Convict Orphans: The heartbreaking stories of the colony's forgotten children, and those who succeeded against all odds by Lucy Frost

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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction - Australia - Tasmania - Convicts
Condition: Very good
Published: Published 2023 by Allen & Unwin
Pages: 296
ISBN: 9781761067686
Weight: 420g