Lucky, lucky me! Invited this week to a reception at Gov House - by the Gov and his Missus! This exciting event was arranged specially to mark the inscription of the Aust. Convict Sites World Heritage Listings.
Such a grand house and set on the harbour in Hobart's premier possie. It was all very formal of course, starting with the gardens, so that even walking in after parking the car is a pleasant experience. Inside, the wonderful ballroom was a surprise to me with its spectacularly decorative ceiling and great acoustics.
And I was quiety concious of the honour (along with several others) of being there representing Woolmers Estate.
As if this were not enough, we were then entertained at a much more informal function (well dinner really) and fascinating tour of the Penitentiary Chapel and Criminal courts, which I had never seen before. We were even taken to see the hanging yard - rather ghoulish and not to my taste at all.
Althogether a great evening and a wonderful oppportunity to meet and greet other key people working in the heritage sector.
Showing posts with label convict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label convict. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
What did those convicts eat?
Especially after I've enjoyed a wonderful (and often filling) meal at the Servant's Kitchen at Woolmers I get to wondering how different things were in days gone by. What, for example, did those convicts assigned to such an estate eat?
When I think about the abundance of wonderful food we can enjoy every day - especially in Tassie - I wonder how different it must have been in the early days of settlement.
It's possible the convicts who were transported here were actually better fed when they arrived than they were in the grindingly poor slums of Victorian England from whence they came.
Those who had originally lived in the country would have been better able to survive as their skills could have included knowledge of edible wild plants, such as nettles, dandelions and wild berries.
Starvation was always a prospect for the poor, especially in the urban slums of England and Ireland. Porridge made with boiled maize, oats or rye in water or milk and vegetable soup bulked out with bread - was what people ate if they were lucky - three times a day.
A family's entire diet might consist of no more than potato parings, vegetable refuse and rotten vegetables made into soup and eaten for want of other food. Or they might have lived chiefly off bread and cheese, with bacon two or three times a week, varied with onions.
At Woolmers there was a thriving veggie garden (just as there is today) and an orchard with many different fruit trees, and at one time there was a sizable apple orchard grown for making cider.
So, when convicts were finally assigned to work at Woolmers or Brickendon or any one of the other large pastoral properties of the day, they were at least much better fed than probably they had ever been before. And they would likely have been well able to produce nourishing meals from a wide variety of meat and vegetables.
Soup seems to have been almost a staple, which could be made from almost anything at all - animal or vegetable.
And the early settlers used wild animals and parts of aminals we would never dream of using now - for example I've seen recipes for stews and soups using wombat and echidna and even for sheep's head soup ..... the mind boggles!
When I think about the abundance of wonderful food we can enjoy every day - especially in Tassie - I wonder how different it must have been in the early days of settlement.
It's possible the convicts who were transported here were actually better fed when they arrived than they were in the grindingly poor slums of Victorian England from whence they came.
Those who had originally lived in the country would have been better able to survive as their skills could have included knowledge of edible wild plants, such as nettles, dandelions and wild berries.
Starvation was always a prospect for the poor, especially in the urban slums of England and Ireland. Porridge made with boiled maize, oats or rye in water or milk and vegetable soup bulked out with bread - was what people ate if they were lucky - three times a day.
A family's entire diet might consist of no more than potato parings, vegetable refuse and rotten vegetables made into soup and eaten for want of other food. Or they might have lived chiefly off bread and cheese, with bacon two or three times a week, varied with onions.
At Woolmers there was a thriving veggie garden (just as there is today) and an orchard with many different fruit trees, and at one time there was a sizable apple orchard grown for making cider.
So, when convicts were finally assigned to work at Woolmers or Brickendon or any one of the other large pastoral properties of the day, they were at least much better fed than probably they had ever been before. And they would likely have been well able to produce nourishing meals from a wide variety of meat and vegetables.
Soup seems to have been almost a staple, which could be made from almost anything at all - animal or vegetable.
