Launceston Historical Society | Talk

Crooks, Craftsmen and Gold Diggers!

French and Italian convicts in Launceston in the 1840s.

Talk begins at 2pm at the Meeting Room, Queen Victoria Museum, Inveresk

Launceston in the 1830s and 1840s had a small community of French and Italian watchmakers and jewellers. Some were highly skilled tradesmen and others were dishonest and less scrupulous members of their trade.

How did they all manage to be in Launceston at the same time? Some were convicts, found guilty of crimes in Britain and transported to Van Diemen’s Land. They had very little choice in their destination, but several were adventurous free settlers.

Two of these European craftsmen went on to play a key role in the discovery of gold in Victoria and one would be the victim of perhaps the biggest gold robbery in Launceston’s history. Their little-known stories are a fascinating insight into Tasmania’s convict era and life in the growing town of Launceston at the time as well as the tumultuous events that helped shape Australia. Their stories are among the many told in Doing Time: Stories of Convict Clock and Watchmakers in Van Diemen’s Land published July last year.

Julian Burgess is a former Associate Editor of the Launceston Examiner newspaper, where he edited and wrote many of The Examiner’s annual historical supplements between 2006 and 2014, and the author or co-author of a dozen books on local history.

He has written hundreds of articles on Tasmanian history and contributed to a number of local historical publications. He is a regular contributor to the Launceston Historical Society’s Our History series in the Sunday Examiner.

You can find out more at www.julianburgess.com.au