Jess Hill referred to the convict women as her “girls” and collected biographies of more than 4500 female convicts transported to the New South Wales colony from 1788 to 1818. Archives' manager Dr Alexandra Mountain, society volunteer Andrew Redfern, and three Macquarie University students - Georgia Charlier, Alexandra Scouller, and Christina Wisniewski - worked to bring this amazing body of work out of the archives and into the public domain. Their efforts have resulted in the creation of a website, a searchable database and a podcast.
Ironclad Sisterhood opens a window onto a pivotal chapter of history which showcases the strength, resilience, and determination of convict women in shaping the nation.
Project development
The archives' manager Dr Alexandra Mountain togeher with Andrew Redfern the three Macquarie University students digitised and transcribed ess Hill’s convict index. The team developed a database to encourage collaboration and enable a macro-analysis of the dataset, bringing together a large amount of primary source material in a single space. At the same time, it was important to delve deep into individual convict stories, bringing their stories to life through AI imagery, creative biographies, and an upcoming podcast series.
Award Commendation
In December 2023, the Dr Alexandra Mountain received a Special Commendation from the History Council of New South Wales’ Macquarie-PHA Applied History Award 2023 and the project was featured in the Digital Picks section of the January 2024 Who Do You Think You Are Magazine.
