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 NMA Homepage > Exhibitions > Australian Journeys > Gallery highlights

Gallery highlights

 

The Australian Journeys gallery explores the journeys of people to and from Australia and the social, political and economic impacts of those journeys. Here are some of the highlights from the 750 objects on show in the gallery. These objects are from the National Museum's collections, unless otherwise stated.

All photos by George Serras, Lannon Harley, Dragi Markovic and Dean McNicoll, unless otherwise stated.



PreviousConvict token in the form of a circular copper disc stipple-engraved with "THOMAS / LOCK / AGED 22 / TRANSPed / 10 Years" is impressed in side one, and "WHEN / THIS YOU / SEE / REMEMBER / ME WHEN / I AM FAR / FROM THE [sic]" is in side two. Left: Ceramic figurine depicting a man standing bare foot and leaning against a post draped with pink fabric. The man has short brown hair, is clean shaven and wears an open-necked white shirt and three-quarter length white pants. His wrists are chained with manacles, which are decorated with gold. Right: Ceramic figurine depicting a man sitting on a seat. The man has short brown hair, is clean shaven and wears a blue three-quarter length coat, an orange waistcoat, beige trousers, black shoes and a black cravat. His wrists are chained together with manacles, which are black in colour. The name 'S. O'Brien' is shown on the base of this figurine.A gold washing cradle made of wood with metal fixtures. The main body of the cradle is supported by two curved pieces of wood, one at either end, with bolts in them that then fit into holes in a rectangular wooden frame that the cradle sits on top of. The body of the cradle is higher at one end, to accommodate the sieve and the tray that sits below the sieve to catch the gold. Both of these components are roughly square in shape. The sieve is made from a sheet of metal with holes punched in it, set inside a wooden frame. The tray is made up of small wooden planks. A Welsh hymnal, open. The left page is blank. The right page is headed 'LLYFR HYMNAU'.A leather covered case with a metal clasp on one side which opens to reveal an oval glass ambrotype photograph of a man wearing a suit and cravat. The photo is contained within a gold frame. The case is lined on both sides with black velvet which provides a background against which both sides of the photo can be seen. The leather on the case is worn and one side is completely detached from the body of the case. A hand-coloured lithographic playing board made of eight paper sections mounted on linen, with a polygonal twelve-sided teetotum or spinning dice and three small painted metal playing pieces in the shape of tall ships. A varnished wooden box and an instruction sheet have been placed beside the game board.Next

Thomas Lock's convict token

Convict token in the form of a circular copper disc stipple-engraved with 'THOMAS / LOCK / AGED 22 / TRANSPed / 10 Years" is impressed in side one, and "WHEN / THIS YOU / SEE / REMEMBER / ME WHEN / I AM FAR / FROM THE [sic]' is in side two.

A convict's token of remembrance

Some 160,000 convicts were sent to the Australian colonies from 1788 to 1868.

One of those convicts was Thomas Lock. He was convicted of highway robbery and sentenced to 10 years' transportation to New South Wales.

Before Lock left England, as he waited in prison for his sentence to be carried out, he used a penny to make a token of remembrance to leave behind. The inscription reads:

WHEN / THIS YOU / SEE / REMEMBER /
ME WHEN / I AM FAR / FROM the[e] /
THOMAS / LOCK / AGED 22 / TRANSPed /
10 Years

Lock gave this memento to a loved one when he sailed for Australia. He arrived in Sydney in September 1845. It is not known if he ever returned to England.

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> Read more about the convict tokens

Collector and consultant Peter Lane detailed his research on convict tokens in a presentation at the National Museum on 13 June 2009. The talk also covered the Alexander Mussen ambrotype and the Muriel McPhee trousseau.

> Listen to 'Stories of sadness and loss' audio




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