Henry Kable
Encyclopedia
Henry Kable was born in Laxfield
, Suffolk
, England
. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford
, Norfolk
, England
, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation
for fourteen years to America
, but the American Revolution
meant that transportation to America
was no longer possible. Henry was returned to the Norwich Castle gaol
until he embarked in the transport Friendship
, in which he sailed in the First Fleet
to New South Wales
.
colonies for a term of 14 years. Susannah and Henry commenced a relationship whilst prisoners in Norwich Castle gaol
where she gave birth to a son, whom she called Henry. Susannah was then one of the women chosen to be sent to Botany Bay
.
in a group wedding, the first European wedding ceremony in the new colony.
Before the young couple left England
, they attracted the attention of Lady Cadogan
who organised a public subscription which yielded the substantial sum of £20 to buy them a parcel of goods which Rev. Richard Johnson
was to give them on their arrival in the penal colony
. The gift was plundered on the voyage, but Kable won damages of £15 against the captain (Duncan Sinclair) of the Alexander
, in the first civil suit heard in New South Wales
. Convicts in Britain who had been sentenced to death were regarded as dead in law, and thus had no right to sue, and Sinclair had boasted that he could not be sued by them. Probably from advice the place where a writ would usually describe the plaintiffs' occupation, the words, "New Settlers of this place" had been crossed out and nothing had been substituted. To have described them as convicts would have been fatal to their case. The fact that Henry and Susannah were convicts and the legal consequences of that fact would have been obvious to all of those concerned; maybe the description "New Settlers" was too close to a fabrication, and hence this part of the writ was altered in order to maintain a discreet silence. When the court met and Sinclair challenged the prosecution on the ground that the Kable's were felons, the court required him to prove it. As all the convict records had been left behind in England
, he could not do so, and the court ordered the captain to make restitution. The case is now available online, both as a transcription and as photographs of the original documents.
Henry and Susannah had 11 children. They were:
appointed him an overseer.
In 1798 Kable opened a hotel called the Ramping Horse, from which he ran the first stage coach in Australia, and he also owned a retail store.
Henry became a constable of police, and later chief constable in the new colony and was involved on the prosecution side in criminal cases. Kable was dismissed 25 May 1802 for misbehaviour, after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship. After this, he became merchant and ship owner. Like others in the colony, and perhaps because of his early success, Henry used the courts to argue cases against his opponents. He seems to have prospered; in 1808 shipping records show Kable and two partners, boat builder James Underwood and the other Simeon Lord
, as principal ship owners in the expanding commerce of acquiring and exporting sealskins to the colony. Kable was one of 70 signatories to a petition to Governor Hunter
from creditors who were anxious to prevent debtors from frustrating their demands by legal delays. The partnership dissolved in some bitterness shortly afterwards but not before Henry had managed to divest himself of a good deal of his property to his son, in order to avoid the consequences of any court order. Kable did much to pioneer sealing and shipbuilding in New South Wales, but it was Simeon Lord
who marketed the skins and James Underwood who built the ships; yet Kable's achievements were remarkable for a man who could barely sign his name and had no other claim to literacy than his ability to add a column of figures.
Like Lord and other early Sydney entrepreneurs, Kable always had a substantial landholding as a kind of 'sheet anchor'. He had been granted farms at Petersham Hill
in 1794 and 1795, and in the latter year bought out four near-by grantees within a week of their grants being signed. In 1807 he owned at least four farms of about 170 acres (69 ha); in 1809 in addition he held five farms at the Hawkesbury
and 300 acres (121 ha) at the Cowpastures, with a variety of real estate in Sydney itself including his comfortable house and extensive stores. He also had 40 horned cattle, 9 horses and 40 pigs. His business reputation seems to have been dubious, for he was regarded with distrust by Governor King
and with active hostility by Governor Bligh
who thought him and his partners fraudulent and had them imprisoned for a month and fined each £100 for sending him a letter couched in improper terms. It is certain that Kable played no part in public life comparable with Simeon Lord
's multifarious activities. His commercial career in Sydney
seems to have ended soon after Lord & Co. broke up, for as early as February 1810 he announced that his son Henry Junior had taken over the entire management of his Sydney
affairs. In 1811 Kable moved to Windsor
where he operated a store and brewery, the latter in association with a partner, Richard Woodbury and his Sydney
warehouse was let to Michael Hayes.
and was buried on 18 April 1846, at St. Matthew's Church of England, Windsor.
to honour them as the heads of one of Australia's founding families. It was the first reunion to acknowledge convict ancestry.
