Why did kids get transported from Britain to Australia?

What were their crimes? Did they miss their families?  

What was life like as a convict in Van Dieman’s Land, an open air prison on Palawa land?  

Students from Princes Street Primary School in Hobart tell us what they know about convict kids. 

Hamish Maxwell-Stewart and Marcelle Mangan tell the story of transportation, convict tattoos and tokens, and convict life at the Cascades Female Factory in Hobart. 

They answer kids’ questions and reflect on what the evidence can and can’t tell us about the convicts. 

How to use this episode in your classroom

• Play all the way through (32 minutes) or play half the episode (16 minutes) and pause.
• We'll tell you when you've reached halfway, and recap the episode.
• Use the 4 page Learning Materials worksheet PDF with your class, and find more resources on our website.

Voices 

• Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart is a specialist in convict history and is at the University of New England. 
• Marcelle Mangan is a tour guide at the Cascades Female Factory, Hobart.  

Episode image 

Convict love token from J. Fletcher. Image courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.

Transcript

• Download Convict kids transcript in Word

• Download Convict kids transcript PDF

Music

Less Jaunty and Apollo Diedre by Blue Dot Sessions.

Credits

• Hosted by Axel Clark.  
• Made on Gadigal Country by Anna Clark, Clare Wright, Jane Curtis and Britta Jorgensen.
• Executive producers are Clare Wright and Anna Clark. 
• Podcast concept, design and development by Anna Clark.  
• Indigenous Cultural Consultant is Katrina Thorpe.  
• Story editor is Kyla Slaven.
• Learning material by Nick Adeney, Victorian primary educator
• Curriculum advisors are Nicole Laauw, Department of Education NSW, and Rose Reid, Association of Independent Schools of NSW

Thanks to all the students whose voices you hear in this episode and their schools and teachers: Princes Street Primary School, Marrickville West Primary School, Westbourne Grammar School, Preshil Primary School, La Perouse Primary School, and Yirrkala Bilingual School.   

Hey History! is produced by the Australian Centre for Public History at UTS and UTS Impact Studios.

Impact Studios' executive producer is Sarah Gilbert.