Arthur Orton - Biography

Biography

Orton was born at Wapping, London, the son of George Orton, a butcher and purveyor of ships' stores. He left school early and was employed in his father's shop. In 1849, he was apprenticed to a Captain Brooks of the ship Ocean. The ship sailed to South America and in June 1849 Orton deserted and went to the small Chilean country town of Melipilla. He stayed in Chile for a year and seven months and befriended the Castro family. Orton then went back to London as an ordinary seaman.

In November 1852 he sailed for Tasmania aboard the Middleton and arrived at Hobart in May 1853. There, Orton worked for several butchers. Orton's letters to England at the time showed he was fond of dogs and children and affectionate towards his girlfriend in Wapping. There is some evidence he was a heavy drinker; and for minor trade malpractices, he appeared before magistrates. Orton crossed to the Australian mainland late in 1855 and worked for some time on cattle-stations in Gippsland, Victoria. From 1855 to the mid-1860s there is little detail about his life, but he appears to have pursued gold prospecting, mail-running and pastoral station hand-work, with a suggestion of bushranging and even murder.