MarM,

Thanks for your reply. And thanks for looking up those references.

Your second reference lists both ships, a couple of lines apart. They both made voyages to Norfolk Island in 1844/45.

The close spelling of the two names seems to have caused a lot of confusion. I have found a list of convicts aboard the Hyderabad departing Downs in Oct 1844 and arriving NI in Feb 1845. BUT, I have found other references which state that the Hydrabad made that voyage with those dates.

When I first started this search, I was sure there was only one ship and that there had been spelling errors. But it is clear to me now that, based on various references and voyage dates, there were two different ships with only a single letter difference in names.

The convict musters for Darlinghurst Goal state 4 separate times that John McGillicuudy arrived on the Hydrabad in 1845. I can only find one list (for the Hyderabad) and he is not listed. So, the prison records must be correct and he must have been on the other ship (the Hydrabad).

According to "The Convict Ships" by Charles Bateson the Hyderabad had 250 prisoners whom it disembarked in 1845. The list I have has 250 names. On the other hand, the Hydrabad disembarked 260 prisoners in 1845. I cannot find that list

Thanks again to everyone who have tried to help.