Eaton, Henry Green (1818–1887)

Born in England on 5 October 1818; arrived in Hobart, Tasmania on 15 November 1836; died in Rockhampton, Queensland on 29 October 1887.

Eaton was convicted of "larceny in a dwelling house" at the Old Bailey on 13 June 1836 and sentenced to transportation for life. He arrived in Hobart aboard the convict ship Henry Porcher and was recommended for a conditional pardon in 1849.

Eaton apparently left Tasmania in the 1850s and by the time of his marriage to Lucy Hayman on 20 August 1861 he listed his place of residence as Queensland. He spent time in Brisbane during the 1860s and 1870s. He provided the 22 lithographic plates for F.M.Bailey's "Handbook to the Ferns of Queensland" (1874). He also was the lithographer for the 126 plates in Silvester Diggles' "Ornithology of Australia" (1866–1870).

On 23 June 1880 he was granted the licence to run the Separation Hotel in Lion Creek, Rockhampton. On 10 November 1880 he successfully applied for permission to rename the premises to the Turf Hotel. On 7 September 1887, shortly before his death, Eaton transferred the hotel licence to Charles Evans Brown.

There are 66 undated specimens at the Queensland Herbarium (BRI) collected by H.G.Eaton, all from the Herbert River region in Qld. The majority are of flowering plants, with a few ferns.

Sources: A.R.Bean, Queensland Herbarium, personal communication via email 16 December 2015.
Biography at Design & Art Australia Online [accessed 22 December 2015]
"The Hobart Town Gazette. Tuesday, June 26, 1849. Convict Department", "Launceston Examiner" newspaper, vol. VIII. No. 733 30 June 1849, p. 418 [recommendation for a conditional pardon; accessed via Trove on 23 December 2015]
"The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton. Wednesday, June 23, 1880.", "Morning Bulletin" newspaper, No. 3839. vol. XXV. 23 June 1880, p. 2 [transfer of licence for Separation Hotel; accessed via Trove on 23 December 2015]
"The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton. Thursday, November 11, 1880.", "Morning Bulletin" newspaper, No. 3960. vol. XXVI. 11 November 1880, p. 2 [renaming Separation Hotel to Turf Hotel; accessed via Trove on 23 December 2015]
"Local & General News", "Capricornian" newspaper, vol. 13. No. 37, 10 September 1887, p. 19 [transfer of licence for Turf Hotel; accessed via Trove on 23 December 2015]