Australian Convict & Colonial Research - London

@whoamiftr.bsky.social @allthosebefore.bsky.social absolutely agree with all this. So much to think about moving forward. It is a nice touch having the images though. I'd like it more if they were more like illustrations with the description next to them for people to imagine for themselves.

Tropical plants discovered in Tasmania’s ancient Polar Forest

Collaborating with Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, the new fossil species were named in palawa kani, the Aboriginal language of Tasmania. Paralungatik - Macquarie Harbour, Timkarik is the name of the Strahan area.
#fossils #ferns #Tasmania #Australia #Aboriginal

www.adelaide.edu.au/newsroom/new...

On 25 April 1809 the government appointed Isaac Nichols to the position of Postmaster. Nichols, a former convict, took control of the distribution of mail within the colony and set up the first post office in his home.

www.nma.gov.au/defining-mom...

#Australia #history #postoffice #stamps

AI used to recreate faces of Welsh convicts sent to Australia Researchers have used photos and records to create what Anglesey prisoners may have looked like.

There are many voices critical of this use of AI; it has been used at some convict heritage sites in Australia. Not sure what to think about it. It must be clearly marked as AI generated is what I reminded the National Trust of Tas when I saw no labelling on some work.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. A little bit more about this lady & her family. Story gives strong settler colonial vibes but such is the complex & diverse history of forced & voluntary migration to Oz. Many people of all backgrounds still settling today. www.thinkingaustralia.com/emigrate-aus...

A solitary stone chimney rises from the grassy ruins of Sarah Island, framed by dense forest and calm waters. The weathered structure, built from reddish-brown and grey stone, stands as a silent remnant of the island’s penal past—its stark form contrasting with the lush greenery and tranquil harbour beyond.

Echoes of the Past: A Stone Chimney on Sarah Island

Sarah Island located in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast is infamous for being the site of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, one of the harshest convict settlements in Australian colonial history

#photo #photography #australia #ruins

Image of a poster about Katharine Quarmby speaking on Sunday 5 October at 12.30 about her debut, prizelisted novel, The Low Road

I'll be at #IpswichBookFestival talking about my prize-listed novel, #TheLowRoad @eyebooks.bsky.social, based on a true story from my East Anglian hometown. It tells the story of a Norfolk girl transported to Australia as a convict and is a tale of love, grief, betrayal - and solidarity. #Convicts

"What has been too often neglected is the sitter himself—Mai. While most observers of the portrait mention Mai’s two-year stay in Britain from 1774 to 1776, courtesy of James Cook’s second returning Pacific voyage, they usually skip over Mai’s motivations or post-visit life." 🗃️

@whoamiftr.bsky.social are you coming along this year?

If you are free & inclined, please come see us at Kempton Park Racecourse on Saturday 4 October. We've got some new display items to show off. This year we are mainly concentrating on exploration, the first three settlements - NSW VDL & Norfolk Island + our Female Convicts of Westminster project.

Learn how to read early modern Secretary Hand, with me in this online short course this month. 🗃️

Me delivering a couple of fancy canvases to my local gym today

Delivered two more stretched canvases to Hobart Exercise Physiology today, one bearing a remarkable resemblance to a certain Captain Quoll who you may have heard about here
pointtopinnacle2025.grassrootz.com/menzies-inst...

Will Young never knew his grandfather Digby Young, who died before he was born. He’s heard intriguing snippets about his life – how he came from Australia, was a prisoner of war during World War II... #Australia #UK #history #WWI

We will be at the London Family History Show again this October! Will share more soon. So exciting!

Everyone was so amazing! Thank you to all for such a fantastic day!

#suffragettes #Australia #UK

Muriel Matters (1877-1969) - Amersham Museum A daredevil suffragette and “born agitator” by Alison Bailey In 1909 Muriel was famous worldwide after a series of daredevil stunts to promote Votes for Women. She lived in Penn […]

No, I didn't. This is a really super addition. Thank you! Last month I met a fella who works at Parliament Archives so we'll be going in to investigate further all these amazing connections. We will certianly be including suffragetts, such as Marial Matters: amershammuseum.org/history/peop...