In 1984, Zillah Kable Thomas and Lola Wilkinson descendants of Henry and Susannah , unveiled a plaque commemorating Henry's land grant on the site of the Regent Hotel, (now known as the Four Seasons Hotel.) At this time the restaurant Kable's was also opened. In 2010 it is still there despite the change of owners and the hotel name.
In 1988, another Kable reunion was organised by Zillah, taking 2 years to plan and having 500 relatives descended from the couple to celebrate the 200th Wedding Anniversary being the occasion. This was held in a packed ballroom in the hotel on the spot of the first gaol in Sydney and the one which Henry controlled as the first chief constable in the colony. He had successfully crossed the order of society by beginning as a convict and very quickly becoming a controller of the worst offenders in the colony. The dinner was to celebrate in particular the wedding date of the couple 200 years on but also to acknowledge the Bicentennary of Australia
. The event was awarded a certificate for being a recognised official Bicentennial event by the Australian Bicentennial Authority.
Celebrity veterinarian Katrina Warren is a descendant through Henry's son John.
Laxfield
Laxfield is a small ancient village in northern Suffolk, England. It is located at a distinct bend in today's B1117 road.-History:Laxfield arose in Saxon times as it is known that an early church was there and the village itself appears in the Domesday Book...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
for fourteen years to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
meant that transportation to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was no longer possible. Henry was returned to the Norwich Castle gaol
Norwich Castle
Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. It was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England when William the Conqueror ordered its construction because he wished to have a fortified place in the important city of...
until he embarked in the transport Friendship
Friendship (ship)
Friendship was an Australian First Fleet transport ship, built in Scarborough, England, in 1784.A brig of 278 tons, she was among the smallest of the transports. Her master was Francis Walton and surgeon Thomas Arndell. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying seventy-six male and twenty-one...
, in which he sailed in the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
Wife and Children
Susannah Holmes was sentenced to death after being found guilty of theft from the home of Jabez Taylor. The judge who passed sentence then recommended that she be given a reprieve, which was granted by the king. She was then sentenced for transportation to the AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
colonies for a term of 14 years. Susannah and Henry commenced a relationship whilst prisoners in Norwich Castle gaol
Norwich Castle
Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. It was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England when William the Conqueror ordered its construction because he wished to have a fortified place in the important city of...
where she gave birth to a son, whom she called Henry. Susannah was then one of the women chosen to be sent to Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
.
In Sydney town
On 10 February 1788 Kable married Susannah in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in a group wedding, the first European wedding ceremony in the new colony.
Before the young couple left England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, they attracted the attention of Lady Cadogan
Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan
Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan was a British peer and Whig politician.Cadogan was the only son of the 2nd Baron Cadogan and his wife, Elizabeth, the second daughter of Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. From 1749–54 and again from 1755, Cadogan was a Member of Parliament for Cambridge until he...
who organised a public subscription which yielded the substantial sum of £20 to buy them a parcel of goods which Rev. Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (chaplain)
Richard Johnson was the first Christian cleric in Australia.Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in Welton, Yorkshire and educated at Hull Grammar School under Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar and graduated in 1784...
was to give them on their arrival in the penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
. The gift was plundered on the voyage, but Kable won damages of £15 against the captain (Duncan Sinclair) of the Alexander
Alexander (ship)
The Alexander was a First Fleet transport of 452 tons, barque-built with quarterdeck, built at Hull in 1783. She was the largest transport ship in the First Fleet. Before leaving England, fever broke out on board, and sixteen men died. She left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787, carrying 195 male convicts....
