Reilly History in Australia
Joseph Reilly came to Western Australia in 1853 from England, on the convict ship 'Pyrenees', arriving as a Pensioner Guard.
Pensioner Guards
Between 1850 and 1964, as a part of its emigration policy, the Home Government in England began to encourage retired soldiers to accompany convicts on their voyages to Western Australia. Those soldiers who came to Western Australia as guards aboard the convict transports were known as the Pensioner Guards (also known as the Enrolled Pensioner Force or Enrolled Guards). The Enrolled Pensioner Guards comprised of aged or invalid military personnel who were unfit for active duty but capable of fulfilling a role as garrison troops or convict guards.
In comparison to the life back home, a free passage; six months employment and a grant of land would have been an attractive proposition. He would have left behind a harsh life in the British Army. At that time, many soldiers were recruited from the rural working class and often enlisted under dubious circumstances. Their barracks in England were squalid and overcrowded, and daily rations consisted of a pound of bread and coffee for breakfast and three quarters of a pound of boiled meat for lunch. They earned a basic wage of a shilling a day but little was left after money was deducted for food, laundry, haircuts and medical treatment.
Once in Western Australia, the Pensioner Guards were required to complete 7 years of service before being eligible for a free land grant. On arrival they were offered an allotment of ten acres of land, which they could select and lease for seven years and then own freehold. As an extra incentive, a gratuity of £10 was given to each of them and they were promised the use of convict labour to help clear the land. After fulfilling their service requirements, they generally sought work among the free settlers in the colony, but were always on hand to help in case of an outbreak among the prisoners.