According to various certificates John was born about 1814 and his death and children's birth certificates indicate London as the place of birth. However documents from the time when his family was living in Melbourne conflict about the place of his marriage: his death certificate says Liverpool, whereas that of his wife, Elizabeth Susan, says they married in London. Both death certificates indicate arrival in Victoria around the beginning of the 1850s, but no arrival details can be found for the family's voyage at this time from England.

There are more anomalies: his marriage details cannot be found in the English indexes; the birth certificates of first sons Charles and George, alleged to have been born in London, cannot be found in England; and a Victorian birth certificate for their first daughter Emma, claimed to have been born in Melbourne on her marriage certificate, also cannot be found.

The anomalies can be explained by the fact that John and Elizabeth Susan were transported to Van Diemen's Land, but were anxious to obscure this fact. Their children seem to have been unaware of their parents' story. Charles and George both recorded on their marriage certificates that they were born in London. And Charles, the informant on his mother's death certificate, was presumably the source of the claim on the certificate that his parents were married in London.

We know from their children's birth certificates and John's death certificate that Elizabeth Susan's maiden name was Watmore (or variants). This leads to the marriage on 3 December 1844 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church Launceston of John Edward Lutchford, a waiter, aged 30, and Elizabeth Watmore, 20. On 23 October 1844 the authorities had approved the application of Susan Elizabeth Watmore, who had been transported to Van Diemen's Land on the 'Royal Admiral' in 1842, to marry an Edward Lutchford, described as free.

The witnesses to the marriage were James and Jane Swain. This couple had married on 3 June 1844 at St. John's Church Launceston. The witnesses were John Litchfield and Susan Whatmore - Jane and Susan had been transported to Van Diemen's Land on the same 'Royal Admiral' voyage in 1842.

John's slight changing of his name on the marriage certificate and application was probably because he had already married and was trying to obscure a bigamous marriage. On 15 June 1841 John Litchfield, described as a Ticket of Leave holder who had been transported to Van Diemen's Land on the 'Larkins' (1831), applied to marry Esther Mills, aged 32, described as free. The application was approved on 8 July. The marriage took place at St. John's Church Launceston on 26 July. But what happened to this marriage is a mystery. There is no record of any children, nor of a divorce or of Esther's death. One of the witnesses was William Henson, probably a former convict.

The same John Litchfield applied earlier, on 22 September 1840, to marry Eliza Fairfield, a convict who had arrived on the 'Hindustan'. The application was approved by the Lieutenant-Governor 'if clergyman be satisfied'. The marriage did not take place and she later married a William Stacey.

The detail of John Litchfield being transported on the 'Larkins' leads to the Old Bailey trial on 6 January 1831, which saw a John Litchfield, aged 16, described as of Gray's Inn Lane (today's Gray's Inn Road), Holborn, London, found guilty of stealing a handkerchief valued at 2/6d from a Charles Castle at the eastern end of Hosier Lane, Smithfield.

John had a previous conviction. On 9 April 1829, he was convicted with an accomplice of stealing 8lbs of cheese on 3 March that year from a chandler's shop in Upper Whitecross Street, St Luke's. The two culprits had been given 'excellent characters' - by whom it is not recorded - and, recommended to mercy, were confined for seven days. John's gaol record for this conviction described him as a labourer of St Andrew Holborn, 4'7", fair and slender. For the second conviction John was given the sentence of fourteen years' transportation to Van Diemen's Land - where many repeat offenders were sent.

John's convict record suggests his father had died by 1831: the abbreviation 'f' for father is crossed through. It lists his mother as Catherine, married to J. Charles Dickensen, a bookbinder, 'near to native place'. He was said to have a sister in service.

The details we have from John's trial and convict record of his age, address at the time of his conviction, names of parents, and profession of father are all consistent with the christening of John Lutchford at St Andrew's Holborn on 27 December 1814. The parents were John, a smith, and Catherine, and their address was Tash Court, just off Gray's Inn Lane. John would have been born within the sounds of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside in the City of London, the traditional mark of a genuine Londoner or Cockney.

