Bookworm

[#1]

 I’ve heard people speculate that Australia’s wild side is partially due to its residents who are descendents of prisoners. The Tin Ticket sets the record straight as the true nature of these resilient and courageous “criminals” comes to light. These poor souls were unceremoniously shipped from England (and surrounding countries) to Australia in the early 1800s. What’s fascinating about historian Deborah Swiss’ account is its focus on the thousands of women who were also sentenced for transport to Van Dieman’s Land, now known as Tasmania.

After enduring days or months in British prisons, with little food, heat or bedding, they began a harrowing journey. Dozens of children, girls and women were crowded below deck as the ship sailed through shark-infested waters. The passage, compounded by severe overcrowding, lack of fresh water and rampant disease, ultimately resulted in a watery death for many.

And what was the crime for this horrific punishment? Stolen spoons, a pair of socks, a few pieces of bread…almost any crime, no matter the severity, could result in a tin ticket, stamped with numbers and worn about the neck to identify each prisoner.

Deborah Swiss’ painstaking research through thousands of historical and private documents, ship records, newspaper articles and court transcripts is the basis for this true story. The Tin Ticket follows the journey of four brave women who ultimately defy the odds to survive.

We meet Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston, young girls fending for themselves after their poverty-stricken mother abandons them on the streets of Glasgow. Convicted of shoplifting, they are exiled from the British Isles and sentenced to deportation.

The decision to transport young girls and women solved two problems for the British Empire. They had already begun transporting “unsavory” male criminals to the wilds of Australia and were now in need of women to even out the balance (which is helpful since they were trying to increase the population of the British Empire’s crown jewel). This also removed some of the “distasteful” elements from its streets (the young women and girls who were left to forge for themselves or starve to death.) We also meet Elizabeth Gurney Fry, a Quaker reformer who helps some of the scores of women floundering under England’s shocking prison conditions.

The story is a fascinating account of the human spirt and the fierce will of these women who, discarded by their homeland, will ultimately become the heart and soul of a new nation.

By the Bed…Netherland by Joseph O’Neill            

[#2]

That sounds fascinating and I'm going to make a point of reading it. Years ago I had the pleasure of spending a year living in Australia and one of the thngs that struck me was that while there was a universal acknolwedgement of the ridiculously petty things people would get deported to Australia for, there also seemed to be a sort of pride in the self-perception of Australia as a land of outlaws and rebels, even more so than the United States becuase of course they really had been founded on outlaws! I remember hearing some great music - ballads about one outlaw or another, admired rather than villified.

[#3]

I'm jealous, Petgirl.  I would dearly love to visit Australia, it's on my Bucket List, which just keeps getting longer.  I used to have an uncle who lived there, but he passed away a number of years ago.  I should find out if I have cousins there, still...  For some reason, I really want to visit Ayers rock. 

[#4]

There have been so many great actors from Australia, too! Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Heath Ledger and many, many more. And I love their accents....