First novelist was a convict

Port Arthur’s eerily-named Isle of the Dead is the repository of more than 1000 convicts, officials and their families who died at Tasmania’s infamous penal settlement. Many graves were not marked, and their stories are lost to time. But one convict has been remembered, due to his special place in history. Henry Savery’s writing skillsContinue reading “First novelist was a convict”

Convict lived long life of excitements

John Pedley’s newspaper obituary described him as “quite a character, with a fine Roman head, and a splendid memory, which he retained almost to the last.” This character was forged in the flames of transportation as a convict as a teenager, the harshness of frontier life, Aboriginal massacres and being kidnapped by bushrangers. Aged 90, inContinue reading “Convict lived long life of excitements”