guide to Australian Bushranging [12]