While John was tried and transported as John Litchfield, as noted above, later in Australia he also used the name Lutchford. John's parents' names (John and Catherine) and father's profession of the John Lutchford christened in 1814 closely match the details on the death certificate of the John Lutchford who married Elizabeth Susan Watmore in Launceston, Van Diemen's Land in 1844: when John died in Sandridge (Port Melbourne) in 1862, he was said to have been born about 1816 in London to parents John, a brassfounder, and Catherine.

A marriage certificate for John Lutchford/Litchfield and Catherine cannot be found (nor can one of Catherine's subsequent marriage to a Hilleard). Moreover no record can be found indicating that this couple had other children, or to other records of John Lutchford or Litchfield, smith or brassfounder. The records do show a John Latchford born about 1788, a bridle, bit, spur and stirrup manufacturer - so who could possibly be described as a smith or brassfounder - who worked at various addresses on Piccadilly. But he married an Eliza Robothan in 1817 and was described on the marriage certificate as a bachelor. Moreover a son John was born to this couple that year and John Latchford was still alive in 1831 - when John Litchfield's transportation documents indicate that his father had died and his mother had re-married as a widow.

The most likely explanation for the origin of the older John Litchfield is that he was the son of another John Litchfield who lived with his family immediately adjacent to Tash Court in Tash Street. While this John Litchfield was so described on his burial entry and rates records, some of his children were christened 'Lutchford' - like the John Lutchford christened in 1814 who was later known as John Litchfield.

According to the 'Streets of Old Holborn' (Camden Historical Society), in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the warren of little courts and alleys between Leather Lane and Gray's Inn Lane - which included Tash Street and Tash Court - was largely a slum and was notorious for criminality. Charles Dickens used the nearby area for a number of scenes from 'Oliver Twist': the workhouse described in the novel is probably the one which was in Shoe Lane, adjacent to St Andrew's Holborn. Saffron Hill, a few streets east of Tash Court, was said to be the location of Fagin's lair. Dickens apparently found many of the names of the characters who appeared in 'Oliver Twist' and 'The Pickwick Papers' in the St Andrew's parish registers.

Little of the pre-twentieth-century-built fabric of the area survives. Tash Court, which ran between Tash Street (today Veralum Street) and Portpool Lane, no longer exists. But other nearby landmarks connected with John's life in London survive, including St Andrew's Holborn which, though heavily damaged in the Blitz, was repaired after the war. At his trial, John said that just before he was accused of the crime, he looked up at the hospital clock. This was the clock above the gate to St Batholomew's Hospital built during the reign of Queen Anne. The gate, the clock and Hosier Lane survive.

After having been held in London Gaol, John departed from London on 13 January 1831 on the 'Larkins', which contained 280 male prisoners, 49 soldiers and their families, and crew. It sailed to Hobart, arriving there on 19 October 1831. John was described on arrival as 17, 5'0 ½, with fair complexion, blue eyes, light brown hair, and with a mole on his left eyebrow (he seems that he had grown over 3" in the previous two years). He was said to be a labourer's boy, single, protestant, and able to read but not to write.

The 1832 Van Diemen's Land muster shows John assigned to a Mr J. Thomas and the following year to a Mr J. Chorley (possibly the James Chorley who was the licensee at the time of the 'Hope and Anchor' in Hobart). In the latter's employ he was admonished for being 'absent from muster and church', 'insolence and repeated disobeying of orders' (punishment: six days on the treadwheel), and a 'groundless complaint against his Mistress for assaulting him'. He was returned to government custody and 'recommended to be employed in the party at Perth 6 months before assignment'.

