Curio

State Library of New South Wales
The fell tyrant, or, The suffering convict

The fell tyrant, or, The suffering convict

The fell tyrant, or, The suffering convict, showing the horrid and dreadful suffering of the convicts of Norfolk Island and Moreton Bay, our two penal settlements in New South Wales … by William Ross, 1836

J Ward, London

Z/ 365/R 


This book provides vivid descriptions of the treatment of Sydney’s convicts in the early 1800s:

Transportation at this time is most dreadful; it would be a great mercy for them to hang you at once and put an end to your sorrows ; thousands do not live out half their days, very many get hanged, some flogged and others worked to death …

(page 46)   


If a convict’s crime was serious, they might be sent to a distant penal settlement like Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Moreton Bay Norfolk Island or Port Arthur.


Between 1788 and 1868, 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Transportation in New South Wales officially ceased in 1840, although there was a short-lived revival in 1849. The whip is dated from then. During that period there were gradual changes in living conditions for the convicts.


Convicts who ran away from their work were often sentenced to wear heavy leg-irons for at least six months and up to three years. These leg-irons could only be put on or removed by a blacksmith. Some convicts had a further punishment, walking on a big wooden treadmill for hours to grind the corn used to make their breakfast.