Australia & New Zealand:

This page has records of Australian SPEAK families, with links below. Also please follow the link to the New Zealand SPEAK(E) families.

Australia:

The earliest known Speake migrant to Australia was a Richard Speake (MU9) from Church Stretton Shropshire who was convicted for theft of two calf skins and a coat and sentenced to death in 1790. His punishment was subsequently comuted to transportation "over the seas" for 7 years. He sailed with the Third Fleet from Portsmouth in March 1791 in the "Admiral Barrington". Unfortunately he had to leave his wife and 4 children under the age of 12 years behind in Shropshire.

The third fleet of 11 ships arrived in Sydney NSW at various dates in 1791, with over 2000 convicts   The Admiral Barrington arrived in October. However a total of 194 male convicts and 4 female convicts in the fleet died during the voyage, and although conditions on board ship weren't as "diabolical" as the notorious Second Fleet of the previous year, they were still outrageous. The death rate on the Admiral Barrington was 12%. Richard Speak is recorded as arriving in Austraiia in the indents, but it has not yet been possible to trace him further in Australia. (The Third Fleet Convicts" R.J.Ryan 1983)