Women's History Month - March 2026 Excited about our exhibit/display in the entrance foyer of Westminster Quaker Meeting House on St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden. Each Friday in March from 5:30 - 7pm. Look forward to seeing you if you're about Westminster. All Welcome! #Australia #convict #history

Well, it's nearly a wrap of 2025! Hope y'all had a great Xmas. On 24th December I watched the very moving film Train Dreams with Joel Edgerton, then late that Christmas Eve I just happened to wander into a medieval London church and was seated right near this incredible Australian talent. Bless 🌏⛪🙏

Well this is rather delightful! 😊 Thank you to those of you who have pre-ordered already.

Much respect for David & his focus incl on family history. David understands the nuances of individuals vs collective. My interview was 15+ mins long but only 1/2 a min was incl in Empire. Ignoring individual colonial history stories is very classist. Why should we protect greedy & rich colonists?

Worth a listen. Esp interesting interview with Aboriginal scholar Jo Rey on portraits of Bennelong. A reasoned take on the paintings & his complex story. Jo is also a descendant of FF convict brewer James Squire - his friendship with Bennelong ignored by many. impactstudios.edu.au/podcast/hist...

Gosh, number 21 in Amazon’s historical biographies category. Albeit number 40,715 in the overall best-sellers list.

We hope you haven't missed that our holiday sale is live! 🎄🎁 Celebrate the season with exclusive deals on academic books across the store until midnight, December 7th. Browse history books www.bloomsbury.com/academic/his...

Piccadilly and prostitution, 1901

On list. At London Uni's History Day, had a chat with Royal College of Surgeons about this topic. The College & Hunterian Museum are part of our national story. I cover this briefly on my NPG tour & further on my Marylebone tour. 1st RACS f. 1927. BMA since 1879, Uni Melb Syd med sch since 1860s.

Love learning more about Queen Adelaide (SAust), for many reasons & because she gets left out! Also, anything to do with botanicals excites me. Not a fan of Banks (of course) but he's of much interest & he's there from start to finish on my NPG tour. Loved this! thegardenhistory.blog/2023/09/30/q...

This is an exciting find: the remains of the building used by the House of Commons as its temporary chamber between 1835 and 1851. If you want to know what that building looked like, see our short article: historyofparliament.com/2025/09/25/t...

What's buried under Peers' Car Park? 🚗

Our 2025 #OnePlaceStudies Conference and AGM is just two and a half weeks away! Don’t miss out on this excellent event – for just £10 you can join us as a member, join in with this and our monthly webinars, and enjoy our other membership benefits! #OnePlaceWednesday

Authorised by the Crown, plundering of Spanish ships by privateers was pretty much legal in England – officially countries weren't at war. The Spanish did't see things that same way. To them Elizabeth’s Sea Dogs were nothing more than lawless pirates... thehistorypress.co.uk/article/quee...

This book sounds super: "He tells in detail how the #breadfruit came to the #Caribbean including the infamous #mutiny on the #Bounty during Captain William #Bligh 's first attempt"... On my #NPG #London tour I cover Joseph #Banks involvement in this fiasco: www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/arti...

fascinating Covent Garden brothel case at the Old Bailey in 1852. owner punched out a drunken customer who refused to pay 2s (double for two girls) & propped him up against a wall. maid-servant helped and hurried back to 'sheet up' more beds, as "a great many were waiting for the rooms to vacated".

1 of our #Westminster #convicts + her little one drowned off coast of France in the 1833 sinking of Amphitrite. She'd been refused poor relief so was desperate to be transported. What a dreadful time to be alive if you were poor 😥 we'll be telling her story during #Women's #History Month March 2026

...the most surprising discovery is the sheer number of bodies that have evidence of anatomical dissection. With the passing of the Anatomy Act of 1832, it became legal for surgeons to dissect unclaimed bodies within the #workhouse system... #Strand #London www.independent.co.uk/independentp...

We concur! A #OnePlaceStudy can help you to identify the people your ancestors lived alongside, worked with and for, teamed up with for sports or social events, worshipped with, and associated with in other ways, breaking down brick walls along the way.

Just went on a virtual tour of where I grew up in my teens - the serene seaside village of Hellyer Beach at Rocky Cape, #Tasmania. From there, I ended up in the City of #London searching for the offices of the notorious VDL Company. It's interesting to see where the names of places take you. #Empire

Sheesh! 😩 More lies about Australian convict history to undo. I've certainly got my work cut out for me here. Very frustrating when public funds are used to share "well-researched" information but then stuff is just made up & spread around. Smells like classism. Such a dreadful injustice 😥

TY to David for telling the shared history of our peoples with such understanding & compassion. It's a painful past that we still navigate to this day. We've inherited this history from #Empire & I don't think we have anything to thank it for. Grateful to be part & sharing my #Irish #convict story

These annuities are so interesting - only if you are interested in loss of the #American #colonies #debt followed by decision to settle #colonise #Australia. We have an original pressing from the act that isn't in this collection: #GeorgeIII 1795 - An Act of raising £18 million! tinyurl.com/5cdjd4v2

There are regular convict descendant "Muster" events each year in Australia & Norfolk Island. Eg: This one is the Lucas Clan in March 2026: australianhistoryresearch.info/nathaniel-ol... I'm hosting the 1st in London & afield - 2027 / 240 yr anniversary. Dates TBA - talks, walks, workshops, events.

