Cirrus@Austlit

"Ducharme was among the French Canadian rebels transported to New South Wales on the Buffalo in 1839-40. He and his fellow exiles were sent to a penal settlement at Longbottom on arrival, and stayed there for some 20 months, working in road gangs. Ducharme was then assigned to Alexander George Dumas, a clerk in the office of the Principal Superintendent of Convicts, and following the granting of his ticket-of-leave, worked for himself. He was pardoned in 1844 and returned to Canada via London. His account corroborates much of what is contained in the Notes of fellow exile Francois Xavier Prieur (q.v.), but is not as personal or as detailed. Apparently written up from a journal and occasionally reverting to journal form, it deals thoroughly with the voyage on the Buffalo and conditions at Longbottom, where the Canadians were eventually able to work the system to suit themselves. It deals only cursorily with the author's time as an assigned and ticket-of-leave convict. At the close of his narrative, Ducharme includes a general description of the colony of New South Wales, including climatic conditions, agriculture and resources, commerce, wildlife and Aborigines, describing the last as 'the most stupid and most disgusting race of men in the world'" (Walsh and Hooton 55).

Source

Walsh, Kay and Joy Hooton. Australian Autobiographical Narratives : An Annotated Bibliography. Canberra : Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, University College, ADFA and National Library of Australia, 1993.

A selection of the correspondence of the Rev. Samuel Marsden, a prominent clergyman in the Parramatta region of New South Wales in the early days of the Australian colony.

"A citizen of the United States who joined the Canadian patriot cause in 1838, William Gates was captured at Prescott, convicted and transported to Van Diemen's Land on the Buffalo. On arrival, all the Canadian rebels were placed in road gangs in the Hobart area, where they suffered badly from the heavy work and harsh conditions, several of their number dying as a result... While following the broad outline of the published narratives of other Canadian revels, such as Heustis, Marsh, Snow, and Wright, and like them, providing detailed information about convict conditions and other aspects of life in Van Diemen's Land, Gates' Recollections are more expressive of the author's thought and feelings during his ordeals as a convict" (Walsh and Hooton 67).

Source

Walsh, Kay and Joy Hooton. Australian Autobiographical Narratives : An Annotated Bibliography. Canberra : Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, University College, ADFA and National Library of Australia, 1993.

Published as three volumes in one, a selection of the correspondence of Victorian pioneer John Cotton.

A collection of texts on the fatal duel that saw Dr William Bland transported to Australia in 1814.