Convict Orphans : The Heartbreaking Stories of the Colony's Forgotten Children, and Those Who Succeeded Against All Odds / Lucy Frost.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Frost, Lucy, 1941- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Orphans--Australia--Biography.

Orphans.

Children--Australia--New South Wales--Social conditions--19th century.

Children.

Children--Australia--New South Wales--Social life and customs--19th century.

Children--Social conditions.

Children--Social life and customs.

Orphans--Australia--Biography--19th century.

Orphans--Australia--History--19th century.

Prisoners--Family relationships--Australia--Biography.

Prisoners.

Prisoners--Family relationships--Australia--History--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, [2023]

Summary:

All families have their secrets, and a convict ancestor or an illegitimate birth were shames that families once buried deep. Among the best-hidden stories in Australia's history are those of the convict orphans. Agnes arrived on a convict transport aged four and was abandoned when her mother needed to escape an abusive husband. After their mother died and their father deserted them, Maria and Eliza Marriner were taken into state care too. Cut off from family, behind the walls of the imposing sandstone buildings of the Queen's Orphan Schools, they were among hundreds of young children entrusted to the much feared Matron Smyth. At the age of twelve, the children left the orphanage to work without pay on farms and in homes-some of them places where no child should ever have been sent. Although colonists called it white slavery, the authorities turned a blind eye to what was really happening. These are stories of abuse and abandonment, and also of great generosity and kindness from individuals who rescued and supported children. Some children managed to build happy lives for themselves, but many could not navigate a system stacked against them. There are disturbing parallels between the Queen's Orphan Schools in Hobart and other children's institutions in Australia into the 21st century.

Contents:

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Lessons from the Cook-house

Chapter 2: In the Homes of Strangers

Chapter 3: Up and Down the Stairs of Boarding Houses

Chapter 4: Jobs for the Boys

Chapter 5: In the Wilds of the Huon

Chapter 6: The Children Who Ran

Chapter 7: Children at Risk

Chapter 8: The Perils of Being a Girl

Chapter 9: A Legacy of Trauma

Chapter 10: On Their Own

Chapter 11: Agnes and Sarah

Epilogue

Picture Section

Acknowledgements

Images

Select Bibliography

Index

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781761186158

1761186159

OCLC:

1370499881