Further to yesterday’s song about The Female Factory,
here is a composition from Canadian?? singer-songwriter Catherine Doucet (yes very Joni-like!), Mary Hindle: Ballad of a Female Convict Down Under
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9fl_ZAQCnE
“This song is based on research of the life of Mary Hindle, a young woman falsely accused of a crime and sent to the penal colony of New South Wales, Australia in 1826.
Her punishment was hard labour at the Parramatta Female Factory. 15 years into her sentence, her family died. Shortly thereafter, she took her life.”


Today, I came across this most interesting website and research by Dr. Heather Blasdale-Clarke : http://www.colonialdance.com.au/    Australian Colonial Dance : The History of Music and Dance in Australia 1788-1840
and some pages regarding Song and Dance in the Convict Realms : http://www.colonialdance.com.au/convict-research
and these song links on the pages make interesting reading (well, what else is one to do on The Eve of Merry Bah-Humbug, Down Under?!) :

Auld Robin Grey
Drops of Brandy
King of the Cannibal Islands
Michael Wiggins
Off She Goes
Tekeli

Apparently the song “King of the Cannibal Islands” [i.e. FIJI - and referenced in a number of the Old Sydney Town police reports included here] fell out of currency in Australia, but continues in America ……………………..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNnl63U4bTA

You will note that the female of the species received harsher sentence for disturbing the peace by Singing; namely lengthy times in Mrs Gordon’s establishment (i.e. The Female Factory), whereas the menfolk copped a small fine or a few hours in the stocks.   Such was Life.    HOWEVER, some of the Dancing men were “Sentenced to dance the mazy round of Mr. Murray’s spiritual rectifier [aka the treadmill]” for a few days - not so good :(

But all-in-all, the website does give evidence of another side to early Colonial life, for “the lower orders”!!


R-J