Chapter 5: More Sinned Against Than Sinning

Having arrived in Van Dieman’s Land at the conclusion of the previous chapter, chapter 5 begins with an account of the disembarkment of the female convicts from the Westmoreland and their arrival in the Van Dieman’s Land colony proper at Hobart Town, an already bustling centre of some 14 000 people. Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston are abruptly introduced to the ‘winterish’ Tasmanian summer of December 1836, as they are much some distance through Hobart Town to the Cascades Female Factory housed in an old rum distillery some 2 miles outside of town at the base of Mount Wellington.

The first section of chapter 5 covering the convicts arrival at and journey through Hobart Town provides a fascinating insight into what life was like in colonial Van Dieman’s Land in 1836. The description of Hobart Town is wonderful, as is the colour of society set forth as the convict brigade marches thorugh the town. This is a great encapsulation of what is what like to live in those early heady days of Tasmania.

The remainder of the chapter narrates the life of Agnes as a female convict on assignment, though it seemed more often than not, her time was spent in the crime class at Cascades Female Factory. The conditions of her imprisonment at Cascades were far in excess of what was deserved for the ‘crimes’ she committed. Indeed, the chapter title is very appropriate – ‘more sinned against than sinning.’

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