And the early settlers used wild animals and parts of aminals we would never dream of using now - for example I've seen recipes for stews and soups using wombat and echidna and even for sheep's head soup ..... the mind boggles!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Sunny Sunday
On a glorious spring morning, in wonderful bright sunshine, we gathered at Woolmers Cottage, out in the beautiful courtyard, the weather being so perfect. This courtyard is soon to be paved with flagstones made of sandstone to match those used in the verandas around the front of the house. Woolmers Cottage, hardly a cottage, is more a large graceful Victorian mansion with stunning veiws over the fields and hedgerows of the Norfolk Plains towards Longford.
But, I digress. There we were gathered (fifty or sixty people, mostly members of Woolmers Foundation Inc) to hear Barry Jones AO give his take on events leading to the lengthy process of assessment for World heritage Listing (which includes five Tasmanian Convict Sites) at Brazilia in July. He's an entertainng speaker and mentioned Kevin Rudd (remember him? Barry said) at one point because Mr Rudd became fascinated with the convict history of Tas as a result of finding out that he has five convict ancestors in his family. Barry mentioned how very useful it might be if we could find other helpful contacts in Government who also have convict ancestors.
The point being that so many of the sites now listed (jointly) will need some form of financial asistance going forward - and 'going forward' is certainly our intention. It was interesting to hear of the behind-the-scences machinations leading to these World Heritage Listings and to find that the process has taken more than twenty years. Talk about lengthy and complicated!
But now begins the challenge of marketing and promoting this World Heritage Listing in order to tell the fascinating Convict Story to as many visitors as possible.
Should any of my readers (and I hope there are many!) wish to join Woolmers Foundation (which is a not-for-profit organisation run mainly by volunteers) please contact: enquiries@woolmers.com.au or access the website: www.woolmers.com.au or telephone: (03) 6391 2230.
A plea was also made on Sunday for volunteers who are urgently needed right now to weed in the National Rose Garden at Woolmers - please, please do volunteer, even a few hours a week would be wonderful - contact details are as above.
But, I digress. There we were gathered (fifty or sixty people, mostly members of Woolmers Foundation Inc) to hear Barry Jones AO give his take on events leading to the lengthy process of assessment for World heritage Listing (which includes five Tasmanian Convict Sites) at Brazilia in July. He's an entertainng speaker and mentioned Kevin Rudd (remember him? Barry said) at one point because Mr Rudd became fascinated with the convict history of Tas as a result of finding out that he has five convict ancestors in his family. Barry mentioned how very useful it might be if we could find other helpful contacts in Government who also have convict ancestors.
The point being that so many of the sites now listed (jointly) will need some form of financial asistance going forward - and 'going forward' is certainly our intention. It was interesting to hear of the behind-the-scences machinations leading to these World Heritage Listings and to find that the process has taken more than twenty years. Talk about lengthy and complicated!
But now begins the challenge of marketing and promoting this World Heritage Listing in order to tell the fascinating Convict Story to as many visitors as possible.
Should any of my readers (and I hope there are many!) wish to join Woolmers Foundation (which is a not-for-profit organisation run mainly by volunteers) please contact: enquiries@woolmers.com.au or access the website: www.woolmers.com.au or telephone: (03) 6391 2230.
A plea was also made on Sunday for volunteers who are urgently needed right now to weed in the National Rose Garden at Woolmers - please, please do volunteer, even a few hours a week would be wonderful - contact details are as above.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Punt
The picturesque Macquarie River flows between the two Archer properties of Woolmers and Brickendon and it quite often floods. The present vehicle bridge is a fairly recent innovation and in earlier times the river sometimes presented a difficult barrier.
A punt was originally used to take goods and people accross from one property to the other. the puntman was quite an important man and a gothic style puntman's cottage once existed close to Wolmers Lane and just above stream of the existing modern bridge. The puntman was kept busy ferrying men and equipment, grain and wool as well as livestock.
The Archers at Woolmers and Brickendon often helped each other out, though both properties were remarkably self sufficient. Even though the two properties are within sight of each other, one could not simply pop over for the odd forgotten item or to convey a message. Someone had to take the punt over the river and then actually walk all the way there, taking at least half and hour each way.
