Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a separate colony in 1825. Its penal colonies became notorious destinations for the transportation of convicts due to the harsh environment, isolation and reputation for being inescapable. Macquarie Harbour and Port Arthur are among the most well-known penal settlements on the island.
The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed male convicts, with a small number of women housed on a nearby island. During its 11 years of operation, the penal colony achieved a reputation as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies. The formal penal station is located on the eight-hectare (twenty-acre) Sarah Island that now operates as a historic site under the direction of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
Recherche Bay is an oceanic embayment, part of which is listed on the National Heritage Register, located on the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It was a landing place of the d’Entrecasteaux expedition to find missing explorer La Pérouse. It is named in honour of the Recherche, one of the expedition's ships. The Nuenonne name for the bay is Leillateah.
Phoenix was a three-decker merchant ship built on the Thames in 1798. On a voyage in 1824 on which she first transported convicts to Van Diemen's Land she was damaged on the Sow and Pigs Reef inside Port Jackson Heads, New South Wales, Australia. She was then condemned and turned into a prison hulk. She was broken up in 1837.
William Buelow Gould was an English and Van Diemonian (Tasmanian) painter. He was transported to Australia as a convict in 1827, after which he would become one of the most important early artists in the colony, despite never really separating himself from his life of crime.
Albion was a full-rigged whaler built at Deptford, England, and launched in 1798. She made five whaling voyages to the seas around New South Wales and New Zealand. The government chartered her in 1803 to transport stores and cattle, to Risdon Cove on the River Derwent, Tasmania.
Emu was a merchant ship built at Liverpool in 1812 that transported convicts to Australia. An American privateer captured her in 1812 as she was carrying female convicts to Van Diemen's Land.
The Cyprus mutiny took place on 14 August 1829 in Recherche Bay off the British penal settlement of Van Diemen's Land. Convicts seized the brig Cyprus and sailed her to Canton, China, where they scuttled her and claimed to be castaways from another vessel. On the way, Cyprus visited Japan during the height of the period of severe Japanese restrictions on the entry of foreigners, the first ship from Australia to do so.
Norfolk was built at Littlehampton, England in 1814. She was originally a West Indiaman, and then sailed to India and Quebec. She made four voyages transporting convicts from England to Australia, one voyage from Ireland to Australia and one from Madras and Mauritius to Australia. She was wrecked on 7 July 1837.
HMS Mutine was launched on 19 May 1825 at Plymouth, England as a Cherokee-class brig-sloop. She became a Falmouth packet until the navy sold her in 1841. She then became the whaler Aladdin, sailing first out of England and then out of Hobart. The government in Tasmania purchased her in 1885 to use as a powder hulk. It sold her in 1902 for breaking up.
The Frederick escape was an 1834 incident in which the brig Frederick was hijacked by ten Australian convicts and used to abscond to Chile, where they lived freely for two years. Four of the convicts were later recaptured and returned to Australia, where they escaped the death sentence for piracy through a legal technicality.
Tiger was launched in America in 1813 and apparently captured on her maiden voyage. Captain Lewellyn purchased her in prize and initially she sailed between England and the Mediterranean. Under new ownership in the early-1820s, she started trading with New South Wales and India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She is last listed in 1833.
Regalia was launched at Sunderland in 1811. In 1819 she made a voyage to Calcutta, sailing under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She also sailed to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. From Sydney she engaged in several sealing hunting voyages to the waters around Macquarie Island. In 1826 she transported convicts from Dublin to New South Wales. From 1831 until 1852, when she was wrecked at Davis Strait, Regalia was a whaler in the northern whale fishery.
Brixton was built in the United States of America in 1802, with sources disagreeing on where, and under a different name. The British Royal Navy seized her in 1805 and she was sold in prize. She then traded widely, sailing to the West Indies, Canada, Bengal, Australia, and Russia. Between 1835 and 1842 she made two voyages to the southern whale fishery as a whaling ship, and was last listed in 1842.
Deveron was launched at Sunderland in 1814. She initially traded with Argentina and then from 1822 with Van Diemen's Land. Her owner, William Wilson transferred her registry to Hobart. She traded with England, and between Hobart and Port Jackson. From 1830 she engaged in whaling off New Zealand. She was lost on 21 July 1833 while looking for whales off the Australian coast.
HM Colonial brig Prince Leopold was launched in 1815, or earlier, as Rosetta. The government in Van Diemen's Land (VDL) purchased her in 1818 to serve the settlements. She then carried timber other supplies, and transferred both prisoners and soldiers between VDL and Port Jackson, and to and from Maria Island. In July 1831 the government sold the brig. Her new owners named her Mary Elizabeth, or Mary and Elizabeth. She was wrecked on 30 May 1835 at Port Sorell, Tasmania.
Caroline was launched at Philadelphia in 1800. She was taken in prize. New owners retained her name and she appeared in British records from 1813. From 1820 on she was based at Hobart in Van Diemen's Land. From there she sailed to and from Port Jackson and on seal hunting voyages to Macquarie Island. She departed on a sealing voyage in November 1824 and wrecked at Macquarie Island on 17 March 1825; her crew were rescued some five months later.
John Bull was built in 1815 at Fort Gloster, Calcutta. She carried convicts from India to Mauritius and Sydney, and traded between India and Mauritius and New South Wales. She was sold in New South Wales in 1824. Until mid-1827 she traded first with Tasmania, and then with Canton. In June 1827 she became a whaler and made two complete voyages. She disappeared without a trace after November 1830 while on her third whaling voyage.
Denmark Hill was launched at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809, under another name. She was taken in prize and in 1814 her new owners renamed her. She then spent another 25 years as a merchant ship. She transferred her registry to New South Wales and was lost there in 1839. During this time she also made some voyages as a whaler in the waters off New Zealand.
Robert Quayle was launched at Liverpool in 1814. Between 1816 and 1819 she made several voyages to India, sailing under a licence from the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1819 and 1821 she made one voyage with cargo to New South Wales, and then remained to engage in whaling. After her return to Britain she traded to South and North America. She was wrecked in December 1838 while engaged in the timber trade with Canada.
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