On the Run: Daring Convict Escapes
In the early nineteenth century Australia was a strange new land at the edge of the known world. This geographical isolation was a major reason for selecting the colony as a British penal settlement. The formidable barriers of distance, impenetrable bush and wide oceans made escape a daunting proposition - yet hundreds of convicts made the attempt.
Through manuscripts, rare printed books, artworks and relics, this exhibition reveals the varying fortunes of a number of escaped convicts and explores prisoner rebellions and mutinies in the colony.
Open:
6 November 2006 – 25 February 2007
Galleries, Mitchell Wing
State Library opening hours
Admission: Free