Convict Australia

In this episode, we dive into one of the darkest chapters of convict transportation to Australia: the voyage of the Neptune, the notorious ship of the Second Fleet. This 1790 journey was marked by unprecedented cruelty,

Edwell, P. (2016) 'Neptune', Dictionary of Sydney. Available at: ttps://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/neptune

Flynn, M. (1993) The Second Fleet: Britain's Grim Convict Armada of 1790. Sydney: Library of Australian History.

Hill, D. (2008) 1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet. Sydney: Random House Australia.

State Library of New South Wales (2017) Elizabeth

State Library of New South Wales (2017) Letter

Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more. 

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In the thrilling second episode of Season 4 of the Convict Australia Podcast, we journey back to 1825 to a stormy night in Tasmania as Matthew Brady and his infamous gang of bushrangers lay siege to the small town of Sorell.

As the rain poured and the night deepened, Brady knocked on the door of Robert Bethune’s estate, launching a daring raid that spiralled into a full-scale takeover. Hear the gripping tale of how these outlaws, driven by desperation and cunning, outwitted local authorities and took control of the town.

Feel the tension as they ambush unsuspecting soldiers and confront Lieutenant William Gunn, leading to a brutal injury and a race against time. Will Brady's luck hold out, or will justice finally catch up to him? Dive into this gripping tale of audacity, survival, and the relentless pursuit of freedom in the wild heart of Tasmania.

SOURCES

1825 'THE BUSHRANGERS.', The Hobart Town Gazette (Tas. : 1825 - 1833), 26 November, p. 2. , viewed 05 Jun 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8791594

1825 'THE BUSH-RANGERS.', Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser (Hobart, Tas. : 1825 - 1827), 2 December, p. 3. , viewed 02 Jul 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2446676

1825 'STATE OF THE WEATHER.', The Hobart Town Gazette (Tas. : 1825 - 1833), 3 December, p. 2. , viewed 05 Jun 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8790870

1825 'VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 29 December, p. 4. , viewed 30 Jun 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37072554

1826 'VAN DIEMEN'S LAND NEWS.', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 25 March, p. 2. , viewed 19 Jul 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37072668

1826 'SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.', The Hobart Town Gazette (Tas. : 1825 - 1833), 15 April, p. 2. , viewed 19 Jul 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8791180

1826 'The late Bushrangers.&c.', Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser (Hobart, Tas. : 1825 - 1827), 5 May, p. 3. , viewed 03 Jul 2024, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2447678

L. L. Robson, 1966, Brady, Matthew (c. 1799–1826),

LINKS

Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more. 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819

⁠https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia⁠

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Find Convict Australia on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia

On 21 March 1823, four convict men left Sydney in a 29ft open boat heading for the Five Islands to collect cedar. On the way, they encountered a fierce storm that pushed them out to sea and hundreds of miles north. This is the story of their remarkable fight for survival.

LINKS

Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more. 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

SOURCES

Pamphlet T & Uniacke, J. 1823 Narrative of Thomas

1823 MAGISTRATE FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. EDWARD WOLLSTONECRAFT, ESQUIRE., The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 18 December, p. 2. , viewed 04 Nov 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2182462

1824 CURIOUS CASE OF SHIPWRECK., The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 21 October, p. 2. , viewed 04 Nov 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37072074

1826 REVIEW., The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 29 March, p. 4. , viewed 22 Oct 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2185549

Ralph Entwhistle, a convict with a life sentence, stripped off for a quick dip in the Macquarie River in 1829.  This innocent act got him into a lot of trouble!  Join me as I tell the story of how one little swim on a beautiful spring day led to a high-stakes battle in Bathurst, NSW.

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

SOURCES

1830 'Classified Advertising', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 12 October, p. 4. , viewed 24 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2196245

1830 'THE BUSHRANGERS AT BATHURST.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 21 October, p. 3. , viewed 03 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2196308

BATHURST. (1830, October 21). The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2196311

1830 'Supreme Court.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 11 November, p. 3. , viewed 01 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2196480

1830 'The Courier.', The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 - 1839), 27 November, p. 2. , viewed 07 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4206106

1830 'The Bathurst Insurgents.', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 3 December, p. 4. , viewed 08 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36866853

1930 'The RIBBON BOYS', The World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), 13 August, p. 9. , viewed 08 Oct 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136306522

1998, “Bushrangers at Abercrombie caves” Abercrombie Caves, by Barry Cubitt, viewed 3 October 2022, http://www.abercrombiecaves.com/bushrangers/

2019, “The Bathurst Rebellion: Inside Australia’s strangest convict uprising”, M. Adams, NewsComAu, viewed 30 May 2022, https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-bathurst-rebellion-inside-australias-biggest-convict-uprising/news-story/eaa006a6530a1b66ae128af86ddf7753

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Sue Reed.

