Kate Dunstan; or, The Penitent single work   short story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1867... 1867 Kate Dunstan; or, The Penitent
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Kate Dunstan, indulged as a child, is left a rich orphan by her parents' death. Needing money to marry her poor lover she forges her guardian aunt's signature, is arrested and sentenced to Van Diemen's Land. She describes the horrors of the voyage including a bloody mutiny by the male convicts caused by illness, bad provisions and cruelty. On arrival the convicts were all tried and the ringleaders hung, partly on the evidence of a friend of Kate's. This friend was abducted from the house where she and Kate were assigned, and murdered by convicts for revenge. Kate eventually sets up a school and marries but her past follows her - she and her husband leave Tasmania for Melbourne and then Adelaide where after a short happiness and the birth of a son she is again discovered and her husband dies. The tale ends with her return to England. (PB)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1867
Serialised by: The Australian Journal 1865 periodical (900 issues)
Notes:
Serialised in the Australian Journal 2.88 (4 May 1867) 569-572; 2.89 (10 May 1867) 581-583.
Last amended 30 Oct 2008 07:52:27
Settings:
  • Tasmania,
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
  • Adelaide, South Australia,
  • c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X