James Davis(escaped convict)

Latest News

James Davis (known for a period as Duramboi) (1808 – 7 May 1889) was a Scottish-born convict, notable for escaping custody in Australia and living with aboriginals. He subsequently rejoined European society and became a shopkeeper.

Davis was born in Broomielaw, Scotland and was apprenticed for a period at Old Wynd, Glasgow. In 1824, he was sentenced to transportation to Australia for seven years for stealing 2 shillings 6 pence from a church box in Surrey, arriving in New South Wales in August 1825. In 1828 he was tried for robbery at Patrick's Plains and was sentenced to three years imprisonment at Brisbane (Moreton Bay). Six weeks after his arrival in February 1829, he escaped with a companion and they soon joined a group of Aboriginals led by Pamby-Pamby. While his companion eventually broke tribal law and was killed, Davis was accepted into the tribe and was known as "Duramboi". He travelled hundreds of miles from Brisbane and learned the languages and customs of many tribes.

In 1842 he met Andrew Petrie in Wide Bay, who persuaded him to accept that it was safe to return to Brisbane with the cessation of transportation. He relearned English and gradually fitted back into European society. He became a blacksmith at Kangaroo Point and in 1846 he married Annie Shea. In 1864 he established a crockery shop in George Street, Brisbane. In 1883, soon after his first wife's death, he married one Bridget Hayes. He occasionally worked as an interpreter for Aboriginals in court and gave some descriptions Aboriginal rites. Under his will, he donated £750 in 1889 and £1100 in 1911 to the Brisbane General Hospital.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "James Davis." | Wiki History
Patrick signs onto Andretti IndyCar team (14 min)
Air pollution hurts child breathing (28 min)
Burnout, depression link to medical errors (33 min)
Protein might aid probiotics producers (46 min)
Airports seeking to raise facility fee (53 min)
Physical therapy good for microdiskectomy
UPI NewsTrack Business
fark
Photoshop this festive fellow
Man who fell neck-deep into a cesspool: "If you panic, that s- - - will suck you right in."
"She puts her hands flat against his chest and leans into him in a simulacrum of a swoon, making...
Burglar patiently explains to residents' children that "Obama let him in" while taking a shower
Some guy sues because people have been photoshopping his mugshot
Men and women respond differently to danger, brain scan shows. Especially if written by Andrew Lloyd...