THE HISTORY
John Pearsall came from Staffordshire, United Kingdom. As a young man Pearsall was convicted of a crime and sentenced to death. This sentence was then commuted to life imprisonment and transportation to New South Wales. During his time as a convict he became a member of the settlement expedition led by Lieutenant Governor David Collins that founded the township of Hobart in Tasmania.
He arrived at the new settlement with useful trade skills which undoubtedly allowed him to earn money outside of his government work obligations as a convict. Having served a further reduced sentence, he was able to purchase a building in Liverpool Street, Hobart. Today, John Pearsall might be classified as a property developer, firstly purchasing, then subdividing and selling his land and building. But in his time, he represented the model to which Governor Macquarie wished all convicts would aspire; to serve their sentence and then to begin a new life.
He became a family man and a farmer and established himself in Clarence Plains in the immediate vicinity of modern-day Bellerive.
Pearsall was illiterate, being unable to write or sign his own name. Research has found a number of variations in the spelling of his name, including: Pearsall, Pearsal, Pierceall, Pearseall, Piercall, Piercell and Purcell.
The view from the window included the Colonial Hospital, the Commissariat building, Ingle Hall and St David’s with its first spire. The Hobart Rivulet immediately in front of the view-field had scattered vegetation along it including trees and ti-tree scrub.
.png)
Detail of drawing by G.W. Evans (c1819), the frontispiece of his Geographical Historical and Topographical Description of Van Diemen’s Land, London 1822. Quinary Investments.