Elizabeth Steel

Elizabeth Steel arrived in Sydney Cove as a convict on board the Lady Juliana on 3 June 1790, as part of the Second Fleet, aged 23 or 24. At the time of her sentencing authorities described her as being ‘mute by visitation of God’, which is the earliest record of a deaf Australian, but there is as of yet no historical evidence that she used a sign language. Her charge at the Old Bailey was for stealing a silver watch from George Childs, who was a customer at the public house she worked at as a prostitute. After two months in Sydney, Elizabeth Steel was transferred to Norfolk Island. In November 1791, Steel married a fellow convict, Irish born James Mackey. Together they successfully farmed a ten acre leasehold until the expiry of their sentences. Elizabeth returned to Sydney in 1794, but died the following year aged 29. Her burial at the Old Sydney Burial Ground was recorded on 8th June 1795.

Headstone Found

In 1991, Sydney Town Hall underwent major restoration works, during which excavations to lay new stormwater pipes under the Lower Town Hall, workmen discovered evidence of burials. Archaeologists were then employed to excavate the site and record their findings. Overlying the lid of one of the graves discovered in 1991 was the upper portion of a Georgian headstone, made of Sydney sandstone [ [http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/history/foundations/zoom/lg_headstone2.html Photo of Headstone] ] . Remnants of an inscription were visible:

"In Memory of"

"Eliz Steel died"

"1795 Aged …"

Although this headstone was found above the remains of the vault containing the skeletal remains of a female, forensic tests confirmed that there was no relationship between them. It is thought that the headstone may have fallen from another grave, possibly during the construction of the Town Hall in the late 1860s. [ [http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/history/foundations/BurialGround.html Sydney Town Hall records] ]

References

* Jackson, P.W. & Lee, R.* (Eds.).(2001). Deaf lives: Deaf people in history. Middlesex, ENG: British Deaf History Society

External links

* [http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/html_units/1780s/o17870523-1.html 23rd May, 1787. Old Bailey]
* [http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/html_units/1780s/t17871024-15.html 24th October, 1787. Old Bailey]
* [http://www.signum-verlag.de/BTitel/3-927731-59-5.html Collage - Works on International Deaf History]
* [http://www.deafbooks.com/deaf-crime-casebook.htm Deaf Crime Casebook by Peter Jackson]
* [http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:_Wpi-9x7e-8J:ruthmorris13.googlepages.com/HistoricalAspectsofCourtInterpretingFINAL.pdf+Elizabeth+Steel+convict&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=40 The Face of Justice: Historical Aspects of Court Interpreting ]