Thank you so much!! Must catch up soon for a cuppa with Jude.

Australia in Westminster – since 1699: an A-Z Guide In mid-2024, I started to make a list of Australia’s connections to Westminster, which has organically developed into an idea to publish a book of this incredible history. A lot of these conn…

Have been busy for almost a year now compiling lists of connections between #Australia - #Westminster (many made during my tour guiding course). Am working on an A-Z Guide - dictionary of biographies. It's going to take a long time but feel it's a worthwhile & meaningful project. shorturl.at/YLpC6

Getting busy with Transported Female #Convicts of #Westminster project; our major exhibition will be end of the year and we are planning on two tables at London Family History Show this October. So exciting! This was us last year with a very crowded table; we had to rotate our items and the bonnets!

Don't have a bsky for KRP but thought I'd share 民句 folk ku Issue 5: 水 water here. Check out this gorgeous ku from VDL/Tasmania 🥰 Blessed to have published it. Print copies are a couple of weeks away. FREE PDF here: kingriverpress.com/folk-ku-jour... submissions open Sept/Oct next theme TBA. x Jodie

Prominent No campaigner says Yes volunteers can now be harnessed on a new cause — Indigenous seats to parliament After his home state became the first to reject the Voice to Parliament referendum, prominent Tasmanian Aboriginal campaigner Michael Mansell looks across the Tasman Sea for inspiration.

The progressive yes & no voters: www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10...

Myth, politics and murder: why the voice battle in Tasmania is different A bloody colonial past and Liberal support for a yes vote inform the debate in the only state where the campaign in favour has recently remained ahead

Growing up with & around NW Coast Aboriginal Tasmanians on country, I deeply admire & respect their views & ongoing connection to their roots + their fight for treaty. You can read a little about the complexity here: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Re: #Australian #Aboriginal Voice to Parliament. Progressive no voices, esp from my homestate - Tasmania, & Sydney should be respected & understood. The campaigns were painful & divisive, extremely complex due to past & present experiences with #colonisation - but all these voices belong to country

Empire UK Live Tour: The podcast is going on a UK tour! William and Anita will be live on stage in Glasgow, Birmingham, York and Bristol, discussing how the British Empire continues to shape our everyday lives. Tickets are on sale NOW, to buy yours head to empirepoduk.com.

IHR@Liverpool: Difficult Histories Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Calling all Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers - Join us for IHR@Liverpool on 9 June 2025. A one-day workshop on the subject of Difficult Histories. Travel bursaries available. www.history.ac.uk/events/ihrli...

Screenshot of text: CHAPTER 4 Cripping the Convict Archive EMILY COCK This chapter engages with disability and the digitized archive through the open access Trove platform of the National Library of Australia. Trove offers tremendous resources for diverse kinds of Australian and transnational history since the printing of the first newspaper in 1803, many of which include the critical contributions of disabled people. Here, the focus is on disabled people transported by the British government as prisoners, or “convicts.”

Proofs! 'Cripping the Archive', edited by @stefhuntkennedy.bsky.social and @jenbarclay.bsky.social coming from University of Illinois Press very soon...

The Secret River by Kate Grenville #TheWriteWomen #booksky #Day30

#TheWriteWomen #booksky : In March, post a book by a woman author every day: a book you’ve read, one you enjoyed or learned from.
#Day30 💙📚
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
A story of a London convict sent to Australia with his wife and children in early 1800s; based on the author’s family’s past

The front cover of the book 'Convict love tokens' edited by Michele Field and Timothy Millett. The cover is in brown tones with the title over an image of tokens laid haphazardly one on top of another.

The book 'Convict Love Tokens' from our #LocalStudies library describes the tokens British convicts often made before their transportation to Australia. An informative and touching book.

#EYALove #history #LocalHistory

Water worlds: the magic of New South Wales' ocean pools Aerial images of the state’s coastal baths reveal sites of human ingenuity and natural beauty

"Newcastle's bogey hole is the oldest ocean pool in Australia. A natural pool on the site was widened using convict labour in about 1820 for use as a bathing place for soldiers. It was further enlarged in 1884 to its current size of 20 metres by five metres."
fyi @philipthalis.bsky.social