Tucked away in the Hobart Town Gazette of 1844 were 2 references for each of my beloved convicts.Elizabeth Allen, Margaret, to Zachary Pocock, Hobart:
Elizabeth Allen, Margaret, by George Lewis, Restdown, 1 month, from 10th ditto [September].:
These snippets refer to whose private service they entered as a passholder.
From 1840 convicts usually served an initial period of “probation” in government work gangs, before becoming “passholders” who competed in the labour market. In the context of high unemployment, this meant that thousands of serving convicts joined ticket-of-leave holders and emancipists to roam the island in search of work. The sight of these workers, who by necessity or choice often lived rough in the bush, horrified and frightened the free settlers… (Source: Van Diemen’s Land by James Boyce – found via Google Books).
Next steps:
- Search for other issues of the Hobart Town Gazette
- Research the employers listed for some background information
