Building materials and tools
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With so much building going on in Sydney, many convict gangs were put to gathering and processing raw materials - sawing timber and splitting shingles, bricks and nails, collecting shells from which to make lime for mortar and quarrying sandstone.
Initially, tools and building supplies shipped from England were scarce, and sometimes unsuitable for local materials and conditions. Convict builders learnt to make do with what they had. The first houses in Sydney had twigs instead of glass in their windows, a shortage of nails meant that roof shingles were fastened with wooden pegs and hoops from barrels were reworked into nails. Eventually, tonnes of iron and steel were shipped into Sydney, allowing convict blacksmiths to manufacture tools and other items.
Initially, tools and building supplies shipped from England were scarce, and sometimes unsuitable for local materials and conditions. Convict builders learnt to make do with what they had. The first houses in Sydney had twigs instead of glass in their windows, a shortage of nails meant that roof shingles were fastened with wooden pegs and hoops from barrels were reworked into nails. Eventually, tonnes of iron and steel were shipped into Sydney, allowing convict blacksmiths to manufacture tools and other items.
Convict work
Convicts were the workers who built and ran the colony from its foundation in 1788. They carried out every type of task, from skilled trades to labouring. They loaded ships and carted cargo, repaired tools and boats, cut and rolled logs, built dwellings and made clothing.
They were the colony's farm labourers, bakers, blacksmiths, barbers, printers, stonemasons and domestic servants Even clerks, constables and gang overseers had to be drawn from convict ranks because the military refused to be involved in managing prisoners. Each convict was assigned to either a government gang or a private master or mistress.
Governor Macquarie placed such importance on selecting his workforce that he personally inspected each new muster of convicts, retaining the pick of tradesmen for public works. He wanted to maximise convicts output, so government men were organised into gangs of 40 to 60, who slept together in barracks dorms. These productive work units comprised both skilled and unskilled workers.
They were the colony's farm labourers, bakers, blacksmiths, barbers, printers, stonemasons and domestic servants Even clerks, constables and gang overseers had to be drawn from convict ranks because the military refused to be involved in managing prisoners. Each convict was assigned to either a government gang or a private master or mistress.
Governor Macquarie placed such importance on selecting his workforce that he personally inspected each new muster of convicts, retaining the pick of tradesmen for public works. He wanted to maximise convicts output, so government men were organised into gangs of 40 to 60, who slept together in barracks dorms. These productive work units comprised both skilled and unskilled workers.
Convict gangs
Each barracks gang was assigned to a worksite or project. Skilled convict tradesmen were based at workshops at lumberyard and dockyard. At the lumberyard – the biggest worksite in town – 38 different trades were carried out, including carpentry, blacksmithing, coopering, iron and brass founding, leatherwork, tailoring and shoe making. Boatbuilding, rope making, tanning and sail making were done at the dockyard.
The workshops were well organised and turned out high volume of quality items, from building materials to fine furniture and coaches. Training also took place, with convict men and boys gaining valuable new skills.
Gangs of unskilled convicts were put to work building, clearing land, ploughing, harvesting, gardening, fencing and cutting wood. Road and mining gangs built roads and bridges and quarried stone for them from nearby sites. The street gang gathered horse manure to fertilise the convict garden. Other gangs carried water and stores, loaded and unloaded ships, drove bullock teams and served as boatmen.
The workshops were well organised and turned out high volume of quality items, from building materials to fine furniture and coaches. Training also took place, with convict men and boys gaining valuable new skills.
Gangs of unskilled convicts were put to work building, clearing land, ploughing, harvesting, gardening, fencing and cutting wood. Road and mining gangs built roads and bridges and quarried stone for them from nearby sites. The street gang gathered horse manure to fertilise the convict garden. Other gangs carried water and stores, loaded and unloaded ships, drove bullock teams and served as boatmen.
The female factory
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At the Female Factory in Parramatta, convict women sewed shirts, trousers and linen shifts, wove cloth, carded wool and washed laundry. As well as separating unassigned female convicts from the men, it was a busy workplace where women were usefully employed. In 1828 there were more than 100 women spinning coarse wool and weaving it into cloth, producing 30,000 yards (about 27,000 metres) that year. At the Hyde Park Barracks 26 tailors were employed making clothing from this cloth.
The Female Factory also housed women who were pregnant or unwell, and those sent to be punished. The institution was many things: hospital, labour exchange and jail. The inmates were divided into three classes according to behaviour; those in the first class were given better food and easier work. Babies and toddlers could stay with their mothers until they were moved to the Orphan School at age three. About 150 children were at the Female Factory in 1835, around one-fifth of total inmates.
The Female Factory also housed women who were pregnant or unwell, and those sent to be punished. The institution was many things: hospital, labour exchange and jail. The inmates were divided into three classes according to behaviour; those in the first class were given better food and easier work. Babies and toddlers could stay with their mothers until they were moved to the Orphan School at age three. About 150 children were at the Female Factory in 1835, around one-fifth of total inmates.
