The Luck of the Irish: How a shipload of convicts survived the wreck of the Hive to make a new life in AustraliaThe luck of the Irish was chronic bad luck, as their sad history attests. That's how it looked for 250 Irish convicts when their ship, the Hive, sank ignominiously off the New South Wales coast in 1835. Miraculously all survived, guided to safety by local Aboriginal people. They landed at a time when the so-called slave colony was at its height, ruled by the lash and the chain gang. Yet as Babette Smith tracked the lives of the people aboard the Hive, she discovered a very different story. Most were assigned to work on farms or in businesses, building a better life than they possibly could have experienced in Ireland. Surprisingly, in the workforce they found power, which gave rise to the characteristic Australian culture later described by D.H. Lawrence: 'Nobody felt better than anybody else, or higher.' The Luck of the Irish is a fascinating portrait of colonial life in the mid-nineteenth century that reveals how the Irish helped lay the foundations of the Australia we know today. 'Deeply researched and vividly written, it's a terrific new and up-to-date account of the convict experience, mainly from the bottom up. I'm impressed.' - Emeritus Professor Alan Atkinson FAHA, University of Sydney 'Brings the convict era to life through personal stories and insightful analysis.' - Lindsay Tanner |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 16 | |
Chapter 3 Settling to the Task | 38 |
Chapter 4 The OConnellite Tail | 53 |
Chapter 5 A Question of Fairness | 65 |
Chapter 6 Unnecessary Irritation | 82 |
Chapter 7 The Power of Numbers | 99 |
Chapter 8 Floating Nurseries | 116 |
Chapter 12 A New Governor | 175 |
Chapter 13 Infested by Bushrangers | 190 |
Chapter 14 Beyond the Penal Colony | 204 |
Chapter 15 Creating the Australian Way of Life | 217 |
Chapter 16 The Lives of Men | 241 |
Acknowledgements | 251 |
Select Bibliography | 254 |
Notes | 262 |
Chapter 9 Managing Norfolk Island | 129 |
Chapter 10 Resisting Ascendancy | 144 |
Chapter 11 Catholic Friendly | 159 |
Index | 283 |
Back cover
| 293 |
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Common terms and phrases
50 lashes abduction absconded Alexander Berry angels and eagles arrived assigned servants Australia’s Birthstain Australian Bathurst became Berry Bourke’s brother bushrangers Canney’s Captain Catholic Causer Church colonial secretary commandant Connerys Cork crew crime CSIL Daniel O’Connell Diemen’s Land Edward Canney emancipists emigrated England example farm fit for angels flogged Forgotten Hero free settlers gang gaol Gipps Goulburn Governor Bourke Henry Lugard Hunter Valley Ibid Illawarra immigrants Ireland Irish James John Journal Kelly labour later Limerick Macquarie magistrate Maitland master McIntyre Michael months Myall Creek Newcastle Norfolk Island O’Connell official overseer pastoralists Paterson Patrick penal colonies place fit Plunkett police Port Macquarie Port Phillip prisoners Protestant punishment Reel Regiment Richard Bourke Roger Therry Ryan sailed sent sentence settlement sheep ship ship’s soldiers South Wales SRNSW St Patrick’s Day Sydney Gazette Sydney Herald Sydney Monitor Therry ticket-of-leave Tocal told took transported violence voyage William workforce wrote