Mary Crowley Convict No. 499 from Tallow in Co. Waterford, born in 1826. Bonnet made by Ber Crowley Lismore in 2017
Mary was tried in Waterford on the 30th March 1849 for arson, was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years transportation. She was tried with 2 others, Bridget Scanlon and Bridget Dooling, for the same crime and this was perceived by same as a deliberate act in order to be sent to Van Diemen’s Land for a possible better life. It was Mary herself who reported the crime to the police, naming herself and the 2 others, suggesting that the deliberate arsonist could well be true.
She departed on the Australasia on 26th June 1849 from Dublin, arriving in Hobart on the 29th September 1849. The Ships Log shows she was sick on board on the 28th July and the 2nd August with Obstipation. While many convicts suffered with this on board, due to the poor diet convicts were subject to, it can also be a sign of some cancers.
She was described as being 5’3” with dark brown hair, and blue eyes.
A hospital record register in Hobert shows her age 24 on the list 31st Mar 1850 con63-1-2.
Not the life Mary had pictured for herself, and it is difficult not to feel empathy for her and her family, mother Mary, brothers Stephen, Michael and Patrick and sister Johanna, all who were in Tallow, Co. Waterford in 1849 and to question if they were even aware or told of her story.
Research by Eleanor Murphy Roses from the Heart, Waterford 2023 and Mary P. Vanderfeen.
References:
Mary Crowley, Convict ID 499, Id 1030
Snowden, D. (2005). A White Rag Burning: Irish women who committed arson in order to be transported to Van Diemen's Land [online] Theses (Doctor of Philosophy), University of Tasmania, available: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/16094/2/whole-snowden-thesis-2013.pdf
Waterford Mail. (1849) “Malicious Burning”, The Waterford Mail [online] 28 March, available: http://snap.waterfordcoco.ie/collections/enewspapers/waterford_mail/1849/waterford_mail_03_mar_28.pdf
https://itsfilemaker4.its.utas.edu.au/fmi/webd/Female_Convicts_in_VDL_database