On 13 April 1835 he appears to have been reassigned back to J. Thomas. In his employ, he was accused of unspecified improper conduct, but the case was dismissed. Later the same year he was transferred to a Mr W.G. Elliston, possibly William Gore Elliston, a Hobart publisher - conceivably because he had learnt something of the trade from his step-father, John Dickinson, a bookbinder. But he again got into trouble: on 12 October 1836 he was accused of disobeying orders and being absent without leave. He received 50 lashes, and was returned to government custody. Under a further master, Smythe, he was accused of neglect of duty, and sentenced to 2 months' hard labour. Under his next master, Nicholls, in 1838, he was again accused of being absent without leave and disobeying orders, for which he received 36 lashes.

Nevertheless he was granted a Ticket of Leave on 13 September 1839, less than nine years into his fourteen year sentence.

After the granting of his Ticket of Leave, his conduct record has four further entries: admonished for unspecified misconduct on 10 April 1841; fined 5/- for drunkenness on 5 April 1842, conditionally pardoned on 24 May 1842; and freedom certificate issued in 1845 (fourteen years after the beginning of his sentence).

No birth certificate can be found for John's and Susan's first child Charles. But we know from later documents that John's and Susan's second child was George, claimed to have been born around 1848 in London. On 7 February 1848 a George Luchford was born at Longford, near Launceston, son of George Luchford, and Elizabeth S. Luchford, formerly Watmer. The christening certificate recorded that the father was a servant at Panshanger, a large villa built around 1835 outside Longford. Susan's official conduct statement records 'Longford' in February 1847.

Similarly, we know from later documents that John's and Susan's first daughter Emma was born around 1850. Her marriage certificate claims she was born in Melbourne, but no document can be found confirming this. Again there is a birth in Longford around the right time which would seem to be hers: on 31 July 1850 an unnamed female was born to John Lutchford, and Elizabeth Susan Lutchford, 'formerly Davey'.

John's fortunes appear to have improved during his years at Longford. The 1850 birth certificate which is probably Emma's describes him as a storekeeper, up from a servant as he'd been described two years earlier. And when the family travelled to Melbourne shortly thereafter, John, Susan and the children travelled as cabin passengers, not in steerage.

The Melbourne 'Argus' of 21 October 1850 recorded the arrival the previous day from Launceston on the 'Margaret and Agnes' of cabin passengers 'Mr and Mrs Litchfield and three children'. Luggage included the Litchfields' '2 ½ pipes cyder'. The number of children is consistent with the three children we know they had to that point - Charles, George and Emma. Their luggage is consistent with John's previous work as a storekeeper.

After arrival in Victoria, John and Susan had a further three children: Walter, Matilda, and Julia Theresa. John's death certificate lists a further unbaptised girl, who died at 12 days old.

John was described on Walter's birth certificate (1852) as a lodging house keeper, on Matilda's birth certificate (1855) as a restaurant keeper, and appears on the 1856 electoral roll as a boarding-house keeper at Bay Street, Sandridge (later rechristened Port Melbourne).

The Melbourne 'Argus' on 22 July 1853 carried the following advertisement: 'To be sold in Sandridge, a small dwelling house containing two rooms one fitted with five bed places; for further particulars apply to Mr John Litchfield, Victoria Dining Rooms, Sandridge'. The 'Colonial Times' (Hobart) carried a story on 30 January 1855 reporting a major fire at Sandridge and that destroyed buildings included 'Litchfield's Prince of Wales Hotel'. The 'Melbourne Argus' on 31 January 1855 carried an announcement that the firm of Litchfield, Godfrey and Co, late of the Prince of Wales, Sandridge, was dissolved on 29 January by mutual consent. It was signed by John Litchfield, John Godfrey and Walter Godfrey.

On 4 and 5 December 1854, the Prince of Wales dining rooms Sandridge advertised in the 'Argus' for 25/- a week for board and lodging, adding 'good beds'.

The 'Argus' on 3 March 1855 carried the following notice: 'J. Litchfield in returning thanks to the public generally for the liberal support received by him at the late Prince of Wales Dining Rooms, Sandridge, begs to intimate he has taken the commodious premises known as the Universal Restaurant, where, by strict attention to business and cleanliness combined, he hopes to merit a continuance of public patronage. NB luncheons and soups always ready. Good stabling'.

