Convict women honoured

Albany women who took part in a worldwide project honouring Australia’s convict women had the chance to meet project founder Christina Henri this week.

Ms Henri began a project in 2007 to make a bonnet for every one of the 25,566 convict women who arrived on Australia’s shores between 1788 and 1853.

In Albany, visiting friends from her home State of Tasmania, she took time out from her holiday yesterday to have lunch with the dozen local women who sewed 50 bonnets for the cause.

“I’ve had assistance from every level, from primary schools to university and TAFE students, members of the University of the Third Age, even family history groups,” Ms Henri said.

“I’ve had an amazing response from women in the USA as well. I received over 1000 bonnets from women in Carolina.”

Ms Henri said Western Australians had particularly taken the project to heart.

“Even though WA doesn’t have a history of female convict transportation, there is a strong male convict history here, because 1868 was the year WA was the last colony to cease the transportation of convicts,” she said.

South Coast Embroiders member Ruth Andrews was among the Albany women involved in the project.

She said the project had been especially meaningful for country women, who understood the sense of dislocation the convict women would have experienced.

“The concept of the bonnets is so poignant, I found it very moving to be involved in the project,” Ms Andrews said.

With 20,000 bonnets now complete, another 5566 are needed to finish the project, which will conclude with an exhibition in England, possibly in 2018.

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