Music by Ahjay Stelino

In 1834, ten convicts seized the Frederick and made their daring escape from the penal settlement on Sarah Island in Tasmania to the Port of Valdivia in Chile. The journey took about 7 weeks.  They travelled 6 thousand nautical miles with a skeletal mostly inexperienced crew using a leaky boat.  This is their incredible story.

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

SOURCES

1834 'ANOTHER GOVERNMENT VESSEL TAKEN BY HER GOVERNMENT CREW! ANOTHER SPECIMEN OF COLONEL ARTHUR'S PRISON DISCIPLINE.', The Colonist and Van Diemen's Land Commercial and Agricultural Advertiser (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1832 - 1834), 11 February, p. 2. , viewed 11 Sep 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201158097

1834 'THE CONVICT SYSTEM. DARING ACT OF PIRACY.', The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), 6 March, p. 2. , viewed 10 Sep 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12848817

1837 'SUPREME COURT.—CRIMINAL SITTINGS.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 2 May, p. 5. , viewed 16 Sep 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8650013

2018, ‘The Ship That Never Was.’, by A. Courtenay, Harper Collins Publishers Australia Pty Limited

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Sue Reed.

Music by Ahjay Stelino

When word reached England that the colony of NSW was in dire need of food King George III immediately dispatched HMS Guardian to come to their rescue.  The Guardian was packed with everything the First Fleeters desperately needed, but along the way, the 140ft ship ran into trouble.  Join me as I describe its harrowing journey. 

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

SOURCES

1790, ‘Fortunate Escape of the Guardian Man of War, In her Voyage to Botany-Bay’, The Derby Mercury, Thursday, 29 April 1790, viewed 3 January 2022, www.newspapers.com/image/394415900

1790, ‘The Guardian’, The Public Advertiser, London, Friday, 30 April 1790, viewed 3 January 2022, www.newspapers.com/image/34415081

1790, ‘Guardian’, The Public Advertiser, London, Saturday, 1 May 1790, viewed 3 January 2022, www.newspapers.com/image/34415103

1790, Jacksons Oxford Journal, Saturday, 1 May 1790, viewed 3 January 2022, www.newspapers.com/image/396531048

1790, Ipswich Journal (Ipswich, Suffolk, England), Saturday, 1 May 1790, viewed 3 January 2022 www.newspapers.com/image/396394146 & www.newspapers.com/image/396394185

1790, ‘The Guardian’, The Public Advertiser (London, Greater London, England), Friday, 30 April 1790, viewed 3 January 2022, www.newspapers.com/image/34415081

1808, ‘Melancholy Disaster of His Majesty's Ship The Guardian, Bound to Botany Bay with Stores and Convicts’, by Lieut. Riou, Commander, London.

2010 ‘1788: The brutal truth of the First Fleet.’, by David Hill, Random House Australia, North Sydney.

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Sue Reed.

Music by Ahjay Stelino

In 1828, 14,000 pounds was stolen from the Bank of Australia – that’s about 20 million dollars by today’s standards AND most of the money has never been found! Join me as I retell this incredible story of a group of convicts who tunnelled their way into the bank and pulled off such a huge heist.

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

SOURCES

1828 'Classified Advertising', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 17 September, p. 1. , viewed 15 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2191066

1828 'EXTENSIVE ROBBERY AT THE BANK OF AUSTRALIA.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 17 September, p. 2. , viewed 15 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2191067

1828 '(Domestic Intelligence continued.)', The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), 20 September, p. 4. (AFTERNOON), viewed 16 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31760702

1828 'Classified Advertising', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 22 September, p. 1. , viewed 16 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2191083

1828 'Classified Advertising', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 24 September, p. 3. , viewed 16 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2191099

1828 'Advertising', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 24 September, p. 2. , viewed 16 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36865088

1828 'No title', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 26 September, p. 2. , viewed 16 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36867843

1831 'Supreme Court.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 14 June, p. 3. , viewed 25 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2201024

1833 'Government Gazette Notices', New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), 7 August, p. 302. , viewed 27 Jul 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230390571

2017 ‘Robbing the Bank: Australia’s First Bank Robbery’, Radford, Neil, Dictionary of Sydney, http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/robbing_the_bank_australias_first_bank_robbery, viewed 09 Aug 2022

2008, ‘Breaking the Bank, an extraordinary colonial robbery’, Baxter, Carol, Allen & Unwin

Music by Ahjay Stelino

Historian Solomon Stanton shares his research on his ancestor John Matthew Richardson. John was a convict who was sentenced to 7 years transportation and had an incredible life as a gardener and botanical collector for the colony. Solomon describes some of the highlights of John’s life which include his time working in the Sydney Botanic Gardens, his stint on Melville Island, various expeditions both in and out of Australia, and the discovery of new plants. Two plants were named after John - the Hibiscus Richardsonii and Alyxia Richardsonii.

FURTHER READING

'Richardson, John Matthew (1797–1882)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/richardson-john-matthew-2588/text3549, published first in hardcopy 1967.

