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Female convict labour and absconding rates in colonial Australia
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 00:25 authored by Hamish Maxwell-StewartHamish Maxwell-Stewart, Quinlan, MIn early 1837 Mr Jones residing in Erskine Street, Sydney, discovered that two of his female convicts were missing. As he later related in court, Jones suspected that Mary Ann Mansfield and Mary Smith had gone, or intended to go, to the nearby settlement of Parramatta—a short trip away by water. Anxious to intercept his absconding servants Jones hastened down to the quay where he boarded the Experiment steamer—a vessel that made regular trips to Parramatta as well as occasional pleasure cruises on Middle Harbour. There he discovered the two women ‘comfortably seated’ and ‘fashionably attired’ in the cabin. Having clapped eyes on his absconding felon servants, Jones placed them in the custody of a constable. They were subsequently charged and each sentenced to two-months hard labour in the female House of Correction (an institution that was, ironically, located in Parramatta).
Funding
Australian Research Council
Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office
History
Publication title
Tasmanian Historical StudiesVolume
22Pagination
19-36ISSN
1324-048XDepartment/School
School of HumanitiesPublisher
University of TasmaniaPlace of publication
AustraliaRights statement
Copyright 2017 Tasmanian Historical StudiesRepository Status
- Restricted