GEORGE TOWN DISTRICT - Stolen from a hut at Beaconsfield, during the absence of the occupants, on the 3rd instant:- 7 £1 banknotes, property of Mr. Michael Foster, and 5s. in silver, property of Mr. George Bricknell.
NB - George Bricknell appears to have been a legit settler, not a released convict, so perhaps this Michael was also, and was not our scallywag.
However, though the Tasmanian Archives have records of George Bricknell arriving, they have no records of any other Michael Foster arriving - just our's.
Michael would have been about 72 at this time, and perhaps giving him the title 'Mr.' in the Police Gazette denotes respect for old age, rather than respect for position or rank. Basically, I suspect they were just a couple of blokes living in a hut, in or near a little gold-mining town, not 'local dignitaries'.
Beaconsfield is about 25 miles down river from Launceston, where Michael was stationed and where he later married.
I have not been able to find a death for either Michael Foster, or his wife Mary, or a child born to them, so perhaps they eventually migrated from Tasmania. A child possibly might be unlikely, as Mary was 43 when they married.
Source: Tasmania Police Gazette Indexes, 1884-1933; Reference: AU6103-1902
Source: Ancestry.com. Tasmania, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1884-1933