Rediscovering Ginninderra:
John Walker
Born: c. 1803
Ex-marine, John Walker arrived in the colony in 1826 on the convict transport, Countess Harcourt, aged 23. He was assigned to George Palmer who deployed him to his Ginninderra estate.
His certificate of freedom of 1833 records that he was a 'rope maker' from Nottingham who had been sentenced to seven years' transportation for desertion. He is also described in this document as 'a little deaf' with a horizontal scar over his left ear.
His good behavior and military background may have helped him win the trust of the Palmer family. In 1839 Walker is recorded as the superintendent of John Palmer's 'Bukalong' Monaro property.
References
- Gillespie, L. L., Ginninderra: Forerunner to Canberra, Campbell, 1992
- Meyers D. (ed. K. Frawley), Lairds, Lags and Larrikins: an Early History of the Limestone Plains, Pearce, 2010
- 1828 NSW census and convict transportation records