On 23 October 1854 the 'Argus' had advertised the sale of the Universal Restaurant of Bay Street, Sandridge, 'immediately opposite the Ship Inn'. It was described as weatherboard, having a frontage of 30' and a depth of 100', with two large dining rooms, 14 bedrooms, kitchen, pantry and small stable. It was said to have been erected 'regardless of expense' at a cost of 3,000 pounds, 'on the leading thoroughfare of the thriving township' of Sandridge. Although offered for sale, it was offered for rent for 280 pounds p.a.with a lease of seven years.

On 24 June 1854 the 'Argus' had published the following notice: 'Wanted - ladies and gentlemen to visit the Universal Restaurant Sandridge. Charges moderate. Everything superb.' On 3 July the 'Argus' reported a dinner at the Universal Restaurant of Sandridge's leading American merchants. The newspaper commented: 'The table was laid out in first rate style. Indeed there was an elegance about its arrangement which we did not expect to find in Victoria'.

On 13 August 1856 the 'Argus' advertised: 'Tenders wanted for removing a wooden building. Apply John Litchfield, Univeral Restaurant, Sandridge'.

On 1 and 13 June 1861 the 'Argus' advertised: 'Sandridge - to let, the old established Boardinghouse Universal Restaurant. Twenty rooms. Effects great bargain.'

We know from the 1841 census that Elizabeth Susan's step-father James Watmore had been the proprietor of a Liverpool 'eating house' or restaurant, and it is possible that she learned skills from him that she reapplied in later life.

In the 1857 Sands directory John appeared as a restaurant proprietor (in Bay Street). The 'Argus' on 24 November 1859 carried the following advertisement: 'For sale, a fishing boat, nets and sails etc. Enquire at Litchfield's Boardinghouse, Sandridge, for Charles Baxter.'

In 1857 he also became the first licensee of the 'Freemason's Four' Hotel at what is now 361 Coventry Street, South Melbourne. He was still the licensee in 1859, though the Port Phillip Directory described the establishment as the 'Freemason's Hotel', while Sands Directory described it as the 'Freemason's Tavern'. The birth certificate of John's daughter Julia (1858) described him as a licensed victualler.

An advertisement in the Melbourne 'Argus' on 8 April 1858 read as follows: 'Board and residence. Good accommodation. Moderate terms. John Litchfield, Freemason's Hotel, Coventry Street, Emerald Hill'. A later advertisement on 7 October the same year read: 'Races, races, races - good stabling and first rate accommodation for gentlemen visiting the races at the Freemasons' Tavern, Coventry Street west, Emerald Hill, John Litchfield proprietor.'

The 1860 Sands Directory shows that John Litchfield's pub had by this time been renamed the 'Caledonian Hotel' with a new licensee, John McBean. The building was reconstructed in Italianate style in 1889, and continued as the 'Caledonian Hotel' until, like many Melbourne hotels, it was closed by the Licences Reduction Board in 1920. The building however survives and was recently restored. It is now a residential block and retains the name 'The Caledonian'.

Sands directories in 1860 and 1862 show John again as a boarding-house keeper in Bay Street, Sandridge. This establishment was on the western side of Bay Street about half way along the block between Rouse and Graham Streets.

• Married: 3 Dec 1844 in Launceston, Van Diemen's Land

1. Charles John Litchfield b: ABT 1845 in Van Diemen's Land
2. George Edward Litchfield b: 7 Feb 1848 in Longford, Van Diemen's Land
3. Emma Litchfield b: 31 Jul 1850 in Longford, Van Diemen's land
4. Walter Litchfield b: 18 Dec 1852 in Melbourne, Victoria c: 12 Jan 1854 in Melbourne, Victoria
5. Matilda Litchfield b: 31 Jul 1855 in Sandridge (Port Melbourne), Victoria
6. Julia Theresa Litchfield b: 16 Sep 1858 in Emerald Hill, Victoria

• Married: 26 Jul 1841 in St John's Church of Ireland, Launceston, Van Diemen's Land