James Belbin was transported to N.S.W. in 1791, after conviction at the Old Bailey, London, in 1789. Later he settled on Norfolk Island and received a grant of land. In 1808 Belbin and his children, with the other Norfolk Islanders, were resettled in Tasmania, receiving supplies from the Government Stores. He was twice arrested for remaining loyal to Governor William Bligh, deposed by officers of the New South Wales Corps; and for attempting to send an address to him in spite of Lt.Gov. Col. Patterson's proclamation prohibiting communication with Bligh in 1809. In 1811 Belbin went to London to petition for restoration of his rights as a Norfolk Island settler and was granted a free passage back in 1813, land at Cambridge and Government victuals for eighteen months for himself, son James and his new second wife