Intriguing convict relics found at Blackheath. in the NSW Blue Mountains, appear to have vanished over the years. This seems such a shame. They were associated with the 1840s convict stockade, located on the site of what is now the local primary school. The first school building, shown below, was built in 1884.
SOME BACKGROUND
The stockade was constructed in 1844, but for some reason the government’s announcement of its proposed use did not appear for several years. The following notice finally appeared in the NSW Government Gazette in 1848;
Hard labour working on the roads (especially during Blackheath winters) equalled very harsh conditions. It is not surprising that there were constant absconders. I thought it would be interesting to investigate one of the runaways. By the way, note that the date was July, when even those of us who love ‘Bleakheath’ are keen to escape.
Hugh Doogan was a young Irishman, transported for stealing pheasants. He should have been near the end of his sentence by the time he ended up at the stockade. 
The most likely reason this man was transferred to the stockade was that he had run away from Sydney’s Hyde Park Barracks in November 1846.
It is easy to imagine Hugh or one of his fellow prisoners tossing a pair of leg irons into the fork of a nearby gum tree. They were discovered after scrub was cleared in 1914. By then they were imprisoned in the trunk.
‘With a view of conserving this token a section of the tree about nine foot in length…was removed to the School of Arts, where it now occupies a place of honour. At first look, all that is seen is a fairly thick section of a gum tree, surmounted by three etoliated forks. About five foot up the trunk were the leg irons, hanging by three links. ‘The iron cuff bears mute testimony to its age by the depth to which the oxydising agencies have eaten into the iron. This relic of barbarism is made in two sections, bolted together at each end. (Blue Mountain Echo, Jun. 26 1914)
The School of Arts building in later times. It is now incorporated into the community centre.
As is often the case, not everyone was happy with where the convict relic ended up. One lady wrote to the local paper with her concerns;
‘Is it not a pity that the section of the tree truck containing the antique leg-iron has been placed in the billiard room at the School of Arts? In the first place, by putting it there many ladies, not caring to enter room. are prevented from seeing the relic, whilst the presence of children in the billiard room is neither advantageous to their young minds, nor conducive to the pleasure of the players. The reading room would have been a far more acceptable spot and the nucleus of an historical museum, as suggested by Mr. Frank Walker, could have its inception there.’ (Blue Mount Echo, Jun, 26 1914).
ANOTHER FORM OF IMPRISONMENT
In 1854 poor Hugh ended up in the mental asylum at Parramatta, from where he also absconded. Unfortunately I lost track of him after this. He was still a very young man at 37, so we can only hope things improved for him.
The Parramatta Asylum, another bleak place.
The report of the next convict associated item came in 1929 and I must say the article is so odd that I have decided to share the whole thing.
North West Courier Feb. 11 1929
That reference to William Wentworth’s locked wardrobe makes no sense at all. And was it supposed to have ended up in Wentworth Street? I think the Blackheath landlady was spinning her guest a few tall tales!
The claim about the pot was pretty tenuous as well, although in 1940 a similar one was found by a farmer in Glenhaven. It had a handcuff attached to the handle. ‘Mr S. Yarrow…unearthed a relic of Australia’s convict days….apparently the hapless cook had been handcuffed to the pot while performing his duties. The size of the pot (it is nearly three feet in diameter) would certainly give the convict little chance of escaping once he was securely attached to it.‘ (Sydney Morning Herald, Dec. 28 1940)
The Glenhaven convict cooking pot.
In 1935 a more credible discovery was made in the yard of the local post office. It was a 12 pound iron ball, attached to an iron bar and added to the leg chains of men as another means of preventing them running away.
Perhaps the prize for the best ‘relic’ should go to an un-named adventurer in 1894, who completed a trek from Ballarat to Sydney;
‘One day we met an old man who painfully limped along with a stick at the rate of about six miles a day. In conversation with us he said that the last time he came that way was when he belonged to the 11th Regiment, then quartered at Blackheath, and employed in guarding the convicts who were making the road across the mountains. He said that if he reached Mudgee he would be alright, and it is sincerely to be hoped his expectations with be verified, for he had just left the Benevolent Institution, preferring to leave his bones anywhere but there.’ (Nepean Times, Oct. 6 1894)
The Blackheath stockade closed in 1849, as work on the road to Bathurst moved further west. The convicts were transferred to Cockatoo Island.
Source – NSW Government Gazette
Sadly, some soldiers and convicts never left, and were buried in the stockade’s cemetery. The following image is by an unknown artist in 1880.
Relocated soldiers graves in Blackheath cemetery. There were no headstones for the convicts who died during their sentence.
Source – bluemountainsheritage.com.au
FOR A LINK TO THE HERITAGE TRAIL AT BLACKHEATH, CLICK HERE.