Task work
Task work was a way of setting the quota of work to be done in a specified time:
• Shoemakers - one strong pair of shoes per day
• Tailors - two suits of convict 'slops' per day
• Gangs of three shingle-splitters - 4000 shingles a week
• Pairs of sawyers - 450 feet (about 140 metres) of timber per week
• Brickfields gangs - 30,000 tiles and bricks per month.
All products had to be marked with the number of the gang that made them, so they could be traced. Poor-quality items had to be replaced in the convicts' own time. Overseers could be rewarded when their gangs met quotas, and punished if government goods or tools went missing or their gangs were lazy.
Australia's first strike was over task work. Sawyers at Pennant Hills stopped work for three weeks in 1819 when the Chief Engineer tried to increase their quota.
• Shoemakers - one strong pair of shoes per day
• Tailors - two suits of convict 'slops' per day
• Gangs of three shingle-splitters - 4000 shingles a week
• Pairs of sawyers - 450 feet (about 140 metres) of timber per week
• Brickfields gangs - 30,000 tiles and bricks per month.
All products had to be marked with the number of the gang that made them, so they could be traced. Poor-quality items had to be replaced in the convicts' own time. Overseers could be rewarded when their gangs met quotas, and punished if government goods or tools went missing or their gangs were lazy.
Australia's first strike was over task work. Sawyers at Pennant Hills stopped work for three weeks in 1819 when the Chief Engineer tried to increase their quota.
Shell gangs
Large amounts of lime were needed to make mortar for bricklaying. Shell gangs carried out the backbreaking task of hauling and crushing loads of shells, which were then burnt in pits or kilns for several days to make lime. Water, sand and animal hair were then mixed in to make mortar.
Both male and female convicts initially gathered shells from Cockle Bay and Aboriginal middens around Sydney Harbour. By 1821 a 34-man shell gang was based at Iron Cove. Theirs was described as harsh work, reserved for 'men of the worst character':
The men dig for the oyster shells in the bed of the river ... the labour is severe in itself, and it is frequently performed when they are up to their waists in water ...
William Hutchinson, Principal Superintendent of Convicts, to Commissioner Bigge, 1821
Sometimes human hair was mixed into shell mortar when animal hair was scarce. In 1832 a Sydney newspaper reported that 400 convicts on Norfolk Island had been shorn for this purpose.
Both male and female convicts initially gathered shells from Cockle Bay and Aboriginal middens around Sydney Harbour. By 1821 a 34-man shell gang was based at Iron Cove. Theirs was described as harsh work, reserved for 'men of the worst character':
The men dig for the oyster shells in the bed of the river ... the labour is severe in itself, and it is frequently performed when they are up to their waists in water ...
William Hutchinson, Principal Superintendent of Convicts, to Commissioner Bigge, 1821
Sometimes human hair was mixed into shell mortar when animal hair was scarce. In 1832 a Sydney newspaper reported that 400 convicts on Norfolk Island had been shorn for this purpose.
Hard yakka
Most convicts transported to New South Wales came from towns or cities, so they were unused to the hard physical labour of clearing land, quarrying, farming and building roads through inhospitable landscapes.
The harsh Australian climate also caused discomfort. Convict men working outdoors threw off their shirts, despite the risk of sunburn. Convict labourers also suffered insect bites, muscular strains, crush injuries and fractures.
Particular trades had their own hazards. Brickmaking created clouds of thick, choking smoke and dust. Pit-sawing timber beams was arduous work - Australian hardwoods were extremely tough, and the sawyers stood in hot, airless pits with sawdust sticking to their sweat. Lime burners' feet were cut from shells as they waded out loading lime boats, and lime that spilled onto their backs burnt their skin.
The harsh Australian climate also caused discomfort. Convict men working outdoors threw off their shirts, despite the risk of sunburn. Convict labourers also suffered insect bites, muscular strains, crush injuries and fractures.
Particular trades had their own hazards. Brickmaking created clouds of thick, choking smoke and dust. Pit-sawing timber beams was arduous work - Australian hardwoods were extremely tough, and the sawyers stood in hot, airless pits with sawdust sticking to their sweat. Lime burners' feet were cut from shells as they waded out loading lime boats, and lime that spilled onto their backs burnt their skin.
New Crump's
On arrival in the colony, new convicts - known as 'new chums' - were assigned work according to their skills, physical strength and conduct during the voyage. Sydney's sandstone bedrock meant miners were sought after for tunnelling, quarrying and digging wells. Convicts able to read and write became clerks, and military deserters could become constables.
Most women were privately assigned as servants to work in shops, businesses or private homes, or on farms. Badly behaved or unassigned women went to the Female Factory to weave woollen cloth, sew or do laundry.
Skilled tradesmen, known as 'mechanics', were always in demand. Convicts could earn good money doing private work, so many tried to conceal or deny their skills during the initial muster to avoid being assigned to government projects. Many convicts had only 'thief' noted as their profession.
Most women were privately assigned as servants to work in shops, businesses or private homes, or on farms. Badly behaved or unassigned women went to the Female Factory to weave woollen cloth, sew or do laundry.
Skilled tradesmen, known as 'mechanics', were always in demand. Convicts could earn good money doing private work, so many tried to conceal or deny their skills during the initial muster to avoid being assigned to government projects. Many convicts had only 'thief' noted as their profession.