Convicts: Clothing, rations & stores

Overview

Lack of food supplies in the colony

The First Fleet had bought supplies supposedly sufficient for two years, by which time the colony was expected to be self-supporting. Poor soil, the lack of horse drawn implements, the difficulty of clearing the land and the unwillingness and inability of many of the convicts frustrated the government's intentions.

Rationing introduced

The store ship Guardian was sent to the colony but it struck an iceberg on 24 December 1789 twelve days out of the Cape of Good Hope and was unable to proceed further. Governor Phillip was forced to institute a tight rationing system, send the Sirius to the Cape of Good Hope for supplies and dispatch convicts to Norfolk Island to relieve pressure on supplies. Fishing parties were established and the convicts were encouraged to forage for bush greens and to cultivate garden plots. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.34).

Increase in farming

Thanks to Phillip's efforts the crisis was surmounted and conditions gradually improved, particularly after his departure when officers of the civil staff and the New South Wales Corps acquired grants of land and the number of emancipist farmers increased. (Fletcher, Landed Enterprise, pp.44-8). The threat of starvation had completely disappeared by 1794 and thereafter local farmers and graziers produced sufficient grain, meat and vegetables to meet the needs of a continually expanding population.

Weekly rations

Convicts & soldiers

The weekly ration for convicts and soldiers was prescribed by the British government - 7 pounds of beef or 4 pounds of pork, 7 pounds of bread or 7 pounds of flour, 3 pints of peas, 6 ounces of butter, half a pound of rice or a pound of flour. (HRA vol.1, p.44) These amounts were varied from time to time. Macquarie, for example, ordered that the amount issued to convicts in the Convict Barracks be increased to compensate for the fact that they had less time to spend on their own affairs. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.42). Tea, sugar and tobacco were regarded as indulgences and could be withheld for bad behaviour.

Rations issued by private masters

In 1823, under Governor Brisbane, private masters were no longer compelled to issue the same ration as the government. This, however, was changed in 1831 when private settlers were again required to provide the same ration as the government. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.48).

At the Female Factory

In the Female Factory at Parramatta each woman received a weekly ration of 7 pounds of bread (one-third made of maize flour), 3½ pounds of fresh meat, 1 pound of sugar, and 2 ounces of tea.

After the inmates were divided into three classes the diet was regulated along class lines with the first receiving the most and the third class substantially less. Tea could also be removed as a punishment. (Salt, Outcast Women, pp.72-3, 92.)

Mismanagement in distributing rations at the Female Factory

Government enquiries produced evidence of mismanagement at the Factory and of corruption in the distribution of rations. Occasionally women of the third, or worst class, escaped with the object of finding food in the township of Parramatta. (Salt, Outcast Women, pp.96-7, Kass et al, Parramatta, p.98).

For information about records of the Female Factory see the Female Factory, Parramatta Guide. 

Clothing for convicts

Convicts were given clothing on board the convict transports or on arrival, but their apparel was often worn out within a few months. (Salt, Outcast Women, p.62). The clothing was described in 1814 by Surgeon Redfern as consisting of

'blue cloth, or kersey jackets and waistcoats, duck trousers, check or coarse linen shirts, yarn stockings and woollen caps'. (HRA vol. 8, p.281).

Clothing supplied to male convicts

In his evidence to the Bigge Commission on 29 October 1819, Major George Druitt described how,

'When each convict lands from the Ship, he receives a suit consisting of a coarse woollen jacket and waistcoat of Yellow or grey cloth, a pair duck or cloth trowsers a pair of worsted Stockings a pair of shoes two cotton or linen shirts a neck handkerchief and a woollen cap. The clothing given in the Colony generally every six months and when no other can be had from the Commissariat Supplies is a woollen Jacket and trowsers of the Colonial Manufacture, a pair of shoes, a Shirt of linen purchased and made up in the Lumbar Yard. The Stone quarry men, the Grass cutters, the woodcutters, Bullock drivers and carters each receive a pair of shoes every three months. No hats caps or stockings are issued except those sent from England. In the Summer months when the Commissariat Supplies admit of it, each Convict receives one Smock frock, one shirt, one pair of trowsers one pair of Shoes and one cap; His Excellency the Governor ordered an additional pair of trowsers to be issued to each man to appear clean at church on Sunday.' (Ritchie, Evidence to the Bigge Reports, vol. 1, p.15).

