George Arthur, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1924-36 is
credited with constructing an intricate system of convict management. The idea
behind Arthur's grand plan was that the convicts would sink or rise through the
tiers of his multi-layered system according to their conduct. Thus, the
intention was that the wicked would be punished for their sins and the good
rewarded for unerring servitude toil.
In 1830 Arthur ordered the construction of a new penal station on the Tasman
Peninsula named Port Arthur in his honour. This was to be the foundation stone
of Arthur's scheme for regulating the lives of his colonial charged - a place to
which prisoners who incurred the wrath of the convict administration would be
sent as a lesson to all.
Arthur likened his convict system to a prison without walls. This was because
the lives of ordinary prisoners were regulated by paperwork rather than guard
towns and iron bars. Every detail that could be gleaned about a convict was
entered into a set of enormous registers which were used to separate those
considered worthy of indulgence from those whose conduct was thought to merit
further punishment.
This book charts the lives of 52 prisoners who served time at Port Arthur in
the 1830s. It looks at the impact of transportation upon their lives and charts
the ways in which they negotiated a passage through Arthur's labyrinthine penal
colony. Using the theme of a deck of cards, the convicts are divided into four
groups.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Hearts
- William McColligan
- Walter Paisley
- Thomas Frost
- Joseph Johnson
- Charles Moore
- George Hunt
- John Blake
- William White
- Isaac Bennett
- William Day
- Abraham Hood
- William Moore
- Edward Brown
Clubs
- Benjamin Stanton
- James Gavagan
- William McCorville
- Daniel Fraser
- William Saxton
- Stephen Ashton
- Patrick Murphy
- Vincenzo Buccheri
- John Thomas
- Charles Tossante Brown
- Thomas Day
- Henry Fewens
- Thomas Dickenson
Diamonds
- William Pearson
- Peter Brannon
- John Hare
- John Jones
- Henry Laing
- Jesse Pattamore
- John Clark
- Ebenezer Brittlebank
- Thomas Walker
- Simon Hargreaves
- Charles Hogan
- William Collins
- John Longworth
Spades
- James Travis
- William Bickle
- William Stewart
- James Hall
- George Perryman
- Thomas Davis
- Charles Wellings
- Charles Costantini
- Charles Dormer
- John Jones
- Robert Ashford
- Daniel Nightingale
- Robert Goldspick
Sources and Maps
Glossary and Conversion Table
Bibliography
