Royal Commonwealth Society : Address from the women of Ballarat and Ballarat East in the colony of Victoria to the women of England

Royal Commonwealth Society

<p style='text-align: justify;'>In 1863, there were recommendations to increase the number of convicts transported to Western Australia, and the proposal was met with strident opposition from it and the other Australian colonies. Reaction in Victoria was especially strong because of anxiety that its goldfields would attract many escaped or former convicts. Although it was decided in early 1864 not to expand penal transportation to Western Australia, many had hoped for its complete abolition. In Oct. 1864 this petition, signed by more than 1,300 women of the shire of Ballarat, appealed for the support of women in England in their campaign to end transportation. It begins ‘We, women of Victoria – we, your daughters and sisters, appeal to you to avert from us a terrible calamity…’ Transportation finally ceased in 1868.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>See Janus record <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FRCMS%20299'>here</a></p>