Here’s the story of my ancestor, William Wood the Younger, Romany Gypsy fiddler and clog dancer, who like many Roma were transported to Australia for petty crimes. William Wood the Younger was 19 when he was sentenced to 10 years servitude at the Monmouth Assizes in Wales in 1818.

Before sailing to Australia, convicts were held in prison hulks. Conditions were inhumane when he was incarcerated on the Prison Hulk, Justicia anchored on the river Thames awaiting his sailing to Australia.

Here’s an account from Rom Moses Heron describing how wrenching it was for sweetheart’s and families to be separated.

“Moses Heron was on the Thames in a convict ship going to Australia for grai chorin - horse stealing. Some of his relatives went out in a boat to see the last of him, as his ship was anchored offshore. Moses took out his knife and cut his diklo - handkerchief from his neck and threw it overboard for them to take the knot back to his sweetheart. He had cut the diklo from under his ear so that the knot was undisturbed but remained just as he had tied it.” Thereby uniting the lovers across the miles.”

William Wood the Younger, boarded “The Baring”, arriving in Port Jackson, NSW, Australia in 1820. Upon arrival, he was dispersed to Windsor, NSW where he was indentured to G.L.L. Daley on land abutting the Hawkesbury River. On the ship’s passenger list he was described as a fiddler and coachman (at times as a labourer), standing 5’6” with a kauli mortsi - swarthy complexion, black hair and hazel eyes. In his bloodline, he carried our family’s Gypsy music talents.

Australian contemporary Colonial Dance researchers have found that “on route to the colony, the surgeons in charge of convicts often encouraged dancing as a healthy activity and this is documented in their medical journals.” So it’s likely that William took with him our Romany Gypsy hornpipe and jig music, playing the fiddle to accompany the dancers.

While in Australia, on October 31, 1823 William was transported on Lady Nelson to Port McQuarrie for three years. Colonial Secretary’s Papers state he was a labourer, and he was convicted of a colonial crime in Windsor under magistrate William Cox Esq. on 27th September 1823. Most convicts got to learn to read and write in Port McQuarrie’s penal colony, which gave them opportunities to take more skilled jobs beyond horse wrangling, agricultural work and blacksmithing.

William Wood the Younger had earned his Freedom Papers, married and stayed in Queensland where he lived out a quiet life. Many changed their names and integrated into Australian society, voluntarily erasing their Roma Gypsy identities. After that we lost track of him.

That’s not the end of the story of William Wood the Younger, Gypsy fiddler and clog dancer. In October 2025, the Australian Historical Dance Society staged an week long event in Port Macquarie that was a convict settlement from 1821 to 1832. During their special week they explored the forgotten culture of these unwilling immigrants [sic], bringing a new perspective to convict life in colonial Australia. William had passed along the our Wood family tradition of fiddle playing and clog dancing in Australia.

He was featured in Convict Culture Week. Not only had our family found him, he has been celebrated for his contribution of our Welsh Kale Gypsy musical heritage, adding to the cultural capital of Australia, much like his great grandfather, Abram Wood and his ancestors have done for Wales