William Chopin

Who was William Chopin?

William Chopin was a convict transported to Western Australia. After gaining his Ticket of leave he worked as a chemist and later as an illicit abortionist.

Nothing is known of William Chopin's early life, but in 1865 he was a widower with one child, and was working as a clerk. On 4 December 1865 both he and his brother Alfred were convicted in the Manchester courts and sentenced to be transported. William Chopin was convicted of uttering forged notes, and received a sentence of twenty years. His brother was convicted of receiving stolen goods, and was sentenced to ten years. The two brothers were transported to Western Australia on board the Norwood, which arrived at Fremantle in July 1867.

For his first seven years in Western Australia, Chopin worked in the prison hospitals at Fremantle and later Albany, dispensing medicine. According to Stevenson, these seven years would have been equivalent to an apprenticeship in pharmacy. Chopin received his ticket of leave on 7 December 1874, and the following month was appointed a dispenser of medicine at the Colonial Hospital. In March he was given a pay rise and extra clerical duties, but by the end of the year he had resigned the position. For a short time he worked in his brother's shop, but by 1876 he was advertising himself as a chemist in St Georges Terrace, Perth.