'Richardson, John Matthew (c.1797–1882)', Global Plants, JSTOR, https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000391636

‘Newsletter, No. 112 September 2002’, Australian Systematic Botany Society, https://asbs.org.au/newsletter/pdf/02-sept-112.pdf, page 3.

‘Flora of Australia, Volume 1, Introduction 2ndEdition’, Australian Biological Resources Study, CSIRO Publishing, https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/env/pages/5822457a-1744-4aaa-a5e0-74dc485f825d/files/flora-australia-01-introduction-second-edition-2.pdf, page 66.

‘The British in North Australia 1824-29 : Fort Dundas’ by Derek Pugh, Published by Derek Pugh 2017, https://www.booktopia.com.au/fort-dundas-derek-pugh/book/9780992355869.html?source=pla&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8uOWBhDXARIsAOxKJ2EAYmo5lKChSbwJWPm5XWxCCcElEoclB0ltLE9rGnpsVidZ6ZjpkCQaAoL1EALw_wcB

‘Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia; with descriptions of the recently explored region of Australia Felix and the present colony of New South Wales’, by Major T.L. Mitchell, F.G.S and M.R.G.S. Surveyor General, Second Edition, Volume 2, London, T. and W.Boone, New Bond Street, https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00036.html

LINKS

Grab a copy of 'Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners':

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Solomon Staunton.

Music by Ahjay Stelino

The Neva was a three-masted barque carrying hundreds of female convicts and their children from Ireland to Port Jackson.  In 1835 it stuck the Harbinger Reefs near King Island in the treacherous waters of the Bass Strait.  Join me as I recount this tragic story.

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

SOURCES

1835 'MELANCHOLY SHIPWRECK.', Launceston Advertiser (Tas. : 1829 - 1846), 2 July, p. 4. , viewed 23 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84777543

1835 'PARTICULARS OF THE WRECK OF THE Prison Ship "NEVA."', The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), 18 July, p. 2. (MORNING), viewed 23 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32149374

1835 'Van Dieman's Land News.', The Colonist (Sydney, NSW : 1835 - 1840), 23 July, p. 5. , viewed 23 Jan 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31716763

1959, ‘The Convict Ships, 1787 – 1868’, by Charles Bateson.,Brown, Son & Ferguson, Ltd., Glasgow

1997, ‘Most Perfectly Safe: the convict shipwreck disasters of 1833-42’ by G.A. Mawer, Allen & Unwin

‘View Shipwreck – Neva’, Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage Database, viewed 18 June 2022, http://www.environment.gov.au/shipwreck/public/wreck/wreck.do?key=7542

2013, ‘The Wreck of the Neva’, by K. Todd, Mercier Press

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Sue Reed, Mark Blakey & Cameron Stops.

Music by Ahjay Stelino

What happened when the convicts on Norfolk Island were stripped of their cooking pots? A bloodthirsty riot! Join me as I retell this gruesome true story about Alexander Maconochie’s ‘Mark System’, William Westwood better known as ‘Jackey Jackey the gentleman bushranger’ and his fight to be treated humanely.

LINKS

Grab a copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners:

www.jennifer-twemlow.com

Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter:

https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia

Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866

https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en

Start your search for your convict ancestors:

https://prf.hn/click/camref:1100ldych

https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100396961-13671424

SOURCES

1846 'NORFOLK ISLAND.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 8 August, p. 2. , viewed 11 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12889016

1846 'DISTURBANCES AT NORFOLK ISLAND.', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 8 August, p. 3. , viewed 11 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37156047

1846 'Domestic Intelligence.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 25 August, p. 3. , viewed 11 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8759148

1846 'NORFOLK ISLAND.', The Courier (Hobart, Tas. : 1840 - 1859), 2 September, p. 2. , viewed 28 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2944991

1846 'No Title', The Hobart Town Advertiser (Tas. : 1839 - 1861), 4 September, p. 2. , viewed 25 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264517227

1846 'NORFOLK ISLAND.', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 14 November, p. 3. , viewed 28 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37127840

1888 'CHAPTER OF OLD TIMES.', Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899), 12 June, p. 3. , viewed 28 May 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38316723

2005, 'Westwood, William (1820–1846)', M. Rutledge, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, viewed 29 May 2022, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/westwood-william-13246/text6635

2011, ‘Alexander Maconochie’s ‘mark system.’, J. Moore, CORE: three access levels to underpin open access. D-Lib Magazine, viewed 28 May 2022, https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/323897824.pdf

2021, ‘The Norfolk Island Penal Station, the Panopticon, and Alexander Maconochie’s and Jeremy Bentham’s Theories of Punishment’, T. Causer, Revue d’études benthamiennes [Online], viewed 28 May 2022, http://journals.openedition.org/etudes-benthamiennes/838

Special thanks to Sue Reed.

Music by Ahjay Stelino