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Library Exhibition Highlights Daring Convict Stories

Traralgon Library is currently hosting a travelling exhibition called ‘On the Run’ which explores some daring convict escapes from Australia’s darker days as a convict colony.

By Latrobe City - 21st September 2007 - Back to News

Latrobe City’s library coordinator, Claire Wood said that the exhibition would be of special interest to members of the community involved in local and family history research or school children studying Australian history.

"Of particular interest are the remarkable stories of Mary Bryant, William Swallow, Martin Cash and Alexander Pearce as they took enormous risks in order to be free," Ms Wood said.

"The harrowing story of Mary Bryant unfolds with her arrival on the First Fleet and follows her tale of survival through ten weeks at sea, a brief taste of freedom on Timor and then the return to England where she faced execution.

"Martin Cash was a notorious bushranger who led the infamous ‘Cash and Co’ gang. He escaped from prison several times and at one point was due to hang, only to be repreived and sent to Norfolk Island, where he became a reformed man.

Ms Wood said that the exhibition also followed the story of Alexander Pearce, the infamous cannibal who survived on the flesh of his fellow escapees.

"Visitors can also relive the seizure of ‘The Cyprus’ with William Swallow at the helm, and the hazardous journey from Australia back to Old England. There is also insight into the dark side of convict life with punishments including flogging, hanging and restraint with leg irons," Ms Wood explained.

"In addition to the exhibition our local Family History Society has put together a special display of convict bonnets together with instructions on how they can be sewn.

Ms Wood said that for anyone interested in finding out if there is a convict in the family the Ancestry Database is available at all branches of Latrobe City Libraries.

"This includes access to Transportation Registers 1788-1868 which provide information including name, place of conviction, term of sentence, name of ship, departure dates and colony to which convicts were sent," Ms Wood added.

A special information session on researching this kind of information is planned for Thursday 4 October from 2pm to 3.30pm at the Traralgon Library.

"This is an opportunity to showcase some fabulous resources at Latrobe City’s libraries," Ms Wood concluded.

The exhibition, from the State Library of New South Wales, and is sponsored in Victoria by the Department of Victorian Communities, runs until Monday 8 October 2007.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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