Convicts in private employment

Distinctive dress (the yellow attire) was usually worn by convicts in government employment but those in private employ had no such uniform and this made it difficult to distinguish free immigrant workers from convicts. (Hirst, Convict Society, pp.126, 177). Bigge and others favoured uniforms but there was a general resistance to this, particularly among the wealthy who dressed their assigned servants in livery. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.126).

Clothing convicts in the Female Factory

From 1821-1824 women in the Female Factory wore

'blue or brown serge, or stuff-fawn, and white apron, and straw bonnet for Sunday, a jacket and coarse apron for week days, with a common straw bonnet of a strong texture'. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.72).

Following the division of women prisoners into three classes, distinctions in dress was introduced with the First class receiving special clothes for Sunday wear. The Third class wore 'a dress by which they could be clearly distinguished' and were further singled out by 'having their hair closely cropped'. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.93). Clothing appeared adequate on paper but was not always available and footwear was 'particularly deficient'. (Hirst, Convict Society, p.81).

Indexes to the records

• Index to the Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1825
  • View digitised entries undeer the subject Rations
  • View digitised entries under Convicts Clothing
• Norfolk Island Special Bundles Index, 1794-1813
• Colonial Secretary's Correspondence: Index to convicts and others, 1826-1896 (compiled by Joan Reese)
• Colonial Secretary's Correspondence: Index to letters sent re convicts, 1826-May 1855 (compiled by Joan Reese)
• Contemporary Colonial Secretary's Indexes and Registers, 1826-1900, NRS-922
• Female Factory Parramatta, 1826-1848 - Index to inmates. Compiled by Norma M Tuck and Joan Reese

Records of clothing, rations & stores

1828 Census

Series	Title	Dates
NRS-1273 NRS-1273-1-[4/1238.1]-5	1828 Census: Householders' returns List of Convicts in Government employ and to whom Slop Clothing was issued on the 1st November	1828

Auditor General records

Series	Title	Dates
NRS-366 [2/848 pp.20, 56, 79, 119, 141, 188, 272], Reel 690	Statements and Abstracts Returns showing the total expense for the superintendence, lodging, clothing and maintenance of convicts, 1834-1840.	1832-1841

Colonial Secretary records

Series	Title	Dates
NRS-898 [4/1167A-70], Reel 762-763	Special bundles Papers relating to Norfolk Island, 1794-1829 Victualling and slop clothing books and lists of persons on and off the stores, Jul 1804-Mar 1810   See Norfolk Island Special Bundles Index, 1794-1813	1794-1825
NRS-901	Copies of letters sent and received mainly within the Colony Scale of rations, 1803-1823 [4/5783 pp.464-71], Reel 2231 Nominal list of all persons victualled by Government, 8 Sep 1821 [4/5781 pp.55-122], Reels 819 & 6016 The list is not alphabetical but all persons working at a particular place or trade are together. Copy of Regulations for victualling convicts proposed by Board, 1824 [4/5782 pp.162-93], Reels 2231, 6017	c.1817-Oct 1827
NRS-906 [4/1106.1, 4/1105.2]	Special bundles Audit Office — Reports. Report of the Board on Convict Rations, 1831	1831
NRS-1000	Copies of letters to the Sheriff Regulations for the clothing of persons confined in gaol, Aug 1830 [4/3896 pp.401-6], Reel 1062 Regulations for Slop Clothing for assigned prisoners, Aug 1830 [4/3896 pp.406-9], Reel 1062	5 Jul 1828-31 Dec 1850

