In my last post I mentioned that the Third Fleet convict Bella Ramsay is being considered as an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography's 'Colonial Women' project. Why might that be?
In 1791 Bella had a tough start to her life in Australia. But she did not let that cow her. Using some of Bella's own words, selected from court documents of 1799, we begin to see a feisty young woman prepared to make a stand against a large group of vengeful men running a kangaroo court inside her home. Here is a taste of that story.
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| Original Sketch by Julia Woodhouse, 2008 |
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| Original Sketch by Julia Woodhouse, 2008 |
Metcalf said ‘These natives were in the woods with Hodgkinson the night before he was massacred. Give them a piece of bread as they might be the means of finding out the natives that killed Hodgkinson.’
Metcalf left us to find the widow Hodgkinson, who is my friend, and alert seven other neighbours.
Left alone with the natives, I was glad to see Constable Powell come in, for I was in fear for myself and the children. We have been robbed by the natives, but from their general inhuman behaviour I am the more afraid of them.
Powell said they should be killed for they had killed a worthy good fellow, and it would be a pity to see them go away alive.
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| 'On Trek', from front doorway of Mitchell Library, Sydney. Photo by Louise Wilson, 2018 |
Powell wanted to hang them on the beam in my house. I did not consent, knowing he had a place of his own. Powell asked me for a rope and I said I had none. I tried to save the lives of the natives.
Two neighbours went home to collect ropes and the hands of the natives were then tied behind them by a rope put about their necks. They were taken out of my house.
About a quarter of an hour
afterwards I heard the report of two muskets. Two natives lay dead. The other
ran away and he later identified the real murderers.
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Oh my gosh Louise. Wonderful research and fantastic to be able to 'hear' Bella's own words. You are correct, she doesn't sound like she was the quiet retiring type that's for sure. Good on her! I WILL get around to reading your book 'Sentenced to Debt' eventually. I'm waiting for my Ancestry sub to run out then I'll sit at my computer with your book and double check my info as you are most certainly a more committed researcher than I am. Thank you Louise.
ReplyDeleteThank you yourself, Michelle. When you spend so much time 'in isolation' at your computer it's always heartening to receive positive feedback on the results.
DeleteI regard our great, great, great etc. gran Bella as a heroine of the first order. What a life she had bringing up all those children, our ancestors, in such times. No aircon, no supermarket and ever present danger. The women's lives are largely forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sasha, I'm proud of her too. Many family historians are trying to resurrect the lives of brave women like Bella.
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