Portrait of George Barrington

Convicted of a felony, George Barrington was transported with the Third Fleet. Soon after his arrival, in Sydney Cove on 26th September 1791, Barrington’s “irreproachable conduct” led Governor Phillip to appoint him watchman of the government stores at Parramatta. Thus began his reformation from criminal to upstanding citizen. In 1792 he received a conditional pardon. In 1796, with a year of his sentence still to serve, Governor Hunter gave him an absolute pardon, the first ticket-of-leave to be issued in the colony. He was appointed chief constable of Parramatta, with Hunter describing him as “one of the most zealous on public duty and one of the most exemplary in the private life of any within the colony”.