Convict shirt scrap, ‘B.A.’
1819–1848
Found by archaeologists beneath the floorboards of one of the sleeping wards of Hyde Park Barracks, this square scrap of striped convict shirt is curiously stamped with the letters ‘B’ and ‘A’.
In 1819 Governor Lachlan Macquarie outlined the rules for the new Prisoner’s Barracks, declaring that the convict’s clothing was to be marked with their initials, to be sure that they were returned to the rightful owners after washing, and also, to prevent convicts from stealing them. Records of the convicts who spent time at Hyde Park Barracks reveal that there were surprisingly few convicts with the initials B.A. Two of the three that we know of were both named Benjamin Abbott. One arrived in 1822 on Asia (2) and the other arrived in 1837 on Charles Kerr, and both also died in the Rum Hospital, next to Hyde Park Barracks. Perhaps that’s why one of them left his shirt behind, and it was torn up into scraps like this one, which another convict might have intended to recycle for another purpose.
The linens belonging to each Man are to be marked with the Initials of his Name.
Governor Lachlan Macquarie, Government and General Orders, Sydney Gazette, 8 May 1819.1
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 Sydney
Browse all
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
Convict shirt scraps
Deliberately torn into squares and strips, these scraps of convict shirt suggest that some convicts were recycling old clothing for new purposes
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 Braces & Belts
Convict ‘slop’ clothing was one-size-fits-all, so some convicts had to improvise ways to keep up their baggy trousers
Convict Sydney
Convict Cap
A hat was known as a castor or a kelp in the convict 'flash' slang language
Convict Sydney
Convict hat sennets & leaf shredder
This shredding tool and ‘sennets’ or fragments of plaited cabbage tree palm leaves (Livistona australis) were found beneath the floors of Hyde Park Barracks, and used by convicts for making hats
Convict Sydney
What was convict assignment?
‘Assignment’ meant that a convict worked for a private landowner
Convict Sydney
Convict shirt
Known as a smish, kemesa or flesh-bag in the convict 'flash' slang language, this convict uniform shirt has been worn, torn, stained and patched
Convict Sydney
Convict uniform buttons
Archaeologists found over 250 bone buttons, which were once attached to convict shirts, jackets and trousers, and then lost beneath the floors