, in the first civil suit heard in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Convicts in Britain who had been sentenced to death were regarded as dead in law, and thus had no right to sue, and Sinclair had boasted that he could not be sued by them. Probably from advice the place where a writ would usually describe the plaintiffs' occupation, the words, "New Settlers of this place" had been crossed out and nothing had been substituted. To have described them as convicts would have been fatal to their case. The fact that Henry and Susannah were convicts and the legal consequences of that fact would have been obvious to all of those concerned; maybe the description "New Settlers" was too close to a fabrication, and hence this part of the writ was altered in order to maintain a discreet silence. When the court met and Sinclair challenged the prosecution on the ground that the Kable's were felons, the court required him to prove it. As all the convict records had been left behind in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he could not do so, and the court ordered the captain to make restitution. The case is now available online, both as a transcription and as photographs of the original documents.
Henry and Susannah had 11 children. They were:
- Henry (17 February 1786, Norwich Castle gaolNorwich CastleNorwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. It was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England when William the Conqueror ordered its construction because he wished to have a fortified place in the important city of...
, England, – 13 May 1852, PictonPicton, New South WalesPicton is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. The town is located 80 kilometres South-west of Sydney, close to Camden and Campbelltown. It is also the administrative centre of Wollondilly Shire....
). Henry is buried at St. Matthews, The OaksThe Oaks, New South WalesThe Oaks is a town located in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire on the south western edge of the Sydney Basin. The Oaks is located south-west of Sydney via the Hume Highway, west of Camden and 290m above sea-level...
. - Dianna (5 December 1788, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 11 March 1854, Macquarie St, WindsorWindsor, New South WalesWindsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
) - Enoch (24 April 1791, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 27 February 1793, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
) - James (19 August 1793, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 30 September 1809, At Sea, off the straits, MalaccaMalaccaMalacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
) - Susannah (23 October 1796, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 20 June 1885, `Vanderville', The OaksThe Oaks, New South WalesThe Oaks is a town located in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire on the south western edge of the Sydney Basin. The Oaks is located south-west of Sydney via the Hume Highway, west of Camden and 290m above sea-level...
) - George Esto (28 September 1797, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 1853, BathurstBathurst, New South Wales-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
) - Eunice (30 May 1799, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 21 December 1867, WindsorWindsor, New South WalesWindsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
) - William Nathaniel (22 March 1801, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 16 November 1837, BathurstBathurst, New South Wales-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
) - John (12 November 1802, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 30 May 1859, Bairaba Hotel, WindsorWindsor, New South WalesWindsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
) - Charles Dickenson (5 October 1804, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– date and place of death unknown) - Edgar James (14 August 1806, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
– 28 April 1849, WindsorWindsor, New South WalesWindsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
)
Career
The oddity of the first civil suit won by a convict, may have brought Kable to the governor's notice, although Kable later claimed to have had influential letters of recommendation, for soon afterwards Governor PhillipArthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
appointed him an overseer.
In 1798 Kable opened a hotel called the Ramping Horse, from which he ran the first stage coach in Australia, and he also owned a retail store.
Henry became a constable of police, and later chief constable in the new colony and was involved on the prosecution side in criminal cases. Kable was dismissed 25 May 1802 for misbehaviour, after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship. After this, he became merchant and ship owner. Like others in the colony, and perhaps because of his early success, Henry used the courts to argue cases against his opponents. He seems to have prospered; in 1808 shipping records show Kable and two partners, boat builder James Underwood and the other Simeon Lord
Simeon Lord
Simeon Lord was a pioneer merchant and a magistrate in Australia. He became a prominent trader in Sydney, buying and selling ship cargoes. Despite being an emancipist Lord was made a magistrate by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and he became a frequent guest at government house. His business...
