Convict uniform buttons
1819–48
Archaeologists at the Hyde Park Barracks found over 250 bone buttons, which were once attached to convict shirts, jackets and trousers and then lost beneath the floors. They are mainly one-, three-, four- and five-hole sew-through buttons. Convict ‘slop’ jackets, waistcoats and breeches (trousers) usually had medium-sized four-hole and five-hole bone buttons. Convict shirts had smaller three-hole or ‘three-way’ buttons (as seen intact on the collar of the convict shirt also found at the Barracks). It is likely that some convicts collected buttons for trading with others who needed to replace missing buttons on their clothing, or to use as gaming tokens.
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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
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
Convict braces and 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 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
Convict shirt scrap, ‘B.A.’
This square scrap of striped convict shirt is curiously stamped with the letters ‘B’ and ‘A’
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 shoe
Shoes were known as crab shells or hopper dockers in the convict ‘flash’ slang language; two or three pairs were issued to each convict annually