Commissariat records

Series	Title	Dates
NRS-1343 Mitchell Library A1958, Reel 2747 (copy in the Reading Room)	Norfolk Island — Register of persons receiving rations This register is a register of all people, whatever their status entering Norfolk Island. Its purpose was to record the number of days each person was supplied with food rations from the Commissariat stores. There are separate portions of the register for: Civil Officers; Military; Settlers and Free People (Male); Male Convicts; Free Women; Female Convicts; Children of Civil, Military, and Free; Children of Convicts. The following details are given: registered number, date of entry to Norfolk Island, from whence, name of person, status or rank, whether discharged or dead, date of discharge or death, name of ship in which departed, number of days victualled in each year. There is an index to this volume in the Mitchell Library which has been filmed at the beginning of the reel.	1792-1796
NRS-1338	Record of stores issued for military and convict works These volumes are arranged by establishment and department and record articles and clothing issued in chronological order	1832-1835

Ordnance Storekeeper records

Series	Title	Dates
NRS-10884 [4/4496-4507, 4/489]	Convict Branch — Quarterly abstracts of disbursements with supporting vouchers At the end of each quarter, the Storekeeper wrote out an abstract of disbursements made by his department, giving details of dates of payment, description or nature of services for which payments were made, voucher number and amount of payment. This was followed by a declaration by the Storekeeper as to the accuracy of the statement. The present series consists of triplicate copies of these abstracts. Each abstract is bound with copies of all relevant vouchers in numerical order by voucher number. The supporting vouchers are for claims for travelling allowances, bills for sums of money due for contracts fulfilled, copies of cash vouchers, statements of allowances paid to assigned persons, with copies of letters authorising payment of moneys. The relevant vouchers are bound with each abstract which are arranged in chronological order	1836-1850
NRS-10882 [4/4554]	Order book — stores for convict and military establishments The Ordnance Storekeeper's Department handled all requisitions for stores (other than food provisions) for the services of the convicts and military in the colony. Requisitions first required the approval of the Governor or Colonial Secretary, and upon receipt by the Ordnance Storekeeper, orders were made out for stores required to fulfil the requisitions, and these orders forwarded to appropriate sources of supply. This series is a register of such orders. The series shows: registered number of order, date when order was made out, name of department or organisation to which order was forwarded, the number of the requisition for which the articles were required, the department or establishment for which the stores were required, list of articles ordered and quantities, date when articles were received, date when voucher "passed", and remarks. Requisitions relating to these orders are contained in the series Register of requisitions fulfilled, 1840-44, NRS-10881 [4/420].	8 Jan 1839-10 Apr 1844
NRS-10883 [4/483]	Daily record of stores issued (Day book) This volume was kept as an original entry record of stores issued to certain specified departments, the articles being supplied on approved requisitions for the service of the Military and Convicts. In some cases, the articles supplied were raw materials from which other articles were manufactured (such as clothing made in the Female Factory).	1839-1842

Other sources

At Mitchel Library

• Windsor — List of persons receiving rations, 1812-1818 [NRS-1344 Mitchell Library A803]
  The book was used for keeping lists of names of people of every status who were receiving food and/or clothing rations from the government stores at Windsor. Separate lists were kept for Military Officers, their wives, their children; Civil Officers, their wives, children; Free Men; Settlers; Free Women, their Children; Male Convicts and Female Convicts.

Additional sources

• Musters and Census records - early musters often record those who were on or off the stores.
• The item list Musters and other papers relating to convict ships, 1790–1849, NRS-1155 indicates where returns of clothing are included. See Appendix III in the Guide to Convicts and Convict Administration.
• Some records concerning stores and clothing issued to the British hulks have been copied as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project. See Appendix IV in the Guide to Convicts and Convict Administration.