Now a new foot-bridge will be built downstream from where the punt originally made regular crossings. This will be part of a new walkway which is to be constructed so that people can once again walk - just as convicts did all those years ago - from one property to the other, adding a wonderful new dimension for visitors!
A punt was originally used to take goods and people accross from one property to the other. the puntman was quite an important man and a gothic style puntman's cottage once existed close to Wolmers Lane and just above stream of the existing modern bridge. The puntman was kept busy ferrying men and equipment, grain and wool as well as livestock.
The Archers at Woolmers and Brickendon often helped each other out, though both properties were remarkably self sufficient. Even though the two properties are within sight of each other, one could not simply pop over for the odd forgotten item or to convey a message. Someone had to take the punt over the river and then actually walk all the way there, taking at least half and hour each way.
Now a new foot-bridge will be built downstream from where the punt originally made regular crossings. This will be part of a new walkway which is to be constructed so that people can once again walk - just as convicts did all those years ago - from one property to the other, adding a wonderful new dimension for visitors!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Dinner - 19th Century Imagined
The Archer family at Woolmers could occasionally entertain in grand style; and there was sometimes a visiting dignitary to be shown that; even here in this distant outpost of Empire, they know how to do things properly in Van Diemen's land.
And there were those rare and exciting occasions when visiting royalty was to be entertained, a circumstance involving lengthy and elaborate preparations.
Everyone on the estate was kept on their toes. Well in advance of the great day, teams of male convicts were put to setting the garden to rights. Mrs Archer probably supervised this work and later picked floweres from the formal walled garden herself, arranging them to her satisfaction for the occasion.
Housemaids were marshalled and set busily to cleaning and polishing and setting everthing to rights in preparation for the big day. Silver was polished and the best tableware carefully cleaned and set out.
That most important of convict servants - the cook - necessarily played a pivotal role in the planning of any dinner or luncheon party and, at one time Sarah Turton, originally from Wales, filled that principal function. The cook was in charge of pantry and the still room, where food was stored, so that hers was a position of trust. Sarah, we know, was a tall, strong woman which was just as well because she had to do plenty of heavy lifting of iron cooking pots as well as the baking for the family.
Cooking was done over the open fire in the servant's kitchen where the cook may also have slept after she had washed and scoured out those same heavy iron pots.
The lengthy meals customary at the time must have entailed plenty of advance preparation and Mrs Archer's recipe book was probably keenly consulted and a review made of available supplies of meat as well as vegetables and fruits from the extensive estate gardens.
When all was in readiness for the grand occasion one or two of the maids were detailed to serve the guests and Mrs Archer must have been at pains to discover who among her assigned female convticts was capable of this delicate task. Imagine the social disaster if one of the maids had spilled soup into the lap of one of the guests!
No sooner were housemaids trained in the ways of their social superiors than they wanted to go off and get married, particularly as it was easy to find a husband, there being far more male convicts than female. And then the Archer lady of the day had to start all over again training newly assigned convict women.
It's all too easy to imagine successive Archer wives lamenting the perennial 'servant problem' common to those ladies of the colony who wished to entertain, in style, persons of note!
And there were those rare and exciting occasions when visiting royalty was to be entertained, a circumstance involving lengthy and elaborate preparations.
Everyone on the estate was kept on their toes. Well in advance of the great day, teams of male convicts were put to setting the garden to rights. Mrs Archer probably supervised this work and later picked floweres from the formal walled garden herself, arranging them to her satisfaction for the occasion.
Housemaids were marshalled and set busily to cleaning and polishing and setting everthing to rights in preparation for the big day. Silver was polished and the best tableware carefully cleaned and set out.
That most important of convict servants - the cook - necessarily played a pivotal role in the planning of any dinner or luncheon party and, at one time Sarah Turton, originally from Wales, filled that principal function. The cook was in charge of pantry and the still room, where food was stored, so that hers was a position of trust. Sarah, we know, was a tall, strong woman which was just as well because she had to do plenty of heavy lifting of iron cooking pots as well as the baking for the family.
