Richard Marston was born in 1816 and lived Westbury-on-Severn where he worked as a lime burner. On 2 December 1833, at the age of 17, he was sentenced to transportation for life for the killing of a sheep with intent to steal a carcass. After a spell on a hulk, he was transferred to the Henry Tanner which set sail for New South Wales on 1 July 1834 and arrived on 26 October 1834. He was granted a ticket of leave on 10 November 1842 and a conditional pardon on 31 Dec 1847.