Convict braces and belts
1819–48
Convict ‘slop’ clothing was one-size-fits-all, so some convicts had to improvise ways to keep up their baggy trousers, otherwise known as kickseys in the convict ‘flash’ slang language. These braces and leather belts, found by archaeologists beneath the floors of the Hyde Park Barracks, were probably designed for this purpose. Made from two recycled linen strips with buttonholes, the makeshift braces were made to fit a small man or even a boy, perhaps about 160cm tall. The fragments of yellow woollen ‘Parramatta’ cloth and the buttonholes are evidence that these strips were originally part of a pair of government-issue yellow and brown/black punishment suit trousers. Issued to convicts undergoing secondary sentences, the sides of these pants were fastened with buttons, which allowed the wearer to fit the pants on over his leg-irons. The leather belts are also improvised, sewn together from two mismatched strips of leather, with their buckles attached at one end with rough stitching and string.
The slops [convict clothing] appear to be given out in the most indiscriminate manner, without the least regard to fitting ... a man standing six feet, and built in proportion, will be presented with a suit to fit a dwarf, and vice versa ...
Sydney Herald, 23 February 1835
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Convict Sydney
Objects
These convict-era objects and archaeological artefacts found at the 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
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Convict Sydney
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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 and 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 cap
A hat was known as a castor or a kelp in the convict ‘flash’ slang language
Convict Sydney
Convict hat sennets and leaf shredder
This shredding tool and ‘sennets’ or fragments of plaited cabbage tree palm leaves (Livistona australis) found beneath the floors of the Hyde Park Barracks were used by convicts for making hats
Convict Sydney
Brass stamp
Between 1830 and 1848, the superintendent’s office operated from the Hyde Park Barracks, where this stamp was most likely used on official documents and ledgers
Convict Sydney
Convict shirt scrap, ‘B.A.’
This square scrap of striped convict shirt is curiously stamped with the letters ‘B’ and ‘A’
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