Cooking was done over the open fire in the servant's kitchen where the cook may also have slept after she had washed and scoured out those same heavy iron pots.
The lengthy meals customary at the time must have entailed plenty of advance preparation and Mrs Archer's recipe book was probably keenly consulted and a review made of available supplies of meat as well as vegetables and fruits from the extensive estate gardens.
When all was in readiness for the grand occasion one or two of the maids were detailed to serve the guests and Mrs Archer must have been at pains to discover who among her assigned female convticts was capable of this delicate task. Imagine the social disaster if one of the maids had spilled soup into the lap of one of the guests!
No sooner were housemaids trained in the ways of their social superiors than they wanted to go off and get married, particularly as it was easy to find a husband, there being far more male convicts than female. And then the Archer lady of the day had to start all over again training newly assigned convict women.
It's all too easy to imagine successive Archer wives lamenting the perennial 'servant problem' common to those ladies of the colony who wished to entertain, in style, persons of note!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
More about World Heritage
Another word about that UNESCO World Heritage listing of Woolmers and Brickendon Estates near Longford - and the word, or rather words, I give you are quoted from the actual nomination of the two properties. In other words these are the reasons behind that listing.
"The Estates are representative of the use of penal transportation to expand Britain's geopolitical spheres of influence, and to rehabilitate criminals and integrate them into a distant penal colony." And they (the two properties) are associated with "global developments in the punishment of crime in the 19th century."
That all sounds a long winded way of saying the Brits sent their excess crims to Tas (or Van Diemen's Land as it was then called) because their jails were hopelessly overcrowded. Transportation (which was automatically for life) was also held up as a threat and, supposedly, prevented people in Britain from becoming criminals - though clearly it didn't work that well!
Many so-called 'crimes' were no more than the result of extreme poverty and today would not be considered crimes at all.
There are many fascinating convict stories associated with Woolmers and Brickndon and research is being done to uncover some of their stories. Male convicts lived and worked mainly at Brickendon while the females lived at Woolmers and the two were separated by the Macquarie River (not that the river was a deterrent to them forming 'attachments'!)
Woolmers and Brickendon Estates represent the 'good' or the more positive side of the convict system, because many convicts were able to work toward their eventual freedon. For this reason there are no chains or prison cells to be seen at either estate, though the convict workers were sometimes punished or more frequently simply sent back to the 'factory' if they were disobedient or attempted to escape.
Of course, convicts were a wonderful source of free labour for settlers and thus all the buildings you can see today at both Woolmers and Brickendon (along with many other pastoral properties in Tasmania) were actually built by convict labour.
Port Arthur and other penal settlements are associated with the terrible cruelty that characterised the system - chains and narrow cells giving today's visitors a 'frisson' of horror!
But the fact is only a very small proportion of convicts (less than 10%) were ever sent to Port Arthur, the majority being assigned to work throughout the new colony.
The whole penal system was a complicated one and there were many ideas associated with the system that we find convoluted and often pretty bizarre today.
For example female convicts were considered automatically morally bad as a class and it was regarded as a crime for a female convict to become pregnant. They were then regarded as 'fallen women' and 'useless', though the morals of men were never judged in this way (how, I wonder, did they think women got pregnant in the first place?)
Contradictorily, producing children was seen as a good thing (but preferably only ater marriage) and a way of providing more labour for the new colony.
Amazingly, it was also thought that if payment for work was withheld, this would cause workers to hope for a better life - imagine trying to make that one work today!
"The Estates are representative of the use of penal transportation to expand Britain's geopolitical spheres of influence, and to rehabilitate criminals and integrate them into a distant penal colony." And they (the two properties) are associated with "global developments in the punishment of crime in the 19th century."
That all sounds a long winded way of saying the Brits sent their excess crims to Tas (or Van Diemen's Land as it was then called) because their jails were hopelessly overcrowded. Transportation (which was automatically for life) was also held up as a threat and, supposedly, prevented people in Britain from becoming criminals - though clearly it didn't work that well!
