Convict Australia

About Convict Australia

A podcast about the convicts that were transported to Australia. Each episode offers a glimpse into life as a convict and a broader insight into the convict system. Presented by Jennifer Twemlow, author of 'Convict Sydney: the real-life stories of 32 prisoners'.

Publisher

Jennifer Twemlow

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Jan 2021

Latest episode

13 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

40 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Jun 2026

   S4E10 Voices From the Parramatta Female Factory with Gay Hendriksen

   In this episode, I talk with historian and author Gay Hendriksen about the women who passed through the Parramatta Female Factory and how we can recover and hear their voices through historical records. Gay shares the fascinating stories of several convict women, including Mary Hindle, Elizabeth Browning Owen, Constance Couronne, Mary Ann Hamilton, and Susannah Watson, revealing their resilience, struggles, and achievements in colonial Australia. Together, we explore the lives of these women, the challenges they faced after transportation, and the important role the Parramatta Female Factory played in shaping their experiences. This conversation offers a powerful insight into the lives of convict women and the rich social history of one of Australia's most significant heritage sites. LINKS Sign the petition! https://www.change.org/p/complete-the-state-and-federal-world-heritage-journey-petition-event?recruiter=1416508933&recruited_by_id=6c11c100-57c6-11f1-997f-5d730724f6b7&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=starter_onboarding_share_personal&utm_medium=copylink&share_id=NwqMZ55zfN (https://www.change.org/p/complete-the-state-and-federal-world-heritage-journey-petition-event?recruiter=1416508933&recruited_by_id=6c11c100-57c6-11f1-997f-5d730724f6b7&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=starter_onboarding_share_personal&utm_medium=copylink&share_id=NwqMZ55zfN) Parramatta Female Factory – Ordinary Women, ExtraordinaryLives https://www.facebook.com/groups/284955902922549 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/284955902922549) Women Transported, Life in Australia’s Convict FemaleFactories https://historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/sites/phh/files/field/media/file/2020-09/women-transported.pdf (https://historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/sites/phh/files/field/media/file/2020-09/women-transported.pdf) Mary Hindle https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/hindle/mary/99033 (https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/hindle/mary/99033) Susannah Watson https://shop.mhnsw.au/products/acargoofwomensusannahwatsonandtheconvictsoftheprincessroyal (https://shop.mhnsw.au/products/acargoofwomensusannahwatsonandtheconvictsoftheprincessroyal) Mary Ann Hamilton https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-unmourned-9780857989390/article/1347-factory-women (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-unmourned-9780857989390/article/1347-factory-women) Elizabeth Browning Owen https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/browning-owen/elizabeth/80100 (https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/browning-owen/elizabeth/80100) Constance Couronne https://eoe.convictwomenspress.com.au/index.php/biographical-dictionary?view=article&id=41:couronne-constance&catid=12 (https://eoe.convictwomenspress.com.au/index.php/biographical-dictionary?view=article&id=41:couronne-constance&catid=12) Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more. ⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819⁠ (https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819) Get your copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners. ⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Sydney-real-life-stories-prisoners-ebook/dp/B08C22QQMJ⁠ ( https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Sydney-real-life-stories-prisoners-ebook/dp/B08C22QQMJ) Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia?fbclid=IwAR20AHUPtxSEW0HONdIWOmrAgY8YjXAHM3S1OCJtbpqwM2cT46a7aZW2t0Q) Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866) ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en) Find Convict Australia on TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia⁠ (https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia)

2. 

   14 Jan 2026

   S4E9 The Mutiny of the Cyprus

   In 1829, convicts aboard the brig Cyprus seized their chance at freedom, launching one of the most audacious escapes in Australian history. Led by experienced mariner William Swallow, the mutineers sailed a stolen ship across the Pacific, abandoning soldiers, women, and children on a remote shore. Chased by hunger, betrayal, and the long reach of British law, the fugitives crossed oceans under stolen names - dodging cannon fire off the coast of Japan before their flight ended not in freedom, but in courtrooms, confessions, and the shadow of the gallows. SOURCES 1829 'PIRATICAL SEIZURE OF The Government Brig Cyprus,', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. :1828 - 1857), 4 September, p. 3. , viewed 08 Jan 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8644472 (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8644472) 1829 'THE MAKING OF THE CORACLE,', The Hobart Town Courier (Tas. : 1827 - 1839), 12 September, p. 3. , viewed 05 Feb 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4213841 (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4213841) 1830 'ENGLISH INTELIGENCE.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 24 September, p. 4. , viewed 19 Jan 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8645373 (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8645373) 1830 ‘UNION HALL. INTERESTING STORY’, Essex, Herts and Kent Mercury, 18 May, p.3., viewed 12 May 2024. 1830 ‘THE MUTINY AND SEIZURE OF THE BRIG CYPRUS, CONFESSIONS OF THE RINGLEADER’, The Times, 18 October, p3., viewed 28 October 2025. 1830 ‘ADMIRALTY SESSIONS, Thursday, Nov 4. Piracy on Board the Brig Cyrus’, The Times, 5 November, p4., viewed 26 November 2025. Hirst, W. (2008) The Man who Stole the Cyprus, a truestory of escape. NSW: Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd. LINKS Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more. https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819 (https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819) Get your copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners.https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Sydney-real-life-stories-prisoners-ebook/dp/B08C22QQMJ ( https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Sydney-real-life-stories-prisoners-ebook/dp/B08C22QQMJ) Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia?fbclid=IwAR20AHUPtxSEW0HONdIWOmrAgY8YjXAHM3S1OCJtbpqwM2cT46a7aZW2t0Q) Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866) ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en) Find Convict Australia on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia (https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia)

3. 

   16 Aug 2025

   S4E8 Norfolk Island with Cathy Dunn - Part 2

   In this episode, host Jennifer Twemlow continues her conversation with historian Cathy Dunn, this time turning to the second phase of Norfolk Island’s convict history — the notorious Penal Settlement (1825–1855). Often described as “hell on earth,” this period saw the island transformed into one of the harshest and most feared places of punishment in the British Empire. Cathy shares the stories of brutality, survival, and resistance that defined life on the island. LINKS Want to learn more about Norfolk Island? Then click on the link: https://www.australianhistoryresearch.info/ Get your copy of Convict Australia, Extraordinary true stories of shipwrecks, riots, daring escapes and more. https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Australia-Extraordinary-stories-shipwrecks/dp/0648946819 Get your copy of Convict Sydney, the real-life stories of 32 prisoners: https://www.amazon.com.au/Convict-Sydney-real-life-stories-prisoners/dp/0648946800 Support Convict Australia and receive goodies such as the Convict Australia Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/ConvictAustralia?fbclid=IwAR20AHUPtxSEW0HONdIWOmrAgY8YjXAHM3S1OCJtbpqwM2cT46a7aZW2t0Q) Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram pages: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/173850624015866) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.instagram.com/convict_australia/?hl=en) Find Convict Australia on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@convict.australia

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

10,559

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

78 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 61 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

53

Social presence

94

YouTube

76

Engagement

51

Contact Convict Australia

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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