Clay tobacco pipe
Jonathan Leak, 1826–1838
Known as steamers to the convicts, there were 1500 fragments of convict-era clay tobacco pipes like this one recovered by archaeologists from underfloor and underground areas of Hyde Park Barracks. Not just smoked by convicts, some were also made by convicts. A few, like this example, were marked with the moulded name ‘J. LEAK/SYDNEY’ - made by Jonathan Leak, who had been transported in 1819 at age 42 for burglary. As a trained potter from Staffordshire, Leak was put straight to work at the Government Pottery at Brickfield Hill, where he made a variety of earthenware pottery and tobacco pipes. For good behaviour he was granted his Ticket of Leave in 1822 and he set up his own pottery. Leak received his Conditional Pardon in 1828. Made from local clay pressed into a mould, this pipe was made after 1826, when Leak’s adult son Lewis arrived in the colony, and probably brought the new moulds with him.
Leak sold his pipes for four shillings per gross (144 pipes), which meant they cost 3 pence each. Even after the markup that the pubs and shops added, most convicts could certainly afford to buy them with the coins they had earned by working on Saturday afternoons, or by gambling and selling cabbage tree hats and stolen goods. Many convicts enjoyed smoking as a welcome relief from the brutality and drudgery of convict life. Tobacco, which convicts called weed, was not part of their rations but was also available to buy in the pubs and shops.
More artefacts
Convict Sydney
Objects
These convict-era objects and archaeological artefacts found at Hyde Park Barracks and The Mint (Rum Hospital) are among the rarest and most personal artefacts to have survived from Australia’s early convict period
Published on
Convict stories
Browse all
Convict Sydney
Bible & Prayer Book
The name and the date 1837 written inside the covers tell us they once belonged to an English brass founder named Thomas Bagnall
Convict Sydney
Jaw harp
This iron jaw harp was found by archaeologists at Hyde Park Barracks alongside other convict-era objects
Convict Sydney
Clock-winding crank
This sturdy crank was used for many years to wind the Hyde Park Barracks clock
Convict Sydney
Hack barrow
Convict brickmakers working at the Brickfields (now Haymarket) used hack barrows like this one, stacking 20 or 30 wet bricks on the timber palings along the top, for transporting them from the moulding table to the ‘hack’ yard for drying
Convict Sydney
Cupping glasses & scarificator
These cupping glasses are of the type that was used in the treatment of convict patients at the General ‘Rum’ Hospital
Convict Sydney
Convict gaming tokens
These bone, ceramic, and wooden gaming tokens appear to have been hand-carved by convicts from rubbish scraps and animal bones saved from their meals
Convict Sydney
What was convict assignment?
‘Assignment’ meant that a convict worked for a private landowner
Convict Sydney
Cooking cauldron
The watery stew eaten by convicts at Hyde Park Barracks was boiled in giant communal cast iron pots
Convict Sydney
Clay tobacco pipes, repaired
Known as steamers to the convicts, these tobacco pipes have been repaired with resin and twine where their fragile stems broke
Convict Sydney
Clay Tobacco Pipe
This tobacco pipe with its bowl in the shape of a man’s head was recovered by archaeologists at Hyde Park Barracks