, as principal ship owners in the expanding commerce of acquiring and exporting sealskins to the colony. Kable was one of 70 signatories to a petition to Governor Hunter
John Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
from creditors who were anxious to prevent debtors from frustrating their demands by legal delays. The partnership dissolved in some bitterness shortly afterwards but not before Henry had managed to divest himself of a good deal of his property to his son, in order to avoid the consequences of any court order. Kable did much to pioneer sealing and shipbuilding in New South Wales, but it was Simeon Lord
Simeon Lord
Simeon Lord was a pioneer merchant and a magistrate in Australia. He became a prominent trader in Sydney, buying and selling ship cargoes. Despite being an emancipist Lord was made a magistrate by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and he became a frequent guest at government house. His business...
who marketed the skins and James Underwood who built the ships; yet Kable's achievements were remarkable for a man who could barely sign his name and had no other claim to literacy than his ability to add a column of figures.
Like Lord and other early Sydney entrepreneurs, Kable always had a substantial landholding as a kind of 'sheet anchor'. He had been granted farms at Petersham Hill
Petersham, New South Wales
Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Marrickville Council...
in 1794 and 1795, and in the latter year bought out four near-by grantees within a week of their grants being signed. In 1807 he owned at least four farms of about 170 acres (69 ha); in 1809 in addition he held five farms at the Hawkesbury
City of Hawkesbury
The City of Hawkesbury is a Local Government Area of New South Wales, Australia, part of which is at the fringe of the Sydney metropolitan area, about 50 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district...
and 300 acres (121 ha) at the Cowpastures, with a variety of real estate in Sydney itself including his comfortable house and extensive stores. He also had 40 horned cattle, 9 horses and 40 pigs. His business reputation seems to have been dubious, for he was regarded with distrust by Governor King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
and with active hostility by Governor Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
who thought him and his partners fraudulent and had them imprisoned for a month and fined each £100 for sending him a letter couched in improper terms. It is certain that Kable played no part in public life comparable with Simeon Lord
Simeon Lord
Simeon Lord was a pioneer merchant and a magistrate in Australia. He became a prominent trader in Sydney, buying and selling ship cargoes. Despite being an emancipist Lord was made a magistrate by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and he became a frequent guest at government house. His business...
's multifarious activities. His commercial career in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
seems to have ended soon after Lord & Co. broke up, for as early as February 1810 he announced that his son Henry Junior had taken over the entire management of his Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
affairs. In 1811 Kable moved to Windsor
Windsor, New South Wales
Windsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
where he operated a store and brewery, the latter in association with a partner, Richard Woodbury and his Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
warehouse was let to Michael Hayes.
Death
Henry died on 16 April 1846, at Pitt Town near WindsorWindsor, New South Wales
Windsor is a town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Windsor is located in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It sits on the Hawkesbury River, on the north-western outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area. At the 2006 census, Windsor had a population of...
and was buried on 18 April 1846, at St. Matthew's Church of England, Windsor.
Legacy
In 1968, on the 180th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet, more than a hundred descendants of Henry and Susannah Kable met in Sydney at Crows NestCrows Nest, New South Wales
Crows Nest is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Crows Nest is located 5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.-History:...
to honour them as the heads of one of Australia's founding families. It was the first reunion to acknowledge convict ancestry.
In 1984, Zillah Kable Thomas and Lola Wilkinson descendants of Henry and Susannah , unveiled a plaque commemorating Henry's land grant on the site of the Regent Hotel, (now known as the Four Seasons Hotel.) At this time the restaurant Kable's was also opened. In 2010 it is still there despite the change of owners and the hotel name.
In 1988, another Kable reunion was organised by Zillah, taking 2 years to plan and having 500 relatives descended from the couple to celebrate the 200th Wedding Anniversary being the occasion. This was held in a packed ballroom in the hotel on the spot of the first gaol in Sydney and the one which Henry controlled as the first chief constable in the colony. He had successfully crossed the order of society by beginning as a convict and very quickly becoming a controller of the worst offenders in the colony. The dinner was to celebrate in particular the wedding date of the couple 200 years on but also to acknowledge the Bicentennary of Australia
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
. The event was awarded a certificate for being a recognised official Bicentennial event by the Australian Bicentennial Authority.
Celebrity veterinarian Katrina Warren is a descendant through Henry's son John.