Leg irons, ovalled
Early to mid nineteenth century
Known as darbies or slangs in the convict ‘flash’ slang language, leg irons were used widely as a way of punishing convicts who had committed crimes and misdemeanors after arriving in the colony. Standard leg irons, like those pictured here, weighed seven pounds (3.2 kilograms). The basils (rings) were fitted around the convict’s ankles and then hot rivets were put in place by a blacksmith, so the irons could not be removed.
Leg irons chafed the ankles, made loud clinking noises with every movement, and made working difficult and tiring. Running at any speed in irons was almost impossible - unless of course the convict could find a way to remove them.
Some convicts succeeded - these irons, which have been ‘ovalled’ by hammering the basils (rings) into an oval shape, allowed for easy removal over the foot. The convict who once wore these irons might have just temporarily removed them while unsupervised, or left them off for good before bolting into the bush.
I wore leg-irons like all the others, which weighed about seven pounds, and at first they made me feel rather curious… our convict life had begun... my leg-irons the tell-tale to recall me if ever I went back again in thought…
Convict Jack Bushman remembering 1818, in 'Passages from the Life of a Lifer', Chapter II, Moreton Bay Courier, vol XIII, no 741, 9 April 1859.
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Objects
These convict-era objects and archaeological artefacts found at Hyde Park Barracks and The Mint (Rum Hospital) are among the rarest and most personal artefacts to have survived from Australia’s early convict period
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Hammock Scrap
A few scraps of rope and coarse, but finely woven flax linen scraps like this one are all that’s left of the hundreds of hammocks that originally lined the convict sleeping wards
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Leg Irons, bar link
Known as darbies or slangs in the convict ‘flash’ slang language, leg irons came in various shapes and sizes
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Leg irons, standard
Standard leg irons, like those pictured here, weighed seven pounds (3.2 kilograms)
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Leg irons, heavy
Known as darbies or slangs in the convict ‘flash’ slang language, leg irons came in various shapes and sizes
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Ball and chain
1820s–1840s: Known as darbies or slangs in the convict ‘flash’ language, leg irons came in various shapes and sizes
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Molesworth report
The findings of the 1837 Molesworth inquiry brought about the end of convict transportation to New South Wales
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Convict shoe
Known as crab shells or hopper dockers in the convict ‘flash’ slang language, two or three pairs of shoes were issued to each convict annually
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Cat-o’-nine-tails
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Iron Gang chain
Convicts who re-offended after arriving in the colony could be assigned to do hard labour in an iron gang
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Leg iron guard
A stunning example of an improvised handicraft, this leather ankle guard or ‘gaiter’ was made to protect a convict’s ankle from leg irons