I had a fantastic time at last week's Bentham Project's conference at UCL on A Picture of the Treasury!

Did Western Australia have convict women? Of course, just not in the way you might expect!

Beautiful #RichmondBridge in #Tasmania Australia is said to be haunted by the #ghost of George Grover, a brutal ex-convict overseer, by the convicts he oversaw. Also by a small, friendly black dog known as "Grover's dog". A beautiful spot to visit; I know which I'd rather meet. #PhantomsFriday

I had a great day at The Hold (Suffolk Archives) today, exploring Police Books, Petty Sessions and Quarter Sessions Court Books. Following yet another convict that was transported to Australia. #AncestryHour

Today on #BetwixtTheSheets, I am talking to the awesomely awesome Sian Rees about her book “The Floating Brothel, which tells the story of the Lady Julian, the all female convict ship that transported women to Australia in the 18th century.

A Great Act of Love by Heather Rose review – a compelling, complex tale of convict Australia

Our October 2025 Family #History Show - #London display concentrated on #Australia exploration & declarations, settlement of the first 3 colonies - NSW, Norfolk Island (incl Bounty/William Bligh/Pitcairn), Van Diemen's Land + our Transported Female Convicts of Westminster project. More tours coming!

On a field trip to old #TATE #Millbank Prison London site - researching JMW #Turner Disaster at Sea #convict ship wreck painting & lunch next door at Morpeth Arms, my research assistant & I ran into Abbott when he was filming for this doco/book. He WAS just interested in heroes but that's expected!

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... #art #history #Australia #indigenous #humanrights #genocide #venicebiennale #archiemoore

Where history meets the harbour: Port Arthur's peaceful path. Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. © All Rights Reserved by Kev Peirce. #photo #photography #australia #tasmania #PortArthur #HistoricSite #ConvictHistory #AustralianHistory #LandscapePhotography

Very excited to be at @mfnberlin.bsky.social for a workshop on comprehending the cultural value of colonial Australian natural history collections (and thoroughly honoured to have been invited to give one of the keynotes).

#10 of books read in 2025: not quite 5 stars but still an interesting introduction to the colonial history of Australia. #booksky #ThomasKeneally

‘This book offers a model of interdisciplinary inquiry.’ History Australia Discover the book 👉 https://bit.ly/4mubHwU Read the review 👉 https://bit.ly/4oZTwB6

🎉Australian History Through Selected Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery - London November Dates: # Sat 1st Nov: 7pm - 8:30pm # Wed 5 Nov: 3pm - 4:30pm # Sat 15 Nov: 7pm - 8:30pm # Wed 19 Nov: 3pm - 4:30pm # Sat 29 Nov: 7pm - 8:30pm eventbrite.co.uk/e/history-of...

Collaborating with Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, the new fossil species were named in palawa kani, the Aboriginal language of Tasmania. Paralungatik - Macquarie Harbour, Timkarik is the name of the Strahan area. #fossils #ferns #Tasmania #Australia #Aboriginal www.adelaide.edu.au/newsroom/new...

On 25 April 1809 the government appointed Isaac Nichols to the position of Postmaster. Nichols, a former convict, took control of the distribution of mail within the colony and set up the first post office in his home. www.nma.gov.au/defining-mom... #Australia #history #postoffice #stamps

There are many voices critical of this use of AI; it has been used at some convict heritage sites in Australia. Not sure what to think about it. It must be clearly marked as AI generated is what I reminded the National Trust of Tas when I saw no labelling on some work. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. A little bit more about this lady & her family. Story gives strong settler colonial vibes but such is the complex & diverse history of forced & voluntary migration to Oz. Many people of all backgrounds still settling today. www.thinkingaustralia.com/emigrate-aus...

Echoes of the Past: A Stone Chimney on Sarah Island Sarah Island located in Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast is infamous for being the site of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, one of the harshest convict settlements in Australian colonial history #photo #photography #australia #ruins

I'll be at #IpswichBookFestival talking about my prize-listed novel, #TheLowRoad @eyebooks.bsky.social, based on a true story from my East Anglian hometown. It tells the story of a Norfolk girl transported to Australia as a convict and is a tale of love, grief, betrayal - and solidarity. #Convicts

"What has been too often neglected is the sitter himself—Mai. While most observers of the portrait mention Mai’s two-year stay in Britain from 1774 to 1776, courtesy of James Cook’s second returning Pacific voyage, they usually skip over Mai’s motivations or post-visit life." 🗃️

If you are free & inclined, please come see us at Kempton Park Racecourse on Saturday 4 October. We've got some new display items to show off. This year we are mainly concentrating on exploration, the first three settlements - NSW VDL & Norfolk Island + our Female Convicts of Westminster project.

Learn how to read early modern Secretary Hand, with me in this online short course this month. 🗃️

Delivered two more stretched canvases to Hobart Exercise Physiology today, one bearing a remarkable resemblance to a certain Captain Quoll who you may have heard about here pointtopinnacle2025.grassrootz.com/menzies-inst...

Will Young never knew his grandfather Digby Young, who died before he was born. He’s heard intriguing snippets about his life – how he came from Australia, was a prisoner of war during World War II... #Australia #UK #history #WWI

We will be at the London Family History Show again this October! Will share more soon. So exciting!