Many so-called 'crimes' were no more than the result of extreme poverty and today would not be considered crimes at all.
There are many fascinating convict stories associated with Woolmers and Brickndon and research is being done to uncover some of their stories. Male convicts lived and worked mainly at Brickendon while the females lived at Woolmers and the two were separated by the Macquarie River (not that the river was a deterrent to them forming 'attachments'!)
Woolmers and Brickendon Estates represent the 'good' or the more positive side of the convict system, because many convicts were able to work toward their eventual freedon. For this reason there are no chains or prison cells to be seen at either estate, though the convict workers were sometimes punished or more frequently simply sent back to the 'factory' if they were disobedient or attempted to escape.
Of course, convicts were a wonderful source of free labour for settlers and thus all the buildings you can see today at both Woolmers and Brickendon (along with many other pastoral properties in Tasmania) were actually built by convict labour.
Port Arthur and other penal settlements are associated with the terrible cruelty that characterised the system - chains and narrow cells giving today's visitors a 'frisson' of horror!
But the fact is only a very small proportion of convicts (less than 10%) were ever sent to Port Arthur, the majority being assigned to work throughout the new colony.
The whole penal system was a complicated one and there were many ideas associated with the system that we find convoluted and often pretty bizarre today.
For example female convicts were considered automatically morally bad as a class and it was regarded as a crime for a female convict to become pregnant. They were then regarded as 'fallen women' and 'useless', though the morals of men were never judged in this way (how, I wonder, did they think women got pregnant in the first place?)
Contradictorily, producing children was seen as a good thing (but preferably only ater marriage) and a way of providing more labour for the new colony.
Amazingly, it was also thought that if payment for work was withheld, this would cause workers to hope for a better life - imagine trying to make that one work today!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Woolmers Estate World Heritage Listing
A total of eleven built sites (as opposed to significant natural areas of National Parks), in Australia have this week-end been declared by UNESCO to be World Heritage Convict Sites and five of those chosen are in Tasmania.
All are important places where the British Empire sent some 166,000 of its convicts over a period of eighty years from 1787 to 1868. British transportation of convicts to Australia was the first-ever attempt to use the labour of convicts to build a whole new society.
And - in the fullness of time - it worked! They could not possibly nave imagined back then how amazingly well it would all turn out.
The eleven sites spread accross Australia are listed so you can see just how important the ones chosen in Tassie really are, joining such places as the Sydney Opera House on the World Heritage list.
On the mainland the historic convict sites are Norfolk Island; Old Government House at Parramatta; Hyde Park Barracks in central Sydney; Old Great North Road NSW; Cockatoo Island Convict Site NSW; and Freemantle Prison in WA.
The five important Tasmanian Convict Sites are:
- Cascades Female Factory in Hobart
- Port Arthur Historic Site
- Coal Mines on the Tasman Peninsular
- Maria Island Darlington Probation Station
- And last by by no means least - Woolmers and adjoining Brickendon Estates which have been listed as one historic precinct. It's fantastic to get this international recognition of the importance of both properties.
These two beautiful 19th century estates, near Longford in the Northern Midlands, illustrate the 'good' side of the convict story, where convicts could be assigned to work out their sentence, eventually obtaining their freedom.
Port Arthur (which is now Government owned) and the Coal Mines Historic Site represent the opposite extreme of the penal system, in all its misguided cruelty.
Strangely, this cruel severity seems to hold the most fascination for visitors, Port Arthur attracting by far the biggest numbers.
Just to avoid misunderstandings, (of which I know there are some) Brickendon is still owned and operated by the Archer family as it has been since earliest settlement. Woolmers Estate, on the other hand, originally also an Archer property, is now owned and operated by a non-for-profit Foundation and is administered by a Board of Management, all of whom are volunteers.
Woolmers is open all year and it's well worth visiting to take the tour of the house and property. If you have not yet visited these beautiful and significant historic World Heritage Estates - it's surely time to do so!
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