Day in the life of a convict
![Taylor panorama (left detail)](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/514dea2512b5448297899fc4c09c547f.jpg)
Convict Sydney
What was convict assignment?
‘Assignment’ meant that a convict worked for a private landowner
![A close up of the letters 'PB' and a broad arrow on a convict shirt. This item was featured in one of our virtual excursions.](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/b07ab9d41a084547aa267f5931a01ab2.jpg)
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What clothes did male convicts wear?
The convict men who lived at Hyde Park Barracks were provided with a uniform to mark them as ‘government men’
![Painting of Hyde Park baracks from south western courner shortly after construction with two men in front. It looks dry and there are no trees.](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/b058891164a847588df0ae13d1c2ad1d.jpg)
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Did convicts escape from the Barracks?
From June 1819, unmarried male convicts who were working for the government had to stay at the Hyde Park Barracks
![Assorted bones including sheep, goat and pig bones](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/6c9cc0441e6a47ac8e3a9e0ce914c5c8.jpg)
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What food did the convicts eat?
In 1820, the convicts living at the Hyde Park Barracks would have been woken at sunrise by the ringing of a bell in the yard
![Iron jew's harp and convict shirt scrap](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/66eb483c72db4fa1950c5369f39c76a3.jpg)
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What did convicts do in their free time?
After a day of hard work, the convicts were walked back to the Barracks for the evening muster
![blood.png](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/ad0712545d7e4b57a4ef250a1e2d40b3.jpg)
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What happened to sick or injured convicts?
Convicts were needed to do a lot of work around the colony, so it was important that they were kept healthy
![Convict reenactors at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/8041602b18d9484ca0c95333c2351d9f.jpg)
Convict Sydney
What was ‘flash’ language?
Convicts transported to NSW brought a lot of different things with them. In some cases this included their own slang language, called ‘flash’
!['Convict Sydney' installation view](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/2744e05a51684f8d86f8ea0b4232746e.jpg)
Convict Sydney
What are convict love tokens?
A convict love token is a coin that convicts gave to their loved ones before they were transported to NSW
![A close up of convict Leg irons](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/e9d76b88b8764635bdd4e582040b43c6.jpg)
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What happened to convicts who broke the rules?
The convicts who lived at the Barracks had to obey lots of rules – more than 200!
![LON10_MEM_001-crop.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/d0f52f539fa94bf496857d452b4de27f.jpg)
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How were convicts rewarded for good behaviour?
While some convicts broke the rules and were punished, most of them worked hard and tried to stay out of trouble
![Model showing convicts in the courtyard of the barracks](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/28b2c0ae4f8244be8edcdeec18a530a3.jpg)
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What work did convicts do?
There was a huge amount of work to do around the town of Sydney, and most of it was done by convicts who did lots of different jobs
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![Lewin-from-Evans.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/3fab2773e47944c6bc512e6899ce1c33.jpg)
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What was life in early Sydney like for convicts?
By 1801 Sydney had grown into a little village with streets and buildings
![Barbara Zammit holding a photo of her ancestor immigrant Rose McGee](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/08/890c4a4d9a2a48198e3637ead1173b25.jpg)
Convict Sydney
Female migration
For many women in the UK migration was seen as an opportunity to change their fortunes - to escape poverty, find work and start a family