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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware this website contains images, voices and names of people who have died.

Convict token – Elizabeth Catchpole, 1830

Questions

1. We don’t have any information about Elizabeth Catchpole, but we know that convicts sent tokens to friends and family members. Who did she send hers to – and why do you think she sent it to this person?

2. If you were a convict, about to be sent to the other side of the world, who would you create a token for? Draw some designs for the front and back of your token.


Diameter: 40mm, thickness: 4mm

Front Back

Token with a border of stippled leaves and flowers and five lines of stippled text:

TURNKEYSS
AT THE
NORWICH
GAOL
1830

Token with a border of stippled leaves and flowers and four lines of stippled text, ornamented with leaves and flourishes. The top and bottom lines are curved:

ELIZABETH
CATCHPOLE
AGED 20 YRS
15 MAY 1830