Noble Blood, Convict Chains. Based on a true story.
Set against the sweeping backdrop of 19th-century England and Australia, Collin Peacock: Noble Blood, Convict Chains is the compelling story of Collin Peacock, a man born into the shadows of nobility, fighting to carve his place in a world that constantly pushes him aside.
Born on December 13, 1805, Collin and his twin sister, Mary, are the illegitimate children of Jane Peacock, a commoner, and Lord Peter Campbell III, a wealthy sugar plantation owner from Jamaica. Though their father acknowledged them in his will, societal norms prevented him from offering more than financial support, leaving them to grow up in the quiet village of Little Fencote, Yorkshire. Despite his noble blood, Collin was a man of modest means, working as a stockman and poultry seller. His strong will and keen intellect, sharpened by an education his mother secured for him, set him apart from others in his village.
Life for Collin took a devastating turn in 1836 when he was falsely accused of receiving stolen pigeons, a crime instigated by his father’s family, the Campbells, who had stopped paying the small sum left to Collin and Mary after Lord Peter’s death. The accusation led to his arrest and a harrowing trial at the Old Bailey. Despite his protestations of innocence, Collin was sentenced to seven years of hard labor in Australia, torn away from his wife Ellen and their four daughters.
The journey to Australia aboard a prison hulk was nothing short of a nightmare. Collin’s name was misspelled as “Colling Peacock,” an obvious clerical error that became a new identity in his convict records. Yet, even as he faced the brutal conditions of penal life, Collin found ways to maintain his dignity. He used his education to teach other convicts how to read and write, and his skills as a horseman earned him respect among both prisoners and guards.
When news of Ellen’s death reached him from England, Collin’s grief was profound, but it also marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Upon completing his sentence, Collin married Jane Brennan in Australia, and together they started a family. With his indomitable spirit, Collin seized the opportunities available to him, acquiring land and building an agricultural empire in Laidley, a town that would later become part of Queensland.
Collin Peacock: A story of resilience, betrayal, and redemption. It chronicles one man’s journey from the green fields of Yorkshire to the harsh, untamed landscape of Australia. Collin’s life is a testament to the power of perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, as he rises from the ashes of a fractured family legacy to create a legacy of his own.
