James Wilde. I found his mugshot in an 1893 police gazette and liked the way he seemed to be gazing into the distance. He was a sailor aboard the S.S Flora, a cargo ship that frequented the Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand runs.
It was not uncommon for sailors to wander ashore and return late to their duties, or desert their posts late at night for a sneaky drink or two. In James’s case, the ‘sneaky drink’ might have become too numerous. He was found in an inebriated state on the city streets, and the unimpressed captain sent him away to be sentenced. He was given eight weeks imprisonment.
Little else is known of James. He was not a native Tasmanian (where the mugshot was snapped), nor indeed Australian; he gave his age as 23 years and his birthplace as London, England. He was described as having dark brown curly hair, grey eyes, a pointed nose, and a pale complexion. James could read and write (somewhat unusual for a sailor), had a few small dots tattooed on his arms and hands (very usual for a sailor) and was unmarried.
We only have this single snapshot of James’s life. He came from the sprawling, overcrowded city of London — where it’s impossible to accurately trace him without more specific details — and he surfaced only briefly in Tasmania before sailing away again. All we know is that he was a long way from home.
I decided to restore and colourise what might be the only existing photograph of James:
